{

Ruth

“In The Light of God’s

Plan of Redemption”

“Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I

will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my

people, and your God will be my God. 17 Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried.

May YaHWeH punish me severely if I allow anything but death to

separate us!”

Ruth 1:16-17

22 So Naomi returned from

Moab, accompanied by her daughter-in-law Ruth...They

arrived in Bethlehem in late spring, at

the beginning of the barley harvest.

12 May YaHWeH, the God of Israel, under whose wings you

have come to take refuge, reward you fully for what you

have done.”

Ruth 2:12

11 Now don’t worry about a thing, my daughter. I will do what is

necessary, for everyone in town knows you are a virtuous woman. (“chayil” – excellence, noble character, capable,

truly good)

Ruth 3:11 AMP “…for all my people in the city know that you are a woman of strength (worth,

bravery, capability).” Ruth 3:11

9 Then Boaz said to the elders and to the crowd standing

around, “You are witnesses that today I have bought from Naomi

all the property of Elimelech, Kilion, and Mahlon. 10 And with the land I have acquired Ruth,

the Moabite widow of Mahlon, to be my wife. This way she can

have a son to carry on the family name of her dead husband

Ruth 4:9-10

and to inherit the family property here in his hometown. You are all

witnesses today.” 11 Then the elders and all the people standing in the gate replied, “We are witnesses!

Ruth 4:10-11

“May YaHWeH make this woman who is coming into your home

like Rachel and Leah, from whom all the nation of Israel

descended! May you prosper in Ephrathah.”

Ruth 4:11

19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20 Jacob set up a

pillar over her grave; that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this

day. Genesis 35:19–20 (NASB95)

12 And may YaHWeH give you descendants by this young

woman who will be like those of our ancestor Perez, the son of

Tamar and Judah.”

Genesis 38:26 “She is more righteous than I am, because I didn’t arrange for her to marry

my son Shelah.”

Ruth 4:12

There are many parallels between Boaz and Ruth and Judah and Tamar. Ruth and Tamar were both foreigners who had

married into Israel. The first husbands of both women died leaving them widows.

Both women participated in levirate marriages. In both cases the husbands were

considerably older than the wives. Both women, however, bore sons in the Davidic

messianic line. Tamar bore Perez, and Ruth bore Obed. Tom Constable

14 Then the women of the town said to Naomi, “Praise YaHWeH,

who has now provided a redeemer for your family!... 16

Naomi took the baby and cuddled him to her breast. And she cared for him as if he were

her own. 17 The neighbor women said, “Now at last Naomi has a

son again!” And they named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse and the grandfather of

David. Ruth 4:11-17

To some, the book of Ruth may be just a nice story about a girl who was fortunate. But in

reality, the events recorded in Ruth were part of God’s preparations for the births of David and of Jesus, the promised Messiah. Just as Ruth was unaware of this larger purpose in

her life, we will not know the full purpose and importance of our lives until we are able to

look back from the perspective of eternity. We must make our choices with God’s eternal

values in mind.

Life Application Bible

Taking moral shortcuts and living for short-range pleasures are not good ways to

move ahead. Because of Ruth’s faithful obedience, her life and legacy were

significant even though she couldn’t see all the results. Live in faithfulness to God,

knowing that the significance of your life will extend beyond your lifetime. The

rewards will outweigh any sacrifice you may have made.

Life Application Bible

18 This is the genealogical record of their ancestor Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron. 19 Hezron was the father of Ram. Ram was the father of Amminadab. 20 Amminadab was the father of Nahshon. Nahshon

was the father of Salmon. 21 Salmon was the father of Boaz. Boaz was

the father of Obed. 22 Obed was the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father

of David.

Ruth 4:18-22

3 “Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez was

the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram. 4 Ram…Amminadab…Nahshon… 5

Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the

father of Jesse. 6 Jesse was the father of David the king…”

Matthew 1:3–6 (NASB95)

This genealogy is not intended to be complete. Salmon lived at the beginning of the period of the judges, and David was not born until the beginning of the period of the

kings, a span of almost 400 years. Names are often deliberately omitted in biblical

genealogies.

Rahab lived in Joshua’s time, about 250–300 years earlier. Probably, then, Rahab

was Boaz’s “mother” in the sense that she was his ancestress. John ReedWilliam McDonald

17 “For YaHWeH your God is the God of gods and Lords of lords, the great, the mighty, and the

awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe. 18 “He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His

love for the alien by giving him food and clothing.

Deuteronomy 10:17–18 (NASB95)

1 Now YaHWeH said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from

your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show

you; 2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be

a blessing; 3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who

curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be

blessed.”

Genesis 12:1–3 (NASB95)

5 And now YaHWeH speaks— the one who formed me in my

mother’s womb to be his servant, who commissioned me to bring Israel back to him. YaHWeH has

honored me, and my God has given me strength. 6 He says,

“You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me. I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation

to the ends of the earth.” Isaiah 49:5–6 (NLT)

Ruth was a Moabitess, but that didn’t stop her from worshiping the true God, nor did it stop God from accepting her worship and blessing her greatly. The Jews were not the only people God loves. He chose the Jews to be the people through whom the rest of the world would come to know Him. This was fulfilled when Jesus Christ was born as a Jew. Through him, the entire world can

come to know God.

Life Application Bible

34 So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that

God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears Him and does what is right is

acceptable to Him.

Acts 10:34–35 (ESV)

“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.”

Kidner

4 “Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul

who sins will die.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of

God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ezekiel 18:4 (NASB95)

4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His

Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, 5 so that He

might redeem (“buy out of the slave market”) those who were under the

Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Galatians 4:4–5 (NASB95)

5 “For your husband is your Maker, Whose name is the LORD

of hosts; And your Redeemer (“Goel” – kinsman redeemer) is the Holy One of Israel, Who is

called the God of all the earth…8 “…But with everlasting

lovingkindness I will have compassion on you,” Says YaHWeH your Redeemer

(“Goel”). Isaiah 54:5-8 (NASB95)

13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and

brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we

have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Colossians 1:13–14 (NIV84)

7 In Him (Jesus) we have redemption through His blood,

the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of

God’s grace 8 that He lavished on us with all wisdom and

understanding.

Ephesians 1:7–8 (NIV84)

22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. 23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24

Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did

this through Christ Jesus when he freed(*) us from the penalty for our sins.

25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus

sacrificed His life, shedding His blood.

Romans 3:22–25 (NLT)

agorazo "to buy", denoting to "buy out". From “agora”; to go or frequent the

market, to purchase; specially, to redeem, buy.

18 Flee immorality…19 Or do you not know that your body is a

temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you have been bought with a

price: therefore glorify God in your body…7:23 You were bought

with a price; do not become slaves of men.

1 Corinthians 6:18–20 (NASB95)

“You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For

You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and

tongue and people and nation… “Worthy is the Lamb who was

slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

Revelation 5