The Five Women Named in Matthew's Lineage of Christ, Part 4

By Jerelyn Wright Pearson

| Introduction | Tamar | Rahab | Ruth | Bathsheba | Mary |

Ruth

From Matthew 1:5 we see that “Booz begat Obed of Ruth”.

Ruth’s story of faith and redemption is one of the more widely taught and, therefore, is familiar to many. In fact, her story is told in the book of the Bible that bears her name.
We remember that Rahab and her family were rescued from Jericho and lived out their lives in the land of the Israelites. Eventually she married a man named Salmon. They became the parents of Boaz. Just one generation later, Boaz and Ruth become the parents of Obed, thus continuing the lineage of Christ.

From the Book of Ruth, we learn the story of Naomi and Ruth. Because of a great famine, Naomi and her husband Elimelech, with their two sons, left Bethlehem Judah and moved to Moab. Naomi’s husband died and her two sons married women of Moab, Ruth and Orpah.

Here we see that Rahab and Ruth share something in common. Neither one is an Israelite yet both are included in the lineage of Christ. But I’m getting a little ahead of the story.

About ten years later both of Naomi’s sons died. Naomi decided to return to the land of Judah. She tried to convince her daughters-in-law to remain in their homeland of Moab where they would be provided for. But Ruth was loyal to Naomi and would not be persuaded to stay behind. She chose to leave her land of Maob and its gods and expresses her loyalty to Naomi in this famous passage.

Ruth 1:14-18
14 And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.
15 And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law.
16 And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:
17 Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.
18 When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.

As the story continues, Boaz, a kinsman of Naomi’s deceased husband, allows Ruth to glean from his field.

Ruth 2:10-12
10 Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?
11 And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore.
12 The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.

According to the law it was customary when a husband died, that his brother would marry his widow to raise up children for the deceased brother’s inheritance. After resolving some complications of the law, concerning the redemption of Ruth, Boaz gained the right to marry Ruth and fulfill this obligation.

Ruth 4:9-12
9 And Boaz said unto the elders, and unto all the people, Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, of the hand of Naomi.
10 Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day.
11 And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem:
12 And let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which the LORD shall give thee of this young woman.

Ruth and Boaz marry.

Ruth 4:13-17
13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in unto her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bare a son.
14 And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the LORD, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel.
15 And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him.
16 And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it.
17 And the women her neighbours gave it 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.

Here is a summary of the genealogy of David.

Ruth 4:18-22
18 Now these are the generations of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron,
19 And Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab,
20 And Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon,
21 And Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed,
22 And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.

Who would have thought that God’s plan for the ancestry of his Christ would include a Moabite woman who would be inspired to forsake her pagan gods to follow him? Ruth was from the pagan land of Moab, but God chose her to be included in the lineage of Christ according to his plan from the beginning, just as he preordained that the Gentiles would one day be included as his children.

I mentioned earlier that Rahab and Ruth share something in common. Both of them came from pagan lands and both were chosen to be a part of the lineage of Christ.

1 Timothy 2:3-6 gives us insight into an all-encompassing desire of God.

1 Timothy 2:3-6
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

God predetermined that these two women, gentiles by birth, would be included in Christ’s ancestry providing a connection to the future inclusion of the gentiles in his plan of salvation.

I love to discover how intricate and layered God’s plan proves to be as he continues to reveal it through his word and inspiration.

NEXT: BATHSHEBA

 

---

Presented 31 January 2021 in French Settlement, Louisiana