Part 2
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Now look with me at a biblically sanctioned and God
blessed marriage between a Moabitess and an Israelite.
The Book of Ruth:
The book of Ruth, which is only 4 chapters long and
which I would highly encourage you to read entirely in one sitting this very
night, is a fantastic love story, and tells about how God sovereignly governs and
graciously redeems his people. Chapter 1
introduces us to the story, and tells us about Ruth. Ruth is a Moabitess who
marries one of Naomi’s two Jewish sons while Naomi’s family is staying in Moab
because of a famine in Bethlehem. Now, at this point, Ruth is still a pagan,
and her Jewish husband dies. We can be certain that Ruth’s husband Mahlon was
in sin for marrying a Pagan Moabite even though the text doesn’t say this
explicitly, we know it to be true from all we’ve said in Part 1. Naomi’s
husband died before her two sons were married, and now not only has Mahlon
died, but also Chilion her other son (Who also married a Moabitess). Naomi now
being a widow with no sons is distraught and alone and must go back to
Bethlehem to be with her family. Naomi tells her two widowed daughter-in-laws
to return to their people and their gods. Orpah kisses Naomi and leaves to
return to her pagan people. Ruth however stays and says,
“But Ruth said, “Do not
urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will
go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and
your God my God. 17Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried.
May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me
from you.” (Ruth 1:16-17)
Ruth rejects her pagan people and confesses to
follow the LORD, the true God of the Israelites. Later in chapter 2 Ruth meets Boaz, and the romance
begins and continues through to chapter 3.
In chapter 4 Boaz redeems Ruth and
takes her for his wife. After saying in 4:9-10
that he will take Ruth to himself, the people respond in verse 11,
“11 We are witnesses.
May the LORD make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and
Leah, who together built up the house of Israel.”
In verses 13-15
Boaz and Ruth are married, and God blesses their marriage by giving them a son.
“13 So Boaz took
Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the LORD have 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 redeemer, and may
his name be renowned in Israel! 15 He shall be to you a nourisher of
your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more than seven
sons, has given birth to him”
This woman is by blood a foreigner, by blood a
Moabite, one of the tribes of people specifically
mentioned in the passages examined earlier that the Israelites were not to marry. Yet here she is and her
marriage to Boaz is sanctioned by God and the Israelites, and God even blesses them with a son. This marriage
is lovely before God because Ruth is no longer “one of the people of the land.”
Her blood has not changed, her skin color has not changed, but her heart has
changed. And that is what matters. That has been the point all along.
We learn in the end of chapter
4 that their son’s name is Obed, and Obed has a son named Jesse, and
Jesse’s son is King David, the man after God’s own heart. If you read through
the genealogy in Matthew chapter 1, you will see that Matthew lists all
generations from Abraham to Christ Jesus. In this genealogy Matthew tells us
that Boaz’s mother was Rahab the prostitute. Rahab was also a Canaanite, but we
read in Joshua chapter 2 that she
like Ruth her future daughter-in-law rejected her people and served The LORD.
So we’ve seen Rahab the former Canaanite prostitute become a part of the people
of God and lawfully marry in, and we’ve seen Ruth a former Moabite become a
part of the people of God and lawfully marry in. As we read further on in the
genealogy of Matthew 1, we see that
Rahab and Ruth are directly related to the family of Christ. A genealogy is
also given in Luke chapter 3 and it
is commonly held that this genealogy is of Mary while the genealogy in Matthew
is of Joseph. The point is to demonstrate that through both his physical mother
as well as his adopted father Jesus has a right to the throne of David because
he descends from it.
These examples of
individuals from other races who renounced their Pagan practices and
relationships, turned to serve God and were accepted by God and within the
Israelite community and were furthermore biblically married to Israelites,
further proves that the prohibition against marrying the people of the land was
instituted by God because of the sinfulness of the people of the land. Not because of their skin color or
blood. Once the sinful ways were renounced, they were welcomed in and allowed
to marry and God blessed the marriages with children.
....Next Week, we'll look at the Unequally Yoked passage, as well as what Galatians 3 says about the children of God.
