R4-18: The Messianic Line Begins With A Gentile Woman…BUT One Who Was A Descendant Of Shem

“Here is the genealogy of Peretz. Peretz was the father of Hetzron, Hetzron was the father of Ram, Ram was the father of ‘Amminadav, ‘Amminadav was the father of Nachshon, Nachshon was the father of Salmon, Salmon was the father of Bo‘az, Bo‘az was the father of ‘Oved, ‘Oved was the father of Yishai, and Yishai was the father of David.”-Ruth 4:18-22

So the story of Ruth ends with the establishment of the line of Messiah.

I mentioned this already but what’s significant about this genealogy is how the Messianic line begins with Tamar who is a gentile woman.

And then another major turn is made with Ruth the Moabite, yet another gentile female.

Of course, both of these women were fully grafted into the commonwealth of Israel via marriage to their Hebrew husbands.

We see that Obed was the father of Jesse (or YISHAI in Hebrew)…

And that Jessie would go on to Father the great King David.

Thus it’s through the story of Ruth that not only is the validity of King David’s line and his right to the throne established…

But also the expectation of a future savior who would redeem not only Elimelech’s line but all of Israel is set down.

Now understand when I say Tamar and Ruth were gentiles, I specifically mean they were NOT direct descendants from one of Jacob’s 12 sons.

They were NOT specifically Hebrews per se.

However, they were part of God’s holy established line of Shem.

Remember Noah had 3 sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.

Here is the original prophecy, Noah uttered concerning his sons:

“Cursed be Canaan;
a servant of servants
shall he be to his brothers.
Blessed be the Lord,
the God of Shem;
and let Canaan be his servant.
May God enlarge Japheth,
and let him dwell in the tents of Shem,
and let Canaan be his servant.”

So although Tamar and Ruth were gentiles, per Noah’s prophecy they were still part of the sanctified line of good to which both Canaan and Japheth would be subservient to.

Here’s an excerpt from the online Jewish Encyclopedia.

Tamar was the daughter of Shem, the son of Noah. Shem was a priest, and when Tamar was charged with fornication (Gen. R. lxxxv. 11) she was condemned to be burned to death in conformity with Lev. xxi.
–https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14222-tamar

And what about the Moabites from whom Ruth sprang?

It turns out that yup, the Moabites also sprang from Shem’s line.

In fact, Shem’s line includes the Assyrians, Chaldeans, Elamites, Arameans, Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Arabs, and of course the Hebrews.

Notice that some of these people groups were and are to this day hostile to Israel…

But that doesn’t take away from the fact they’re still members of God’s sanctified line of good.

My point is would God have allowed a descendent from the line of Ham or Japheth to be grafted into His Holy Messianic line?

My answer is I don’t think so.

But I ain’t gonna be dogmatic about it.

So don’t start losing your mind if you disagree with me on this point.

And don’t start feeling insecure about your background if you think your family background comes from Ham or Japhtheth.

The truth is probably every human being alive today has remnants of ALL 3 of Noah’s sons running through their DNA bloodlines.

It matters not what your bloodlines are in terms of your salvation and standing with the Creator of the Universe.

Remember, at the end of the day, salvation is a SPIRITUAL matter.

What matters is that you WORSHIP and OBEY God in truth and in Spirit..

Alrighty, let me close today’s post with one fascinating question.

What does Boaz and Ruth’s child Obed, King David and Yeshua of Nazareth have in common?

The answer is that all three of these Biblical figures were born in Bethlehem!

Ain’t that amazing?!?!?!

What I find mind blowing is that Yeshua’s birth occurred about 1000 years after King David.

And it kind of happened in a sort of “coincidental” way.

Yoseph (Joseph) and Miriam (Mary) actually lived way up north in a town called Nazareth of the Galilee.

However, due to “circumstances”, they found themselves in Bethlehem for a few days…

And that’s when Yeshua was born in a manger.

So this ends our study of the Book of Ruth.

NEXT TIME WE BEGIN THE BOOK OF 1 SAMUEL