Ruth 4:18-22 – Redemption for the Nation
Perez would have gone down with Jacob into Egypt when Joseph was there. Perez, Hezron, and Ram would have died in Egypt. It was only at the time of Amminadab that they came up out of Egypt. It was Nahshon who led the army of Judah, but it was not Nahshon who entered into the Promised Land. He perished in the wilderness. It was Salmon who got to enter into the Promised Land. It was Salmon who noticed another foreign woman, Rahab. Rahab, who had hidden the spies, married Salmon, and through that union came Boaz, the star of our story.
Judges is all about the fact that there was no king in Israel, and everyone did what was right in his own eyes. But Ruth puts before us the way that the king will come. The Israelites were hoping for a king, and they had every reason to hope for a king. We read in First Samuel of how the people came to Samuel and said, give us a king like the nations around us. Sometimes we think it was wrong for Israel to have a king. It was not wrong. They should have been hoping for a king. They should have been praying for a king. They should have been expecting one because God had promised a king. But the question was – what type of king did they want? They wanted one to be like the nations. They rather should have wanted a king so that God’s covenant purposes would have been fulfilled. God promised Abraham in Genesis 17, I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. So the Israelites had every reason to look forward to a king. They had every reason to pray that God’s covenant purposes would be established, that they would have a king to rule over them, and defend them, and lead them in paths of righteousness. Here we see in the Book of Ruth that it’s through redemption, through the actions of Boaz, that this king comes – David. The whole purpose of this book is not simply about individual redemption. It’s a story of redemption for the whole land, for Israel.
Questions
- Who was the mother of Boaz?
- What kind of king should the Israelites have wanted?
Prayer Points
- Pray that God would work revival and reformation in our nation.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.