[One-Verse Meditation]

Ruth 4:17 (NIV) “The women living there said, ‘Naomi has a son!’ And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.”

[Meditation]

Naomi’s nearest kinsman-redeemer (Goel) first considered his own interests. When he realized that fulfilling his responsibility would mean a loss for his own estate, he went back on his word and evaded his duty. The Bible does not even record the name of this man who only calculated the clauses of the law, in whom the mercy of God could not be found, leaving him as just a “so-and-so” in history.

But Boaz was different. He accepted all the potential loss and declared before all the witnesses of Bethlehem that he would fulfill the responsibility of the kinsman-redeemer. And he took Ruth as his wife, had a son, Obed, and placed him in Naomi’s once-empty arms. (Boaz is a type of Jesus.) At last, Naomi’s life was completely reversed. But this story does not end with one woman’s life being turned around.

The book of Ruth, which began with the bleak diagnosis, “In the days when the judges ruled”—that is, “when there was no king in Israel”—finally concludes with the majestic declaration: “Obed was the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David.” And that David is a type of the King of kings who was to come, Jesus Christ. In the end, the book of Ruth is a story of salvation in which the King Himself comes to a people who had no king and becomes their King.

And that very kingship of Christ Jesus is our reality today. The Lord comes to us daily through the Word and becomes our King. When we fall, He lifts us up; when we collapse, He sets us back on our feet. This is the “zeal of God” that never takes its eyes off us for a moment.

Those who know the value of this unfailing zeal and grace of God sing to the Lord. Come to think of it, praise is the irreplaceable privilege of the saint.

[Prayer]

Lord, You became a ‘Goel’ (kinsman-redeemer) to save me, who was lifeless. You endured everything so that I might enjoy Your life abundantly. The life I enjoy today is the one obtained in this way. How beautiful, then, is this new day, this new morning. I sing to my Lord. Amen.
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[Daily Reading]

Ruth 4:5-22