Living Signposts

And Bo’az took Ruth and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and YHWH granted her conception, and she bore a son. Ruth 4:13

Granted – Why is the book of Ruth even in the Tanakh? It’s about a Gentile woman. It’s filled with extraordinary, and perhaps scandalous, behavior. It seems like an aside in the history of Israel. It’s pedestrian. It’s relatively insignificant. Yet, here it is – a critical link in the line of David and the royal line of the Messiah.

Most of us probably don’t pay much attention to the story of Ruth. You might not even know where to find it in the Bible. But Ruth contains some amazing material, not least of which is God’s compassionate interaction with an “outsider” just like Hagar. When Ruth declares her fidelity to her mother-in-law, she makes one of the most dramatic claims of faith that the Bible records. It is the “grafted in” claim of every Gentile: “your people will be my people and your God will be my God.” That alone would be enough to keep Ruth’s story in Scripture. But, as always, there is more.

At the end of Ruth’s struggle, she is married to Bo’az. They have a son, Obed, who becomes the grandfather of David. Notice the language of the text. YHWH grants Ruth conception. This child is the gift of YHWH. Perhaps we need to reflect on the startling difference between this Gentile woman’s pregnancy and the bartered pregnancy of Havvah. Ruth is the Lord’s servant. YHWH gives her a child. But Havvah negotiates a deal with YHWH (she thinks) to get her son, Qayin. There is a world of difference here.

A closer look at the Hebrew verb reveals something else. The verb is nathan. The consonants are Nun-Taw-Nun. What picture emerges from these consonants? The picture of “A sign in the midst of life.” The consonant nun is “life.” So, this verb contains a picture of life on both ends. But right in the middle, between life and life, is the consonant taw – a consonant that means “sign, seal or covenant.” Step back for a moment and consider the Hebrew view of “to give.” It’s the picture of providing a sign or a covenant seal in the middle of life. It’s God’s covenant dropped right in the middle of your life. Havvah thought she could acquire a son by making a deal with God. Ruth learned something far more important. God gives – right in the middle of living.

The verb nathan is used more than 2000 times in Scripture. Obviously, giving is a very important act in the Hebrew worldview. In biblical usage, nathan has three general meanings: to give, to put in place (used when God put the luminaries in the heavens) and to make or constitute (used when God says He will make Abraham the father of many nations). While the phonetic meanings change according to usage, the pictograph does not change. Each use of nathan represents a sign in the middle of life. Whether that sign is the sun, the covenant with Abraham or the child of Bo’az and Ruth, one image is consistently clear. God gives! God gives into life and when He does, He brings His seal with Him. A gift is more than charity. It is a promise, a seal and a sign.

How will your acts of giving be altered now that you know a gift is a promise that reflects God’s covenant with life?

Topical Index: nathan, give, covenant, sign, Ruth 4:13