What God is Birthing
Loss / Hope / Hardship / Isolation / Faith / Seeking Good / Trust / Blessings
The Book of Ruth amplifies the story of all Scripture: Redemption by God’s Grace! What was lost in the garden, our intimacy with our creator; can be regained. Ruth is a short story that could almost be seen as a ‘Cliff Notes’ for all scripture.
We left our story at this point last week:
Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, “Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelek, Kilion and Mahlon. I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from his hometown. Today you are witnesses!”
Ruth 4:11-22
11 Then the elders and all the people at the gate said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the family of Israel.
- They publicly attest to being witnesses (basically going on the record)
- 1st Blessing: Rachel & Leah were grafted in like Ruth is
- God builds His nation of Israel by including outsiders
May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem.
- ‘Ephrathah’ is the revered ancestral line of Caleb, from the tribe of Judah
- Caleb’s descendants settled what became Bethlehem: ‘House of Bread’
- From the ‘House of Bread’ will come the ‘Bread of Life’
12 Through the offspring the Lord gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.”
- In the story of Judah & Tamar the brother didn’t act as Guardian Redeemer
- God preserved the lineage even through all of that sin
- Judah’s line is where Sin and Grace collide…all the way to ‘The Cross’
- Perez’s offspring were numerous and influential then and in the future
Nehemiah 11:6
The descendants of Perez who lived in Jerusalem totaled 468 men of standing.
13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.
- The Lord given the credit… Miracle? Was Ruth Barren? Was Boaz too old?
- Bottom line: It is God who conceives ALL Life
14 The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! 15 He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.”
- Boaz is an example of and an instrument of: God’s Redemptive Character!
- This is all being attributed to God!
- The Child is to be famous, and a blessing to Namoi
- The Child would be the heir that will protect and provide for Namoi
- ‘Better than seven sons’…
16 Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. 17 The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
- A Son as in a way to keep the family name going
- Obed means ‘Servant’…
18 This, then, is the family line of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron, 19 Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab, 20 Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, 21 Salmon the father of Boaz, Boaz the father of Obed, 22 Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David.
- Why is keeping track of the lineage important?
- God uses uncommon ways to bring forth His Messiah from His people
- This union ultimately produces David (Foreshadow of Christ)
God in His sovereignty Provides & God by His Grace Redeems!
Application Questions:
The blessings the crowd bestows on Boaz…why so elaborate?
Why does all the attention shift to Namoi regarding the child?
What does this book say to you about follow-ship in the midst of hardship?
What does it look like for you trust God for both provision & redemption?