Naomi: “Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” (Ruth 1:16).

Boaz: "May the Lord reward your work, and your wages be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge.” (Ruth 2:12).

Here I contrast Naomi and Boaz. In her bitterness, Naomi encouraged both her daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth, to go back to their people and their gods. Is it possible that Naomi saw Yahweh as just another god like the gods of the other nations? Ruth embraced the God of Israel, the true and only God, not because of her mother-in-law but in spite of her mother-in-law.

The story of Ruth, who would become the ancester of King David and ultimately the Lord Jesus Christ, is often told for lessons on loyalty and finding hope amidst adversity, but the predominant spiritual lesson I see here is God's amazing grace.

Ruth, her husband and their sons went to Moab to escape the famine in Israel. From one perspective, they were running from God's judgment, for famine was one of God's judgment for disobedience (cf. Deuteronomy 28:22-24). Also, her sons were allowed to marry Moabite women, which was also forbidden in the law (cf. Deuteronomy 23:3; Nehemiah 13:1-3). 

In spite of this disobedience, God stirred faith in Ruth, who embraced the God of Israel as her God (Ruth 1:16). And while one might think that Boaz violated God's command by marrying Ruth the Moabite, this is not so, for when he married her, she was no longer a Moabite but a Jewish convert. As Isaiah would later prophecy,

And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord
    to minister to him,
to love the name of the Lord,
    and to be his servants,
all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it
    and who hold fast to my covenant—
these I will bring to my holy mountain
    and give them joy in my house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices
    will be accepted on my altar;
for my house will be called
    a house of prayer for all nations (Isaiah 56:6-7).

Ruth would certainly qualify as a foreigner who bound herself to the Lord.

Friends, the Messianic lineage reveals many acts of God's grace. The story of Ruth is one of them. It provides a foreshadowing of the grace that would come through Christ to all of us, who were also foreigners and strangers to the promises of God. So Paul writes,

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ... Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household (Ephesians 2:13, 19).

We were not His people, but now we are the people of God. We lived in darkness, but now we have been transferred into His Kingdom of Light. Praise God!

What might have been a quaint and insignificant story is elevated to great prominence by (1) its inclusion in the canon of Scripture and (2) its connection with the genealogy of David, and then most significantly, that of Jesus the Messiah. 

This story reminds me of the words of Paul:

Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (2 Corinthians 3:4-6).

Our competence comes from God. Our value comes from the Lord, for apart from Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5). It is the LORD who breathed into dirt, so that man became a living being (Genesis 2:7). And so the worth of our lives, our plans, our efforts, our pursuits, are bound to God's will. It is not that we cannot do anything apart from God, though in a sense we cannot, as our very existence depends on Him, but we cannot do anything of worth or of enduring value apart from God. 

Therefore, friends, let us not be so concerned about making our mark in the world. Let us not be consumed with worldly ambition. Let us not allow the anxiety of achievement to cloud the enjoyment of God's gift of the moment and His surpassing grace through which we hope for an unimaginably wonderful future. 

Let us believe fervently, love deeply, and live dispassionately, acknowleding God's sovereign providence and grace in every experience of life, whether it seems to us evil or good. Our lives may be a fogotten blip in an eternal timeline or possibly a significant hinge for one of God's great works. But this is not our concern, and we have no power to effect it one way or another. Instead, let us live in the wonder of God's grace to us in this moment, trusting in His providence and living out His calling based on the knowledge of His will to which we have attained. 

So they named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David (Ruth 4:17).

The great gandson of Ruth and Boaz would become the greatest king in Israel, King David, and from David would come the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, Ruth went from obscurity and calamity to the place of highest honor. 

I do a daily Bible study with my almost five-year-old daughter. We are presently in the Book of 2nd Kings. During the review portion of our Bible study, I ask her to name the books we have studied thus far and give a one or two word description of the book. When we come to Ruth, she says "Ruth is about faithfulness". Ruth is faithful to Naomi. Boaz is faithful to the Law of Moses. Both exhibit faithfulness to the LORD. 

Friends, I think that we are given a glimpse of the amazing lineage of Ruth and Boaz, not simply to show how God rewards faithfulness, for Ruth and Boaz likely died before seeing the amazing fruit of their union. It reflects more God's sovereignty to work everything out according to His good purpose. As we read from Paul,

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory (Ephesians 1:11-12).

This, then, is what we should grasp. God works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will. In other words, what He says is done, what He plans comes to pass, and what He promises is fulfilled. Therefore, we have this confidence:

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6).

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

Therefore, friends, let us praise the Lord today! Let us thank Him for His remarkable grace in choosing us for salvation. Let us exalt in His marvelous promises, which will certainly come true in keeping with His sovereign power. 

In literature, the Book of Ruth is what might be called "a foil," because the faithfulness of the characters in the story provides a stark contrast to the unfaithfulness of the Israelites throughout the Book of Judges.

The Book of Judges provides the context for the Book of Ruth: "In the days when the judges ruled in Israel..." (Ruth 1:1). The mention of "a severe famine" in the land suggests a time when Israel was being judged by God (Deuteronomy 11:10-17). Apparently the famine was so bad, Elimelech found it necessary to move his family to Moab to live. But their misfortunes are compounded when Elimelech dies, and shortly thereafter his two sons as well. 

Yet, thereafter, unfolds a beautiful story of unparalleled fidelity in the person of Ruth, who is a Moabite woman. She chooses to remain with her mother-in-law, Naomi, to the death, even against every prospect of marriage or prosperity, diligently laboring to provide for their subsistence.

The story really blossoms with the introduction and development of Boaz, who is a merchant, both noble and well-versed in the Scriptures. He obeys the Law in leaving the remains of the harvest for the poor to glean. He is humble and honors the Lord by redirecting praise to God (Ruth 2:11-12). When Ruth seeks Boaz to be her kinsman-redeemer, he is noble both in accepting the responsibility and also in honoring her by giving her credit for choosing him rather than trying to take any credit for his helping her (Ruth 3:10-11). Finally, he is well-versed in the Scriptures, as well as his family genealogy, knowing what the Law requires such that he might be Ruth's kinsman-redeemer.

Both Ruth and Boaz serve as foils for Israel in the time of the Judges.

Israel was repeatedly unfaithful while Ruth was faithful. Israel turned from the true God to false gods, while Ruth rejected her native gods to serve the true God. Israel did not obey God's Law, but Boaz was careful to obey every detail of the Law. Israel was only concerned for itself ("everyone did what was right in their own eyes") but Boaz honored the LORD.

Now, the climax of the story is not really the marriage of Ruth and Boaz or even the change in Naomi's fate. The climax comes subtley at the end of the story in just a few verses of genealogy. I'll include a bit of context so you can see the connection:

So Boaz took Ruth into his home, and she became his wife. When he slept with her, the Lord enabled her to become pregnant, and she gave birth to a son... And they named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse and the grandfather of David... Boaz was the father of Obed. Obed was the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David (Ruth 4:13, 17, 21-22).

The union of Boaz and Ruth would lead to Israel's greatest king, king David. While this is monumental for an Israelite. We have an even more amazing realization. This union would also lead to the birth of the King of kings and the Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-38).

So what are we to learn from this. It is both right and good to trust in the Lord, for He will bring everything to a good end for those who trust in Him. As Paul also wrote,

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.(Romans 8:28 NASB).

Now, if we believe this, as demonstrated in the story of Ruth, then what sort of persons ought we to be? Faithful? Honoring the LORD? Knowing the Scriptures? Being careful to obey?

Ruth's faith amazes me!  Majority of God's chosen people drifted away from their God and yet this Moabite woman named Ruth professed her faith in God of Israel.  How could that be possible?  How did she become a believer like that?  She's not part of chosen people.  It seems that she may have been exposed to God of Israel from her late husband or in-laws.  When she was urged by her mother-in-law to go back to her people and gods, she makes one of the most famous statements in the Bible: Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. ¹⁷ Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”  It doesn't make any sense that she wants to go with her mother-in-law who has nothing to give her.  She is now old and broke. To make the matter worse, Naomi is someone Ruth now has to take care of.  What exactly motivated her to do such a noble act despite the obvious predicaments ahead of her that will come with her decision?  Her decision was not made based on what the future could draw to her but  on pure faith and love toward her Naomi and God of Israel.  I think about my attitude today.  God's love and election is unconditional because He "demonstrated His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners , Christ died for us" whereas we always demand conditions for our obedience to Him: materialistic blessings.  Let us love our Lord our God with all our hearts, with our minds, and with all our souls today just for who He is!