Adam and Eve sinned even before they ate the forbidden fruit. As soon as they asked themselves why they should obey God, they had sinned in their hearts. Sin is when we remove God as the ultimate authority and enthrone ourselves in his place. By elevating mankind above him, God’s good and ordered world lost its integrity and became broken. Yet, the story of Adam and Eve does not end with despair, but with hope. God, in the midst of his judgment, promises that a day will come when one of Eve’s children will utterly annihilate the power of sin.

Near the beginning of Matthew’s genealogy we see Tamar—a most unlikely ancestor of Jesus. Tamar disguised herself as a prostitute and had sex with her father-in-law Judah. But this is a tale of two sinners. Judah neglected to materially provide for Tamar despite the fact that she was a helpless widow, driving her to desperate measures. This story shows that the Bible is not a book about moral people who lived perfect lives worthy of emulation. Instead, we see how God uses broken people to bring about the only righteous person who has ever lived—Jesus.

Ruth is a story of redeemers. Ruth teaches us that friendships can change the world (as with Boaz, the kinsman-redeemer), and that we can and must reach across spiritual and cultural barriers to do so (as with Ruth, the hidden redeemer). Both Boaz and Ruth point to Jesus, our true Redeemer. Once we realize that, we can ourselves reach across barriers to engage in spiritual friendships and be true disciples of Jesus.