Ruth 4:1-22 | Sermon Resources | 24 July 2024
Sermon Summary
A number of years ago a family at Cornerstone gave me a young redbud shoot. If you don’t know what an eastern redbud tree is, they are the among the first trees to bloom in spring, usually around March and April, and we have two of them on both sides of the sidewalk as you enter through the main doors of Cornerstone. This spring was the first year that my redbud had blooms, and their beauty brought me joy. The redbud is a short-lived tree, but it will most likely outlast me and bring joy to the next generation homeowner on our property. Most of our lives are taken up with small, daily choices. Only on occasion might God graciously allow us to see the long-term fruit of our choices. The fact that Ruth ends with a genealogy is meant to show us that our small choices to trust God in times of famine may germinate, grow, flourish, and produce blooms of blessings down through the generations. But the genealogy also tells the story of how the invisible God is in the business of redeeming our sinful choices and our suffering in his grand garden marriage narrative. Here in the final chapter of Ruth we are able to catch a glimpse of how Naomi’s small choice to return to Bethlehem, the house of bread, and to care for her widowed daughter-in-law Ruth by helping to arrange her marriage, will bring about great blessing to the entire nation of Israel and ultimately to all nations.
