Genealogies

Ruth 4:13-22

Faith Hill sings a song called, “A Baby Changes Everything”. The words tell of the struggles Mary had when she became pregnant through the miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit. The last line of the song says, “My whole life has turned around, I was lost but now I'm found, A baby changes everything, yeah, A baby changes everything”. While this was certainly true for Mary because of the nature of her pregnancy, it is also true for any woman who becomes pregnant. Life after a baby is never the same as it was before. In some cases, just like the ripples on a pond, the single event of the child’s birth, has long lasting effects on the whole world.

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So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. 14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel! 15 And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him.” 16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom, and became a nurse to him. 17 Also the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “There is a son born to Naomi.” And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. 18 Now this is the genealogy of Perez: Perez begot Hezron; 19 Hezron begot Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab; 20 Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon; 21 Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed; 22 Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David.

Ruth 4:13-22

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Boaz and Ruth were married and in time Ruth became pregnant. The child she had was a boy. Just like today, the people were excited for the new parents. People came to see the baby and to congratulate the parents and the grandmother. This was particularly exciting for Naomi because the child would carry on the name of her deceased husband and sons. He would inherit what his father had redeemed, but he was considered a son of Elimelech.

The people also blessed the child. They asked God to bless the child and to make him famous in Israel. He would be a restorer of life and a nourisher. They also praised Ruth and said that she was better to Naomi than 7 sons. Following the blessing, the child was named Obed. Obed means “serving”.

I want to wrap this study up talking about this genealogy. Perez was the son of Judah and Tamar. Salmon was married to a woman from Jericho named Rahab; a gentile. Boaz married the gentile Ruth. Boaz and Ruth were the great grandparents of David, who would be God’s anointed king of Israel. It would be through David’s bloodline that Jesus was born. As a matter of fact, both Joseph and Mary trace their genealogies back to David. Joseph is a descendant of Solomon, and Mary is a descendant of David’s son, Nathan.

This might seem like a trivial fact, but it is very important. Jesus is a near kinsman, both to the Jews and the Gentiles. He is therefore legally capable of redeeming all of us. Boaz is a picture of what Jesus, his greatest descendant, would accomplish. This is why this book is even in the Bible. It points to the salvation work of Jesus.

Father, thank You for giving us example after example of Your salvation plan in the Old Testament. You did not want it to be a secret that we would not know to look for. While there was a cloud of uncertainty about the specifics, the work that Your Son would do was described in great detail, if we would just look.