Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ruth 1-4.

The Book of Ruth is packed full of things worth expounding upon.  Today I want to focus on what could easily be seen as an afterthought, but is really why the Book of Ruth was written.  Boaz is King David’s great grandfather, which means that Ruth is is great grandmother.  This would seem to be problematic, since Deuteronomy commanded that Moabites not be allowed to enter the Assembly of the Lord until the eleventh generation.  I have seen arguments that this does not apply because Ruth was the Moabite, and that only applies if the father is a Moabite.  However, that overlooks something stated in the passage.  The passage seems to suggest that legally, Obed was Naomi’s son, not Ruth’s.  So, while it was Ruth who gave birth to Obed and was his biological mother, from the perspective of Jewish law the passage seems to say that Naomi was his legal mother.

I was going to stop there, but as I reviewed the passage to make sure I had said everything about that subject that I wished to say, I came across a comment about the Book of Ruth which struck home for what is going on in my life now.  The Book of Ruth illustrates God’s providence.  When Ruth and Naomi returned to the land of Israel, they were in a precarious position.  Ruth went out to do what little she could to help them survive.  By pure chance she chose to glean in the fields of Boaz, she had no knowledge that he was related to her dead husband and thus legally obligated to provide for her (an obligation which no one would have forced him to fulfill, or even thought badly of him for neglecting).  And it is worth noting that she chose Boaz, not the other possible kinsman-redeemer who would not have fulfilled his obligations.  Except we know that it was no chance that led her there, it was the Hand of God.  Ruth was faithful and God provided.  When we face hard times, let us remain faithful and trust God to provide.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.