Ruth 4:7-22
Names in the Bible sometimes have interesting meanings. This is so in the book of Ruth. We have seen Naomi, meaning my pleasures, becoming Mara, meaning bitterness (Ruth 1:20). Mahlon, Ruth’s first husband, means failing, great weakness; whilst Boaz, her second husband, means quite the opposite: strength is in him (see 1 Kings 7:21). Ruth, finally, can be translated as satisfied (among other meanings). What a wonderful name!
Bound by natural ties to a state of unhappiness and total weakness, the sinner is brought by grace into a relationship with Christ, the heavenly Man, in whom is strength and who alone can fully satisfy him. And this grace is further emphasized by the fact that a Moabite did not have the right to enter into the congregation of the LORD (Deuteronomy 23:3). Indeed, Ruth is not only brought into the nation of Israel but she becomes part of the family of the princes of Judah. She was the mother of Obed, which means worshipper; she was to be David’s great grandmother and has a place in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus. It is the same grace which today, allows a sinner, even though he has no right at all, to enter the family of God, by giving him a Redeemer.