Ruth’s Family Line Leads to Jesus
Dear Foothills Family and Friends,
We are bringing the Book of Ruth to a close this week, but not before we learn the lasting impact this strong woman and her progeny made on Christianity.
As Chapter 4 concludes it leaves us a “Generous Genealogy.” What’s up with that you ask? We would have been satisfied with a simple: “Ruth and Boaz lived happily ever after!” But…
God wants us to know something bigger is happening here. Let’s look at it:
“Now these are the family records of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron, Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab, Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David (Ruth 4:18-22).
Did you know this genealogy appears in the New Testament? When Matthew wrote his gospel, he began this way:
“This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Mt. 1:1). There were many generations between Abraham and David. How do we bridge this gap? Matthew 1:3-6 repeats the genealogy from Ruth 4:18-22. That’s why Ruth ends with a family tree.
Matthew 1 tells us Jesus Christ had roots—He had a family tree. He didn’t just drop out of heaven, he didn’t appear magically on the scene, but at the perfect moment Jesus was born in Bethlehem. When we add Ruth 4 to Matthew 1 we begin to see the bigger picture.
Matthew repeats the genealogy of Ruth 4, but makes some additions Ruth omits:
“Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab, Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth.” The Jews didn’t ordinarily put women in a genealogy. We should note that Tamar is mentioned in verse 3, and in verse 6 Bathsheba is mentioned and called “Uriah’s wife.” All four women are unlikely people.
Only Ruth modeled an exemplary character. Rahab was a sex worker. Tamar—if you don’t know her story, read Genesis 38. Just know that Jacob’s son Judah sleeps with a woman he thinks is a prostitute, but it turns out she is Tamar—his daughter-in-law, who married his son Er (who is now deceased).
Tamar does it to preserve the family line, but her means are less than noble to say the least. From that illicit union came Perez.
Matthew wants to show that our Lord came from a very human background. Jesus was not ashamed to come from an imperfect family tree—one that included a prostitute, someone who behaved like a prostitute, and a woman taken from a nation founded on incest (Moabites came from Lot’s incestuous affair with his daughters).
It’s not the most savory picture in the world.
The hero of the story of Ruth, and the hero of our story, is God. God’s grace shines through the darkest realities of fallen human nature. God chooses women and men who are flawed and whose lives are messy and God places them in Jesus’ family tree.
As we end our journey through the Book of Ruth, we recognize God prepared the way for Ruth to enter the family tree of Jesus. Jesus’ story starts where Ruth’s story ends—in Bethlehem.
Through this story of God’s love and providence, we see a powerful example of how God weaves the ultimate “Happily ever after!”
My dear friend, no matter how difficult or messy the journey has been or might be at this moment, let us remember and take courage from God’s promise of eternal happiness for all his children!
Please join your church family at 11 a.m. on Sabbath Saturday as we dedicate our Service to the Hope and Grace that is available to each of us, no matter how complicated our lives are. Your church family is here to embrace you with God’s love!
Your pastor,
Duff
