Blessings of a Baby

O. T. #570  "Blessings of a Baby"
August 1, 2015
Ruth 4-Part 3
So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. then he went to her, and the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.  Ruth 4:13
And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.  Ruth 4:22

LET IT GLOW

Our family was blessed with a new baby boy last week. He is our daughter's sixth child. Since she has four older sons, who looked alike at birth, I may need to identify this child in his baby picture. I am grateful for internet since were are able to see the baby within an hour of his arrival. Baby and mother are doing fine, but dad seemed a bit worn out. (They had to be at the hospital at 6 am.) I am sure the Lord has a purpose for this child's life in His kingdom work. Yes, we are blessed with #7 grandchild. Hopefully, we will be able to hold him in a couple of months as we are planning a trip up north east to visit the family. The Lord blessed Naomi as Ruth shared the blessings of a baby boy.

As a review our story, Ruth the Moabite remarried after loosing her first husband and leaving her homeland with Naomi. She provided for her mother in law by humbling herself and gathering grain in Boaz's field, as it turned out. Her faithfulness, love, and kindness became evident to others. Through the span of a couple of weeks, harvest time, she becomes acquainted with Naomi's deceased  husband's relative, Boaz. He is interested in marrying Ruth, since Boaz consults a kin nearer than he. The man refuses to marry Ruth and buy the land of Naomi's. That provided the open door for Boaz to marry Ruth. And they did. Ruth soon delivers a son, which keeps her dead husband's line continuing.

With all that said, for you who have just joined us today, it must have been an exciting time in the home of Boaz. He not only gained a wife, but her mother in law, and now a baby boy. Let the celebrations begin. We know that this blessed baby was named Obed (meaning worshiper). Now who doesn't enjoy holding a newborn and cuddling it? I am sure Naomi did. Her bitterness was turned to blessing. Besides that, she lived with a wealthy Jew and did not have to worry about where and when her next meal was coming.

Do we trust the Lord to provide for our needs today?

LET IT GROW

The last 4 verses of this book informs us of the 10 generations of Pharez, which expands 9 centuries. According to Deut. 23:2, Ruth was allowed to be in the congregation of the Jews since she was of the 11th generation from Moab, who was conceived by the act of incest.

As the genealogy of Israel is recorded in Scripture, Obed grows up and becomes the father of Jesse, who has 8 sons, one of whom is David that becomes king of Israel later. He is listed as the 10th generation descendant of Pharez. (The Ammorites and Moabites were also excluded from the temple because of their treatment of Israel whenever Israel came out of Egypt, for they hired Baalam to curse God's people.) Now David was allowed into the congregation worshiping God.
It is through David's line that the Messiah, Jesus Christ, is born.

Now, would you say that this family is blessed beyond measure? This family tree stems back to Ruth ,who becomes a believer in the God of her mother in law, and Boaz, who become listed in the Bible and in the lineage of a king and a Messiah.

As I have said before, in this love story, Boaz becomes Ruth's kinsman-redeemer and is a representation of Jesus Christ, who is Ruth's and our  Kinsman-Redeemer. This Gentile Ruth represents the church.

Christ was free from the sin which had bound us. His shed blood was the price of our redemption; and He alone, by His sinless life, was able to pay the price. The result of His redemption was His marriage to the church. (Liberty Bible Commentary)

Are you a part of the church? Will you be included in the wedding feast  of the Lamb, which is described in Revelation 19 and 22? If so, then we can sit together and share the stories of our life.
Believing in Jesus as our personal Savior will be our ticket to the banquet. Friend, I pray that you will be there with me.

Praise the Lord for His redeeming us!

LET IT GO

Wait on the Lord to work His will in His time in my life.

Especially during the hard times, stay in God's Word.

Share the blessings God has given me with others.

Keep the faith.