June 30 She Became His Wife

Ruth 4:13-22   

So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he went in to her. And the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. Then the women said to Naomi, "Blessed is the Lord who has not left you without a redeemer today, and may his name become famous in Israel. May he also be to you a restorer of life and a sustainer of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him." Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her lap, and became his nurse. The neighbor women gave him a name, saying, "A son has been born to Naomi!" So they named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. Now these are the generations of Perez: to Perez was born Hezron, and to Hezron was born Ram, and to Ram, Amminadab, and to Amminadab was born Nahshon, and to Nahshon, Salmon, and to Salmon was born Boaz, and to Boaz, Obed, and to Obed was born Jesse, and to Jesse, David.

How far back can you trace your ancestors? I can only go back to my great grandparents, although that is a project that I hope to start one day soon—tracing my genealogy. With all the resources on the Internet these days it should be easier and faster than when people had to travel across country or half-way around the world to seek birth, death and marriage records. But there is something to be said for going to a cemetery and doing a rubbing of an old headstone, knowing that it marks one of your ancestor’s grave. That would be a real physical connection to the past. The genealogy provided here for Ruth and Boaz son, Obed, begins with Perez, son of Judah and Tamar, and ends with David. Judah was one of the twelve sons of Jacob, grandson of Abraham. The lineage from Adam to Jesus as listed in Luke 3 and partially in Matthew 1, includes Obed.

Spiritually we don’t keep track of our “ancestors” of those who led us to the Lord, or mentored or discipled us. It never actually occurred to me to even consider that before. The important thing is that I belong to the family of God—no blood line is necessary for that. Jesus’ blood was shed for my sin and brought me into His family. I don’t need a genealogy list for any spiritual heritage.

That was a sweet blessing that Naomi’s friends gave her. May her new grandson be a
restorer of life and a sustainer of your old age. Grandchildren have a way of giving us new life and energy—we have to have be infused with energy to keep up with them. The joy that they bring is certainly beyond measure. Spiritually they can restore us to life as we teach them about God and give them a spiritual tradition, a code by which to live. That reminds me of the old song “Teach Your Children Well” by Crosby Stills Nash and Young:

You who are on the road
Must have a code that you can live by
And so become yourself
Because the past is just a good bye.

Teach your children well,
Their father's hell did slowly go by,
And feed them on your dreams
The one they picked, the one you'll know by.

Teach your children and grandchildren well. Naomi taught Ruth to live well and she was a better daughter than seven sons. Naomi was just as the older woman described in Titus 2:3-5, Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. If you are older, or consider yourself a “mature” Christian are you teaching younger women as Paul instructed in Titus and as Naomi did? What an extraordinary wedding gift that could be!

Lord Jesus, help us to be like Ruth, obedient and willing to be a servant to others, and like Naomi, honoring You.

© 2012 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.