你说奇怪吗？路得怀孕生子，但妇女们却说是拿俄米得了儿子。事实上，这个故事要表达一个信息：路得填补了拿俄米的欠缺。她不仅带给她充足的食粮，更为她生了一个儿子，来取代拿俄米已去世的两个儿子。
你说奇怪吗？这些事情都是路得所作的，然而妇女们却赞美神并对拿俄米说了这番话。事实上，这个故事也要表达另一个信息。这卷书虽然甚少提到神，但它却说是神叫伯利恒有粮。它也用了一个与众不同的方式来宣告路得的怀孕，说：“耶和华使她怀孕得了一个儿子。”
当然，拿俄米重新得力，路得和波阿斯也是有功劳的，若没有他们的参与，是不会成事的。纵然如此，在路得记中出现的这几句话，确是要提醒神的子民，若没有耶和华的祝福，便不会有成熟的庄稼和小孩了。神祝福我们辛勤工作的成果和腹中的孩子。
多年后，这个家族的后裔耶稣，在神的祝福下降生在伯利恒。这个家族向来仰赖神丰盛的祝福，透过路得的故事，我们看到，基督的诞生也是这个家族历史的一部分。在神的国度里，神时常填满人空虚的心灵并拯救失丧的灵魂。
“耶和华是应当称颂的！”今天是主日，我们满心感恩，因为知道我们的救赎主活着。主耶稣，求祢今天住在我们心中。奉祢的名求，阿们。
路得记 4:13-17 Ruth 4:13-17
13于是，波阿斯娶了路得为妻，与她同房。耶和华使她怀孕生了一个儿子。
14妇人们对拿俄米说：“耶和华是应当称颂的！因为今日没有撇下你，使你无至近的亲属。愿这孩子在以色列中得名声。
15他必提起你的精神，奉养你的老，因为是爱慕你的那儿妇所生的。有这儿妇比有七个儿子还好！”
16拿俄米就把孩子抱在怀中，作他的养母。
17邻舍的妇人说：“拿俄米得孩子了！”就给孩子起名叫俄备得。这俄备得是耶西的父，耶西是大卫的父。
Naomi Has A Son!
Isn’t it strange? Ruth was pregnant and gave birth, but the women exclaimed that Naomi had a son. Actually, this is the point of the story: not only did Ruth fill Naomi’s emptiness with enough food, but she also provided a son to replace the ones Naomi lost.
Isn’t it strange that although Ruth did all of this, the women praised God and responded in the way they did to Naomi? Actually, that’s another point of the story. Although he is seldom mentioned, God gets credit for bringing food back to Bethlehem. And in a departure from the normal way of reporting conception, God is reported as making it happen: “The LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.”
Of course, Ruth and Boaz themselves had a hand in restoring Naomi’s well-being; it could not have happened without them. Even so, a few well-placed phrases remind God’s people that there are no fields of ripened grain and no children without the Lord’s blessing. God blesses the fruit of our labor and the fruit of the womb.
Years later, Jesus, a descendant of this family, was born in Bethlehem with heaven’s blessing. Through the story of Ruth we can see that Christ’s birth is part of a family history that depends on God’s abundant blessings. In God’s world it is normal for him to fill the empty and redeem what was lost.
“Praise be to the LORD”! On this Lord’s Day we are grateful to know that our Redeemer lives. Lord Jesus, live in our hearts today. Amen.
诵读: 楚云
片头: 张妙阳
