On self-indulgent and fanciful Bible reading

 Christopher Ash tells us that when reading Old Testament narrative, the narrator's point of view is God's point of view. "[W]e only read out of the story what the divinely-inspired storyteller has written into the story. Otherwise we are being self-indulgent and fanciful." (Teaching Ruth and Esther, Proc Trust / Christian Focus, 2018, p18)

It seems to me that this is a good general principle and a worthwhile starting point and caution. 

There is a danger of pouring your pre-existing system into the text and playing mere thought association. We mustn't make the text mean anything and everything we like. 

But I would just be a little careful about pressing Ash's cautions absolutely and strictly. 

We must beware of under-interpretation as well as over-interpretation. 

Presumably we all think that the writer of Ruth could speak better than he or she knew? 

And we all want to read Ruth in the light of Christ and of the whole Bible?

Certainly what the human author meant is key to what God is saying through a book but for myself I am prepared to countenance the Bible rightly meaning more for us that the Genesis writer or Isaiah or even John meant to put in. 

Attend carefully to the human author, but our ultimate concern is to hear the Divine Author and to my mind there need not always be a total identification between the two writers. God may say more in and through this text than the pen-person knew.