Judges
The main point of this book is that the Israelites keep sinning. God keeps saving, but then they sin again. There are no real heroes in this book; everyone is pretty wretched, though some are worse than others.
Pay attention to chapter 1 because this explains one of the reasons the Israelites kept sinning: they didn’t get rid of the Canaanites and so they were always a temptation to them.
Note that chapter 2 describes the cycle of the book: the people sin, God makes them suffer by sending an oppressor, the people cry out for help, God saves them. This cycle repeats itself throughout the book.
The main point in the story of Gideon is that the Israelites could not brag that they won (note 7:2).
Samson was a very naughty boy. But God still accomplished what he wanted through him.
At the end of the book there is a refrain repeated several times that “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.” One of the purposes of the book is to express the need for a godly king who will lead the people to do what is pleasing to God. Will Saul or David solve the people’s problem? We ‘ll find out in 1-2 Samuel.
Ruth
This short story shows how Ruth was selfless and worshipped the true God even though she was from Moab.
Boaz is a hero of the story because he marries Ruth even though it may have cost him.
The last verses of the book have a special ending: the baby that God gives to Ruth and Boaz becomes the grandfather of David. In other words, without Ruth and Boaz, there would be no David!
[Note to my older readers: Ruth deserves more, but I’m doing this all off the top of my head with limited time. If you ‘re infuriated that I would do such a poor job here, you ‘re welcome to add comments below.]