God\'s grace is boundless.

God’s grace is boundless.
Read Ruth 1:15-22
“Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.”

The command of the law is clear: A Jew is not to marry a Moabite! Furthermore, Deuteronomy 23:3-6 states that “no Ammonite or Moabite shall enter the assembly of the Lord.”  This prohibition is because the Moabites opposed Israel and hired Balaam to pronounce a curse upon them. Ammonites and Moabites were excluded from being naturalized in Israel for that act of rebellion and hostility. Consequently, we are confronted with the question of whether or not Ruth’s marriage was acceptable. To answer this question, we must look both at the judgment of God and the grace of God.

It is essential to realize that the Moabites' judgment was not based on ethnicity but on their spiritual condition. In their opposition to the Jews, they rejected the God of Israel and affirmed their own gods. In Deuteronomy 7:3-4, the Jews were commanded not to intermarry with other nations, not because of racial/ethnic issues, but spiritual matters. They were not to intermarry with people who were worshiping false gods.  

In her declaration in chapter 1, the writer reveals the genuine faith of Ruth. Therein lies the irony. Ruth, the woman from a pagan people, shows more fidelity to God than the Jews, who were God’s people. While the nation of Israel was rejecting the God of Israel, Ruth was affirming her loyalty to him. Ruth’s affirmation in verses 16-17 is profound. Not only does she demonstrate her commitment to Naomi, but she also declares her devotion to the God of Israel. This confession is more than just an expression of loyalty and love. Ruth was abandoning any hope for security that she might have within the culture. Within the culture, an unmarried woman’s only hope for security came from her family, people, and the god that guarded her people. In affirming her loyalty to Naomi, she transferred her allegiance from Chemosh (the god of the Moabites) to Yahweh, the God of Israel. Ruth makes it clear that she is surrendering herself under the authority of Yahweh. Little did she realize how much Yahweh would prove himself to be faithful to her. She would learn this lesson as the story unfolds.  

The story points to more than just Ruth’s devotion to Naomi. It points to the grace of God. As the story unfolds, we find God, who promises to care for the widow, orchestrating the events to provide for the widow Naomi.  Even more remarkable, he used the event to care for Ruth and show that the covenant promises were available even for gentiles.  But God’s grace goes beyond just salvation, for he placed Ruth in the Messianic line. The story of Ruth becomes a story of God’s fidelity and loyalty to all those who follow him, not just the Jews. God saves people, not based on their ethnicity but their faith. It is not who we are or what we have done in the past that determines (either negatively or positively) God’s acceptance of us. What decides our salvation is our faith and trust in him. God used the least likely person, a Moabite, to demonstrate to the nation of Israel that his grace is available to any who seek him. Israel was experiencing God’s judgment because of disobedience, not because of any failure on God’s part. Nor did God call Israel to be his people because of any intrinsic value or ethnocentricity with God. Instead, he called Israel to be the channel through whom he would bring salvation to the world.

This is the lesson for us today. God’s grace knows no bounds. It extends to all people of all ages and backgrounds who surrender to him by faith. For those who think that their past makes them “unsavable” to God, that their history so stains their life they are beyond God’s redemption, the book of Ruth provides the answer.   If God can redeem a Moabite woman and include her in the Messianic Line, he can save anyone.