You Have a New Relative In the Family, But This One Is the Best Kind

Do You Believe In Jesus? Congratulations, You’ve Been Adopted As Relatives

by Rev. Paul J. Bern

All you long-time readers of mine (thank you all so much!) have come to expect considerable insight and analysis of the Bible taught from a modern perspective whenever I post something new. I do this to point out that the Word of God is more relevant now than ever before due to the tumultuous and dangerous times that we currently live in. Sometimes I also do this whenever current events line up with Biblical prophecy. But this week I’d like to offer something a little bit different than my usual fare. So, I will be posting the story of Ruth, which can be found in the Old Testament.

Bringing the Characters in This Story to Life

The book of Ruth is one of the happiest stories in the entire Bible except for the four gospels, of course. It has tremendous parallels with the salvation of Christ and his love for his Bride, the Church. It also illustrates that those who are born again of the water and the Spirit in the Lord (see John’s gospel chapter 3) literally become the relatives of Christ. We believers become married — ‘adopted’ also applies here — into the family of God.

To begin with, Elimelech and his wife, Naomi, had two sons, and they were from Bethlehem, the birthplace of Christ Jesus. Elimelech died during a famine, leaving Naomi a widow. So she, along with her two sons, Mahlon and Killion, went to the land of Moab. This is where the borders of modern-day Jordan, Egypt and Israel come together near the eastern shore of the Dead Sea, but it was then a part of the Kingdom of Judah (see the books of 1st and 2nd Kings in the Old Testament). Mahlon and Killian each had wives, Ruth and Orpah. According to the book of Ruth, after about ten years both Mahlon and Killian also died, leaving Naomi, Ruth and Orpah as widows who quickly fell on hard times.

Naomi and Ruth Stay Together Due to Ruth’s Loyalty

In spite of Naomi’s insistence that Ruth and Orpah return to their homeland to the north, Ruth maintains her allegiance to Naomi and travels back to Judah with her. Ruth was therefore considered to be, according to Ruth…