The Unbroken Chain 

Part 2 

This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham…

Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David.

Matthew 1:1,5b-6 (NIV)

Then Elimelech died, and Naomi was left with her two sons. The two sons married Moabite women. One married a woman named Orpah, and the other a woman named Ruth. But about ten years later,  both Mahlon and Kilion died. This left Naomi alone, without her two sons or her husband.

Ruth 1:3-5 (NLT)

What does authentic loyalty look like? 

1.    Loyalty involves commitment. 

But Ruth replied, “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!”  When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she said nothing more.

Ruth 1:16-18 (NLT)

2.    Loyalty involves compassion. 

“Don’t call me Naomi,” she responded. “Instead, call me Mara, for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me home empty. Why call me Naomi when the Lord has caused me to suffer and the Almighty has sent such tragedy upon me?” So Naomi returned from Moab, accompanied by her daughter-in-law Ruth, the young Moabite woman. They arrived in Bethlehem in late spring, at the beginning of the barley harvest.

Ruth 1:20-22 (NLT)

3.    Loyalty involves calling.   

“Yes, I know,” Boaz replied. “But I also know about everything you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband. I have heard how you left your father and mother and your own land to live here among complete strangers.  May the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge, reward you fully for what you have done.”

Ruth 2:11-12 (NLT)

I can remain a loyal friend when someone is bitter.