Faithful Foreigner - Ruth

THE BOOK OF RUTH; Matthew 1:5

Ruth, who is listed in the genealogy of Jesus, is important enough to get her own book in the Bible. In case you don’t know her story, here’s a quick recap.

An Israelite family—mom, dad, two sons—migrated to the neighboring country of Moab in a time of famine. The two sons grew up and took Moabite brides. One of these was Ruth. In a short time, all three men in the story died, leaving the mom (Naomi) with her two daughters-in-law. Naomi decided to head back to an uncertain future in her hometown of Bethlehem. Only Ruth chose to join her, saying, “Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God” (Ruth 1:16).

Back in Bethlehem, Ruth got work gleaning grain in the fields of a man named Boaz. And she got advice from her mother-in-law on how to attract this well-off landowner. It worked. They wed. They had a son who turned out to be the grandfather of King David.

Like Rahab, Ruth was a foreign woman who got grafted by faith (and by marriage) into Jesus’ family tree. Her faith is seen in her commitment to Naomi. She claimed Naomi’s God as her own, and this meant a whole new life for her, within the community of Israel.

By including faithful foreigners in the genealogy of Jesus, Matthew was making a powerful statement. The gospel of Jesus was exploding outward into the Gentile world, but Jewish believers didn’t need to fear that development. It was really nothing new. Outsiders like Ruth and Rahab had always been included in God’s plans because of the faith they displayed.

Too often we try to limit the church to “insiders.” We are suspicious of those who didn’t grow up in the church, who don’t follow all the Christian customs. We make people feel unwelcome if they don’t know all the Christian lingo, if they don’t seem to be just like us.

But as Ruth demonstrates, people of all backgrounds can learn to put their trust in the Lord, and they can become important parts of God’s work in the world.

Ruth fell at his feet and thanked him warmly. “What have I done to deserve such kindness?” she asked. “I am only a foreigner.”

Ruth 2:10