How does Ruth 4:21 demonstrate God's sovereignty in family lineage and history? Verse under the microscope “Salmon was the father of Boaz, Boaz was the father of Obed.” (Ruth 4:21) Layers of sovereignty packed into one sentence • God chose Salmon—an Israelite who married Rahab of Jericho (Matthew 1:5)—showing He can graft unexpected people into His covenant line. • God preserved Boaz, a man marked by covenant faithfulness (hesed), then linked him to Ruth, a Moabite widow, overturning ethnic and social barriers. • God appointed Obed, whose very name (“servant/worshiper”) signals the family’s purpose: serving the Lord and pointing to a greater Redeemer. How the verse proves God’s rule over lineage • Pre-planned connections – Psalm 33:11: “The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the purposes of His heart to all generations.” – Every birth in Ruth 4:18-22 nudges history toward David, then toward Christ (Matthew 1:5-6, 16). • Providence through ordinary events – A famine (Ruth 1:1), gleaning in a field (Ruth 2:3), and a midnight proposal (Ruth 3) all serve the larger redemptive plan. • Redemption woven into family life – The kinsman-redeemer custom (Leviticus 25:25; Deuteronomy 25:5-10) safeguards inheritance; God uses it to preserve the messianic line. • Grace extended beyond Israel – Ruth, once outside the covenant, becomes great-grandmother to Israel’s greatest king, previewing the global scope of the gospel (Genesis 12:3; Ephesians 1:11). Foreshadowing the Messiah • Davidic promise: Obed → Jesse → David; God already had 2 Samuel 7:12-13 in view. • Messianic shoot: Isaiah 11:1 rests on this very genealogy. • New-covenant fulfillment: Matthew 1 traces Jesus back to Salmon, Boaz, and Obed, proving God never lost track of a single generation. Take-home truths • God’s plans are never derailed by famine, loss, ethnicity, or social status. • Your family story—however complex—fits inside His unstoppable purpose (Romans 8:28). • Because Scripture’s genealogies are accurate and literal, they anchor faith in real history, not myth. • The same God who directed Salmon, Boaz, and Obed is guiding today’s families toward His redemptive ends. |
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