Ruth 1:15-2:13
Ruth is another unlikely hero in the line of Jesus. Just as we read yesterday of her mother in law Rahab’s example, Ruth’s story is characterized by an unlikely redemption.
Ruth leaves her country, her people and family to return to Israel with Naomi. She leaves everything she knows to go with her mother in law, whom she hardly knows. The story continues as Ruth provides for herself and Naomi by gleaning in the field of Boaz, who happens to be her kinsman and redeemer. Through this redeemer, who she marries, her desperate condition radically changes. Ruth and Naomi were in a condition of physical and spiritual emptiness, but God made them full (1:21; 3:17). Naomi and Ruth experienced a very bitter providence, but God made what was bitter pleasant (1:20). Ruth’s last kindness to Naomi God makes better than the first (3:10). God reverses everything that was desperate about their previous condition.
Jesus redeems us from our desperate conditions in a much greater way. He provides redemption that no mere man could provide, making us part of his family. Ruth, like Rahab, anticipates for us Jesus, who incorporates Gentile “sinners” into his family and kingdom through his grace and mercy.
I Commend Joy! 