Included

Today's Bible Reading: RUTH 4:13-22, 1 CHRON 2:9-55, 4:1-23, 1 SAM 1:1-8

Ruth 4:17 Also the neighbor women gave him the 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.

Reading genealogies doesn’t typically excite most Christians. They often skim over them or overlook them entire as they systematically read scripture. They are not the go to passages for practical insights or principles to live by. They argue that they might have been instructive then, but not so much now. It might be right to assume that they are the least read parts of the Bible.

Yet genealogies when carefully considered can give us tangible truth that can transform what we think about God’s providence over us and His provisions for us. They can enlighten us and encourage us to trust the Lord in us and around us in ways that cannot understand or comprehend.

So it is within the concluding remarks at the end of the book of Ruth. Hidden within the story is a commentary on the lineage of Christ. Tucked within these final phrases is a gem that points us to the gospel. It gives a portrait of our pilgrimage. It outlines our acceptance and inclusion into the family of God. It garnishes hope for those who feel that they are exclude and isolated from Christ. Ruth’s story is our story.

Ruth was not an Israelite. She was an outsider. She was not from the tribe from which the Messiah was to be born. Her line was stained by the sin of her ancestors. She was the last one you would expect to be included in Christ’s lineage. But she was designated by God to be a descendant of Jesus. She was in the line of an earthly king and the King of Kings. The one that others despised and discarded became the descendant to our deliverer.

God providentially orchestrated the events in Ruth’s life for His glory. He allowed a famine to befall the people of Judah to move Naomi to Moab. He then brought Ruth and Naomi together through the marriage to her son. Then upon the death of Ruth’s husband, God brought about favorable conditions in Israel and an unbreakable bond between Ruth and Naomi to get them back to Judah. It was then that He providentially arranged Ruth and Boaz to meet and marry, which led to the birth of Obed. God did all of this so a Moabitess would be named in the genealogy of Jesus (Matt 1:5) and so we would understand that God’s grace extends to everyone everywhere.

It was through Ruth the outcast that the overcomer was born. It was from the one who was rejected, that the Redeemer would emerge. It was from a stranger that our Savior would arise. Forgiveness would spring from a foreigner. Jesse and David would come from Obed, the son of Ruth and Boaz. God provided a redeemer for Ruth in Boaz and from Ruth comes our Redeemer, Jesus, the “son of David”.

This genealogy helps us to see that no matter what our past might entail, we can be a part of God’s family. No matter where we come from, we can come to Him. His love is never partial or prejudicial. His family is inclusive of every tribe tongue and nation. The gospel is for all.

Today, thank the Lord that the genealogy of Jesus is not made of perfect people, but imperfect people like us who are being perfected by the Lord. Rejoice that like Ruth, we are an “outsider” that by God’s grace has been allowed to be named as part of the family of God.