Ruth and the Church: The Gentile Bride

A Moabite Brought In

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Ruth was not born an Israelite. She came from Moab, a nation that was often Israel's enemy. Yet God brought her all the way into His family.

Where she came from. Moab lay east of the Dead Sea. In Moses' day, Moab's king hired Balaam to curse Israel (Numbers 22). The people of Moab worshiped other gods.

Kept out. God's law said a Moabite could not enter the assembly of the Lord (Deuteronomy 23:3). By birth, Ruth was an outsider with no right to belong.

Her choice. Ruth told Naomi, “Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God” (Ruth 1:16). She turned from Moab's gods to the living God.

Under His wings. Boaz said she had come to the Lord God of Israel, “under whose wings you have come for refuge” (Ruth 2:12). Ruth came to God the way a little bird hides under its mother's wings.

A foreigner. Ruth asked Boaz, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” (Ruth 2:10). She knew she did not deserve his kindness.

Named at the gate. Boaz said, “Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife” (Ruth 4:10). He did not hide where she came from. He welcomed her as she was.

Blessed by Israel. The people prayed that she would be “like Rachel and Leah, the two who built the house of Israel” (Ruth 4:11). The outsider was blessed like the mothers of Israel.

In the king's family. Ruth's son Obed was “the father of Jesse, the father of David” (Ruth 4:17). A woman from Moab became King David's great-grandmother.

Not the only one. Boaz's own mother was Rahab of Jericho (Matthew 1:5). Two women from outside Israel are named in the family line of Jesus.

God planned it. God promised Abraham, “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). Ruth was an early sign that God's family would include people from every nation.

Faith, not birth. Ruth was welcomed because she trusted the God of Israel, not because of her family or her good deeds. That is how God welcomes anyone.

What we learn. No one is too far away for God to bring them in. God loves to make outsiders His own.

What to do. Look for someone who feels left out, at school or at church. Be kind to them the way Boaz was kind to Ruth.

Five times Ruth is called “the Moabitess” (1:22; 2:2, 21; 4:5, 10). Everyone in Bethlehem knew where she came from. That is what makes her welcome so full of grace.

Moab's history. Moab descended from Lot (Genesis 19:37). When Israel traveled toward Canaan, Moab's king Balak hired Balaam to curse them (Numbers 22:4-6), and Moabite women led Israel into idol worship (Numbers 25:1-3).

The barrier. Deuteronomy 23:3 kept Moabites out of the assembly of the Lord for ten generations. By birth, Ruth stood outside God's people.

A promise of faith. Ruth's words in 1:16 are a covenant promise: “Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God.” In 1:17 she even swears by the Lord, the God of Israel.

Under His wings. The word for wings in 2:12, kanaf (say: kah-NAHF), is the word Ruth uses in 3:9 when she asks Boaz to spread the corner of his garment over her. Boaz became part of God's answer to his own prayer for her.

Loyal kindness. Boaz praises Ruth's hesed (say: KHEH-sed), loyal, faithful kindness (3:10). The outsider from Moab showed Israel what faithful love looks like.

Brought in by a redeemer. Ruth did not enter Israel by her own effort. A redeemer took her as his own, publicly, before witnesses (4:9-11).

In the Messiah's line. Matthew 1:5 names her: “Boaz begot Obed by Ruth.” The line of Israel's King runs through a Moabite woman. God's grace reached past the barrier.

The promise to Abraham. Genesis 12:3 promised blessing to “all the families of the earth.” Paul says the Scripture “preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand” (Galatians 3:8). Ruth is a small, early sign of that promise coming true.

Peter's discovery. “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him” (Acts 10:34-35).

Application. The gospel has no outsiders who are too far away. Ask God to help you welcome people who are different from you, the way Boaz welcomed Ruth.

The Bride of Christ

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Ruth the outsider became the bride of Boaz, the redeemer. Many Christians see a picture here of Jesus and His church. The New Testament teaches plainly that Jesus brings people from every nation into His family.

Far away. Paul wrote to people who were not Jews. He said they once were “without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise” (Ephesians 2:12). Aliens means outsiders.

Brought near. “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13). Ruth was brought near by Boaz. We are brought near by Jesus.

Members of the family. “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19).

Children of God. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).

Heirs. “And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29). Heirs are people who receive what a family passes down. Ruth received a place in Israel. We receive God's promises.

Christ and His church. Paul wrote that marriage points to something greater: “This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church” (Ephesians 5:32).

A special people. “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people” (1 Peter 2:9). The church is made of people God has chosen and made His own.

The wedding to come. Heaven celebrates: “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready” (Revelation 19:7). The Lamb is Jesus, and His bride is His people.

Every nation. John saw “a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9).

The perfect Bridegroom. Boaz was a good man, but he was not perfect. Jesus is the perfect Bridegroom. Christ “has loved us and given Himself for us” (Ephesians 5:2).

What we learn. Jesus welcomes people from every nation, even those who were far from God. If you trust Him, you belong to His family forever.

What to do. Pray for people in another country who do not know Jesus yet. Ask God to bring them near, as He brought Ruth.

Many Christians see Ruth, the Gentile bride of a redeemer, as a picture of the church. The New Testament itself teaches the truths the picture points to: Gentiles brought near, adopted, and joined to Christ as His bride.

Gentile. A Gentile (say: JEN-tile) is anyone who is not Jewish. Ruth was a Gentile, and so are most Christians today. In the Old Testament the word usually means the nations outside Israel. God never forgot them.

Ephesians 2:12. Paul lists what the Gentiles once lacked: Christ, a place in Israel, the covenants of promise, hope and God. Ruth in Moab lacked every one of these. Without Christ, every person stands in that same place.

Ephesians 2:13. “Brought near by the blood of Christ.” The distance was closed by a price paid, just as Ruth's place in Israel came through Boaz's purchase (Ruth 4:10).

Ephesians 2:19. No longer “strangers and foreigners,” now “fellow citizens with the saints,” and “members of the household of God.” Paul moves from outsiders, to citizens, to family members.

One new people. Christ broke down the wall that divided Jew and Gentile and made one new people in Himself, at peace with God through the cross (Ephesians 2:14-16). There are not two families of God, one for Israel and one for the nations. There is one family in Christ.

The bride. In Ephesians 5:31-32 Paul quotes Genesis 2:24 and then says, “This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” God designed marriage as a picture of Christ's love for His people. Husbands are told to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her (Ephesians 5:25).

A purchased bride. Boaz acquired Ruth at a cost (4:10). Christ “has loved us and given Himself for us” (Ephesians 5:2). Revelation 5:9 says He redeemed His people “Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.”

Revelation 19:7. “The marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” God's great story of salvation ends with a wedding. The bride does not make herself worthy. She is clothed by the grace of her Bridegroom (Revelation 19:8).

Revelation 7:9. The redeemed come “of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues.” Ruth the Moabitess was an early member of that great crowd.

The picture and the reality. Boaz is a picture, and Jesus is the reality. The clear truth is this: a redeemer brought an outsider into God's family, and Jesus does that for everyone who trusts Him.

Application. The church is meant to look like Revelation 7:9. Welcome believers from every background as family, because Christ has welcomed you. Pray for missionaries, and be glad when someone very different from you comes to faith.

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