Rooted || Boaz & Ruth || October 26, 2025

The story of Ruth offers us a profound reminder that our past does not disqualify us from God's grace. Ruth was a Moabite—a foreigner from a spiritually wicked nation that practiced detestable worship, including child sacrifice to the god Chemish. Yet when we encounter her in Matthew's genealogy of Jesus, we see that God welcomed her into the covenant family. Her journey from outsider to ancestor of the Messiah teaches us three transformative truths: First, like Ruth, we all start as foreigners living in a fallen world, separated from God by our choices and circumstances. Second, our lives change dramatically when we choose to follow Jesus, just as Ruth declared to Naomi, 'Your people will be my people, and your God my God.' This wasn't about her birthplace or ethnicity—it was about faith. Third, Ruth's kinsman redeemer, Boaz, beautifully foreshadows Jesus, who stepped in to do for us what we could never do for ourselves. Boaz redeemed Ruth, gave her a new identity, and brought her into the family. Jesus does the same for us, covering us with His grace and making us part of His bride, the church. Ruth's inclusion in Jesus' family tree isn't an accident—it's a deliberate message that we all belong when we place our faith in Christ