Title: Self-emptying (Ruth 4:13-17)
Contents
self emptying
Ruth 4:13-17
So Boaz took Ruth, and she married her, and she slept with her, and the Lord gave her a child, and she bore a son. And the women said to Naomi, “Blessed is the Lord, for today the Lord has no one to take an inheritance with you. The name of the child is Israel. I want to become famous among you, the restorer of your life, the caretaker of your old age, the one born to a woman who loved you and was more precious than seven sons. And Naomi took the child and took her to her arms and became his nurturer, and the women of her neighbors gave him a name. They said that Naomi had given birth to a son, so he called his name Obed, and he was the father of Jesse, David's father.
That's what we said when we first started the book of Ruth. Although this Bible is called the Book of Ruth after her daughter-in-law Ruth, the actual protagonist is Naomi. And I said that Ruth and Naomi are treated almost equally, and in some ways, Naomi is treated more importantly.
In the past, Boaz received Ruth's courageous proposal and had an argument in front of the Witnesses and the first person to take the business, and became the business owner of the Elimelech family. In addition to becoming the custodian who takes care of all of the relatives, the business owner (Goel) has to enter the widow of the house and pass it on to the next generation. Of course, the son obtained in this way does not go up in his family register, but in the name of his relatives. I don't like it, but that was the Israeli custom. But Boaz is meticulous and meticulous in all of this.
So Ruth finally became the wife of Boaz. And today, in verse 13, Ruth conceives a child. As we know, Boaz was already quite old, although it is not stated how old he was at the time.
But today's verse says, "The Lord made her conceive." It is the grace of God, and God has done another work comparable to that of Isaac coming out of Abraham.
This book of Ruth details the deeds of Ruth, a beautiful and kind daughter-in-law. Today, the focus is again on Naomi. Perhaps Ruth will become David's ancestor anyway, and the woman who will go down in the history of the Bible is Naomi who played a behind-the-scenes role in all this.
Without Naomi's abandonment and sacrifice, this history could not have happened. So, by bringing in the people around Naomi to encourage Naomi, to praise Naomi and to give Naomi the glory....