| Church School Lesson: A Noble Family Tree |
"A Noble Family Tree"
December 1, 2024
Background: Ruth 1-4; Luke 3:23-38; Print: Ruth 4:9-17; Luke 3:23, 31-32
Key Verse: Ruth 4:17; Devotional: Galatians 4:1-7
Ruth 4:9-17 (ESV)
9 Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and to Mahlon.
10 Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day.”
11 Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, “We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem,
12 and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the LORD will give you by this young woman.”
13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son.
14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel!
15 He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”
16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse.
17 And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
Luke 3:23 (ESV)
23 Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli,
Luke 3:31-32 (ESV)
31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,
32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon,
Ruth Chapter 4/Luke Chapter 23 (Commentary)
Ruth 4:6-9 The man’s eagerness began to fade once he realized he’d have to take someone else’s bride along with the property. Gaining land was one thing; gaining a wife was another. By seeking to preserve his relative’s name, he would jeopardize his own inheritance. So, he refused his right of redemption (4:6).
At that time in Israel, you couldn’t sign some legal documents and have them notarized. So, a legally binding transaction of this nature was ratified by the custom of a man giving his sandal to another party with whom he was doing business (4:7). In front of ten witnesses, the man gave Boaz his sandal, symbolically granting Boaz the legal right to redeem the property and Ruth (4:8-9).
4:10 Whereas the man was concerned about ruining his own inheritance (4:6), Boaz’s motives were more selfless. He acquired Ruth and the property out of concern for others—to perpetuate the deceased man’s name on his property, so that his name [would] not disappear among his relatives or from the gate of his hometown. This sacrifice brings to mind this New Testament principle: “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it” (Matt 16:25). Often, blessings follow when we lay down our priorities for the sake of God’s kingdom; selfishness tends to turn off the blessing faucet.
4:11-12 The elders served as witnesses of the proceedings and pronounced blessings on Boaz and his wife-to-be. They prayed that God would bless Ruth as he had blessed Rachel and Leah, who gave birth to many of the fathers of the tribes of Israel (4:11). They also prayed that Boaz’s name and house would become famous in Israel because of the offspring the Lord [would] give [him] by this young woman (4:11-12; see also 4:14). Little did they know how famous Boaz would become or how great his offspring would be (see Matt 1:5-17)!
4:13-15 Boaz and Ruth married, and God gave them a son whom they named Obed (4:13, 17). The women of the town rejoiced with Naomi and blessed the Lord for how he had provided for this poor woman who had endured great bitterness such a short time ago (4:14-15). In fact, they told Naomi that Ruth was better to her than seven sons (4:15). Because seven was the biblical number of perfection or completion, seven sons would have been a supreme blessing. Yet, by God’s grace, Ruth had proved herself to be an even better gift. That’s high praise for this noble woman.
For her faithfulness, God had blessed Ruth with a child—even as he would bless Mary many years later with the Son of God (see Luke 1:26-33).
4:16-22 The final verses of the book reveal a genealogy, beginning with Judah’s son Perez and ending with David (4:18-22). It tells us that Ruth and Boaz’s son Obed would be grandfather to David, the great king of Israel. The ancient Israelites to whom the author was writing knew of this amazing heritage.
Luke 3:23-38 The genealogies of Luke and Matthew (Matt 1:1-16) demonstrate that Jesus was a legitimate heir to David’s throne. The differences between the two lists have to do with the fact that Matthew provides Jesus’s legal genealogy through Joseph, his adoptive father, and Luke provides Jesus’s biological genealogy. Since he was thought to be Joseph’s son (2:23), he is related to David on both sides of his family tree. He was qualified to be the Messiah, legally through Joseph and physically through Mary. Luke also traces Jesus’s genealogy back to Adam through Nathan (3:38) because Jesus is the promised “offspring” who would strike Satan’s head in fulfillment of God’s promise (Gen 3:15).