Thursday 1 November, 2018

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. 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.” 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. 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.

This passage gets me excited! Not because of the love making but because of where it fits in the history of humanity!

Ruth and Naomi were on death’s door, living as widows with no means for income. Ruth was within her rights to leave her mother-in-law Naomi, but she stayed and attached herself to the fate of Naomi and entrusted herself to the God of Naomi.

I may feel confused or lost, but I can attach myself to God’s people, throw my lot in with them, even when I am unsure of where I am going. In doing so their blessing becomes my blessing, their clarity my clarity. I become more aware of the goodness of God in the community of God’s people.

Ruth is grafted into God’s people and over time received blessing, provision and clarity – we see the culmination of this here. She would become the grandmother of the greatest king ever to rule in Israel, King David, and she would be an ancestor in the human blood line of Jesus Christ.

Lord I am not an island, I throw my lot in and acknowledge that without your people I will wither and die. I am attached to the body of Christ – the Church. I suffer with the Church and rejoice with the Church. Ultimately I will live forever with the Church and our Saviour! Amen

Written by Andrew Mellor