Series: Ruthless
Message: Redefining the Status Quo
Preacher: Jessyka Albert
Refresh: Open with prayer. Read or listen to Psalm 37:35-40.
Read: Ruth 4 - As you read in the ESV translation, what did you discover new about God’s character?
Reflect: “So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.” (Ruth 4:13). In this verse, we are able to see God in action. It can be speculated that Ruth was barren because she could not conceive with Mahlon, but here we see that the Lord enabled her to conceive. If she had had a child with Mahlon, this story would look much different. This verse cleans the dirty window and allows us to God at work in this story.
Ruth’s son, Obed, not only becomes the grandfather of David, but becomes new life to Naomi. Her bitterness melts away and her heart becomes sweet once more. Not only is Obed recognized as a gift from God as a son to the line of Naomi, but Ruth is praised to be better than seven sons.
This story could have taken many different turns or ended rather quickly had Ruth not been so strong in character. If every status quo had been observed, or the comfortable path home was taken with Orpah, the line leading to David would have ceased.
Obed was more than a blessing to Naomi, he was a blessing to Israel, and eventually a blessing to the entire world, for the line of Jesus was carried out through him. A son, born to a Moabite widow, a status quo breaking, foreigner, was given the greatest blessing of being the ancestor or Christ.
Recalibrate:
Respond: Pray for joy.
Research: Make a “family tree” from the genealogy found at the end of Ruth and beginning of Matthew 1.