Happily ever after.
1. (13) Ruth and Boaz have their first child.
So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son.
a. The LORD gave her conception: The gift of children was never taken for granted in Israel. The fact that Boaz and Ruth were able to raise up a son to the deceased Elimelech was evidence of God’s blessing.
2. (14-16) The blessed life of Naomi.
Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel! And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him.” Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom, and became a nurse to him.
a. Blessed be the LORD: Look at blessed Naomi! She now had a grandson; she was now famous in Israel; and she got to be a nurse to her own grandson.
b. Who has not left you this day without a close relative: It was fitting that these blessings in the life of Naomi be given so much attention at the end of the book. Naomi was the one whose original returning to the LORD began all this great work of God. If Naomi had not decided to go back to Bethlehem, the land of Israel, and the God of Israel, none of this would have happened.
i. This is a marvelous demonstration of what God can do through one poor woman who gets right with Him.
ii. It is also fitting because Naomi was the one who said in chapter one, the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me…. the LORD has brought me home again empty…. the LORD has testified against me (Ruth 1:20-21). If only Naomi could have seen then how greatly the LORD would bless her at the end!
iii. We can’t blame Naomi – we certainly do the same kind of thing. But we should also learn from what she learned. We should learn that God’s plan is perfect and filled with love, and even when we can’t understand what He is doing and it all seems so desperate, He still knows what He is doing. We should learn that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
3. (17-22) Ruth and Boaz: Great-grandparents to David, king of Israel.
Also the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “There is a son born to Naomi.” And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. Now this is the genealogy of Perez: Perez begot Hezron; Hezron begot Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab; Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon; Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed; Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David.
a. There is a son born to Naomi: The son of Ruth and Boaz was named Obed. He had a son named Jesse. He had a son named David and David had a descendant named Jesus.
i. “God’s hand is all over history. God works out His purpose, generation after generation. Limited as we are to one lifetime, each of us sees so little of what happens. A genealogy is a striking way of bringing before us the continuity of God’s purpose through the ages. The process of history is not haphazard. There is a purpose in it all. And the purpose is the purpose of God.” (Morris)
b. The father of David: Naomi’s return to Bethlehem, and the roots of David in Bethlehem, going back to Ruth and Boaz, are why Joseph and Mary had to go to Bethlehem to register in the census of Augustus (Luke 2:1-5). Ruth and Boaz are the reason why Jesus was born in Bethlehem!
i. But the consideration of Jesus in this book of Ruth doesn’t begin with the mention of King David; Jesus has been through the whole book, pictured by Boaz and the office of the kinsman-redeemer.
· The kinsman-redeemer had to be a family member; Jesus added humanity to His eternal deity, so He could be our kinsman and save us.
· The kinsman-redeemer had the duty of buying family members out of slavery; Jesus redeemed us from slavery to sin and death.
· The kinsman-redeemer had the duty of buying back land that had been forfeited; Jesus will redeem the earth that mankind “sold” over to Satan.
· Boaz, as kinsman-redeemer to Ruth, was not motivated by self-interest, but motivated by love for Ruth. Jesus’ motivation for redeeming us is His great love for us.
· Boaz, as kinsman-redeemer to Ruth, had to have a plan to redeem Ruth himself – and some might have thought the plan to be foolish. Jesus has a plan to redeem us, and some might think the plan foolish (saving men by dying for them on a cruel cross?), yet the plan works and is glorious.
· Boaz, as kinsman-redeemer to Ruth, took her as his bride; the people Jesus has redeemed are collectively called His bride (Ephesians 5:31-32; Revelation 21:9).
· Boaz, as kinsman-redeemer to Ruth, provided a glorious destiny for Ruth. Jesus, as our redeemer, provides a glorious destiny for us.
ii. But it all comes back to the idea of Jesus as our kinsman-redeemer; this is why He became a man. God might have sent an angel to save us, but the angel would not have been our kinsman. Jesus, in His eternal glory, without the addition of humanity to His divine nature might have saved us, but He would not have been our kinsman. A great prophet or priest would be our kinsman, but his own sin would have disqualified him as our redeemer. Only Jesus, the eternal God who added humanity to His eternal deity, can be both the kinsman and the redeemer for mankind!
iii. Isaiah 54:4-8 describes the beautiful ministry of the LORD as our goel – our kinsman-redeemer: Do not fear, for you will not be…disgraced, for you will not be put to shame…. your [Kinsman] Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel…. For the LORD has called you like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit…. with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you, says the LORD, your [Kinsman] Redeemer.
iv. From eternity, God planned to bring Ruth and Boaz together, and thus make Bethlehem His entrance point for the coming of Jesus as our true Kinsman-Redeemer, fully God and fully man. In a real-life spiritual sense, all must to come to Bethlehem for the redemption that only Jesus can provide.