Full Circle and Back To The Beginning

Photo by Oleksii Shikov on Unsplash

The women said to Naomi, “Praise the Lord, who has remembered today to give you someone who will take care of you. The child’s name will be famous in Israel.

He will bring you a new life and support you in your old age. Your daughter-in-law who loves you is better to you than seven sons, because she has given birth.” Ruth 4:14-15 GW [Context– Ruth 4:13-22]

We think of completion with the phrase coming full circle. But a circle has no beginning or end. We can determine a start and end point, but those would be arbitrary or theoretical.

A circle is the closest we come to a sense of continuation within our infinite world. We can try to imagine eternity and grasp the concept of eternity, but it eludes us. It’s beyond our cognitive grasp. The symbol we have for infinity is like a sideways figure eight—two circles looped together as a continuous line.

God is eternal in nature. He is the Self-Existent One (Rev 1:8; 22:13) as He told Moses, when He said, “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14 [also see John 8:58]). An anglicized version of the Lord’s name is Yahweh, many times written in four primary letters—YHWH.

Eternity does not restrict God within eternity, for He is the One who created all that exists and sustains everything, including people, within eternity. He is both inside and outside eternity. He is beyond our capacity to understand or He wouldn’t be God.

Full Circle and More

The end of the story of Ruth gives us a glimpse into how coming full circle has a beginning and an end only as we view it within history. But there’s far more in these last few verses than the culmination of the story of a Moabite woman named Ruth.

Before we look at some insights from these last few verses, let’s consider all that takes place. Boaz follows through on his commitment to marry Ruth. She becomes pregnant as they consummate their marriage and later gives birth to a son.

The women of Bethlehem rejoice with Naomi and bless her with encouraging words about how the Lord has shown His care and love with the birth of her grandson and how great a blessing Ruth is to her.

Naomi becomes a nanny to her grandson Obed, who will become the father of Jesse and grandfather of King David. The story ends with a significant genealogy, which looks ahead a few generations and beyond.

Some Redemptive Insights

At the beginning of Ruth in Chapter 1, the focus is on emptiness with a sense of futility. Naomi expresses it this way—I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. (Ruth 1:21)

She, her husband, and two sons flee the famine in their homeland in the hope of a better life. But Naomi loses her husband and two sons with no hope of a family legacy. And she’s saddled with the responsibility of two Moabite daughters-in-law, now widows.

As the story ends, Naomi is full again, not empty. The women of Bethlehem say she is better off than before. God sent a kinsman-redeemer (Boaz) to preserve the family legacy of property. She has a grandson, and she is assured of her family’s care in old age.

Think the Old Testament isn’t relevant for today? Think again! The women encourage Naomi about Ruth, “who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons.”

This is just one of many stories in the Old Testament that highlight the importance and significance of women. In a way, it’s a redemption story for the first woman on earth who ate from the forbidden tree.

The child born to Ruth and Boaz becomes the father of Jesse and grandfather of Israel’s beloved king, David. Consider how inclusive and far-reaching this is. This short genealogy of ten generations is almost word for word in the genealogy of Matthew’s gospel (Matthew 1:3-6).

This genealogy is part of the line of Judah—the family line of David through whom the Messiah would come as the ultimate Kinsman-Redeemer. Judah had incestuous relations with his scorned daughter-in-law Tamar, which resulted in the birth of Perez, the ancestor of Boaz.

A few generations later, Boaz is born from the union of Salmon and Rahab. The same Rahab who sheltered the two men sent to spy on Jericho for Joshua. According to the Mosaic Law, the women mentioned in Matthew’s account of these same generations should not be included, but they are. They remind us of God’s inclusive grace.

The story of Ruth begins with an interrupted generation (Elimelech and sons) and concludes with a completed generation included in these ten historic generations of Israel. This is a reminder of how our life stories are not complete yet, and we need to be mindful of God’s redemptive grace in our lives and the greater story arc of God’s redemption of humanity.

How is your life a reflection of God’s inclusive grace?

Reflection—

Our life stories are not complete yet, and we need to be mindful of God’s redemptive grace in our lives and the greater story arc of humanity. Remember, God’s grace is inclusive, not exclusive.

Prayer Focus—

Ask the Lord to give you a fresh perspective on your life. Ask Him to help you see how He has shown you His inclusive grace, so you may show it to others.

Text for this devotional-study– Ruth 4:13-22 GW

This is adapted from the book Stories of Redemption by Trip Kimball (available on Amazon)