The Book, Dramatized

I've been a fan of the multi-season biblical drama The Chosen, written by Tyler Thomson, Ryan Hopkins and creator-director Dallas Jenkins. Some of that is because it focuses heavily on the disciples, the normal human beings who have to try to navigate life while following Jesus. Some of it is because it features a vision of Jesus I like -- funny, wry and mountain-strong against the injustices the Pharisees and Romans inflict on the people.

Jenkins is the son of writer Jerry Jenkins, who tried to write about the second coming of Christ but was hampered by Tim LaHaye's rigid dispensationalism. After some failed commercial filmmaking Dallas found himself drawn to making religiously-themed movies, but without the preachiness or stodgy demeanor found in many of these films. Asked to provide a video for his church for Christmas 2017, Jenkins created The Shepherd, which became the pilot for The Chosen.

Genuine actors show up on the screen of these episodes -- the first season featured well-known character actor Erick Amari as Nicodemus in a poignant role. Frequent TV guest star Jonathan Roumie exults in humanizing Jesus, Shahar Isaac shows Peter as the leader Jesus needs him to be as well as the uncertain man who will one day deny his Lord. Oklahoma's own Elizabeth Tabish absolutely nails the pivotal role of Mary Magdalene, one of the most important women in Jesus' ministry.

Anyway, The Chosen has been around for awhile now and I didn't intend to write about it. It just gave me an idea. A professor at Westmont University in California named Sandra Richter did a video study on the biblical book of Ruth that could create an excellent screenplay. The Moabite woman who accompanied her widowed, childless mother in law back to Israel and left her own people and homeland. Through a course of fortuitous events -- and some nudging from the mother-in-law -- she catches the eye of a wealthy distant kinsman named Boaz. Eventually they marry and have a son, Obed, who was the grandfather of King David. She is one of the five women named in Jesus' genealogy.

Richter's understanding, which is drawn from 20-some years of studying the Old Testament and the environment of its people, suggests that rather than a romantic entanglement, Boaz takes Ruth in marriage because of her great devotion to her mother-in-law and her own cleverness in getting his attention. The next part is of her own devising, but Richter envisions a union of legal custom and respect growing into love, despite the age differences.

Neither filmed version of Ruth and Boaz's story takes this angle, focusing on romance (1960's The Story of Ruth)  or the sanctifying of the biblical characters (2009's The Book of Ruth).

I just kind of thought I'd like to see that version filmed because in my mind, it matched some of the mindset of the creators of The Chosen and it turned Ruth into my favorite book of the Bible. Every now and again, I guess I'm still going to ramble.