Women of Advent – Ruth

This year during Advent, New Hope Chapel will be focusing on the women of Jesus’ genealogy and their connection to the life and ministry of the Messiah. These are from our readings during the worship service.

Imagine you lived with your in-laws. Over the years, your father-in-law passed away. Then shortly after, your brother-in-law passed away. Then your own husband passed away. What would you do? Would you stay with your mother-in-law, or would you go back to the place where you grew up?

That’s how we are introduced to Ruth – the third woman listed in Jesus’ genealogy. She was a Moabite – a Gentile (like all of the Old Testament women listed in Jesus’ genealogy). Over time, she watched her in-laws die, and instead of staying in Moab, she accompanied her mother-in-law Naomi back to her hometown in Judah.

Even though Naomi urged her to go on and live a life of her own, Ruth responded with these famous words, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”

Ruth’s humility did not pay dividends at first. Just to eat, she would glean leftover wheat from the edges of farming fields. However, eventually one of the noblemen – Boaz (the son of Rahab the once harlot of Jericho) – noticed her. Ruth’s reputation of loyalty had preceded her, and Boza gladly gave her plenty to eat.

But Ruth wasn’t just interested in Boaz’s leftover grain, she was interested in his heart. Because Boaz needed a little help making his move, one evening Ruth snuck into his room and laid at his feet. While her actions were certainly culturally inappropriate, her seduction was nothing sexual, nothing like we might see in a Hollywood movie. John Eldridge notes that Ruth’s seduction was just what Boaz needed to motivate him. “She uses all she has as a woman to arouse him to be a man.” Instead of nagging him, instead of whining, instead of hypothetically emasculating him, she helps him muster the strength and courage to do what needs to be done in order to marry her.

Out of all the Old Testament women in Jesus’ genealogy, Ruth seems most appropriate. There are so many good and godly character qualities that we find in this Gentile woman. But perhaps her greatest quality is her servant leadership. John Maxwell says, “A successful person finds the right place for himself. But a successful leader finds the right place for others.” Ruth helped Naomi and Boaz find their place and fulfill their missions in life.

In a similar way, Jesus is a servant leader in our lives. He desires our heart, but He is also a perfect gentleman. He doesn’t nag or degrade our manliness or femininity. If anything, Jesus helps us better discover it by finding our right place in this world and our right place in His Kingdom. Jesus has a way of inviting us on an adventure into a life worth living. It is a holy seduction. David knew it. He said, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” So often He intervenes in our world. We see Him on the edges of our field of view. He is there, not just gleaning wheat for His sake. He is inviting us on the greatest adventure of our life.

Jesus is the servant leader. We see this in the invitation that He gave to His disciples. “Come, follow me.” He beckoned them to leave what consumed them to live a life worth consuming. Likewise, He does the same for us. He welcomes us on your adventure and then molds us into the men and women beyond our wildest imaginations or our sincerest abilities. Today and every day, may the Lord help us to notice Him, help us to seek Him, and help us to walk with Him in faith.