One day, author Kathy Howard discovered a yellowed letter, written by her great-great-grandmother to her son Howell in 1914. One paragraph brought Kathy to tears: “Oh, how much I do pray for you every single morning and night. I pray mightily to the Lord that you Howell and your children may be convicted and converted and sanctified. Never a day do I miss. May God hear and answer my prayers.” This letter inspired Kathy to write her own devotional book, Heirloom: Living and Leaving a Legacy of Faith.
The conclusion to the book of Ruth conveys a similar sentiment. In its simple genealogical form, it zooms out to provide context for the personal narrative of Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz. It reveals who came before and who would follow. This genealogy begins with Perez. In 4:12, the legal assembly prayed that the Lord would bless Boaz with a family line as significant as Perez. Naming him at the beginning demonstrates how that prayer was answered, and the providence of God displayed. The genealogy names ten men in the family line, moving from Perez to Boaz and ending with David.
This genealogy, along with the more abbreviated one in verse 17, elevates this family’s story to a national level. The significance of the birth of Obed is magnified, and the hesed shown by Ruth and Boaz and Naomi is multiplied. Their love and loyalty to one another had ramifications not only for them but also for generations to come.
Similarly, God’s hesed love was providentially extended beyond their family, to the entire nation ruled by King David, and ultimately to the entire world with the birth of God’s own Son. Even in the dark days of the judges (1:1), a line was preserved that would produce the Savior and Redeemer of a lost humanity.
Go Deeper
Consider your own family, your parents, grandparents, great- grandparents. How have you seen God at work through the generations?
Pray with Us
Father God, thank You for revealing to us the genealogy of Jesus, which shows He didn’t come out of nowhere. As a true man, He had relatives and ancestors, like we do. Thank You that You are faithful to all generations.
He is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.Deuteronomy 7:9
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