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Title: Simple Words, Eternal Ramifications
Intro:
“Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a close relative…”
As we discussed last week, this was the women praising God that the family line and name of Elimelech would continue, and not die with Naomi. More on this in just a second…
“…and may his name be famous in Israel!”
The women’s desire for this blessed little one, to rise to a position of great honor shows:
1. These women truly love Naomi and want to see her legacy extend beyond her own life time. (We should all strive to be part of something bigger than ourselves! Why?)
2. Perhaps this is a bit of foreshadowing in that Obed would have the role as the grandfather of the greatest (Human) King Israel would ever know. The Golden Age of Israel only last 120 years, under the rule of its first three Kings: Saul, David, and Solomon. And the apex of that power was the middle stretch during the rule of King David. At that time the relatively small nation of Israel was the definitive superpower of its time. Its military might was feared by all, its trade and financial status was unrivaled, and the wisdom of its leadership was known by entire world. The Hebrew God was greatly feared, respected, and given glory during the reign of mighty King David…so to be the grandfather of King David was no small thing in history!
Add to that the “other” honor of Obed’s name being FOREVER in the link that connects the first man (ADAM) to the last man (JESUS, the savior of the world) and you certainly have a scenario where Obed’s name has lived on in a great legacy!
My proof is that it’s over 3000 years ago and we are still talking about it.
“And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age…”
I believe this again contains a double meaning. Think of it as a photo with a subject in the foreground, and then, when you shift the focus, you see something also very clearly in the distant background. *Use two photos with different focuses to make this point.
Foreground (Immediate Blessing) Naomi is rejuvenated by the birth of her grandson. Consider: Not only has Naomi gone through the excruciating pain of losing her husband, and her two birth sons, she also had to say goodbye to Orpah, her other daughter in law who chose to stay behind in Moab.
And what is lost in all of this is that she never had any grandchildren. Her role as a wife and a mother was her primary identity, and all of that has been taken from her, save her relationship with Ruth.
Now, with the birth of Obed, she has a new reason to live, a wonderful reason. She is needed again, she gets to take part in the raising and nursing of the child, she gets to teach him his family’s heritage, she gets to teach him his nation’s history. She has usefulness, and that creates youthfulness.
The women exclaim as much when we look at v17: “Also the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, ‘There is a son born to Naomi.’”
They see that this child has been as much a blessing, as much a life-reviver, a life-restorer to Naomi as to his parents, Ruth and Boaz.
Are there any grandparents here today who would testify to this idea: When my grandchildren arrived, it awakened new life in me.
(I will never forget the day Nevaeh was born, my Mom (who is gone now) arrived about an hour after Vaeh was born, and I walked her down to the nursery with all the little babies in their plastic basinets, and I pointed Vaeh out to my mom and she lost her mind, almost screaming, “Is that my grand daughter!???” I will never forget the genuine, unbridled thrill of joy in my mother’s voice as long as I live.)
This leads me to a wonderful quote and follow up question:
“A man who has a ‘why’ to live can endure almost any ‘how’” -Viktor Frankl “Man’s Search for Meaning”
Obed becomes Naomi’s “Why”. And it restores her life, and nourishes her in her old age.
What is your “Why”?
Background (Distant Blessing)
Is there anything in the universe that more accurately fits the description of “restorer of life” than Salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ?
Because of the role that Obed will play in the lineage of Jesus, we have the opportunity to have our lives literally restored with meaning, we have the chance, the hope to be “nourished in our old age.”
What does that look like? Glad you asked.
I have met many, many people close to death in my time at Hospice. Those who have a real hope in Jesus most often meet the end of this life with calmest enthusiasm one could imagine. As one of my patients put it, “Ben, I’m not dying, I’m transitioning, from this life, to my real life. I know that I’m on a vessel that is leaving the shore and as I get further out to sea, those on the shore are sad, and they whisper, ‘there she goes.”
Ben, you know who I feel sorry for? Those who don’t know what I know, those who don’t know Jesus. You see, I know Jesus, and he knows me. And, because of that, what I know for certain is that yes, I am moving further from that one shore, and across a great expanse, but there is another shore, and on that shore, there is a host of people so large it cannot be counted, and my vessel is moving toward them as they shout, “Here she comes! Here She comes!”