Anchor Devotional

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From Chaos to a Better Kingdom

“The women living there said, ‘Naomi has a son.’ And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.” Ruth 4:17

On the first day of this devotion, we asked how we could possibly get from the chaos of Judges to the rise of a king in 1 Samuel. Well, it begins in the time of the judges, when we meet a wayward family on a wayward journey. Why are we looking at this seemingly random family?

We get our answer when we see the line of Naomi and of Ruth lead directly to King David. You see, Ruth’s son, Obed, is David’s grandfather. If God had left Naomi without offspring—if He had not provided Ruth and Boaz—there would be no David. In the time of the judges, there was no king. By the grace of God through Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz, there would be a king.

The book of Ruth is like a manger set between the bustling inns of Judges and 1 and 2 Samuel. In the surrounding books, we see the broader world. In Ruth, we see the hope of the world. It is as easy to pass over this story as it would be to pass over this humble, broken family. But it is through ordinary women, like Ruth and later, Mary, that the Lord of the universe would sustain the hope of mankind.

SCRIPTURE FOCUS
Ruth 4:16-17

INSIGHT
God works through ordinary people to accomplish His extraordinary purposes.

THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Deuteronomy 11-12
Psalm 85
Acts 8

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