Ruth the Moabitess came to the land of Israel with Naomi, and shortly after, was united in marriage to Boaz, the “mighty man of wealth.”
The mention of Boaz brings before us another case of grace to Gentiles besides that of Ruth, whom he married. His mother also was a Gentile, in fact, of one of the doomed races of Canaan, and of that city Jericho, which was destroyed. She was none other than Rahab who expressed her faith in the God of Israel when she hid the messengers Joshua sent. See Joshua 2 and 6. Her faith is also spoken of in Hebrews 11, and the works that her faith wrought, in the Epistle of James. When Ruth the Moabitess married Boaz, Rahab the Canaanite became her mother-in-law.
Both Gentile women are mentioned in Matthew 1:55And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; (Matthew 1:5). While Rahab is spelled “Rachab” there, in some translations, there is no question about it being the same person. In the original Greek of the New Testament there is the article before the name making it clear it is the Rahab of the Old Testament. The difference in spelling is caused by the lack of “H” in the Greek language.
Both cases of Gentile women magnify the grace of God that reached out to poor Gentiles even in the day of special blessing for Israelites. And while the Jews boasted of their blessings and would have shut out Gentiles, their own genealogy proved that some had been brought in. And in the genealogy of our Lord, their Messiah, in Matthew 1, the names of four women have been introduced which the zealous Jews would have excluded. The Jews would have mentioned such honorable Jewish women as Sarah and Rebecca, but those that were mentioned magnify the grace of God.
Here we see how at times Gentiles came into the royal line through whom the Messiah came. Boaz was only half Jewish and then he married a Moabitess. Their son Obed was three quarters Gentile.
And in the case of Ruth, the Moabitess, grace is even more pronounced when one considers the word given in Deuteronomy 23:33An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the Lord for ever: (Deuteronomy 23:3): a “Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to their tenth generation.” But grace brought Ruth in—her son was Obed; her grandson Jesse, and her great-grandson David, who sat on the throne of Israel.