Ruth the great grandmother of King David

Here is a very short summary of a beautiful true story. Abraham was called by God and a nation was found. On the other we see finding a family within that nation through Ruth.

There was a family from Bethlehem, Elimelech and Naomi, they had two sons, there was a famine in the land and they went to Moab. Who are the Moabites? They are descendent of Lot, Abraham’s nephew. (Gen 19:37) They are distantly related to the Jews. But they were idolaters. Naomi’s two boys married two Moabite girls, named Ruth and Orpah. After 10 years, the father and both boys died.

Then Naomi, wanted to return back to Bethlehem, Orpah stayed but Ruth clung to Naomi and wanted to go with Naomi to Bethlehem. Although Naomi urged Ruth to stay in her country, Ruth refused and said the following.

Ruth 1:16-18 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. ¹⁷ Where 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.” ¹⁸ And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.

So Naomi and Ruth traveled to Bethlehem. Remember the prostitute from Jericho by the name of Rahab, where God saved her from destruction? Rahab had a son by the name of Boaz. Ruth fell in love with Boaz in Boaz field. Ruth’s romance with Boaz and getting married lead to the formation of of the Family where Jesus came. Yes, Christ had Gentile blood, he had Moabite blood, blood of Rahab, as Christ is not only the Messiah of the Jews but of the elect of the world. Christ was born in Bethlehem and according to tradition, 1100 years later, Christ was born in the same place where Boaz and Ruth started a family. Boaz field was next to the shepherd’s field, where the angels announced the birth of the Savior.