Messiah in Shavuot Chapter 11
- The Blessing of the Women
- The Genealogy of David, Solomon and the Messiah
The Blessing of the Women:
After Boaz publicly declared his statement of intent, the women then blessed Ruth: “May Adonai (the LORD) make the woman, who is coming into your house (the house of Boaz), like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephratah and be renowned in Bethlehem, and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that Adonai will give you by this young woman” (Ruth 4:11-12).
The narrative concludes with Boaz and Ruth being joined in marriage and the birth of their first son. Then the women of Bethlehem rejoiced with Naomi, for she thereafter enjoyed the good fortune of having an heir to her family line. Under the law of adoption Naomi became the baby’s surrogate mother by adopting the child; indicated by the ancient practice of putting the child on her knee. Then the women of the region gave the child a name, after saying, “a son has been born to Naomi.” The name given to the child was Oved (עוֹבֵֽד); which means: “Worker” and “Worshiper.” Oved later became the father of Jesse, who was the father of King David (Ruth 4:17).
The Genealogy of David, Solomon and the Messiah:
The Book of Ruth concludes with the genealogy of the House of David, from the birth of Perez (Judah’s son from Tamar) to the birth of King David. It is interesting to see that the genealogy of David not only included the royal matriarchal line of Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah but it also included the more plain and common line of three gentile women: Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth. The compassionate nature of the Holy One overlooks our shortcomings and sees the possibilities of our lives through the unique lens of His overruling loving-kindness.
In the genealogy of the Messiah given in the Besorah of the Light-bringer (Lukas) three Gentile women with unconventional pasts are included that are also referred to here in the Megillat of Ruth. This inclusion of these three Gentile women (בַּת שֶׁ֫בַע, بثشبع, “ابنة القسم” -Bathsheba, the reformed adulteress, mother of King Solomon may be a fourth) is a demonstration of the grace of Adonai being shown to the Gentiles. For these three Gentile converts were honored to help fulfill the Davidic Messianic Covenant (i.e. Adonai accepted these three Gentile women in the maternal line of His Son, the Messiah ben David ben Judah).
Honored woman #1. Tamar (תָּמָר) is the first righteous woman mentioned in the in Megillat of Ruth. She seduced her father-in-law Judah.
Honored woman #2. Rahab (רָחָב) is the second righteous woman mentioned in the in Megillat of Ruth. She was a prostitute.
Honored woman #3. Ruth (רוּת) is the third righteous woman mentioned in the in Megillat of Ruth. She was a Moabitess.
The veneration of each of these three Gentile women of faith illustrates the richness of the chesed (graciousness) of Adonai (the LORD) our Father and our God toward both Jew and Gentile alike. All three of these Gentile women—Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth—are honored to be included in the matriarchal line of king David and the Messiah ben David. The faith of all three of these Gentile women enabled the House of David to come into being. The faith of all three of these Gentile women helped fulfill the Davidic Messianic Covenant. These women contributed to the coming of the Greater Son of David, the Messiah.
The One who is our Kinsman Redeemer. Bo’az measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her; and Ruth went into the city. And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said: “He gave me these six measures of barley; for he said to me, ‘Do not go empty (handed, with nothing) to your mother-in-law.'”
Six in the Tanakh is the number of Adam (Man) and barley is representative of Humility. The six measures is mainly a testimony to the Humble Man, the Messiah, and it is also a testimony of the faithful women who have been most honored to become a part of the matriarchal line (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) of Ha-Mashiach Yeshua ben David ben Judah (Ruth 3:14,16, 17; 4:16-22).