11. Restorer and Nourisher
Hymns: 243 The Comforter Has Come 242 Blessed Quietness 542 Saved By Grace
Under His Wings
– Restorer and Nourisher
13 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. 14 And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the LORD, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel. 15 And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him. 16 And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it. 17 And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David. 18 Now these are the generations of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron, 19 And Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab, 20 And Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon, 21 And Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed, 22 And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.
OUTLINE
- Present Blessing (v13-15)
- Future Blessing (v16-21)
INTRODUCTION
The man who walks with God enjoys a blessed life. This was the experience of our heroine Ruth, the Moabitess when she exercise faith in Israel’s God, forsaking all to follow Israel’s God and to serve His people. She became a restorer and nourisher to her mother-in-law Naomi. It all began with the step to return from Maob, the land of disobedience to Israel, the land of blessing. When Naomi came back to Israel with her daugher-in-law, it was with a bitter and reluctant spirit. But that changed as she began again to trust God and seek to do His will. God sent Boaz to be a restorer and nourisher to Ruth which in turn is blessing to Naomi.
The plan for Ruth’s marriage to Boaz was to restore the family heritage and a posterity. Most of all, it fulfilled God’s plan to bring forth the Messiah to save both the Jews and Gentiles. The marriage plan that her mother-in-law proposed, receiving her concurrence, came to fruition when the near-kinsman to Boaz reject the role. And it fell on Boaz, the next kinsman, who readliy sought to redeem the land belonging to Elimlelech and to give seed to the Mahlon family in his marriage with Ruth. Again, Ruth exercised faith in obedience to God’s instruction concerning the law of levirate marriage.
Two thoughts as we conclude this book – (1) Present Blessing (v13-16) (2) Future Blessing (v17-21).
(1) Present Blessing (v13-15)
13 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.
The marriage between Boaz and Ruth was divinely orchestrated. It was no accident. Similarly, in the lives of God’s children through the ages. We are born for a purpose, to fulfill the good pleasure of God in our lives.Ruth had to first be willing to submit to God’s will for the levirate marriage. She exercised faith in God.
The LORD caused Ruth to conceive after their marriage – Psalm 127:3 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. Indeed, the psalmist tells us that God is in the equation. He is the Giver of life, opener of the womb. Through the marriage of Boaz and Ruth came Obed.
14 And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the LORD, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel.
May his name be famous in Israel was the well-wishers who came when Obed went through the rite of circumcision on the eighth day according to God’s covenant with Abraham that this boy is a part of God’s family. In the New Testament, instead of circumcision, we have infant baptism. Indeed, his name will be famous in Israel because he would be the grandfather of King David – 17 And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David. 22 And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.
15 And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him.
For Naomi, God sent Ruth, who is better than 7 sons because Ruth loved Naomi. She willingly cared for her. Not for her own comforts, she willing, diligently go to the fields to glean in the harvest so that there would be food on the table. Hard work! Ruth bore them all with a happy spirit.
The baby indeed was a restorer of life to Ruth and in turn to Naomi. Not only did she came back to the Land but she also came back to the Lord. With a Jewish father and a Moabite mother of faith produced a Jewish Israelite child. Blessed be the Lord! [1]
The word “restorer of life” literally is a restorer of the soul as we see in psalm 23:3 “He restoreth my soul.”
1 Peter 2:25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.
He also will be our nourisher in old age. The word literally means “to contain” as does a vessel. It is translated “sustain” in Psalm 55:22.
Psalm 55:22 Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
As Boaz was Ruth’s redeemer, so Obed was Naomi. Boaz redeemed the land for Mahlon, and Obed would inherit and redeem the land for the family. God gave a kinsman-redeemer to take care of Naomi in her old age. The women who first saw Naomi in her bitterness when she returned to Israel now saw her in her blessedness.[2]
Indeed, life with God is blessedness. The Chinese character for blessedness pictorially displays this blessedness.
If you would analyse and dissect the character, the left radical is the shortened form of the radical for “God”. The right radical of “fu” begins with “one” written “
”. The radical for “mouth” 
signifying a “man” and the radical for “farm” signifying the “garden” 
. The pictorial message is that the man with God is true blessedness. This was the blessed life of Adam with God that Adam in Genesis 1-2.
Man in the Bible who walked with God never fail to receive God’s blessing. As we come under His wings, in obedience to God’s good laws, we receive His protection. We see this in the life of Adam, of Enoch, of Noah, of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jacob. No doubt, the Bible is very honest to point out the shortcoming of His servants, nevertheless, grace was greater than their sins. God protected and shielded them throughout their lives.
Similarly for us. When we receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, we are redeemed from now to all eternity. We can trust Him to take care of us, to nourish and care for us. Even those times when we were wayward, God deal with us gently, giving us opportunities to repent and come back to Him. We have a wonderfully good God we ought to love with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.
Truly, when we have God as our helper, we can rest assured in His provision.
Psalm 121:1-8 A Song of degrees. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. 2 My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. 3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. 4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. 6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. 8 The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
Our God takes care of His people. He never slumbers. He is with us in the everyday activities of life. He is the preserver of our souls.
Present blessings (v13-15), Future blessings (v16-22)…
(2) Future Blessings (v16-22)
16 And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it. 17 And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David. 18 Now these are the generations of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron, 19 And Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab, 20 And Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon, 21 And Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed, 22 And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.
Naomi was a nanny for Obed, nursing the young baby. The word for “nurse” is from the root word which means “faithful”. This was what she could do as a service to her God.
2 Timothy 1:5 When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.
Lois was the grandmother of Timothy, the Apostle Paul’s spiritual son who followed him on his 2nd missionary journey and later became the pastor of the church at Ephesus. Timothy had a rich spiritual heritage in his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice. Timothy’s family lived in Lystra.
The Apostle Paul speaks of the unpretending faith of Timothy, and adds that this faith first dwelt in his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice.
The influence of a godly grandmother on her grandson bore fruit in Timothy’s life. Lois was a devout Jewess who instructed her beloved daughter and grandson in Old Testament Scriptures. Paul dwells upon the faith of the mother and grandmother alone in the spiritual instruction of Timothy who became his son in the faith.[3] The godly Christian home that teaches godliness to her members is a potent force for good in church and society. As one pastor says, “As the home goes, so goes the church, so goes the nation.” We would envisage family worship family piety in Timothy’s home led by grandmother Lois and mother Eunice. It is not said whether Timothy’s father, Eunice’s husband was a believer. He was a Greek Acts 16:1 tells us. It seemed from 2 Timothy 1:5 that he was not a Christian. The main Christian influence came through Timothy’s grandmother and mother.
This was Naomi’s influence to Obed.
Lois, the aged woman in the home set the example of piety as Titus 2:2-3 said “The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things, that they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands to love their children, to be discreet, good, chaste, obedient to their husbands that the word of God be not blasphemed.”
Naomi had come a long way to be that woman of faith in Israel like Lois.
For our mothers and grandmothers in our midst, you may be called to such a role as did Lois, a grandmother, as Naomi, who had the opportunity to influence her grandson for God’s service or even a Eunice, as Ruth was, a mother entrusted the care of children. May the Lord grant you His grace to build a godly generation for His glory.
CONCLUSION
Come under the care of God through Jesus Christ our Lord is the best decision we can ever make. It is the path of blessing forevermore. Amen.
[1] Sam Nadler, The Book of Ruth, Rose Publishing, 2014, 230.
[2] Ibid., 228.
[3] Herbert Lockyer, All the Women of the Bible, Zondervan, 1958, 83-84.