“Widows”, “Fatherless”,”Strangers” (and “Poor”): A Spiritual Understanding of the Biblical Books of Ruth and Esther: Jesus, The Messiah, Is in Both Books!
The Only Two Books With Women’s Names
The Book of Ruth and the Book of Esther both expound on the literal earthly temporal manifestation of James 1:27 which teaches, “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, [and] to keep himself unspotted from the world.” However, even more importantly, the Book of Ruth and the Book of Esther each lay out God’s spiritual heavenly eternal plan of Salvation for the destitute sinners (“who are the called according to [his] purpose.” Romans 8:28) of the world through the Person and Atoning Work of the LORD Jesus Christ.
It is far more than mere coincidence that the only two books in the entire Bible which are named after women, Ruth and Esther, also happen to provide historical accounts of women who are, respectively, “widows” (Ruth and Naomi, and Ruth was also a “stranger”, and because they were destitute they were also most certainly “poor”) and “fatherless” (Esther was an orphan raised up by her elder cousin, Mordecai). Why is that? We can begin to find the answer by searching God’s word, the Bible, to find that in Psalm 68:5, God declares, “A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, [is] God in his holy habitation.” Then in Jeremiah 49:11, “Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve [them] alive; and let thy widows trust in me.” In Zechariah 7:8-10 we read, “And the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother: And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.” Also in Psalm 10:13&14, “Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require [it]. Thou hast seen [it]; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite [it] with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless.“
In Psalm 146:9, “The LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.”
Moreover back in Deuteronomy 10:17-19 we read, “For the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment. Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.“
God classifies them together with the “stranger” as we read in Deuteronomy 27:19, ¶“Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen.” We also read in Jeremiah 20:13, “Sing unto the LORD, praise ye the LORD: for he hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers.”
Finally, we read in the New Testament in James 1:2, “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, [and] to keep himself unspotted from the world.”
In each of the two historical accounts, as are provided in the books of Esther and Ruth, we will see God’s mercy and providence bestowed on those who would otherwise be entirely destitute and without any hope apart from God’s mercy alone. Moreover, God is not mentioned once in Esther, and only alluded to a few times in Ruth. The best explanation is that God deliberately chose to remain concealed from direct view when dealing with those two women, who each are chosen as allegorical representatives of God’s beloved eternal Bride (the Elect of God, His Church). Nonetheless, God’s providential care, mercy, and love for His Bride shines forth brightly for all to see…if these books are each correctly understood as Historical Parables.
These two earthly, historically accurate, accounts of God’s providential mercy and love for the destitute “fatherless” orphan (Esther) and “widows” (Naomis and Ruth, and Ruth as a “Moabitess“, was also a “stranger”) were provided by God in the Books of Esther and Ruth to illustrate, by way of allegory, His Magnificent Salvation Plan.
God clearly displays His eternal spiritual mercy and love, by grace alone, to destitute sinners, who would otherwise be entirely without hope apart from the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Both books display God’s complete mastery over time and space, involving supernatural ironies, and challenges to faith, that glorify God in the process, and give us insights into Who God Is, and about His love for His saints, His Bride (the Church), as made possible only through the intercessional and substitutional sacrifice of His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus came to save sinners, and all of humanity are sinners, who, by nature (due to the original sin)…are also “spiritually” destitute “widows”, “orphans”, “strangers” and “poor”. However, by God’s grace alone, through the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ alone, salvation is obtained for those whom God the Father draws to Jesus according to John 6:44.
A detailed exposition has already been produced on the Book of Esther (a shorter Summary Version of Esther is posted separately, with another that explains the significance of the name “Esther” phonetically meaning “concealed” in Hebrew). In that exposition, it is shown that Esther, as an otherwise destitute “fatherless” orphan, was established by God as a “typological” representation of the body of believers from throughout the world (both Jews and Gentiles) who would ultimately co-share in God’s Kingdom as the Bride of Jesus Christ. In this historical “parable”, Mordecai, Esther’s elder, and nearest living relative, served as a nurturing savior to Esther, and guided her and her people in a time of great affliction to safety from their mortal enemies. Mordecai, who was eventually elevated to the right hand of the King in glory and honor, is shown in that exposition to have been clearly and unequivocally established by God as a typological representation of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Gospel in the Book of Ruth
But what about Ruth? It has already been pointed out by another teacher, Warren W Wiersbe,[1] that there are some amazing twists and counterpoints when the two books are viewed together from the purely “historical perspective“. Wiersbe correctly points out in one example that, first, “The Book of Ruth tells the story of a Gentile who married a Jew and became ancestress of the Messiah (Jesus Christ),” and secondly, “The book of Esther introduces us to a Jewess who married a Gentile and was used of God to save the Jewish nation from destruction so that the Messiah (Jesus Christ) could be born.”
But what about the “spiritual perspective” as was already exposited for Esther? Are there similar parallels that we might find in searching out the Book of Ruth? Yes! Indeed there are!
The Book of Ruth gives us another accurate record of events of history; however, the book of Ruth was also written in the genre of a parable in which God gives us insights into the marvelous salvation provided through the Lord Jesus Christ.
The cursed Moabite woman (a Gentile), Ruth, represents all who by nature are under the curse of sin, but who respond to the Gospel. Boaz, the kinsman-redeemer who bought and married Ruth, is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, who purchased us so that we might become His bride. Orpah, Ruth’s sister-in-law, who decided to stay in Moab, typifies those who hear the Gospel and are attracted to it, but who decide to stay in their old lives rather than follow the Lord Jesus Christ.
Naomi represents National Israel. During a famine, she and her family left Bethlehem (meaning “House of Bread”) and went to live in the land of Moab. As a result, her husband and sons died, and she was left a widow. In similar fashion, National Israel repeatedly turned away from God, and, as a result, was cut off from being the wife of God. A seed was raised up for the family of Naomi through the marriage of Boaz and Ruth; and Christ, our Redeemer, came from Israel. The son born to Boaz and Ruth, Obed, was also called kinsman-redeemer (Ruth 4:14). Obed (the Grandfather of king David), too, was a figure of Christ.
For a more in depth expostion on the Book of Ruth, please see: the Book of Ruth.
Two Historical Parables
Both accounts of Esther and Ruth are miraculous, and both of these two true, factual, historical accounts, along with the recording of them to glorify God (and also bless the saints in the revelation of them as Historical Parables, which both point us to the Person and Salvation Work of the Lord Jesus Christ).
[1] Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Committed: An Old Testament Study- Ruth and Esther, SP Publications, Inc., 1993 (ISBN 1-56476-067-7)
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Tags: Bible, Book of Esther, Book of Ruth, Esther, Jesus, Ruth
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March 18, 2024 at 8:48 pm
Good thoughts, thanks. I think a lot of the wicked will be surprised to find out that the “Golden Rule” — do to others as you would have done to you — is not a suggestion but a command.