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Ring of Truth provides 366 daily ‘proofs’ that the Bible is consistent throughout from Genesis to Revelation, and relevant for our lives today!
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Ruth 4:21-22
Salmon the father of Boaz. Boaz the father of Obed. Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David.
And when you read Matthew and Luke’s genealogies, you will see that further on down the list comes Jesus, the Messiah.
How come a ‘foreign outcast’ Moabite woman becomes the ‘mother’ of David and Jesus? It’s a story of humility, love and grace. Ruth humbled herself enough to go to Israel with her mother-in-law and to make Naomi’s God her God. She gave up what she had already lost to gain what she couldn’t lose.
On returning to Bethlehem (the House of Bread), Ruth humbled herself again and went as a poor vagrant to glean the leftover grain, after the harvesters had taken the best, for Naomi and her to live on. The landowner, Boaz, spotted her and graciously provided for both of them.
Then the courtship took place and Boaz realised that if he was to help her, he had to marry this ‘foreigner’. But there was someone else who had a prior claim. So he had to be given the first option. However, when the man realised the full implications of the situation, he decided to withdraw and allow Boaz the privilege of redeeming the land (and the woman).
So Boaz married Ruth and in due course Obed was born. Obed became the father of Jesse who became the father of David.
Was God in all this? He sure was. Some divine eternal principles are reconfirmed in this beautiful love story. They are ‘Rings of Truth’!
1) He or she who humbles himself/herself will be exalted. Ruth humbled herself. It is an act of the will. I must do it voluntarily. Others can’t do it for me, but if I do - God will always exalt me. If I exalt myself - He will always eventually humble me (see Matthew 23:12).
2) His grace is sufficient for all. No matter who I am, God loves me. Yes, I may be a Gentile; yes, I may come from a God-dishonouring, dysfunctional family. Yes, I may even be an outcast and poor - But God in His mercy will still draw me to Him and save me if I let Him (see 2 Corinthians 12:9).
3) “In all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). Whether you consider Naomi, who was taken to a foreign land and there lost her husband and sons, and had so much grief she wanted to change her name from ‘pleasant’ to Mara, ‘bitter’ - she found God was still with her, brought her home and preserved her heritage through Boaz and Ruth.
Or, whether you consider Ruth, who lost her husband and gave up all she knew to become a servant of her mother-in-law - she too found Naomi’s God as her God. She also found that, although an outcast, she was brought near to God - so near she became the mother of Obed - David and the Messiah.
As Peter says, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (1 Peter 2:9-10).
Listen, God hasn’t changed. He is still on your side.
Wait for His redemption, His blessings and His triumph, which are always way beyond our wildest dreams
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