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16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom, and became a nurse to him. 17 Also the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “There is a son born to Naomi.” And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. ~ Ruth 4:16-17
Today, we continue our study of the book of Ruth. Whereas this book began with famine in chapter one, it leads quite quickly to a harvest in chapter two. Then, it ends with a testimony of God's great faithfulness to a young gentile woman who was intent on being defined by the Lord. It is through the process of sanctification that God inculcates His culture into our souls, and, we do well to look to Him for the truth that sets us free from the bondage of the self life.
In v.16 of today's passage we read, "Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom, and became a nurse to him."
What Naomi did at that point was 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, that the child would be nurtured by her. In fact in Genesis 30:3 we read, "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."
By having the child born in Rachel's lap, it signified that the child belonged to her. This verse in our text today about Naomi is similar. The child was Ruth's son, but Naomi would play a major role in his life. Obviously she would hold the baby and play with it often, but the purpose of Noami specifically saying these words was to tell us the significance of the act. The record of the words show the intent of the passage, and the intent was that Naomi would raise her grandson in the ways of the Lord.
This Hebrew word used in v.16 is not the usual term for "nurse" where a woman would breastfeed a child. This word means to confirm or to support. Naomi, as the nurse, then would be the primary one to raise the child in the law and culture of God. She would be the one who willingly bore the responsibility to teach the child the truth and the dangers of the self life.
In v.17 of today's passage we read, "Also the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, 'There is a son born to Naomi.' And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David."
The women literally yelled out the name, "Obed" which means "servant." And, then the women yelled out, "There is a son born to Naomi." And, these women tied the name "Obed" to the idea that he was Naomi’s son. This makes sense when we recognize that just three verses earlier, 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!"
Then, in the very next verse we read, "May he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age." The son was the close relative who was Naomi’s redeemer. He is the one who will be the restorer of life and the nourisher of Noami. He will be a servant to her and so they call him Obed. This son was a type of the Kinsman Redeemer.
"He, Obed, is the father of Jesse, the father of David." The narrative ends with a note of resounding greatness. In the previous chapter, Boaz had hinted that a blessing was upon Ruth because of her determination to be defined by the Lord. Boaz had exclaimed in the dark of night at the threshing floor, "Blessed are you of the Lord, my daughter!" Due to his attentive care for her, and because of her true steadfast faith in the Lord, the two of them became ancestors of David, the great king of Israel. And in turn, each of them became ancestors of the greatest King of all, and in Whom all of the Messianic prophecies are 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. He provided a picture for us of one who followed the letter of the law. Following the letter of the law only shows that the law cannot prevent our misery. Instead, it only increases it. The law only shows us that something more than the law is needed. And, that something more is the grace of God.
In Romans 7, the Apostle Paul reminded us: "13 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."
Later, in Galatians 3:21-25, the Apostle Paul wrote, "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."
Where the closer relative of Naomi relied solely on the law, only misery for Naomi and Ruth would remain. But Boaz, prevailed over the law when he chose to be defined by the grace and love of God. Boaz was a man of grace because he understood the spirit and intent of the law, not the merely the letters which comprise it. Boaz too could have declined to redeem Ruth, but through the granting of grace, a bond of love was formed which prevailed over the law. His actions provided for us a perfect picture of our Savior, our Kinsman Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ!
