The season of Advent offers the Christian community an opportunity to reflect on just how God shows up. It is a season of unveiling and unpacking. And just as we get to unpack our incoming gifts, we also get to unpack the gospel, which in-and-of-itself, is a pretty dense gift. Today we unpack Jesus’ ancestor Obed, son of Ruth and grandfather of King David.
Not much is said about Obed. Regardless, Obed’s story does have pivotal themes that showcase God’s work in Jesus’ ancestry.
The majority of our knowledge of Obed comes in what leads up to his existence. Obed is a product character, the conclusion to a redemption story. Similar to the story of Jabez, it could be argued that these characters serve as themes or points rather than narratives themselves. This means that while they are merely named, the characters come densely packed with history and understanding. It’s like saying I’m going to give you Reese’s or Ghirardelli, you can already picture the wrapper and even taste what’s inside. With the name Obed, the Hebrew readers would be able to do this too.
In Hebrew, the name Obed means “worshipper.” So, while not much is said, it is safe to say that Obed did raise a man who eventually raised a King. Even more so, a king after God’s own heart. Yet, before we give Obed a bunch of credit, I would like for us to focus not on his results, but rather to what I mentioned before: him as a result.
To do that, we look at the story of Ruth and Naomi in Ruth chapter 4. A deep relationship has blossomed between the two women. Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law, expresses that she is cursed by God. Feeling that she is afflicted by God, Naomi presses Ruth to leave her. Yet, Ruth remains unwaveringly loyal to her mother and stays with her.
These two women have both lost their husbands. Naomi has also lost two sons. And in a patriarchal culture, they have no men to provide any stable living for them. They are both seen as afflicted by God.
If we take a step back and consider, even beyond the reflections of women empowerment (that’s another blog post in-and-of-itself), we find ourselves with an innate human dilemma happening to these two women: culturally, they are told they are cursed because they have no product to show that God loves them.
That is maddeningly heartbreaking.
Naomi spends a significant time feeling God’s affliction. But, through her relationship with Ruth, Naomi begins to feel God’s favor once more. Ruth becomes her redemption. And Obed, the son that Ruth bears, becomes the physical manifestation of that redemption. Because Obed is seen as Naomi’s son too.
The Hebrew understanding of God’s favor was essentially such that male figures in society were the favor-bearers. We do not subscribe to this anymore. But while the story of Naomi, Ruth, and Obed portrays an approach to redemption that is uncomfortable for us, we can relate.
Sometimes we feel that we are not worthy enough, even for God. The truth here is not in the women’s need for redemption, but that through the birth of a child, they experienced God’s present love.
Let us reflect on that love this season.
Pono Lopez is the Associate Chaplain for La Sierra University and really just likes to be around good people (his family being at the top of that list).