Ruth.
When I asked my community of email subscribers to name a favorite woman of the Bible, her name came up several times.
She’s one of my favorites too. Ruth’s future didn’t look too promising, but that didn’t stop her from being an important part of our history as sisters in Christ. You see, Ruth lost her husband early in their marriage, and then she separated from her sister. I’m sure they’d come to depend on each other for love and support. I mean, who else could identify with her situation and understand like a sister who’d experienced similar circumstances?
Through her heartbreak, Ruth showed great loyalty and commitment to her mother-in-law Naomi. Her words have become a well-known testament to faith in God. Talking to Naomi, Ruth said this:
“Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” Ruth 1:16
A hard worker by nature, Ruth didn’t give up when the future looked bleak. She took it one day at a time, doing more than anyone would’ve expected. We may not know all the reasons Ruth made the choice to stay with Naomi, but we do know she displayed the type of character that honors God. And He chose to use this humble woman of faith to fulfill His divine plan.
But she couldn’t do it without a redeemer.
What does redeemer mean?
Ruth presented a godly man named Boaz with the idea of being her kinsman-redeemer, meaning he could marry her and provide for Ruth and her family. Boaz rightfully presented her situation to another closer relative, the nearest kin to Naomi. That relative could have chosen to buy Naomi’s land and take Ruth as his wife, vowing life-long responsibility to the two women.
However, God’s planned redeemer was already in place. The man declined, and Boaz stepped in, binding the promise that would seal the covenant and continue the family lineage with the birth of their son, Obed. Obed became the future grandfather to King David.
We can learn many lessons from Ruth's life, including this:
God’s plan for her life could be fulfilled because she was redeemed.
God’s Plan for Ruth
God used Ruth to continue the lineage from which His Son Jesus Christ would come to earth for the salvation of all believers. Ruth was an integral part of God’s great plan, even though at times she surely felt alone, afraid, and maybe even unworthy.
And God will use us too. Because just like Ruth, we have a redeemer who took every part of our broken past and is using it all to create something beautiful.
