Obed, Jesse, David, Jesus
We have all been through tough moments of suffering when we wonder where God is and are confused about what he is doing.
If you read through the biblical narrative, you will soon have to let go of the conclusion that hardship means God is absent, distant, uninvolved, or uncaring.
Behind dark clouds of difficulty is a God who is actively working for the good of his children. God regularly takes his children places they never would have planned to go in order to produce in and through them things they never could have produced on their own.
It’s important to recognize that the workings of God’s grace aren’t always predictable or comfortable. Often when we think grace has passed us by, God’s grace is at work—just not in the way we expect.
The book of Ruth, one of the greatest biblical stories, contains a compelling and beautiful substory. On the surface, Ruth is a beautiful love story, and one of the few biblical stories with women as its main characters.
But there is a deeper, more significant love story in the book of Ruth. It is the story of God’s unshakable, unstoppable love for his children.
This story of human hardship and human love is also God’s assurance that he will exercise his wisdom and his sovereignty, he will remember his covenant promises, he will be faithful, and, through hardship, he will deliver gifts of kindness and grace to his own.
Although the story of Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz is compelling, the one on center stage is the Lord. Through the vehicles of hardship and human love, God establishes the direction of the rest of the redemptive story.
At the end of the story, Ruth and Boaz have a son. “Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, ‘A son has been born to Naomi.’ They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David” (Ruth 4:16–17).
These words give us a sense of what this story has been about all along. God doesn’t just deliver Ruth and unite her to Boaz, but he delivers to this family a son. This son, Obed, will have a son, Jesse, and Jesse will have a son, David, and ultimately out of David will come a son; the Son of David, Jesus.
Through this little story of hardship and love, God sets things in place to deliver something anything but little: the ultimate promise, the gift of gifts, the Savior, Jesus Christ, through whom God’s redeeming love will flow.
God will work and continue to work his redeeming plan until that plan is complete; this is the ultimate story behind every other story. Remember that it is at the intersection of God’s sovereignty and his grace that life and hope are to be found.
By the way, if you enjoyed today’s Advent devotional, there are 24 more just like it in my free eBook, Everyday Gospel Christmas Devotional. From now until Christmas Day, you can read my daily devotional, paired with a Scripture passage and prayer, to focus your heart and mind on the birth of Christ. Go to PaulTripp.com/Christmas to download the PDF or eBook for free today!
A Prayer for Today: Lord of Heaven, your love is unshakable, unstoppable. I praise you that you have injected daily reminders of this great truth into my life. Keep me from ever losing sight of your covenant commitment to your people—rooted in your faithful and eternal love for your Son, through whom I pray, amen.
God bless,
Paul Tripp
Discussion Prompt for Children:
• Can you think of any times when something good came out of something that was bad? How do you think God brings good out of bad? Can you think of any examples from the Bible?
• If God promises something to us in the Bible, can we be sure that God will keep his promise? Why?
Reflection Questions
1. When was a time when you were going through a difficult situation and God brought something good out of it? How did that situation help or shape you? What were you able to see on the other side of the difficult time that you weren’t able to see when you were going through it? How have the vehicles of hardship and human love molded you into the person you are today?
2. We read out how Jesus came out of this specific story in the book of Ruth. How have you seen the redemptive narrative play out in your life or in the lives of others around you who follow Jesus? When was the last time you purposefully thought about and gave thanks for the way God has moved in your life and brought redemption out of your pain and suffering?
3. How can we know and trust in the fact that God will work his redeeming plan in your life until the plan is complete? Why is your personal story ultimately part of the ultimate story of how God is moving and working in the world?
4. Take some time to pray and thank the Lord for the times where you can clearly see the intersections of his sovereignty and grace in your life. Ask him to give you hope in the midst of darkness and peace in the times of chaos.