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18 Now this is the genealogy of Perez: Perez begot Hezron; 19 Hezron begot Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab; 20 Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon; 21 Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed; 22 Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David. ~ Ruth 4:18-21
Today, we conclude our study of the book of Ruth. This is the 30th genealogy in the Bible and it is that of Perez, the son born to Judah and Tamar. From him, a list of 10 names are given. This is a common form of such genealogies in the Bible. From Adam to Noah, 10 generations are listed. From Shem to Terah who is Abraham’s father, there were 10 generations. Here, from Perez the son of Judah, 10 generations will be listed until King David.
The story of Ruth began with the words, "Now it came to pass, in the days when the judges ruled." It was during the time that the people got tired of the way things were with God as their King, so they asked for a human king which did not have a good outcome. In fact, the more God allows us to define ourselves, the worse we become. We are our own worst enemies. We weren't meant to exist apart from a relationship with our Creator.
The first name mentioned in the book of Ruth is Elimelech whose name ironically means "My God is King." Elimelech represented the time from the giving of the Law of Moses, through the time of the judges until the time of the kings. His wife Naomi represented Israel. The two sons of Elimelech and Naomi represented the two kingdoms of Israel; the northern kingdom known as Israel and the southern kingdom known as Judah.
Chilion whose name meant "wasting away" represented the northern kingdom and it perfectly describes what happened to the people of Israel. They were exiled by Sennacharib, King of Assyria in 722BC and simply wasted away as a kingdom. Mahlon, whose name means "man of weakness," represented the southern kingdom known as Judah. The people of the southern kingdom were the bearers of the law of Moses yet the law was weak to grant them the heart they needed to follow the Lord. Their story is that of those who continuously disobey the Lord and they also joined themselves to foreigners in their rebellion against God. Thus they suffered exile. In their exiles the theocracy and the kingdoms died.
Mahlon, the younger son picturing the southern kingdom of Judah, returned after their exile, but only through the Gentiles pictured by Ruth. His people, the Jews, were subjected to Gentile rule from this point on. They were no longer a kingdom and thus Mahlon died and with his death, the kingdom ended.
When Elimelech died, his sons remained. Then the two sons died, but Naomi lived on. Naomi represented the people of Israel, and Ruth represented the Gentiles who were being prepared for redemption through Israel. When Boaz entered the picture, it had been made abundantly obvious that the Law of Moses was too weak to give sinful men the new heart they needed to know the Lord. Boaz pictured the Lord Jesus who came in the strength of the Lord. Boaz name means "strength," and, he was introduced "at the time of the barley harvest" which was at the time of the Passover and the Feast of Firstfruits. Both fulfilled in the work of the Lord Jesus at the cross. Boaz was a picture of the Lord Jesus who is our Passover Lamb who is also the Firstborn from the dead.
At the end of Ruth 2 we read, "Ruth stayed close by the young women of Boaz, to glean until the end of barley harvest and wheat harvest."
The wheat harvest was a picture of the church age. This is symbolized by Pentecost, which is 50 days after the Feast of Firstfruits. It was when the Holy Spirit came to indwell the saved. Interestingly, Ruth 2-4 all takes place in Bethlehem Ephrathah which means bread and fruitfulness respectively. The very name of the city and region points us to the Lord Jesus who was long pictured in the Old Testament and in the Gospels through the bread and through the wine.
Finally, the book of Ruth ends with a genealogy of ten names. These ten names create a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ and His work that provides salvation to the willing of heart. The ten names are in order Perez, Hezron, Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmon, Boaz, Obed, Jesse, and David. When translated, these names give this message which is: "The One who broke through death is exalted, He is my noble Kinsman, the foreseer, clothed in the strength of the Lord, a Servant is my husband, beloved."
