Results of Redemption

Some people seem to make an indelible mark on history. Their impact brings enough of a splash on the sea of time that the ripple effects are felt for generations. Arguable, Jesus is probably the single most significant person. Our calendars are dated by his life. Our eternal state is wrapped up into what we do with his life. He helped people see how we should live. But there are others as well. If just think about people in the church, some have made a big splash:

Augustine - the North African bishop - challenged people to think about the two kingdoms or cities in which we live and to take a sincere look at our own sinfulness.

Martin Luther - reawakened a love and appreciation of Scripture and sparked the start of the protestant reformation

John Calvin - sought to systematically instruct people in doctrine

the Wesley brothers - started the methodist movement and contributed hundreds of hymns that are still sung today.

C.S. Lewis - used the written and spoken word to help people think carefully about things of God - especially those who are agnostic.

Lottie Moon’s love and support for missionaries prompts millions of baptists to think about missions.

Elizabeth Elliot - through the sufferings that she encountered has ministered deeply to women around the world.

Fanny Crosby - though blind, penned thousands of poems that have turned into hymns - many of which are still sung in the church.

Outside of the church, we could probably think through hundreds of people that are historically notable in profound ways. But what about the rest? What about the names that are forgotten just a few years or generations after their deaths.

As we come to the end of our study in the book of Ruth, we come to a brief genealogy that covers several hundred years of history. One thing that this genealogy helps us to see is that even the “forgotten” people have a part to play in the Kingdom of God.

This genealogy is one of many throughout scripture. Often these genealogies help us to make connections along family lines - and that is exactly what this genealogy does - connecting Perez to David - the beloved King of Israel. In some ways, this genealogy helps us to see some of the results of redemption - the result of Boaz’ sacrificial love for Ruth, the results of Ruth’s sacrificial love for Naomi.

Ruth 4:18–22 ESV

Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron, Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab, Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.

Now, I realize that this seems like an odd set of verses upon which to preach a sermon, but as we reflect on this genealogy, we are going to ask and answer three questions:

what is this genealogy revealing?

what is this genealogy hiding?

So what?

Let’s begin by asking…

What is this genealogy revealing?

I think first of all,

This genealogy provides some legitimacy to the line of Perez.

Now, it is interesting that this genealogy begins with Perez. All genealogies must start somewhere - and yet often they pick up in the middle of a larger listing. Rather than starting with Abraham or Jacob or Judah (some of the patriarchs of Israel’s history) - this genealogy begins with Perez. It’s clear from our earlier readings that Perez was highly regarded in that area. People knew that Boaz was from Perez’ line. Now that the line goes through David — there is a connection to royalty. But why start with him? Why not start with Judah?

I think secondly,

This genealogy reveals that even the smallest blip in history can have a significant impact.

We know relatively little about most of the people in this genealogy.

Hezron, Ram, Nahshon, Salmon, and Obed are barely mentioned outside of this story. But they are part of the story. Let’s look at what we can know.

Perez (Gen. 38 - origin) - Name means “break forth” -He is one of a twin set. At their birth, his brother’s hand came out first but Perez actually was born first.

Hezron (Gen. 46:12) - means - to be narrow, Incidentally, this Hezron had a cousin named Hezron - one of Reuben’s sons (Gen. 46:9) - very little is know about either Hezron.

Ram - there are no references to Ram other than genealogies. There is no story recorded about his origin or his life. His name means “to be high above or exalted” and yet he is all but forgotten.

Amminadab - shows up several times in scripture, but ironically, not so much because of what he had done but rather as “the father of Nahshon”

Nahshon - means - “enchanter”

brother in law of Aaron (Moses’ brother)

For a time, he was the chief of the tribe of Judah (Num. 2:3)

Mentioned frequently in Numbers especially in relation to the offerings for the tabernacle

Salmon - only mentioned in Genealogies - We only learn that his wife is Rahab in the NT Genealogy in MT 1:5 -

Boaz - of course, we’ve learned a lot about Boaz - he had some means, he was a man of integrity,

Obed - as we saw last week, his name means servant (among other things)

Jesse - we can learn a bit more about Jesse - he was from Bethlehem, and as we see here, the father of David - and several other children. There are multiple references to Jesse throughout Scripture - mostly in relation to his son or descendents. One phrase we see in many prophecies and even sing in some of our songs today is the “root of Jesse”

Whether great or insignificant, godly or wicked, people of integrity or deception - these all are part of David’s heritage - and as we will eventually see - Jesus’ lineage as well. They may be a blip in history, but they have a part to play.

So, it seems that is a bit of what this genealogy is revealing, but …

What is this genealogy hiding?

First of all..

There are likely some names left out.

Most biblical genealogies only list the names of the men as this one does, so here the names of the women are left out. As we saw earlier when Jordan read Jesus’ genealogy in Matthew - three significant women are left out of this brief genealogy. Which brings us to something else that is left out...

There may have been some men’s names left out as well. The amount of time needed to get from the Exodus (where Salmon and Rahab would have married) to King David would require a few more names/generations than what is listed here. One commentator noted that the genealogy is likely a bit compressed. In fact, Luke’s genealogy of Jesus inserts a few more names (Luke 3:32-33).

Not only are some names left out, but secondly…

Origin stories are concealed

In many ways this is not uncommon. We often look back with a positive spin on even our own family histories - at least when it works to our advantage. In fact, in my own family there are some significant family secrets that I didn’t learn about until I was nearly 40 - likely many more that I will never know.

As Proverbs reminds us:

Proverbs 25:2 (ESV)

It is the glory of God to conceal things,

but the glory of kings is to search things out.

I think for the purposes of this book and its place in the biblical canon - a little concealment is to be expected. But let’s briefly reveal what has been concealed.

Perez was the result of a deceptive route to justice

We talked about this a bit before, but in case you missed it, Perez was the first born son of Judah by Tamar. You can read more about that in Genesis 38. Essentially, Judah had three sons, Er, Onan, and Shelah. Er was married to Tamar, but died before she had any sons. Onan refused to fulfill his obligation to provide an heir for his deceased brother, and also died. Shelah was verbally promised to Tamar, but was young. When he became of age, Judah did not give Shelah to Tamar. She returned to her father’s family while waiting. After a while, Judah’s wife died. He went to a nearby town to sheer his sheep. When Tamar heard about this, she removed her widow’s garments and covered her face the way that a prostitute would have done then. Judah propositioned her. He did not have proper payment so he left her his signet and chord as identifying markers. He promised to send payment in exchange for those items. When he went to send payment, he could not find her. A few months later, it was determined that Tamar was pregnant. Judah called for justice and said that she could be killed, until he found out that that he was the father - she still had his signet and chord - she had evidence connecting him to her pregnancy. At that point, he said, Genesis 38:26 …“She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.”

The birth of Perez and his twin brother Zerah are not necessarily bright spots in Judah’s family tree. Their birth actually help us to see how poorly and unjustly Tamar was treated. She was treated like property. She put her reputation on the line to get justice.

Ladies, I’m sorry for how men have often treated you. Overlooked, disregarded, discounted, not listened to. I hope that you don’t experience among your brothers in Christ here. I hope that you are seen and heard and valued by your elders, by me, by your husbands. Tamar is an example of a woman who did extraordinary things in order to speak up for herself when the men in her life refused to do so.

So this genealogy conceals a bit of Perez’s origin story.

Secondly, something else that was concealed is that…

Boaz was the son of a Prostitute - Rahab

Rahab was instrumental in helping the Israelite spies who came to scout out Jericho (Joshua 2, 6). She and all of her town knew that God had given their land to the Israelites. There was a great sense of fear. In an act of self-preservation, she helped the men who were scouting out the land and was rewarded with protection. She in essence became a part of the Israelite community. The Old Testament record doesn’t reveal to us how Salmon and Rahab met or when they married, but Matthew’s gospel reveals that Boaz’s mom was Rahab.

Obed was the son of a Moabite

Over the course of this book, we have been reminded over and over again that Ruth was a Moabite. In their day, Israelites and Moabites were seen as enemies - even though they were distant relatives. Moabites were forbidden from entering the assembly of the Lord for at least 10 generations because they did not come to the aid of the Israelites in the wilderness (Dt. 23:3-6). Did this prohibition just mean the men? Had 10 generations passed? Frankly no. By the time Boaz’s dad and mom met, it would have been as little as a few weeks on up to a couple of years. Then comes Boaz and he meets and marries Ruth - that’s one generation. But as we’ve seen, there was something in her hesed for Naomi that endeared Boaz to Ruth. He respected her, he honored her, even though she was a Moabite. Her heritage is written throughout the book, but is concealed in this genealogy.

While all of these things are concealed here, none of them are concealed in Jesus’ genealogy. In fact the only women mentioned in Jesus genealogy are Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba (with whom David had an affair and ended up having her husband killed) and Mary (his mother). Why would these be concealed here but revealed in Jesus’ lineage? What do the authors leading toward David have to gain by hiding this? What does Jesus have to gain from revealing this? What can we learn from all this?

Well, I’m glad you asked. That essentially brings us to our final question - or really - statement:

So what:

How does this genealogy impact us? What can we learn from this list of names? What can we learn from what’s hidden here?

Well, I think there are a few things that will be helpful for us to remember.

First of all…

What you do matters

Our actions have consequences - personal actions, family actions, godly actions, rebellious actions - they all make a difference in our lives now and have ramifications that extend beyond us.

Parents - how you raise your children makes a difference. The things that you and I teach them impacts how they respond to situations that God has for them. Our children pick up our mannerisms, words, reactions, beliefs, and more.

Men/Dads: I think it’s helpful for us to consider this list of dads on Father’s day. Men - how you act toward your wife and kids leaves a mark - both for good and for bad.

Back in April, several of us attended a one-day men’s conference where we were encouraged to consider how the whole gospel impacts the whole man. Over the last few weeks in the midweek email, we’ve had a post regarding an upcoming men’s retreat in September. Men (whether you’re single or married, have kids or don’t, retired or working, young or old), let me encourage you to consider attending that event - September 27-28 at Skycroft. Next week, you’ll get a taste of what that retreat might be like as the speaker for the retreat will be here preaching. His name is Dan Hyun. He planted the Village Church in Baltimore and now serves on the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware. I think attending a retreat like that will be be helpful for us as we seek to be the people that calls us to be and make a difference in the lives of our families. We’ve already considered a bit of how some of the men in and around this list of men shirked their responsibilities. I pray that we would be godly men of honor, responsibility, and dignity in our homes and communities.

Ladies: We’ve seen throughout this book how one woman’s devotion and sacrifice made a huge difference in her life and in the life of her mother-in-law. Ruth’s actions not only became a blessing to Naomi, but left a mark on the entire region and even throughout history. After all, we’ve been considering a book named after her several thousand years later.

For all of us - youth, adults, single, married, male, female - you make a difference in the lives of people around you. Ruth made a huge impression on the harvesters in the field and on Boaz. Boaz impacted the town by his public act of service. Your actions at work, school, in your neighborhood can have a lasting impression. I guess the question becomes, are we (you and I) on a mission or are we simply along for the ride?

In this genealogy - both hidden and revealed things help us to see that those who are obedient get the blessing - Tamar got redeemed, Rahab was redeemed, Ruth was rewarded with a heritage. May we be obedient to all that God calls us to do. May we be blessed with lives of flourishing. May we be a life-giving blessing to those around us as well.

But in addition to recognizing that what we do matters, we should also remember that…

Our mistakes are not the end of the world

We need to take a serious look at sin. We need to strive toward holiness and godliness. We need to confess our sin to the Lord and to each other as needed in order to bring reconciliation, but we also need to keep in mind that God is sovereign over all. God can and does redeem even our biggest blunders. Judah’s lack of judgment with what he thought was an anonymous prostitute God used to begin an entire family line that included Jesus. Elimelech and Naomi’s move to Moab may have been an act that demonstrated a lack of trust in God’s provision, but God used that to bring Ruth into the picture. She was clearly an instrumental person in the hand of God.

Now, there are some of us who have a great tendency to be overly hard on ourselves. We see our mistakes as unforgivable sins and then wrap up our identity in our flaws. Let me encourage you to remember that Jesus Christ took all of our sin and nailed it on the cross. He paid the debt that you and I could never pay. There is no need for us to be so filled with self-hatred that we are veritably crucifying ourselves. Jesus took your place. Trust in his forgiveness. Find your identity in Him. If you have trusted in Him as your savior, know that you are forgiven, redeemed.

Let the words of the chorus “Amazing Love” sink in if, like me, you are overly hard on yourself.

I’m forgiven, you were forsaken.

I’m accepted, you were condemned

I’m alive and well, Your Spirit is within me

Because you died and rose again.

Amazing love, how can it be, that you my King what die for me

Amazing love, I know it’s true, it’s my joy to honor you, in all I do.

Beloved, your mistakes, my mistakes are not the end of the world.

That being said, frankly some of us don’t take our sin seriously enough. If you find yourself in that camp - especially if you’ve not yet responded to what Jesus has done for you, then remember…

Sin leads to death

Romans reminds us that

Romans 3:23 ESV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

and

Romans 6:23 ESV

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

If we look back in this genealogy, Perez’s mom, Tamar, was a widow because of her husband’s wickedness - in other words, because of his unrepentant sin. She was childless because of her brother-in-laws rebellion (sin) - which cost him his life. To that end, why wasn’t she or Judah rewarded with death with their sexual sin outside of the bonds of marriage? I think it was because Judah realized that he was wrong and that she was justified to take the action she did. In essence, Judah was repentant. But in the end, sin is sin and as we already saw, sin leads to death.

While death is something that all of us face, eternal death is something reserved for those who stand to be judged on their own.

Hebrews 9:27–28 ESV

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Part of the reason that we have this hope is because of what Jesus did - the perfect one with no sin, laid down his life to be sin.

Hebrews 9:15 ESV

Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

So, let me encourage you to take your sin and your eternal condition seriously. Repent of your sin. Trust in Jesus Christ. Let him redeem you from the judgment. Let him give you eternal life. Let His Holy Spirit work in you to transform you.

So, not only do we need to remember that what we do matters and that our mistakes are not the end of the world and frankly our unrepentant sin will mean the death of us. Finally, we need see in this genealogy, and the full genealogy of Jesus that…

Jesus’ family is filled with outsiders

In the passage that Jordan read earlier, did you notice how many women were listed there? Five. Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba (the wife of Uriah) and Mary. They were outsiders for other reasons - Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth were foreigners. Some of them had questionable backgrounds and actions.

If you feel like an outsider, know there is a place for you in the kingdom of God. Maybe you haven’t been in the popular group of kids at school - that’s okay. If you’ve been overlooked by superiors or feel forgotten because you don’t think you measure up to someone else’s standard - you are seen. You are an image bearer of God. You are loved. You are redeemed.

If you feel like an insider - maybe because you think you have the right pedigree, or career, or education, or skill, or even spiritual gifts, - know that you may be forgotten - some of the guys in this lineage are little more than brief blips in history. But remember, if your name is written in the lamb’s book of life - you’ll be remembered for eternity.

Closing thoughts

As we close this sermon and this series, I want to take us back for a brief moment to the subtitle that I’ve been using in this - the divine romance. As we’ve followed Naomi and Ruth on this journey, we could see the hand of God in the background - working in mysterious ways, painful ways, generous ways. It’s as though God was using those circumstances to arrange a marriage between Boaz and Ruth. That marriage brought the redemption that Ruth and Naomi needed and ultimately led to one of Israel’s favorite Kings, and more importantly, to our Savior - Jesus Christ.

But I want you to think for a moment about the circumstances of your life. The good ones, the painful ones, the friendships, the enemies, the successes, and failures. I believe God uses all of those things to woo us to a relationship with Him - to prompt us to pay attention to his glorious plan of redemption. Once we are in a relationship with him, he continues to work to deepen our love for him as we grow in our knowledge and understanding of his word and his will.

If you’ve not yet responded to Jesus’ redemptive love - do so today.

If you have - keep growing in your love for him. Maybe he’s prompting you to take a step toward baptism and go public with your faith. Maybe he’s calling you to invest in another brother or sister in Christ. Maybe he’s calling you to read the bible with a coworker, neighbor or classmate. Maybe he’s calling you to go on a short term or even long term mission. Maybe he’s simply calling you to delight in him more fully.

Let’s pray.

Questions for reflection and discussion

Read Ruth 4:18-22 and possibly Matthew 1:1-17.

What stood out to you in our discussion of this passage on Sunday? What did you agree with? What did you disagree with?

What do you know about any of these names?

What do you know about some of the names that are not here?

What encouragement can we glean?

What can you share about your own genealogy?

Based on what is revealed in this genealogy and what is hidden, what can we learn?

Sources:

Atkinson, David. The Message of Ruth. The Bible Speaks Today Commentary. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1983.

Barry, John D., David Bomar, Derek R. Brown, Rachel Klippenstein, Douglas Mangum, Carrie Sinclair Wolcott, Lazarus Wentz, Elliot Ritzema, and Wendy Widder, eds. The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016.

Block, Daniel Isaac. Judges, Ruth. Vol. 6. The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999.

Piper, John. Providence. Wheaton, IL. Crossway, 2020.

Reed, John W. “Ruth.” In The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, edited by J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985.