A Home Built by God
Ruth 4: 13-22
I think you would all agree that it has been a pleasant and encouraging journey through the book of Ruth. We are all familiar with the fairy tales of our youth. Most of them begin with “Once upon a time” and end with “Happily ever-after.” The book of Ruth fits that line of thought. However, we have not read a fairy tale or fable, but an eternal testimony of the grace and mercy of God being extended to those who are desperate, defeated, and even undeserving.
Can you imagine the anxiety and anticipation Ruth must have felt as she waited for Boaz to return that day? He had gone to secure her redemption. I can picture her standing in the doorway all morning waiting upon the arrival of Boaz. Hers had been a very difficult and yet a very blessed journey. We found the Desperation of a Widow in Chp.1, the Determination of a Worker in Chp.2, the Dignity of a Woman in Chp.3, and the Delight of a Wife in Chp.4.
In these concluding verses we find Ruth and Naomi happy once again. They had faced devastation in Moab, but God had been merciful in Bethlehem and now they are blessed with a family and a home. There is great application for all believers in these verses. I want to consider the wonderful truths of: A Home Built by God.
I. The Grace (13a) – 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. Take just a moment to consider all we have learned of Ruth and the adversities she faced. She had lost her husband in Moab, made her way to Bethlehem with Naomi, a place she knew nothing of, in essence a Gentile in desperate need of mercy and grace. Now she is the bride of Boaz. This almost seems too good to be true. As we first encountered Ruth, it appeared she had little hope for the future, but God was working in her life and His marvelous grace was shown to her.
Would we not have to admit that our lives closely resemble Ruth’s in many ways? We may not have lost our spouse, or even faced the financial or social limitations she did, but we too have received more than we could possibly deserve. When it appeared that all hope was lost, God showed mercy and grace to us and met our every need.
God met every need she had physically. She went from the poor house to a penthouse. She went from gleaning among the leftovers to marrying the owner of the field. No doubt she wondered if she would live the rest of her life alone and God provided a companion. (Surely God has met our every need as well. He has blessed us abundantly and beyond measure.)
God also met Ruth’s needs spiritually. She was a Gentile from Moab, one whom most Jews had no desire to show compassion. She was a stranger to the commonwealth of Israel. It is nothing short of a miracle that she was accepted and cared for, but God chose to show her favor.
We too were in the same situation. We were strangers and foreigners to the family of God. We possessed no goodness or worthiness of His grace, and yet He chose to show us favor, providing for our redemption!
II. The Gift (13b) – Naomi had lost her husband and her two sons. Ruth had lost her husband. There were no children left in the family of Elimelech. This was of great importance to Ruth and Naomi. They desperately desired a son to carry on the lineage of the family. God honored their desires as Ruth and Boaz were blessed with a son.
Aren’t you glad for the Son we were given? Is.9:6 – For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. God knew our need. He knew His only begotten Son was the only means of our salvation. We too were offered the greatest gift ever given!
III. The Glory (14-17) – The son that Ruth bore to Boaz was named Obed by neighbors of Ruth. V.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. As we will discover, the birth of Obed was significant in the lives of his family and all following generations.
His name means “worshipping.” With the birth of Obed, there was a season of worship and rejoicing. These verses reveal the admiration that those who knew Naomi and her situation had for the Lord. They were aware of the significance of Obed’s birth and how God would use him. In their conversation concerning Obed we see their worship of the Lord. They rejoiced in:
A. God’s Preeminence (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. The women prayed that God would raise Obed up and make a mighty man of him. They had no idea just how God would do that. But we cannot overlook the fact that they gave God the glory in all of this. They rejoiced that a son had been born, but they blessed God because He was responsible for this blessing. They were careful not to receive the blessing without acknowledging the source of the blessing.
We need to be reminded of the source of our blessings as well. I fear we often enjoy the many blessings we receive, but never take the time to be thankful for them. All that we have or ever hope to have is a direct result of the goodness and mercy of God. He alone is responsible for all that we enjoy. Apart from Him we are nothing! Jam.1:17 – Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. John 15:5 – I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
B. God’s Provision (15a) – 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. Naomi and Ruth no longer lived without a son to care for them and carry on the family lineage. He would be there to care for them in their old age. They were no longer dependent on the kindness of strangers because they now had a family to care for them. God made provision for their lives.
We ought to rejoice and praise God for the provision that was made for us as well. We needed one to care for us and meet our needs. We needed a hope for the future and God provided that in His Son. We no longer have to fear or struggle through life, hoping to catch a “lucky break.” We have the assurance of the Son. We have hope in Him that will never end.
C. God’s Preservation (15b) – God would use Obed to care for them and help preserve their lives. He would be a nourisher of their old age. They had the assurance of help and provision as long as they lived, as well as hope for coming generations through Obed.
Is that not a beautiful picture of what we have received in Christ? He is near to us to provide for our daily needs. He will never leave us nor forsake us. We can rest assured of His continual presence. We also have the assurance of knowing that when our time comes to die that He will be there to lead us through the gates of death.
D. God’s Peace (16) – And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it. Don’t you imagine there were some long and lonely days for Naomi while she dwelt in Moab? She likely wondered at times if she would ever see home again. She may have worried that she would die without any family other than Ruth. Surely these things weighed heavily on her mind, but in the end God was faithful. He gave her the desires of her heart and along with that His glorious peace.
We too may be faced with some desperate situations in life. We may feel as if we will never recover from our defeat. There are times when we all long for a measure of peace in our lives. I am glad to report that God is able to provide exactly what we need. He can bring peace to even the most troubled heart. Ps.37:4 – Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
IV. The Generations (18-22) – 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. Often we are tempted to overlook verses like these, but they are there for our benefit. These seemingly insignificant verses reveal two fundamental truths. Notice:
A. The Providence – As we have already considered, this all seems an unlikely outcome to what appeared a dead end situation. One would never expect things to have turned out as they did. But that is much of the beauty in the story of Ruth. This was not an accident. Ruth was not lucky or simply stumbled upon good fortune. God was behind the scenes orchestrating all of these events. God had a plan and Ruth was blessed to be part of that plan.
We can rejoice in the providence of God. It may not appear that our lives are going in the right direction. We may feel as if we will never survive our current situation. In times of difficulty and distress we need to be reminded that God has allowed us to encounter that situation and He is still in control. Just as with Ruth, God has a plan for each of our lives.
B. The Preparation – We discover that Boaz begat Obed, and Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David. That is king David, the great ruler of Israel, one whom the Lord would eventually be born into his lineage. God had shown mercy to a Gentile woman, but He had a far greater plan in mind. God used Ruth as He was making preparations for the birth of His Son. It is likely Ruth never realized the great significance of the birth of her son, but God used her to prepare the way for His Son to come as a sacrifice for the sins of all humanity. (Our lives may seem mundane and insignificant, but we never know how God may use us to fulfill a greater plan. He may use us to prepare the way for things we can’t even imagine.)
Conclusion: We have concluded our study in the book of Ruth. It has been a wonderful testimony to the grace of God and the hope that we have in Him. If God could save and bless Ruth, He can save and bless anyone. There is hope in Him. If you have never met Christ as your personal Savior, you have missed the greatest blessing known to man and the only means of eternal life. I pray that you will come to know Him if you don’t know Him.
