Ruth 4 & 5
The story of Ruth has all the essential elements of a Hallmark Movie: love lost and found; tragedy and triumph; family and friends. By the end of the book, Ruth and Boaz are married and we believe they lived “happily ever after.” In this snapshot of everyday life in ancient Israel, we see God working out His plan to rescue the world and bring all nations back to Him. I have always liked the end of this story. It lists the family line of Boaz and concludes with these lines: “Salmon the father or Boaz, Boaz the father of Obed, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David.” A more complete family line listing is found in the first chapter of Matthew. It starts with Abraham goes through King David, and ends with “Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.”
God used the circumstances of Ruth’s life to bring about a part of His overall plan to bring Jesus, the Messiah into the world. At times, it must have been hard for Ruth to see what good could come out of her life, but we now see the rest of God’s bigger story.
We are confident that God is able to orchestrate everything to work toward something good and beautiful when we love Him and accept His invitation to live according to His plan. (Romans 8:28, The Voice)
No matter what circumstances you find yourself in today, the story of Ruth should give you confidence that God is up to something in your life.