Obed was born for the purpose of gaining Mahlon's inheritance. But he wasn't just an heir. He was the factor that reconciled the gentile heritage of Ruth with the promised staff of Judah.
Ruth 4:5 Then Boaz said, "The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance."
The inheritance was not just of Elimelech and Mahlon but originated in Judah. Obed not only inherited the land from his ancestor but also the promise and the blessing. He inherited it and passed it on to David, in the short term and to Jesus in the long run. David would not have existed if Obed did not exist in this family line. From David started the two lines leading to Joseph and Mary the two parental figures in the life of Jesus, one bringing to flesh the God incarnate.
Gen 49:10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
Claiming the Blessing
The blessing that Obed represented was not a blessing that Ruth earned. It was not remuneration for her devotion to her deceased husband and her family. But rather, it was a blessing passed down through her husband's side and intended for her people as well as every other people that existed. It was Abraham's covenant which Ruth entered through marriage and which provided hope to all, Jews and Gentiles.
Gen 22:17-18 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice."
Often in life conduits of a blessing become more significant than the blessing itself. Abraham was deemed the conduit of these blessings and the Jews placed significance in bloodlines and purities. Jesus defied all that in being born into the bloodline of the Moabite. Ruth is blessed with the blessing of Abraham in place of Mahlon. Is the blessing exclusive to Ruth? It is not. The blessing could have been Orpah's as well but she did not seek it. Orpah did not choose to be part of the covenant. Therein comes the gift of free will. Ruth chose the covenant by following Naomi into a foreign land, by accepting that foreign land and the people as her own, through marriage, till death do them apart. That is the reason we find Ruth blessed, not because she earned the blessing but because she claimed it.
Stepping Up
Boaz too takes a significant place in the story. He is portrayed as the kinsman redeemer who stepped up when the nearest kin failed to take responsibility for Ruth. Stepping up is an important lesson that we learn from the Book of Ruth. Ruth stepped up to take care of Naomi when she was left all alone after a tragedy. Boaz stepped up to take Ruth's responsibility after he was personally requested by Ruth on the insistence of the same Naomi.
When Abraham was asked to offer his promised son as a sacrifice, Abraham stepped up in an act of obedience which was ultimately rewarded two folds. Abraham not only received a blessing for his offspring but God provided a ram for the offering, a substitute, foreshadowing the greatest substitution that was to take place on the Cross.
Gen 22:1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
Often in life, we fail to step up to the occasion and fulfil our duty or responsibility. That is not what Christian living is supposed to be like. Jesus did not shy away from taking the burden of the cross for the sake of those who did not deserve God's forgiveness. Nonetheless, He did so as an act of mercy. In the Christian faith, the question is never if the other person is deserving or not but rather if you are willing to help the other person.
Accepting Grace
Naomi had abandoned her people and her kinsmen in pursuit of prosperity in a foreign land. She returned home, losing everything of value. She tried to turn away her daughters-in-law and when one followed her to her homeland, forsaking Moab, Naomi did not bother to introduce her among the people till three months pass by and the people of Israel become favourable towards Ruth because of her dedication and hard work. Naomi doesn't play an active role in the story at all. But she is the focus of Ruth's mission to migrate to Judah. Naomi returns to Israel but fails to connect with her former family. Yet it is those people and Kinsman that provide her with an heir, even though that heir is conceived through Ruth, the Moabite.
Naomi places her daughter-in-law in the barn with Boaz in order to tempt him and in order to secure a marriage with him. Boaz refuses to yield to temptation and yet he accepts Ruth's request and does his best to redeem her and her family. They are rewarded with an heir, an heir that Naomi gets to call her son because he is born as heir to Mahlon. Did Naomi deserve that reward? That is not a question for us to answer. The fact is that Naomi did receive it as grace.
Finding Blessings
Oftentimes in life blessings fall our way. Our decision to claim it or not directs the path which our life will take. Sometimes we claim those blessings under the misguided notion that they are rewards due to us for an action we give ourselves credit for. At other times we refuse to claim a blessing for the fear that our compliance with them may seem as foolish or even immature. The truth is that blessings cannot be justified with logic or probability. A miracle is too hard a word for them. Miracles are blessings that occur despite the situation. But the God of the Universe does not need to always defy the rules of nature to act in our favour.
Are we confident enough in our faith to claim our blessings in the most impossible of situations? We do not need confidence in our own actions but only in the power of the God we serve. Once we claim the blessing we need to extend it because we serve a God who blesses us to be a blessing to others, not to horde His promises for our own benefit.
Are we proactive enough to step up and extend our blessing to those in need around us? Ruth was not blessed because of her actions but her actions stemmed from the fact that she was blessed to be part of Abraham's covenant and had claimed the blessing by choosing her marriage over her people. Do our actions proclaim how blessed we are?
