Ruth 4:13-17
A Restorer of Life
Introduction: Other than just a short genealogy which comprises five verses of names, we will finish the story of Ruth today. Next week, we’ll look into the details and try to piece together what God is showing us in this wonderful story.
For today though, we will see the birth of a son to Boaz and Ruth and how, curiously, it is said to be Naomi’s son. But everything in God’s word has meaning and even those things which seem rather curious have reasonable explanations. This is certainly true with the words about the son who was placed in the lap of Naomi.
Text Verse: “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward.” Psalm 127:3
In a newborn child, there is an infinite amount of possibility. What will the child do? How long will he live? What will he look like, act like, enjoy doing…? The path which a newborn baby will follow is completely unknown to us. But there are so many hopes tied up in the child as well.
The son born in today’s story is given a name based on expectations of what he will do as he grows up. This child and the record of his birth in no small way prefigures the Person and work of Jesus Christ.
It is one of the marvels of God’s word that two people, in the same story, can both picture Him in differing ways. This is one of the great joys of the Bible. All we have to do is read and think, “How does this point to Jesus?” Once we do that, the story makes so much more sense. And so it is with father Boaz and little baby Obed… both are types of Christ.
As always, these treasures are right there in front of our eyes in God’s superior word. And so let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.
I. Boaz and Ruth, and a Son for Naomi (verses 13-15)
13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife;
With the agreement settled at the town’s gate because Boaz was willing and able to fulfill the requirements of the law, Ruth, according to that law, became his legal wife. In chapter one, I noted that some scholars speculate that Mahlon died because he married a Moabite woman.
In essence, it was judgment on his disobedience. Likewise, it was also speculated that no children were born to him during their marriage as punishment as well. However, I argued numerous reasons why these were incorrect assumptions. First, when God judges this way, the Bible will state it.
Secondly, Naomi’s words to her daughters later in that chapter to “return to their gods” implied that they had married into a family who had been following the Lord. Thirdly, Ruth has now married Boaz. If God were to have killed the sons for disobedience by marrying Moabite women, then the same disobedience would be seen in Boaz for him doing so.
Fourth, just because Ruth and Orpah had not borne children cannot be seen as any type of punishment. God withheld children from Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and Tamar, among many others, in order to meet His goals. As this verse will show, the Lord will intervene and grant a child to Ruth.
For these and several other reasons I cited, what we read was not punishment on Naomi’s sons, but God working out His plans in redemptive history just as He determines to meet His perfect end for the plan He has established.
13 (con’t) and when he went in to her,
Without being disobedient to either the Law or to the culture of the society, but rather being obedient in all ways, Boaz was granted his wife, and because of this, it says “he went in to her.” It is one of the Bible’s ways of saying they came together in the bed. The beautiful friend became his beautiful wife and companion as well.
13 (con’t) the Lord gave her conception,
There is a stress in verse 13 which is lacking in most translations. It repeats the word “and” five times. Young’s Literal Translation shows the sequence of the thought that we should pay attention to –
And Boaz taketh Ruth, and she becometh his wife, and he goeth in unto her, and Jehovah giveth to her conception, and she beareth a son.
And Boaz took Ruth – according to the Law of Moses, given by the Lord.
And she became his wife – according to the Law of Moses, given by the Lord.
And he went into her – according to the Law of Moses, given by the Lord.
And the Lord (meaning Jehovah) gave to her conception.
And she bore a son – thus a male-child who can fulfill the portion of the law of the Lord concerning raising up a son in the name of the dead, according to the Law of Moses, given by the Lord.
It is a logical sequence of events which shows perfect obedience to the law, acting upon that law, and the Lord ensuring that the allowance of the law will be fulfilled, and this, because a child was conceived and the child was born which turned out to be a son. Every detail shows the hand of the Lord all over the verse.
Despite Boaz having gone into his wife, it is still God who controls the womb. But even then, there is a difference in the workings of God for different individuals. In this verse, it is the Lord, Jehovah, who gave Ruth conception.
This isn’t always the case in Scripture. In Genesis 29, it says that the Lord, meaning Jehovah, opened Leah’s womb to have children. This is the case until the birth of her fourth son Judah. After that, it is God, or elohim, that gave her the final two children. Why would that be?
Likewise, in Genesis 30:22, it says this, “Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb.” Instead of Jehovah, it says elohim, or “God,” for the birth of Rachel’s child, just like Leah’s last two. There is a difference to be noted. The Lord, or Jehovah, is the one who monitors the covenant and directs events especially related to the fulfillment of that covenant and the coming of Christ. This is the same reason why in Genesis 38, when Judah’s sons were deemed unacceptable to carry on the covenant line it said that the Jehovah, not elohim, killed them.
It’s a notable pattern found throughout Scripture. If one had never read the Bible, but was given these insights before reading it, they would be able to more clearly guess what was going to happen in advance of it happening. In the case of the child born to Boaz and Ruth now, it is the Lord, Jehovah, who is noted as giving her conception and so the guess might be that this child would lead to Jesus, and he does.
13 (con’t) and she bore a son.
It is through a son that the name of the dead is to be raised up. Whether they had daughters or not isn’t recorded because this is dealing with redemption and inheritance and therefore the male-child to be born to the union is what the Bible is focused on.
Ruth had desired a son to raise up the name of her dead husband and a male-child is granted. However, as we saw in the previous sermon, Boaz noted this at the gates of the city –
“You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, from the hand of Naomi. 10 Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from his position at the gate.” Ruth 4:9, 10
The word “dead” is singular. Though all that was Elimelech’s, Chilion’s, and Mahlon’s was bought from Naomi, the name of all of them are united in Ruth’s dead husband Mahlon. This child is to be the heir of all three estates. This son will lead to David and then to Jesus.
Matthew Henry shows that because of this, something more wonderful can be proclaimed about the birth of the child –
“Ruth bore a son, through whom thousands and myriads were born to God; and in being the lineal ancestor of Christ, she was instrumental in the happiness of all that shall be saved by him; even of us Gentiles, as well as those of Jewish descent. She was a witness for God to the Gentile world, that he had not utterly forsaken them, but that in due time they should become one with his chosen people, and partake of his salvation.” Matthew Henry
This 13th verse of chapter 4 is the realization of the blessing that was bestowed upon Ruth and Orpah back in Chapter 1. There in the 9th verse, during a time of great grief and sadness, Naomi said this to them –
“The Lord grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband.”
Ruth has been granted the fulfillment of the petition by Naomi and has indeed found the rest that she sought in the house of her husband. As Lange says about this, “Sorrow in Moab has been changed into happiness in Israel.”
Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His
And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name
For His anger may last a moment, but I will tell you this
His favor is for life – honor and blessing; never shame
Weeping may endure for a night
But joy comes in the morning time
When the day turns from darkness to light
God will raise You up in delight sublime
Remember Joseph who suffered many a trial
And also remember Naomi and Ruth
The troubles that came ended after a while
Because they clung to the Lord, the God of truth
14 Then the women said to Naomi,
Who these women are isn’t stated. It could be the midwives at the birth of the child or the collective group of women from Bethlehem. Whichever it is, the last time the women of Bethlehem were mentioned in connection with Naomi was in chapter 1. There this we read this –
“Now the two of them went until they came to Bethlehem. And it happened, when they had come to Bethlehem, that all the city was excited because of them; and the women said, ‘Is this Naomi?'”
20 “But she said to them, ‘Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?'”
Though she said to them “call me Mara,” there is no longer the need for this name. She is no longer Bitter and lacking the Lord’s grace, but she is rather Naomi – the Pleasantness of the Lord. She had left Israel full and returned empty. She was now full again.
She had left Israel in hopes of finding sustenance and instead she found death. Now she has been granted both new and restored life. She, had left with a family and a name, and had come back with a daughter-in-law with no male child to bear the family name. Now she had a family and a name once again.
Throughout all of the time since their return, nothing was heard of the women of Bethlehem in relation to her. She and Ruth alone were noted, indicating their solitary state. Now the women are there at the birth of Naomi’s redeemer, ready to praise the Lord because of her newly found hope and to heap a blessing upon her.
What was lost is regained and the life that seemed futile is now filled with hope and expectation.
14 (con’t) “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a close relative;
A shout of praise is given to the Lord for the great thing which he has done for Naomi! She who had nothing but a daughter in law and an inheritance she couldn’t maintain has now been granted more than she could have imagined. Blessed be the Lord for what He has done! Credit is given where credit is due.
And it was because he has not left her without a close-relative, a goel – a kinsman redeemer. However, there is a giant disagreement among scholars concerning this. It is a divide which separates into one of two factions. The question is, “Who is the goel?”
The scholars at Cambridge say this – “…throughout the story the near kinsman is Boaz. He has done all, and more than all, that could be expected of a go’el; he has redeemed the property, and now (this day) he has secured an heir for Naomi’s family.”
This view is held by many great and studious scholars. But there is another view. John Gill, among other notable names, rightly states that it is the child who is Naomi’s goel, not Boaz. Gill says, “the text speaks of what was done that day, and what is after said in the next verse all relates to the child born.”
This is the answer and it is what will be seen in the fulfillment of the pictures given here. The wording is specific that the women say “this day” when the child is born. Just because Boaz was the goel throughout the story doesn’t mean that he continues to be the goel here.
The Hebrew reads literally, “Blessed be the Lord who has not caused to fail to you a kinsman.” Going back to the previous verse, it said, “And Boaz taketh Ruth, and she becometh his wife, and he goeth in unto her, and Jehovah giveth to her conception, and she beareth a son.”
The text of the Bible gives the credit not to Boaz, but to Jehovah through Boaz. And only when the child is born does the verse say, “Blessed be the Lord who has not caused to fail to you a kinsman.” Were Boaz the kinsman, they could have said this long before the birth of the child.
It is singular that Ruth is mentioned for the last time in verse 13, our first verse of the day. However, Naomi is mentioned explicitly three more times after that – in verses 14, 16, and 17, and she is mentioned implicitly by the word “you” in all of the verses 14-17.
Ruth is also mentioned implicitly in these verses, but only in relation to Naomi, not as to her alone. The peculiar and beautiful words, being devoted to Naomi and not to Ruth, are meant to tell us something about redemptive history that is both exciting and wonderful. It is something that is yet future to us now in the stream of time.
It was Naomi whose life was used as such a positive example for Ruth that she literally clung to her rather than returning to her own family. It was Naomi who had suffered the majority of the pains. She lost her life in Israel, she lost her husband, and she lost her two sons. After that, she even lost her beloved daughter in law Orpah.
She was a widow with no seed to continue the family name. She was in such dire straights that she asked the women of Bethlehem to call her Mara instead of Naomi. And yet, Ruth continued with her, determined to reside as a foreigner in a new homeland.
The bond between the two went beyond the bond of most natural lines of descent. No mother could hope for a more faithful, obedient, hardworking, and dedicated daughter than Ruth was to her. Despite her foreign-born status, she never gave up on her devotion and love for her mother in law, her blessed Naomi. What do you suppose that is picturing?
And then, almost at the closing of the story, it is the near blood-relative, Boaz, who has a son by Ruth, but it is the mother-in-law who is congratulated for having a son! This child who came, not from the nearest close-relative who remains unnamed in the story, is called the goel of Naomi by the women.
And legally, this is correct. It is he who will inherit the estate of Elimelech, Chillion, and Mahlon because his mother, Ruth, was Mahlon’s wife. Boaz redeemed the inheritance from Naomi and Ruth was a part of the redemption in order to raise up a son in his name. That son then is the legal redeemer of Naomi.
Her house isn’t built up by Boaz, her house is built up by this child, for whom Boaz redeemed it. That’s why last week in verse 11, it said this, “The Lord make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who built the house of Israel.” The house is built up through the woman by the sons born to the woman.
As Lange says about this – “He is the grandson of her family, though not of her blood. Ruth’s goel was Boaz, but Naomi’s the son of Ruth; for Ruth lives in the house of Boaz, but Naomi in that of the child, which belongs to him by virtue of his birth from Ruth.”
It may seem confusing, but it pictures redemptive history which has proven to be even more confusing to many as well. Only when this story is properly understood, does the greater story of redemption come into correct focus.
14 (con’t) and may his name be famous in Israel!
Well, whose name? Is it the Lord who was mentioned in the beginning of the verse? Is it Boaz, who some say is the goel? Or is it the child? The answer is the child. Boaz is not the goel of Naomi and the child is the nearest antecedent in the verse.
The women exclaim concerning this child-redeemer, “May his name be famous in Israel!” And they exclaim more…
15 And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age;
With all certainty, the goel of Naomi is the child. These words show us that with clarity. “And may he be to you a restorer of life.” In this is the thought of bringing happiness, joy, and enjoyment. It is this child that is born that will bring these things to her.
She was Bitter and dead; he will make her joyful and vibrant. She was without hope; he will bring her a newfound sense of purpose. It is the child in her lap, not Boaz, who will bring these things to her. And in addition to that, he will be a nourisher of her old age.
This is not something given to Boaz to do because he is old himself. Rather it is something which will come from the child who is young and will be able to care for her and tend to her in her own old age. This is what the blessing of the women indicates. A future hope in the child, not a present hope in the husband of Ruth.
15 (con’t) for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him.”
This again shows us that Naomi’s goel is the child. The women refer to Ruth as the mother of the child. Ruth isn’t of Israel, but is married into Israel. And it is Ruth who is said to love her. In the Hebrew, the tense of the verb is perfect. In essence, “your daughter-in-law, who has completely loved you.”
It is she who is “better than seven sons” to Naomi. What seven sons could not have done, she was able to do. Only through a woman can a child be born. If she had seven sons but none of them were married, they could never have given her what she has obtained.
In the Bible, the number seven indicates spiritual perfection. The women of the town knew that the value of Ruth and her love for Naomi was transcendent and that it had been through this love that a new hope was transcendently granted.
Because the son was born to Ruth, though he was not of direct blood, he was to be considered the most cherished of all sons. It is an indication that the legal parameters of Israel through physical descent could not compare to the wholly-devoted and self-sacrificing foreign-born daughter.
It is the connection which is based on love which has brought Naomi to the point that she has come. The in-grafting of the child into her heart and family line was because of the love of the daughter-in-law which in turn makes the child of more heartfelt love than would have been possible through natural means.
Benson gives us wonderful words to express this state that Naomi has found herself in – “See how God sometimes makes up the want of those relations from whom we expected most comfort, in those from whom we expected least!”
Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, indeed
When the plowman shall overtake the one who reaps
And the treader of grapes him who sows seed
For this my soul rejoices and my heart leaps
The mountains shall drip with sweet wine
And all the hills shall with it flow
It will fill the tables with joy at mealtime
And bring to the peoples a contented and radiant glow
The Redeemer will come and restore all once lost
And He will do it for His people without charge or cost
II. His Name is Obed (verses 16 & 17)
16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom,
This is a symbolic act of adoption as her own. In Genesis 30, when Rachel was unable to bear her own children, she gave her maidservant to Jacob to have one for her. When she did this, she did it with this thought in mind –
“Here is my maid Bilhah; go in to her, and she will bear a child on my knees, that I also may have children by her.” Genesis 30:3
By having the child born in her lap, it signified that the child belonged to her. This verse about Naomi is similar. Obviously she would hold the baby and play with it often, but the purpose of specifically saying this in the Bible was to tell us the significance of the act. The record of the words shows the intent of the passage. And the next words continue to confirm this…
16 (con’t) and became a nurse to him.
This is not the usual term for “nurse” where a woman would suckle a child. That word is yanaq. Rather this is the word aman. It means to confirm or to support. It is the same word that is used to describe Mordecai, the uncle of Esther, where it says –
“And Mordecai had brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter, for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman was lovely and beautiful. When her father and mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.” Esther 2:7
It is also used in the following passage from Isaiah which is speaking of the men, not the women, who would tend to Israel in the future –
“Kings shall be your foster fathers,
And their queens your nursing mothers;
They shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth,
And lick up the dust of your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord,
For they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me.” Isaiah 49:23
That passage from Isaiah 49 is actually showing us a portion of the fulfillment of the pictures we’re seeing in the book of Ruth right now. Go take a gander there after the sermon today and you can be a leg up on the final sermon we have in Ruth next week.
Naomi, as the aman, or nurse, then is the one to raise the child in the law and culture of Israel. She will be the one who willingly bears the responsibility noted in Deuteronomy 6 –
“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:6-9
This is the implication of the words that have been given in this verse. Were it not so, then the Bible would have skipped over it because these are the things any normal mother or grandmother would do. There would be no need to mention them otherwise, but because it does, we’re asked to consider the words with the additional weight that these things apply to Naomi specifically.
17 Also the neighbor women gave him a name,
Surprisingly, commentators deny this as if it doesn’t say what it says. They say, that they merely “recommended a name” to Ruth. But it says they gave him the name. Literally, they “called out a name.” This is the name they called him.
Whether it became a nickname that stuck, or whether it was a name that they called him and so Ruth decided to run with it, we don’t know. Either way it was the neighbor women who named him. And we’re given a reason why they named him as the verse continues…
17 (con’t) saying, “There is a son born to Naomi.”
He is given a name because he is a son born to Naomi. This is why they named him. It doesn’t say that they “recommended” he be given a name, but that they called out a name because Naomi has a child. The name is being tied to the fact that he is Naomi’s son. And the name that he is given is tied to the fact that he is a son. And so we continue…
17 (con’t) And they called his name Obed.
The name they called out for this wonderful child is Obed. It is being tied to the fact that he is Naomi’s son and to the fact that he is, in fact, a son. And so they call him Obed, which means “servant.” What does him being Naomi’s son have to do with him being a servant?
This is what confounds people, but the answer comes from the account itself. Just three verses ago, as soon as it was said that Ruth was given conception and bore a son, the women said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel!”
In the very next verse, it says, “may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age.” The son is the close relative, the goel, who is Naomi’s redeemer. He is the one who will be the restorer of life and the nourisher of her. He will be a servant to her and so they call him Obed.
As would be expected of the ladies of Bethlehem, they would see him as able to serve her as she grew older and became less and less able to care for herself. There was a point where it would fall to him, as her goel, to care for her, to restore her, and to nourish her.
Despite the troubles of old age to come, the Pulpit commentary says that “…now a sealed fountain of reviving waters had been opened in the wilderness.”
* 17 (fin) He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.
The narrative portion of the book of Ruth ends with a note of resounding greatness. In the previous chapter, Boaz had hinted that a blessing was upon Ruth because of her noble character. He exclaimed in the dark of night at the threshing floor, “Blessed are you of the Lord, my daughter!”
In an utterance of prophecy as much as a blessing, he spoke words which he actually became a participant in. Because of his attentive care for her, and because of her true and noble character, the two of them became ancestors of David, the great king of Israel, Israel’s sweet psalmist, and a prophet of God.
And in turn, each of them became ancestors of the greatest King of all, and in Whom all of the Messianic prophecies are ultimately directed and fulfilled. Boaz then shows us that there is more than just adherence to the law to bring about what is good and right.
The unnamed closer-relative adhered to the law, but by him Ruth and Naomi remained unredeemed. Following the letter of the law only shows that the law cannot prevent misery. Instead, it only increases it. It only shows us that something more than the law is needed: grace.
Paul tells us this in an exacting way in the New Testament. First he asks if the law, which is good, brings about death. His answer is that no, it is sin which brings about death. Here are his words from Romans 7 –
“Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.” Romans 7:13-15
Later, in the book of Galatians, he shows us then what the law’s purpose was –
“Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. 22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.” Galatians 3:21-25
Where the closer relative relied solely on the law, only misery for Naomi and Ruth would remain. But Boaz, using the law and adding in grace and love, prevailed over the law. He followed the spirit and intent of the law, not the mere letters which comprise it.
He too could have declined to redeem Ruth, but through granting of grace, a bond of love was formed which prevailed over the law. There was no removal of his sandal, there was no spitting in his face for not fulfilling his duties. Instead, there was the ability to redeem and there was a desire to redeem. And so.he.redeemed.
In this story of redemption, there is found the truth that no law exists which is as strong and as capable as the law of love. Paul tells us this in Romans 13 –
“Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” Romans 13:8-10
The closer relative sought to not help his distressed relative by using the provisions of law for his own benefit. In the process, he harmed her. Boaz sought to use the law to help her and he did it also through an exercise of love. Thus he not only followed the provisions of the law, he fulfilled the law. Indeed, love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:10)
In our fallen state, we cannot love perfectly and so we can never perfectly fulfill the law. The law only shows us our desperate need for God’s mercy. But God cannot show mercy to the point of violating His own righteousness. Sin must be judged. And so God sent His Son into the world.
The Bible says, God is love. As this is so, His Son is love and thus He can love perfectly and thus perfectly fulfill the law. This He did and then in the most amazing display of love ever, He willingly gave His own life up in exchange for our sins.
The Bible tells us that if we call out to receive this gift of love and receive Jesus Christ as Lord, we will be save from God’s wrath. I would pray that if you have never asked God’s forgiveness through Jesus Christ, that you would do so today. If You do, you will be counted among the redeemed of the Lord. What an offer! Don’t wait another day.
Closing Verse: “And now the Lord says,
Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him,
So that Israel is gathered to Him
(For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the Lord,
And My God shall be My strength)” Isaiah 49:5
Next Week: Ruth 4:18-22 (Perez to David – From the Breaker to the Beloved) (13th Ruth Sermon)
The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. He knows your trials, troubles, and woes and He is there with you through them. So cling to Him and let Him do marvelous things for you and through you.
And They Called His Name Obed
So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife
And when in to her he went
The Lord gave her conception, a new life
And she bore a son when her months were spent
Then the women said to Naomi
“Blessed be the Lord, who has not this day left you
Without a close relative
And may in Israel his name be famous too
And may he be to you of life a restorer
And of your old age a nourisher
For your daughter-in-law, who loves you
Who has borne him, she is better than seven sons, it’s true
Then Naomi took the child
Who seemed the lifting of her curse
And laid him on her bosom in a manner mild
And to him she became a nurse
Also the neighbor women to him a name they gave
Saying, “There is born to Naomi a son
And they called his name Obed, meaning a servant or a slave
He is the father of Jesse, the father of David
In Israel, he became a very great one
From sadness and heartache too great to be measured
Came joy and blessing more than could be thought
In Naomi’s lap was placed a son that she treasured
A son through whom her redemption was bought
In the marvelous way God directs our lives’ events
Even the worst of times will be forgotten memories
Some day the difficulties that we face will all make sense
We’ll understand why we faced such great adversities
Until then we need to trust God, giving to Him our cares
And hold fast to the promises of His word
In that treasure to us He gladly shares
The story of redemption centered on our Lord
Yes, it is all about our Lord Jesus
He who has done all things wondrously
And has promised to always care for us
Hallelujah and Amen…