RPG Adults
LINEAGE OF DAVID THE KING (4)
LORD’S DAY, SEPTEMBER 22
Ruth 4:11-22
Matthew 1:1-6
“Boaz begat Obed of Ruth.”
LINEAGE OF DAVID THE KING (4)
The blessing that was given at the city gate that morning when Boaz called the nearer kinsman (witnessed by the elders of the city) was “let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah” (Ruth 4:12). The lineage of David was traced not from Abraham as in Matthew 1, nor from Israel (Jacob) as in 1 Chronicles 2, but from Pharez. The different genealogies are aimed at specific interests and purpose as the readers are addressed. Therefore, the presentation of the lineage of Pharez in Ruth 4 is a note of triumph as the book closes. The blessings pronounced were blessings bestowed.
“Now these are the generations of Pharez…” (Ruth 4:18). The name of Tamar (mother of Pharez), as well as the name of Ruth (mother of Obed) both appear in the genealogy of Jesus Christ in Matthew chapter 1. Also included in Matthew’s genealogy is the name of Rahab who was mother to Boaz and wife to Salmon. Thus, the three Gentile women mentioned in the lineage of Christ in Matthew are implied in the triumph presented in this closing lineage: Tamar during the period of the patriarchs before they went down to Egypt, Rahab at the period of the conquest during the entering in to Jericho, and Ruth during the period of the judges, a time when there was spiritual darkness and everyone did what was right in his own eyes. In three different periods, God’s grace extended to Gentiles in their being included in the unfolding plan of redemption. Providence would work out a refuge for David’s parents and family (during the period of wilderness dwelling) in Moab, probably as it was where their grandmother Ruth had come from.
Two different people in almost every measurable term, an Israelite and a Moabite, a wealthy land owner and a poor widow, were brought together by the hand of providence. The only thing they seemed to have in common were spiritual virtues, and God used them and through them, raised a great king, and through the king, the Messiah came. As Morgan Campbell says, “trusting souls are the instruments of God.”
THOUGHT: “Trusting Jesus, that is all.”
PRAYER: Oh, Father, for grace to trust Christ more.