St. Mary Magdalene

Ruth Follows her Mother-in-Law into a New Life

Ruth 1: 16 -18

As a Moabite, Ruth was descended from Lot, the nephew of Abraham. Though she had blood ties to Abraham's father, her people were not a part of the covenant God made with Abraham, which continued through Isaac and Jacob.

When the Israelites returned with Moses from Egypt to the Promised Land, the Moabites were already living there.

Though not an Israelite, Ruth was an ancestor of Jesus, whose genealogy shows God's compassion for and inclusion of different peoples.

Ruth probably did not live long enough to know that David was her great-grandson, and, of course, she could never have guessed that Jesus would be her direct descendant.

But it was Ruth's faithfulness to her mother-in-law, Naomi, in their return to Bethlehem and her willingness to follow the customs of the Israelites in marrying Boaz that ensured that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem, the City of David.

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