Ruth 4:13 - Printer Friendly

ESV: So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son.

NIV: So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.

NASB: So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he had relations with her. And the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.

CSB: Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. He slept with her, and the Lord granted conception to her, and she gave birth to a son.

NLT: So Boaz took Ruth into his home, and she became his wife. When he slept with her, the Lord enabled her to become pregnant, and she gave birth to a son.

KJV: So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in unto her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bare a son.

NKJV: So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son.

When Boaz first met Ruth, he respected her sacrifice for Naomi so much that he prayed a blessing on her: "The LORD repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!" (Ruth 2:12). Two months later, when Ruth proposed to Boaz, she said, "Spread your wings over your servant" (Ruth 3:9), challenging Boaz to be the agent of his own blessing. Boaz agreed to do what he could do. God honors both their choices.

This is one of only two mentions that God acts directly in the story of Naomi and Ruth; the first was when He lifted the famine in Bethlehem (Ruth 1:6). Fertility of the land and of humans is in God's hand. Every other choice and act that led to this moment came from people whose hearts are inclined to God's will.

This is God's normal way of interacting with humans. We may wish for His divine intervention for our safety, or blessing, or even convenience. We may pray that He perform miracles for the sake of His work. He does want us to rely on Him and trust Him to provide, but He also invites us into His work. He wants to work with and through us.

God gave Israelites food. Naomi made the choice to return to Bethlehem. Ruth made the choice to come with her and plan for her care. Boaz made the choice to join Ruth in her work. God completed the work by giving a son. Through human choices and God's work, that son led to King David who led to Jesus the Messiah (Matthew 1:1–16). If God had not invited Ruth into His work and she had not responded—if He had used more traditional family lines—we wouldn't have had this story about lovingkindness, self-sacrifice, family loyalty, and a Moabite woman in the line of the Savior of the world.

Ruth 4 provides one of the happiest endings of all the books of the Bible. It begins when Boaz holds a meeting with Naomi's next of kin. The unnamed man is willing to buy Naomi's land. Yet he doesn't want the risk of marrying a Moabite woman to give Naomi an heir. Boaz is actively seeking those obligations, so the townspeople praise him and Ruth. Before long, Ruth has a son and presents him to Naomi to continue the family of her late husband. The boy becomes the grandfather of Israel's greatest king, David, and the ancestor of the Messiah, Jesus.

Ruth 4 closes the story of how a Moabite woman came to be part of the genealogy of King David. Naomi, an Israelite from Bethlehem, fled a famine with her husband and two sons. The men died and Naomi returned to Israel with Ruth, her Moabite daughter-in-law. Ruth enlists the help of Boaz, an honored landowner, to buy Naomi's land and give her an heir. After Boaz negotiates with relatives, Ruth and Boaz marry. Naomi holds the boy born in the name of her husband's family. This child becomes the grandfather of David.

Though set in a time of violence and tragedy, the book of Ruth tells one of Scripture’s most uplifting stories. Naomi, an Israelite, leaves her home during a famine. While away, in Moab, her husband and sons die. Naomi convinces one of her Moabite daughters-in-law to leave her and seek a new life. The other, Ruth, refuses, declaring her love and loyalty to Naomi. When the pair return to Israel, they encounter Boaz. This man is both kind and moral; his treatment of Ruth secures Naomi’s future and becomes part of king David’s ancestry.