Ruth 4:14
Ruth 4:14 Then the women said to My Pleasant One (Naomi),
“Blessed is YHWH who has not left you without a family redeemer today.
Indeed, may his name be proclaimed in Israel.
Introduction
Our text this morning continues our study of the book of Ruth.
Notice then the story thus far: Boaz has redeemed, Ruth has conceived and a child has just been born.
However, notice the surprise: after last week and verse 13’s announcement of birth, we will not see Boaz or Ruth again. Their part in the account is fulfilled. Instead, for the remainder of the book our focus will be on Naomi.
Why? There is something incredible about the very heart of God’s love and salvation that we all need to see.
And it begins in our text this morning, as we watch Naomi being presented with her new born grandson for the very first time.
Verse 14
Notice at once verse 14 opens by telling us that the women spoke to Naomi. Importance: notice who these women are: first, these are not just random women who are hanging around. Instead, the definite article (then the women spoke) indicates that these are specific women who we should recognize because we have seen them over and again throughout the account. In other words, these are the very town women who greeted Naomi when she returned with Ruth from Moab (1:19). Not only that, it is these women who heard and then relayed Naomi and Ruth’s story throughout the village so that Boaz, his field manager, and everyone else in town knew it (cf 1:20-21 and 2:5-6). Importance: verse 14 opens by showing us that these very same women have accepted Ruth and have come with joy to assist with the birth of her son. In other words, they have embraced and are an active part of what God has done and is doing in their midst. Notice the point: verse 14 quietly reminds me that in the women’s attitude and actions, God’s people (both then and now) are to find our own attitude and actions regarding the work of God. That is, we are to embrace with joy and take an active part in the things around us that please God, are according to His Word, and that glorify His Name. Next, notice the occasion of verse 14 and this conversation: if verse 13 just told us that Ruth gave birth to a son, then verse 14 picks up the account as the women come out of the birthing room carrying the child that has just been born. Not only that, they come out with the child in order to specifically present him to Naomi. That is their singular/principal objective (notice then they speak directly/ exclusively to Naomi). Importance: in all likelihood Boaz would have been there anxiously awaiting the birth of his son. Not only that, normally, Boaz as the father, would have been the focus of this presentation. However, according to the Levirate Law of redemption, Elimelech would have been counted as the legal father and thus the first one presented with the child. However, Elimelech is dead. Therefore, as we have seen over and again throughout a book that is all about legal transactions, Naomi is the matriarch and acting head/authority of the family. As such, the child is presented to her.
Next, notice what the women say to Naomi: they begin by saying “blessed is YHWH”. Importance: in a book that is all about names, as the women come out with the child, they come out praising God who has brought this child about. Notice the result: in their arms and on their voices is the theology of the entire book. In other words, the child they hold is a concrete/tangible demonstration of God’s deliverance, His care, and His provision for the future that He has promised to His people. Simply put, in this child all the great themes of the book converge. As such, the women’s joy not only reflects Naomi’s joy, it is also to guide the reader’s response to all that God has done in this account. That is, we are to share the joy and wonder of these events. At the same time, the author fully intends the women’s blessing to prepare us to see something amazing about the heart and purpose of the God, who has brought these events about.
Next, notice specifically why the women praise God: they say that God is to be praise because He has not left Naomi without a family redeemer. However, notice the surprise: the women are not talking about Boaz. Instead, they are talking about the child. Notice then the scene: as the women walk our carrying the just born baby, they say today God has not left you without a redeemer. Why? It is this child who will carry forward and preserve/redeem the line and house of Elimelech. Importance: notice what the women’s blessing shows us about the heart of God: first, as the women hand the child to a gleaming Naomi, they place in her arms the divine confirmation that her faith and her plan were indeed pleasing to YHWH. In other words, God never forsook Naomi. And even when she could not see it, His hand was working in her life and situation. Not only that, it is this picture that you are to carry with you into your everyday life. Next, the second thing the blessing shows us about the heart of God, centers on the author’s change of focus to Naomi: notice then, even though Ruth and Boaz’s part in the account is fulfilled (we won’t see them again); and even though everything is set and in place for the royal line and glorious king (in other words, even though everything that needed to be accomplished in the account has been accomplished); the book doesn’t end. Instead, the author turns our attention to Naomi. Why? God has not forgotten her. In other words, Naomi is not overshadowed or pushed aside for the bigger, more grandiose works of God’s kingdom. Instead, God does not allow us to leave the book until we have seen His love and care for Naomi. Importance: in the same way, God never loses sight of you. He never regards you as less important or what you face as trivial. Instead, like Naomi, you and each of His children (however great or small) are precious in His sight FN#1.
Next, notice what the blessing tells about God’s purpose for all He has done in this book: the women go on to say “may his name be proclaimed in Israel”. In other words, as the women approach the gleaming Naomi with the child, they bless the child in the hearing of all. Importance: in a book that is all about the future, the women’s blessing points our eyes ahead to that future. As such, they ask God to bless this child throughout his life (future) and make his name famous/great. However, please note the extent of this blessing: the women don’t simply ask God to build up Elimelech’s line through this child, making it well known and respected in Bethlehem. They don’t even merely ask that Elimelech’s line would be well known and respected in Judah. Instead, they ask God to make his name great in all Israel. Notice then the prophecy: Notice then the divine foreshadowing that this blessing represents: as the author builds his case for the Davidic kingship, the women’s blessing anticipates the way that God will establish the line/house of this child in order to unite His whole people (both Judah and Israel; both north and south) under the king brought about by these very events FN#2. In other words, what God has done through these events, he has done for His whole people FN#3.
Bottom line: as Naomi’s eyes well up with tears and as her emotions fight between the joy of God’s great love for her and the joy of a heathy child, there is not a dry eye in the room. Instead, all stand in awe at God’s goodness to His people and what God has done in their midst. However, the women aren’t finished with their blessing and neither is the author finished showing us God’s amazing faithfulness to ordinary folks like you, me, and Naomi.
Footnotes
1] there is something we see here in verse 14 that is incredible about the heart of God. After the book of Ruth, Naomi’s name will never again appear in Scripture. Not only that, in comparison to family lines, great kings and a Messiah, her role in God’s grand scheme, is by all accounts a minor one. And yet God does not forget her and neither does He allow you to forget her. You see God never treats his instruments as merely disposable means that can be forgotten once the glorious conclusion is reached. Instead, God know each of His children by name however great or small. In turn, their walk with Him is precious in His sight. Naomi was pleasant to God and in her account we see the heart/attitude of God to each one of us.
2] Remember, David ruled as king over Judah for 7 ½ years before he was accepted by the rest of Israel as their king.
2 Samuel 2:10 Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he was king for two
years. The house of Judah, however, followed David. 11 And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of
Judah was seven years and six months.
2 Samuel 5:3 So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them before the
LORD at Hebron; then they anointed David king over Israel.
Thus, the blessing quietly indicates that what God is doing through these events is not just a local blessing (for Elimelech’s line or the folks of Bethlehem or just for Judah, the southern portion of the kingdom). Instead, it is a blessing that God intends for the whole of His people- as one people, under the One True Living God, and lead by His one king.
3] Even though Naomi and the rest have no idea what God intends or the extent and majesty of what He will do through these events, those in later times will remember that it was said, “his name will be proclaimed/great in Israel”. In other words, through the women’s public blessing, God announces His plan to His people long before, so that when the day arrives, they will recognize it and know this is what God had promised all along.