Bereansearching's Blog

The Gleaners by Jean Francois Millet

Mat 1:5

An Exposition of the Book of Ruth: God’s Mercy to”Widows”,”Strangers” (and “Poor”)

Another Book of Prophesy that Reveals God’s Magnificent Plan of Salvation Through the Person and Work of The Lord Jesus Christ, The Messiah: Like Boaz to Ruth, Jesus Is the Believer’s Kinsman Redeemer!

Background:

The Book of Ruth is read every year to the assembled congregations of the Jewish people in their synagogues to the present day.  It is read as part of the celebration of the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot…The Feast of Weeks is the second of the three pilgrim festivals ordained in the Old Testament after Passover and before the end of the year Feast of Tabernacles). The Feast of Weeks is known by Christians as the Feast of Pentecost.  The Feast is celebrated at the end of the barley harvest (or time of the “first fruits”) and it is the time of year when the most critical period in the Book of Ruth takes place, when Ruth meets Boaz, Ruth’s and Naomi’s kinsman-redeemer.  And just like the Book of Esther, the Book of Ruth has both an earthly (historical) and a Heavenly (spiritual) meaning, and hence it is also an historical “parable.” While the Book of Ruth does provide an account of an actual period in history, it was nonetheless written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and it has been incorporated into God’s Holy Word, the Bible.  It is a vignette orchestrated by God in the first instance (historically), and written down as precisely crafted in the Bible in the second instance (spiritually), to fulfill God’s own purposes.

Why Did God Include the Book of Ruth in the Bible?

The Book of Ruth Is About the Love and Mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ

Perhaps the most important of God’s purposes for providing us with the Book of Ruth was to convey, in one short, four chapter, literal historical account, some critical elements of God’s magnificent salvation plan (albeit by typological, allegorical, and otherwise veiled means).

Moreover, that message as found in the Book of Ruth is the same Gospel message that can be found everywhere else in the Bible, as it focuses on the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah that the Jews did not recognize.  The only difference is that, each time Jesus is intricately interwoven and having otherwise been hidden in the Bible, once Jesus Christ is subsequently revealed by the Holy Spirit according to John 16:13, and John 14:26 we can learn more about Jesus and God’s Gospel plan through Him (which glorifies God in the process as we know from Pro 25:2).  However, to truly “see” Jesus (to believe with our hearts and not just our minds), we must have our spiritual eyes “opened” by God.  Given that this can indeed be the case, then another purpose for God having provided us with the Book of Ruth is that it will edify, comfort, and strengthen the faith of the saints (the believers).

The Book of Ruth, Like the Book of Esther, Illustrates God’s Providence

The Book of Ruth also provides the believer with additional insights into God’s providence, as well as His mercy and grace to “the widows and strangers and poor”…even to an otherwise cursed “Moabitess”… representing all of the humbled sinful outcasts descended from Adam whom Jesus saves from the just penalty for their sins who would otherwise be consigned to Hell.  It expands on Jesus’s role as the Kinsman Redeemer of His saints, who are taken from all of humankind, made up from both a remnant of national Israel and the Gentile nations in the whole world.

The Book of Ruth Illustrates God’s Restoration of Our Lost Estate in Adam

The Book of Ruth tells us of the man Elimelech and his lost estate.  Elimelech left the House of Bread (Bethlehem) and went to Moab and died there along with his two sons, his only heirs.  His name should have been blotted out forever, but, by the grace of God through Boaz (a clear “Type” of Jesus Christ) who voluntarily served as his kinsman redeemer, Boaz restored Elimelech’s lost estate and raised up a son, Obed, in the name of Elimelech (who ultimately became an ancestor of Jesus via Jesus’s mother Mary). Adam was driven from the Garden of Eden for his sin against God and sentenced to death.  Adam lost his (and our) first estate, but Jesus, as our Kinsman Redeemer, restored Adam’s (and our) lost estate forever through His voluntary sacrifice. 1Corinthians 15:22 “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” Matthew 1:21“And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”

The Book of Ruth Shows Us How Jesus Is Intimately Identified with Sinful Mankind

The book of Ruth also provides us with insights on Jesus’s genealogy, and, therefore, how Jesus is intimately linked to sinful mankind through a variety of quite sordid events, showing us, as we read in 2 Corthinians 5:21, “For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

Introduction

As an introduction, let’s first briefly look at the ten key persons in the order of their appearance, and then the historical narrative plot line:

1) Elimelech: The Jewish husband of Naomi, who’s name means, “my God is King” who led his family away from Bethlehem-Judah on a sojourn to Moab during the time of the Judges and who suffers an untimely death in Moab.

2) Naomi: The wife of Elimelech, and the mother of his two sons, who becomes a “widow indeed” in Moab. A Jewish woman whose name means, “my God is Sweet(ness)”.

3) Mahlon: The first named son of Elimelech and Naomi, whose name means “sickness” who married Ruth, a Moabitess woman after his father died, and then himself suffers an untimely death.

4) Chilion: The second named son of Elimelech and Naomi, whose name means “consumption.” who married, Orpah, a Moabitess woman after his father died, and then himself also suffers an untimely death.

5) Orpah: The Moabitess wife (soon widowed) of Chilion, whose name is unclear meaning either “mane” or “her neck(?)” or “gazelle“?

6) Ruth: The Moabitess wife (soon widowed) of Mahlon, whose name means variously, “Satisfied” or “Friendship”. (Ruth is also a “stranger” in Israel). Boaz calls her “daughter” and a “virtuous woman.”

7) Boaz: The rich and “mighty” kinsman redeemer of Elimelech’s Jewish family born in Bethlehem, (the “House of Bread”), whose name, “Boaz”, means “in him is strength” (after whom, it would appear, is named one of the two pillars in the porch of Solomon’s temple per 1Kings 7:21), and who married Ruth (the then Moabitess widow), and who ultimately became the progenitor (great-grandfather) of King David (and is the direct line ancestor/progenitor (from David’s son Nathan through to Mary) of the Lord Jesus Christ). Matthew 1:5 also tells us that Boaz (Booz) is descended from Salmon (also “Salma”) and Rachab (“Rahab”, the “harlot”, who received, and was spared from the destruction of Jericho by, the spies in Joshua’s time).  It is unclear why 1Chronicles  2:11-12 omits mentioning Rahab as Salmon’s wife.

NOTE: God specifically called the above last point to our attention in Matthew to show how both David and Jesus’s lineage are intimately linked to sinful mankind (via multiple sordid events alluded to earlier)…Both David, and hence Jesus, are descended through

1) the adulterous fornication of Judah with Tamar, who Judah (who at the time was a widower) thought was a harlot, but was actually was his widowed daughter-in-law who bore Pharaz (who notably is also a progenitor of Boaz); and

2) the Gentile harlot Rahab from Jericho (who was also a progenitor of Boaz); and

3) the incestuous birth of Moab via inebriated Lot with one of his two daughters after Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed (Ruth, “the Moabitess” who bore Obed to Boaz), and

4) David also evidently bore Nathan (the full brother of King Solomon, and who was the ancestor of Jesus’s mother, Mary, according to Luke 3:31 of Bathshua (Bathsheba) according to 1 Chronicles 3:5. David took Bathsheba to wife after first having defiled her, impregnated her, and then having her first husband, Uriah the Hittite, killed in battle.  God actually highlights these sinful and sordid aspects of Jesus’s lineage to make clear to us the point that Jesus is intimately identified with sinful mankind, even though He Himself “knew no sin”, for our edification and for His Glory as we read in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.“. (Note that the repetitive use of “the son” in the genealogy of Luke 3:31 is in italics, as it was an assumption by the King James translators, but clearly is erroneous given that it must be the genealogy of Mary as opposed to that of Joseph (Jesus’s stepfather) in Matthew 1:6, where the genealogy deviates with King Solomon (and also note that there are no insertions of “the son”))

And regarding Rahab, we know that she was fully adopted/assimilated into national Israel, the people of God, as we read in Joshua 6:22-25, “But Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out the country, Go into the harlot’s house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto her. And the young men that were spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel. And they burnt the city with fire, and all that [was] therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father’s household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel [even] unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.“

We also have these two verses in the New Testament commending Rahab, Hebrews 11:31, “By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.”  and James 2:25, “Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent [them] out another way?” So then, Rahab was accepted into the nation of Israel to such an extent that she was able to marry into the royal family of Judah. She married Salmon, the son of Nahshon (“Naasson” in the Matthew 1:4). Nahshon was the leader of the tribe of Judah and commanded their army and was specifically called the “prince of the children of Judah” in 1 Chronicles 2:10. He was also a close associate of Moses and Joshua, and his sister, Elisheba, was married to Aaron, the first high priest according to Exodus 6:23. Rahab’s life is another remarkable spiritual portrait of the bride of Christ, because we know that Jesus is the “Prince of Peace” for eternal Israel though the lineage of Judah Isaiah 9:6.

And for the Jewish nation, Rahab came to serve as a successful Gentile conversion to, and assimilation into, Judaism. Her desire to seek divine mercy to spare her life and those of her family serves as a great example of conversion and salvation. God hates sin, but he saves the sinner.  He knows how to save those that love Him and desire to serve Him. 2 Timothy 1:9 tells us that Jesus, “Who hath saved us, and called [us] with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:“

8) The unnamed servant of Boaz who was set over the reapers: the person who served as headmaster of the maidens and who gave the account of Ruth’s status and actions to Boaz.

9) The unnamed nearer kinsman to Naomi who refused to serve as the kinsman redeemer.  He refused the role because he did not want to take a Moabitess (Ruth) as his wife.

10) Obed: The son of Boaz and Ruth, whose name means “servant”, “worshipper”, or “follower.” Obed is representative of all of God’s children, who become saved, and are both the offspring and the bride as a result of the predetermined marriage of Jesus Christ with his church.  All believers, who are the children of God, are also servants, worshippers, and followers of the Lord Jesus Christ.  It could not be any other way. Obed’s name was no accident, as we should have all learned from all the Bible studies posted here, in that all of the names of persons recorded in the Bible were never accidental or incidental.  Each name carries with it an intended meaning that is carefully woven into the tapestry of God’s Magnificent Salvation Plan.

The Historical Narrative Plot Summary:

The story of Ruth begins in the day of the Judges, likely near the earlier part of the roughly 300 year period between ~1400 BC and ~1100 BC given that Boaz was evidently born to Rahab (the “harlot” of Joshua’s day) multiple generations before the birth of David in about 1037 BC.  It was also during a time of famine in the land that included Bethlehem (which literally means “house of bread”) and likely during the time of Gideon, because it was only in his days that we read of a famine caused by the Midianites’ invasion, Judges 6:3, 4.  The famine evidently led Elimelech to choose to leave Bethlehem in Judah and move to Moab in search of sustenance for his family.  We read early in Chapter 1 that Elimelech soon died, and then, subsequently, his only two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, each took wives from the women from Moab (Ruth and Orpah respectively), which was another grievous sin in contradiction to God’s edict as stated in Deuteronomy 23:3, “An 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 forever:”  The next thing we read is that within a period in which they dwelled of about “ten years” (the number ten symbolizes a time period of “completeness”) both of the two sons soon die, and they each also leave behind no children (no heirs).  As a result, Naomi had become a widow, and Naomi’s two daughters-in-law were also now both young widows without having borne any children.

Naomi fully realized her state of destitution (and according to the Bible, see: 1 Timothy 5:5, Naomi was a “widow indeed”, having been made bereft of both her husband and her children, and therefore of any hope of either financial support or livelihood) and so Naomi decided to return to Bethlehem, because she had heard that, by the grace of God, there was again bread available there.  But to Ruth and Orpah she said, “Go, return each to her mother’s house: the LORD deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me. The LORD grant you that ye may find rest, each [of you] in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept.“

The immediate reaction from her daughters-in-law, was that they would accompany her to Bethlehem.  Nonetheless, Naomi warned them of the hazards and hardships with respect to finding a husband, etc. (although not stated, as Moabitesses, they would likely be treated like lepers in Israel), and then she instructed her daughters-in-law to return to the homes of their mothers to find “rest”.  Orpah, sadly, went back to Moab, but, despite the recommendation of Naomi to Ruth, “Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law.” Ruth stood fast and, despite that last admonition from Naomi, made it clear that she was determined and would stay with Naomi when she said, “….thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:”, and then finished with this statement, “Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, [if ought] but death part thee and me.”

The two widows went together to Bethlehem, and were greeted by the townspeople who wondered what had happened to Naomi (she was entirely alone except for Ruth “the Moabitess”, a “stranger” in the land of Israel).  Naomi made the point of saying that she had come back home out of the land of Moab entirely empty, and moreover, that they should no longer refer to her as Naomi (“sweet”) but rather Mara, meaning “bitter”, because, “the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.”

In the second chapter of Ruth, we immediately learn of Naomi’s “kinsman” by marriage, Boaz, a “mighty man of wealth.”   And Ruth suggests that she go out humbly as a beggar to glean the fields of “corn” (likely the barley) where she also describes her hope of finding “grace” in the eyes of the owner of the field.  By what appeared to be happenstance (“hap” meaning “by chance”, in Chapter 2, verse 3) she was gleaning in a part of the field belonging to that very man Boaz.

Moreover, after Ruth had been working hard in the fields after humbly asking the headmaster of the reapers for permission to glean, Boaz came from Bethlehem and took notice of her.  He asks the details from the headmaster and then goes to Ruth, and though she be a “stranger” in Israel, Boaz calls her “Daughter”, and tells her to stay close to his maiden reapers and not go to any other fields. He also tells Ruth that the men won’t harm her, and that she may have of the water that the men will bring for the reapers to drink.

Ruth responded by throwing herself to the ground and bowing before Boaz, and humbly asking him why he had shown her such grace, given that she was a “stranger”? Boaz responded with the statement that he was fully aware of the kindness she had shown to Naomi, as well as the fact that she had left behind all her family to come to live with people she had never known before. Boaz blesses her in the name of the God of Israel, under whose wings she had come to trust.

Ruth was overwhelmed and thanked Boaz and spoke of his amazing kindness in treating her as though she was one of his maiden reapers. Boaz added that at lunchtime she could sit and eat with the reapers as well. Later she did eat with the reapers and was full.  After she left to go back to gleaning, Boaz took the additional step of telling his male reapers not to hinder or prevent Ruth from gleaning in any way, and moreover to deliberately drop handfuls of harvested grain to the ground that Ruth could pick them up.  That evening, Ruth was able to have her apron filled with a large amount (an “ephah”, probably something like a basketful) of barley.

Ruth took the barley home to Naomi, who after being filled, asked Ruth in whose fields she had gleaned and who it was that had shown her such kindness.  When Ruth told Naomi it was Boaz, Naomi immediately replied, “Blessed be he of the LORD, and that Boaz had not forgotten the living and the dead,” and that Boaz was a relative and hence a “near kinsman“, translated from the original Hebrew word גָּאַל (gā’al)^H1350 , which is the same word as “redeemer”.  Naomi said that it was good that Ruth obey Boaz in all as he had told her to do.  Ruth did so!

In the third chapter, we learn that Naomi has a plan by which, if Ruth properly prepares herself and then goes into the threshing floor at night when Boaz is sleeping after a harvest dinner, then she could make clear to Boaz that she is available to have as his wife by the rule of kinsmanship by laying at his feet.  Ruth followed Naomi’s instructions and, about midnight, Boaz was startled and woke up and asked who she was. She replied that she was Ruth and, in essence, asked him to do the service of a kinsman in marrying her.  Boaz immediately blessed her for her showing kindness to him (as he was evidently an old man) and that it was clear she was also interested in the duties of raising children in the name of Elimelech. He also said that everyone in Bethlehem knew that she was a virtuous woman (a requirement for a Godly wife according to Proverbs 12:4, “A virtuous woman [is] a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed [is] as rottenness in his bones.” and Proverbs 31:10, “Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price [is] far above rubies.“). While Boaz stated his willingness to fulfill her request, he cautioned Ruth that there was a “nearer” kinsman who was entitled to a first right of refusal.  If that kinsman accepted Ruth, then so be it, otherwise Boaz would be happy to marry Ruth. The chapter ends with Boaz providing her with six measures of barley as a gift for Naomi.  When Ruth brings the barley in the early morning to Naomi, Naomi instructs Ruth to be patient and sit still.  It is clear to Naomi what Boaz intends to do…and that Boaz will not rest until he finishes the business before the day ends.

In the fourth and last chapter, Boaz went to the gate of the city and calls to the man who is the nearest kinsman, and also calls ten elders of the city to be witnesses to the ensuing discussion, upon which the twelve men sat down together.  When the nearest kinsman is asked by Boaz if he would be willing to serve as a kinsman redeemer for the dead relative, Elimelech, and to purchase from the hand of Naomi some land in Judah previously belonging to Elimelech, the man said yes. But then Boaz said whenever the kinsman purchases the land, he must also fulfill the duties of the near kinsman redeemer and marry the widow of the line to raise up children in the name of the deceased.  That meant the kinsman must marry Ruth, “the Moabitess.”  That was the deal breaker, and the man ceremonially refused to accept his nearest kinsman opportunity in accordance with Deuteronomy 25:5-10 “loose his shoe from off his foot”, and thereby passed the role of kinsman redeemer to Boaz.  Boaz immediately announced to all who were in hearing that this day he would serve as the kinsman redeemer for Elimelech and his two sons.  Moreover he made clear that they would all be witnesses to his intent to purchase as part of that inheritance, “Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon” to be his wife, in order to raise up children as an inheritance in the name of the dead men (Mahlon and therefore also Elimelech). The people in the city rejoiced at this, and offered many blessings pertaining to the tribe of Judah.  Subsequently, Boaz and Ruth were married and had a son, named Obed.  Naomi was able to hold the baby boy, as her redemptive grandson, in her arms.  The women proclaimed that Ruth was to Naomi better than seven sons. Obed grew up to become the father of Jesse, who became the father of King David…hence Ruth and Boaz were genealogical ancestors of the Lord Jesus Christ (through David’s son Nathan down to Mary, Luk 3:31).

So where do we “see” Jesus in the Book of Ruth, and What are the Spiritual Identities of Each Person In the Book of Ruth?:

If we compare this literal, historical account with the rest of the Bible, we can find some amazing and unequivocal spiritual parallels and correlations between the following:

1) Boaz with the Lord Jesus Christ (as the Kinsman Redeemer of all believers, who otherwise, apart from God’s intervening grace, would have remained “widows indeed”)

2) Ruth “the Moabitess” with the body of believers (the remnant from the Gentile nations; as an in-grafted Jew of the eternal Israel) and hence representative of the church, the eternal bride of Jesus Christ. (Who would have otherwise remained destitute (estranged from a husband) and under the curse of God as a stranger in Israel, as God frequently reminds us through His repetitive use of the term “Moabitess”)

3) Naomi, a Jewish widow, with the “remnant” of the Nation of Israel, who repent and come to God on His terms and who are saved by the grace of God to also have an equal inheritance in the eternal Israel, and hence who, by redemption, are also a full partaker in the eternal spiritual marriage with Jesus Christ.

4) The unnamed servant of Boaz (who was set as headmaster over the reapers) with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit provides a watch, and guidance, and intercession for the believers while they are here on Earth while they work in the fields of humankind.  The Holy Spirit Communes with Jesus and intercedes for the believers with God.  In Romans 8:26, we read, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”

5) Obed, as the first born son of Boaz by Ruth, with all believers who are the result of the marriage between Jesus and His church, hence his name means “servant” and “worshipper.”

6) Elimelech, as a type, or figure, possibly of Adam, but more likely Old Testament National Israel, which rejected the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ, and who fell into spiritual adultery and sin as typified by his leaving Bethlehem and moving to Moab, his resulting untimely death, and the his two sons, his only progeny, subsequently each going on to marry Moabitish women and then both similarly suffering untimely deaths without heirs.

It is Jesus Christ who is the believers’ Kinsman Redeemer.  Jesus, a Jew descended from Judah, was born in Bethlehem (the “House of Bread”).  Jesus specifically announced that He was the “Bread of Life” in John 6:35 and 6:48 (and moreover that Jesus made it clear to His hearers that “the manna from heaven” was an allegorical representation or “type” pointing to Him!).  Jesus established the New Covenant symbols of bread and wine to represent His Body and Blood.   It is Jesus of Whom we must be partakers to have eternal life.  Jesus is also the “Mighty Man of Wealth”!  Jesus was  a Jew, born in Bethlehem in the land given to Judah (just as Boaz was) and Jesus is described as the Lion of Judah…He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords…the cattle on a thousand hills belong to Him…He is the Creator of the Universe!  Jesus shows grace to destitute sinners as typified by “widows” throughout the Bible, who humbly come as supplicants, hungering and thirsting, for that grace.  Moreover the believers are chosen from a remnant of the world, both Jew and Gentile, and are viewed by God as the only true “Jews” (the true believers in Christ (Jesus is the Messiah), please see Rom 2:28-29) and they alone will find eternal rest in Him.  We also know that the believers are referred to throughout the Bible as the Bride of Christ (and Jesus Christ is also God).  That bride is described in the Bible with the attributes ascribed to Ruth (e.g., virtuous).  Jesus Christ imputes His righteousness to sinful mankind, and therefore, in God’s sight, all believers become “virtuous” as described in detail in Proverbs 31:10-31.

Biblical Validation of the Ruth Exposition: Taking a Closer Look to See the Spiritual Implications

The preceding review was not written with any presumption that this author understands every nuance of the Book of Ruth.  No one (other than God Himself) can ever claim the ability to plumb the depths of the riches of God’s word, the Bible.  However, this writer is confident that if we humbly, faithfully, approach the Bible with no other pre-suppositions than that God is the sole author of the Bible, then we can begin to see by that faith (albeit as through a glass darkly) the truths that God has hidden within His word.  As we have already learned, there is so much more to the Bible than meets the “physical” eye, and it is NEVER just an intellectual exercise. We must have first been given the “spiritual” eyes to see by God the Holy Spirit to really see what God is saying beyond the worldly aspects.  The Bible itself uses such terms such as “mystery” and “dark sayings” to describe how it has been uniquely crafted by God in a magnificent, and yes, even a mysterious way, whereby He has deliberately veiled or hidden the true spiritual meanings of its passages from those whom He has not given the “spiritual eyes and ears.” Please see: https://bereansearching.com/2021/12/29/the-hearing-ear-and-the-seeing-eye/.

The following is, by God’s mercy, this writer’s best effort to explain that hidden truth.

Chapter 1

Note that the very first verse starts out with, “Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.”  This introduction makes it sound like we are reading about some kind of random event in time, or something akin to “Once upon a time” as in a simple fairy tale.  Nothing could be farther from the truth!  Everything that occurs in time and space, and in this case as also written down precisely in the Bible, was and is entirely orchestrated by the hand of God according to His Will.

The events that follow occurred in this material world, within the course of both time and space, but most certainly not by happenstance.  There are 24 verses in the Bible that begin with “Now it came to pass“, and the specific phrase “it came to pass” is found 453 times in the Bible.  In each instance, when we see this phrase, we are being notified by God that He is signifying that an important event that is about to take place. Some examples include in Genesis 4:8, right after the phrase “it came to pass” that “Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.” or in Genesis 24:15, where right after Abraham’s servant prayed for a sign from God to show him who would be Isaac’s wife, “And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.” There are many, many, others such key events, and would be profitable for any curious Bible student to search them out with an online Bible search tool such as https://www.blueletterbible.org

These historical accounts happened as God ordained, and they were recorded precisely as God ordained. They were written “aforetime” for us, as we read in Romans 15:4, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” In 1 Corinthians 10:11 we read, “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” and in 2 Timothy 3:16&17, “All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” (Note: the word “ensamples” is from the Greek word “τύπος” týpos, too’-pos; from G5180 which means a “type” or “figure” or “model” or “example” of something of greater substance.  The Bible is full of “Types” [or allegories] that are written for our edification, exhortation, and warning.)

As was stated earlier, the story of Ruth took place in the day of the Judges, possibly about the time of Gideon, during a time of famine in the land.  The famine evidently led Elimelech to choose to move to Moab in search of sustenance.  It would seem then that Elimelech had made a particularly bad decision in response to the famine that God had sent.  Elimelech had turned his back on the essence of all true sustenance, the House of Bread, and instead turned to the world as is typified by Moab.  And God uses famines as punishment for His people when they turn from Him and put His words behind them. Moreover, and more importantly, famine is used by God to represent something else “spiritually.”  We read in Amos 8:11, “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:”. When we fail to seek the Lord first, and fail to trust in Him alone, and instead look to the world for our help in times of trouble; God will send a famine of the hearing of His Word (as is found in the Bible) and we will suffer spiritually as a result.

God Cursed Moab!

Moreover Moab was a foreign territory that was inhabited by a people whom God had cursed, as we read in: “Deuteronomy 23:3-6, “An 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:  Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee. Nevertheless the LORD thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the LORD thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the LORD thy God loved thee. Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever.”  (Remember also that both Moab and Ammon were the sons of Lot, after his wife became a pillar of salt during the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.  Lot’s daughters assumed that they were the only people left on the earth, and so they decided to get their father drunk so they could lie with him and conceive children by him…Moab and Ammon were the result of those incestuous acts.  See Genesis 19:30-38). [SIDE NOTE: It is also interesting that if one does a careful review of the geneology from Jacob (who was the son of Isaac, and who was also the same generation as Moab, the son of Lot, and Isaac’s Cousin) down to Boaz, the number of generations can be shown to be nine (see Matthew Chapter 1: 2-5 and Luke 3:32-34).  However, Ruth was young enough to be the daughter of Boaz, so she would have been of the next generation…the tenth generation.  It would therefore seem that God was showing us that God’s curse on Moab stopped with Ruth’s generation.]

We read early in Chapter 1 that Elimelech soon died, and then his sons each took wives from the women from Moab (Ruth and Orpah respectively), which was another grievous sin in contradiction to God’s edict as stated in Deuteronomy, Chapter 23.  It is also worthwhile to review Ezra 9:1 &2, ““Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, [doing] according to their abominations, [even] of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians,and the Amorites. For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of [those] lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass.”

The next thing we read is that both of the two sons soon die and also leave behind no children (no heirs) and it is clear that God had condemned them to death as a sign for disobedience to God’s law.

Faithful Ruth Accompanies Naomi (Both “Widows”) back to Bethlehem (the “House of Bread”)

After the death of the Naomi’s husband and two sons, in verse 6, Naomi decided to return to Bethlehem because she had heard of God’s showing mercy to His people and His provision of bread to them there.  Initially, according to verse 8, the daughters-in-law both began to accompany Naomi back to her people in Bethlehem.  Naomi is recorded in verse 9 as having nonetheless instructed her daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah, to return to the homes of their husbands to find “rest”.   This is particularly significant because Naomi did not use any other word other than “rest”.  Naomi was uttering a biblical, spiritual, truism. Isn’t it to the house of Jesus that we go if we truly seek rest from both our sins and our enemies?  Absolutely!  Remember how Jesus said, Matthew 11:28, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Naomi could have used other language…but she did not.  God, the Holy Spirit, moved Naomi to say the word “rest”, so that it would harmonize with the entirety of this historical parable (and the entirety of the Bible) to convey important spiritual truths.  The rest of the verse shows the compassion and love that Naomi and her daughter’s-in- law had for each other, where Naomi “kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept.and they wept together.”

As was stated earlier in the Plot Summary, Naomi fully realized her state of destitution and decided to return to Bethlehem, because she “had heard in the country of Moab how that the Lord had visited his people in giving them bread.”  The immediate reaction from her daughters-in-law after Naomi’s initial advice for them to go home is as we read in verse 10, “Surely, we will return with thee unto thy people.”  Nonetheless, Naomi warned them, in verses 11-13, of the hazards and hardships with respect to finding husbands, and that she could no longer raise up sons for them to marry, etc. (and, as “Moabitesses”, they would be treated like lepers in Israel).  Naomi also made clear that hardships were likely to continue along with her, given that, “the hand of the LORD is gone out against me.”  In verse 14 we read the Orpah went back, sadly with them weeping a second time, but Ruth stood fast and “clave ^H1692” to Naomi, “And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.” The word “clave” is the same word we find in Genesis 2:24, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” Such closeness can also be translated as “abide” or “keep fast” as we will see is used later in Ruth.

Ruth’s Commitment and Testimony

Then, despite one last admonition from Naomi, in verse 15, Ruth said in Verses 16 & 17,  “Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, [if ought] but death part thee and me.” Ruth unreservedly declares her allegiance to Naomi, as well as to her people, and, most importantly, to her God. This last declaration by Ruth brings to mind Jeremiah 30:22 where God makes a similar declaration to Israel, representing His eternal church, “And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.”

But there is another important spiritual aspect of this admonition by Naomi.  In Luke 14:25-27, we read that great multitudes began to follow Jesus Christ and then Jesus turned and gave them a similar admonition, “and there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, if any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.”

Many people hear the gospel call and are intrigued, at least initially.  However, once it becomes clear that the true nature of the gospel is such that we are called upon to make a choice, to follow Jesus and abandon all else: friends, family, and self…then the number of followers dwindles quickly and most go back to the enticements of their old world. We are instructed to put God first in our lives as stated in Matthew, 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness…” We must be willing to put all cherished worldly things and sins into the trash bin. We must truly repent (turn back to God, rather than stay fixated on the enticements of the world) and not go backward.  We must be fully committed to serving God, and even after all that we can do, it is only the Grace of God that we will eternal life. “For many are called, but few are chosen.”(Matthew 22:14)

In verse 18 we read when Ruth could no longer be persuaded by Naomi to go back to Moab, “When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.”  We should be aware that the Hebrew words translated as “stedfastly minded” can also be translated as “good courage or “courageous”, as we read in Jos 1:6,7,9,&18.  Ruth was fully aware of he risks that she was taking in leaving the land of her nativity and the difficulties that were likely to be faced in going ahead, but she went boldly forth faithfully with Naomi to Bethlehem. And, as we know from 2 Corinthians 5:7, “(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)“, Ruth typifies all those who recognize their destitution and desperate need of, and hope in, finding the bread of life (Jesus) by “grace”, which is the undeserved favor of God.

In verse 19 we read that the two widows, Naomi and Ruth, returned together to Bethlehem, and were greeted by the townspeople who barely recognized Naomis and who wondered what had happened to Naomi (she was entirely alone, except for “Ruth the Moabitess”).  Naomi made the point of saying that she had come back home out of the land of Moab entirely empty, and moreover, as we read in verse 20 that they should no longer refer to her as Naomi, meaning “sweet(ness)”, but rather Mara, meaning “bitter” because, “the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.”  It is no accident that Mara is the same as Mary, the mother of Jesus, in the New Testament. The nation of Israel was under Roman rule, and God had not spoken to the Nation of Israel in over four hundred years since the Prophet Malachi. Naomi said in verse 21, “I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why [then] call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?“

Are there equivalent passages in the Bible that relate to what Naomi has just lamented?  Absolutely! When we look at the beginning of the very book entitled “Lamentations” we find where God is describing the very situation that Naomi is a type and figure of Judah (and remember that Naomi is from Judah). Lamentations 1:1-4, “How doth the city sit solitary, [that was] full of people! [how] is she become as a widow! she [that was] great among the nations, [and] princess among the provinces, [how] is she become tributary! She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears [are] on her cheeks: among all her lovers she hath none to comfort [her]: all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies. Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude: she dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no rest: all her persecutors overtook her between the straits. The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts: all her gates are desolate: her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she [is] in bitterness.”  

However, we know that Naomi turned back to Bethlehem in Judah, and she returned which is consistent with what we find at the end of the Lamentations, chapter 5:19-21, Where we see that there is still hope of redemption, “Thou, O LORD, remainest for ever; thy throne from generation to generation. Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, [and] forsake us so long time? Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.” Naomi represents the remnant of national Israel who God causes to return to Him.

And let us not forget, that just as Naomi is a “Type” of the remnant of National Israel whom God chooses to save, Isaiah Chapter 54 makes clear that despite all the trials and tribulations that “she” would endure, God Is her loving Husband Who Will save her.  Look in particular at Isaiah 54:3-8, “For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited. Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more. For thy Maker [is] thine husband; the LORD of hosts [is] his name; and thy Redeemer (גָּאַל (gā’al)^H1350  the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God. For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer (גָּאַל (gā’al)^H1350.”  Doesn’t that sound like God is describing earthly historical “Type” represented by the widows, Naomis and Ruth? And similarly, who is the earthly, historical “redeemer” “Type”?…We will soon see that it is Boaz. (Note that in Isaiah 60:16 we can also read, “Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the LORD [am] thy Saviour and thy Redeemer (גָּאַל (gā’al)^H1350, the mighty One of Jacob.“)

The final key piece of information, provided in verse 22, is that this was the time of the beginning of the barley harvest (which not coincidentally happens to also be the same time as The Feast of Weeks, or the Feast of First Fruits, which Christians remember when the New Testament church was instituted with the pouring out of the Holy Spirit in 33AD, 50 days after the Jesus Passover sacrifice).

In Deuteronomy 16:9-11 we read of the significance of the Feast of Weeks to the early ingathering (which Christians remember and regard as Pentecost, when the Christian Era began with the pouring out of the Holy Spirit see Act 2:1-4), “Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks from [such time] as thou beginnest to [put] the sickle to the corn. And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the LORD thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give [unto the LORD thy God], according as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee: And thou shalt rejoice before the LORD [thy] God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that [is] within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that [are] among you, in the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to place his name there.“

Chapter 2 

The Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), When Naomi and Ruth arrive in Bethlehem, Where Boaz, The Near Kinsman and Mighty Man of Wealth Lives

In the second chapter of Ruth, we immediately learn of Naomi’s “kinsman” by marriage, Boaz, a “mighty man of wealth.” We read this in verse 1, “And Naomi had a kinsman (יָדַע (yāḏaʿ)w ^H3045) of her husband’s, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name [was] Boaz.” The word for mighty in Hebrew is gibôr (גִּבּוֹר) ^H1368 and it is used by God to describe Jesus in Isaiah 9:6, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty ^H1368 God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”  In Isaiah 42:13, we also read that, “The LORD shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies.“

Then in verse 2 Ruth suggests to Naomi receives permission that she (Ruth) go out humbly as a beggar to glean the fields of “corn” (likely the barley) in the hope of finding “grace” in the eyes of the whoever is the owner of the field.  “glean ears of corn after [him] in whose sight I shall find grace.” Note the word “grace”(חֵן (ḥēn)^H2580), which can be translated from the original Hebrew as either “grace” or “favour“,  because that is what we as sinners must seek and hope for from God through Jesus Christ.

In verse 3 we read, “And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field [belonging] unto Boaz, who [was] of the kindred of Elimelech.” We know that there are no happenstances with God, so what initially appeared to be just happenstance to Ruth having been gleaning in the field belonging to Boaz (“hap” meaning “by chance”, in Chapter 2, verse 3) was in reality, all clearly ordained by God as part of God’s predetermined plan.  It was all according to God’s Divine Providence as is every other event recorded by God in the Bible. It is important to note that since Boaz “[was] of the kindred of Elimelech” he was also the kindred of Ruth’s dead husband, Mahlon (the son of Elimelech).

Next we see in verse 4 that Boaz “came from Bethlehem,” whereupon Boaz “said unto the reapers, The LORD be with you”, and the reapers respond with, “The LORD bless thee.” Boaz came from Bethlehem, just as Jesus came from Bethlehem.  Boaz was of the Tribe of Judah, just like Jesus.  Boaz said, “The LORD be with you,” to the reapers, and the reapers responded with “The LORD bless thee.”  Isn’t this exactly what God says to the believers the reapers in the world?

See for example, in Luke 10:2 “Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest,” …However we also know that in the Parable of the Sower, in Matthew 13:39, Jesus said, “the reapers are the angels.” The fact is that “angels” in the original Greek text can also be interpreted as “messengers,” and both the angels of God (from Heaven) and the believers on earth are both considered as being God’s “messengers”, so therefore, the believers are the reapers!

And don’t we say with all our heart like the we read in Psalm 103:1, “[[[A Psalm] of David.]] Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, [bless] his holy name.”?  Of course we do, if we are believers and therefore among God’s reapers and messengers.Further in the same Psalm we read again in verse 2, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:” And in verse 22, “Bless the LORD, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the LORD, O my soul.”

Jesus will bless His saints, and His saints will bless Him as we read:

2 Chronicles 20:17, “Ye shall not [need] to fight in this [battle]: set yourselves, stand ye [still], and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD [will] be with you.”

In Psalm 145:10, “All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee.”

Gleaning by “the Poor and Stranger”

Also it was made clear according to the testimony of the reapers’ overseeing servant that Ruth had not only accompanied Naomi from Moab, but that she was a diligent worker and worked in the fields all day as a gleaner (meaning she was “poor”). Gleaning was done by those who were poor (hence destitute) and/or strangers in the land. With respect to “gleaning”, God set down specific laws as found in the following Bible verses:

1. Leviticus 19:9&10, “And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the Lord your God.”
2.  Leviticus 23:22 “And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the Lord your God.”
3. Deuteronomy 24:17-21 we read,  “Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow’s raiment to pledge: But thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee thence: therefore I command thee to do this thing. When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands. When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.”

The above provides a picture of the fact that we (who have the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ [and the fruit of the blessings of God] because He has saved us) are to have a concern for those who are still aliens, as orphans and widows and strangers and poor, and to provide the necessary spiritual food for those who are without, but come seeking for spiritual nourishment.

Gleaning is Like Getting Crumbs from the Master’s Table

An interesting parallel can be found in Matthew Chapter 15 where we read in verses 22-28: “And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.”  There we see an unsaved person, from a Gentile nation, outside of the people of God (corporately speaking), call upon Jesus as “Lord” and admit that she is no better than a dog, but yet asks if it might be that she (like a dog) might glean some crumbs from her Master’s table. And Jesus showed her grace. Like Ruth, we see another picture of someone who humbly gleans of the spiritual bread to become born again by the “grace” of God who would have otherwise remained a stranger, orphan, or widow.

The Barley Harvest is the Harvest of First Fruits, The Final Harvest is the End of the World

Remember also that Jesus said in John 4:35-38, “Say not ye, There are yet four months, and [then] cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.”  We, as servants of the LORD Jesus Christ, are gleaners in the fields of humanity seeking to harvest souls for our Master by sharing the Gospel of Salvation through Jesus. The harvest in Ruth’s day was barley corn, the first fruits, but the final harvest is at the end of the world. Matthew 13:39 makes this unequivocally clear as Jesus explained the Parable of the Sower, “The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.” See Also: https://bereansearching.com/2018/03/20/the-parable-of-the-sower-the-bibles-rosetta-stone/

God also describes the end of the world as being like a harvest of wheat (which usually occurred on a “threshing floor”), where the wheat and the tares are separated on the Threshing Floor of God. In Matthew 13:30, Jesus tells us, “Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.“ The wheat (the saved souls, the believers from out of all mankind) will be placed into the harvest garner (they are all going to Heaven), before which the tares (the unsaved souls, the unbelievers) will be taken out and burned (they are all going to Hell).

Revelation 14:14-20 provides some more insight into this harvesting of the unsaved that will take place at the end of the world on Judgment Day by Jesus: “And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud [one] sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast [it] into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand [and] six hundred furlongs.“

The Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), When Naomi and Ruth Arrive in Bethlehem

Boaz came from Bethlehem just as Jesus came from Bethlehem.  Boaz was of the Tribe of Judah, just like Jesus.  Boaz said, “The LORD be with you,” to the reapers, and the reapers responded with “The LORD bless thee.”  Isn’t this exactly what God says to the believers the reapers in the world?  See for example, in Luke 10:2 “Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest,” …However we also know that in the Parable of the Sower, in Matthew 13:39, Jesus said, “the reapers are the angels.” The fact is that “angels” in the original Greek text can also be interpreted as “messengers,” and both the angels of God (from Heaven) and the believers on earth are both considered as being God’s “messengers” and God’s “labourers” and “reapers”.   And don’t we say with all our heart like the we read in Psalm 103:1, [[[A Psalm] of David.]]“Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, [bless] his holy name.”?  Of course we do, if we are believers and therefore among God’s reapers and messengers.

Further in the same Psalm we read again in verse 2, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:” And in verse 22, “Bless the LORD, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the LORD, O my soul.“

In Romans 8:29 we read, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”

Ruth was a “stranger”, but Boaz called her, “My Daughter”!

In verses 8-10, we read, “Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens: Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn. Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace (חֵן (ḥēn)^H2580) in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?

Imagine that! Boaz knew he was speaking to a “Moabitess”, a widow and a stranger from a nation that God had cursed, and yet he showed loving kindness to her, to the point of calling her his daughter!  Does this sound at all familiar?  It should, because that is exactly how God views His elect.  While yet “strangers” to God, through Jesus’s intercession, the elect become the children of God.

In Ephesians 2:11-13 remember what God tells us regarding “strangers”, “Wherefore remember, that ye [being] in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.”  And then just a few verses later we also read in Ephesians 2:19, “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;” and we are encouraged to all know what is found in Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose.” 

“Grace” and “Knowledge”

Ruth fell on her face and bowed herself to the ground and she was amazed that Boaz had shown her “grace” and took “knowledge” of her even though she was a “stranger”!  Ruth was subservient and contrite before Boaz. This is the similar way we are to approach Jesus, our God, Who has shown His Grace, compassion, and kindness to us. And we must remember that “grace” is a gift and not something that is earned. In Ephesians 2:4-9 we are told, “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved😉 And hath raised [us] up together, and made [us] sit together in heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in [his] kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.“

Notice also the word “knowledge”, it is from the Hebrew word נָכַר (nāḵar)^H5234  for to know, acknowledge, discern. Just as Boaz knew and acknowledged and discerned Ruth, so does God know His children.  God knows all about us!  Please see all of Psalms 103, but we note here in Psalms 103:11-14, “For as the heaven is high above the earth, [so] great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth [his] children, [so] the LORD pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we [are] dust.”  And in 2 Chronicles 16:9 we read, “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of [them] whose heart [is] perfect toward him. …“

Not to Glean in Another Field!

Notice also that Boaz commanded her to not glean from any other fields, but to stay close to his maidens and she would be safe.  Moreover, she would be provided for when she is both hungry and thirsty.

We are reminded that God’s command is explicit in the Bible, many times over that, we are to not seek after other gods or false gospels (and hence not to glean in other fields), but also in 1 Thessalonians 5:12,  “And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; And to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. [And] be at peace among yourselves.” and in verse 21, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”  

We also know from Galatians 1:6-8 that, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.“

Hunger and Thirst

Moreover, in Matthew 5:6 we read, “Blessed [are] they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”

Harvesting For God

As for harvesting, we know that Jesus said in John 4:35-38, “Say not ye, There are yet four months, and [then] cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour:other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.”  And the exposition through Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:6-8, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.”  All believers, as Christian servants, are merely laborers in the fields of Jesus Christ, our Master, sowing and nurturing with the water of the Word, but God determines and provides the fruit to be reaped and harvested. The ultimate harvest of souls is at the end of the world on Judgment Day!

How do we know this?  From the Parable of the Sower!  Please see: https://bereansearching.com/2018/03/20/the-parable-of-the-sower-the-bibles-rosetta-stone/ 

In Matthew 13:37-43, we read the exposition by Jesus, “He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked [one]; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.“

Ruth Left the Land of Her Nativity

In verses 11 & 12 we read, “And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and [how] thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore. The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings (כָּנָף (kānāp̄; ^H3671) thou art come to trust.”

We all should be aware that nothing escapes the eyes of God, as we noted earlier, God is Omniscient and Omnipotent and He knows everything!

Psalms 34:15, “The eyes of the LORD [are] upon the righteous, and his ears [are] open unto their cry.”

Proverbs 5:21, “For the ways of man [are] before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.”

Proverbs 15:3, “The eyes of the LORD [are] in every place, beholding the evil and the good.”

Typical threshing floor, Source: https://jesusway4you.com/2018/11/14/signs-symbols-of-the-bible-threshing-floor/

NOTE: While Ornan the Jebusite, who we read about in 1 Chronicles 21, seems to have been an honorable man in showing his willingness to give away, and subsequently, to meet David’s request to buy both the threshing floor, the sacrifice, and the threshing instruments for wood (and Ornan was even called “a king” in 2 Samuel 24:23), we also know a few other things about the Jebusites:

1) they are all descended from Canaan (Genesis 10:16),

2) in Exodus 33:2, God told Moses that, “I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite:”

3) in 1 Chronicles 11:4-6 we read, “And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, which [is] Jebus; where the Jebusites [were], the inhabitants of the land. And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, Thou shalt not come hither. Nevertheless David took the castle of Zion, which is the city of David.” The implication is that David disposed of the Jebusites who rebelled against him.  However, we should also note that in 2 Samuel 5:6, we are given some additional information, “And the king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land: which spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither: thinking, David cannot come in hither.”  Just as David was not deterred in entering Jerusalem to conquer it, Jesus also went into Jerusalem, and Jesus also took away “the blind and the lame”…by healing them, and, more importantly by atoning for their sins. Everyone is a sinner, and by nature also “blind and lame” from a spiritual perspective, please see: Mephibosheth.

In Verse 3, we read, “Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: [but] make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.” It is clear that Ruth was to prepare herself with washing, annointing, and raiment as fit for a bride, which is something at least similar to the preparation of a bride adorned for her husband as we read about in Revelation 21:2, “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” The Bride of Christ (as represented here by Ruth) will be adorned in the white robes of Christ’s righteousness that we read about in Revelation 7:9.

It is clear that Ruth sole purpose and mandate from Naomi was to go to the threshing floor to present and offer herself to Boaz as a potential worthy virtuous and chaste bride. Boaz directly addresses her below as a being “a virtuous woman”.  So we can in no way conclude that anything untoward, dishonorable, or immoral occurs in the subsequent recorded account.

In Verse 4, we read, “And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do.”   The directions given by Naomi to Ruth are quite explicit, and while curious, has important spiritual ramifications as we will see below

In Verse 5, “And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do.” Ruth was an obedient servant to her mother-in-law Ruth, as we also see in the next verse.

In Verse 6, “And she went down unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother in law bade her.” Ruth kept her promises to Naomi with her deeds.

In Verse 7, “And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down.”

This passage appears fairly straightforward, but there are other relatable Bible verses that come to mind. First we know that Boaz was sufficed similar to what we had seen earlier with Ruth in the field belonging to Boaz.  Boaz’s heart was “merry” in a way that is not unlike what can be found in the Book of Esther, Chapter 1:10.  What Boaz drank is unspecified.  It could have been water, wine, or something else. However, while we may speculate that it could mean wine in the historical context, it does not necessarily imply drunkeness.  In any case, we have to be careful to see what God means spiritually by the use of such language.  If it can only mean drunkenness, then we would also have to accuse God of being a drunkard, because in Judges 9:12-13, we read, “Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, [and] reign over us.  And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?”  Incidentally, in this parable, “the vine” represents Jesus Christ (John 15:1+5), and as everywhere in the Bible, good wine represents the shed blood of Jesus Christ. We also know from Isaiah 53:10, “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put [him] to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see [his] seed, he shall prolong [his] days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.“

Also, in Psalms 104:14-15, we read how the Lord God “causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth;  And wine [that] maketh glad the heart of man, [and] oil to make [his] face to shine, and bread [which] strengtheneth man’s heart.”  We have just observed what the wine and oil represents, and every believer should know that the bread represents Jesus Christ’s body that was given for us (please see John 6:35 and John 6:31 and Matthew 26:26, Mark 14:22, and Luke 22:19 ). And God uses bread and corn often interchangeably to represent the body of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Uncovering Boaz’s Feet

When we read in verse 7, that Ruth went in softly to Boaz while he slept and “and uncovered his feet, and laid her down.” This account is a bit surprising to us in the historical context, but from a spiritual context, given that Boaz represents Jesus and Ruth represents the supplicant believer and the Bride of Christ, there is something more going on.  When Jesus was crucified on that fateful Passover day, he was first stripped of His clothes in Matthew 27:28. He was being shamed to bear our iniquities. Isaiah 53:5, “But he [was] wounded for our transgressions, [he was] bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace [was] upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”  It would appear therefore that when Ruth uncovered Boaz’s feet, she was effectively, symbolically, imputing the believers’ sins onto Jesus.  This might seem a bit of an extreme extension, but, given what subsequently unfolds below, is it really?

In Verse 8, “And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid ^H2729, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet.”  We see the eventful words, “It came to pass“, at midnight, although the word is actually “night”, and then the key words “afraid” (actually to tremble, to be terrified, or to quake as in Exodus 19:18 when “…the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked ^H2729 greatly) and “turned himself” (the spiritual application  is unclear here). It is also notable that in Psalm 78:65, God appears to be likening Himself to Boaz in this instance, “Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, [and]  like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine.”  The subsequent verses in Psalm 78 relate to judgment and vengeance, but for the believers, there is only comfort because Jesus bore the judgment for their sins. And lastly, Boaz notices the presence of a woman (Ruth) at his feet.  

The Overspreading With a Skirt Is Like Covering With Wings

In Verse 9, “And he said, Who [art] thou? And she answered, I [am] Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt (כָּנָף (kānāp̄; ^H3671) over thine handmaid; for thou [art] a near kinsman.”(גָּאַל (gā’al)^H1350) Ruth was clearly answering to Boaz that she was Ruth, the Moabitess, the daughter in law to Naomi, the widow of Elimelech and the mother of Mahlon (Ruth’s dead husband who left no progeny). She made it clear, by her appearance and her obeisance, that she was offering herself to be Boaz’s wife, and therefore to bear children up in the name of the dead kin of Boaz, Mahlon and Elimelech.

But what about the spreading of the skirt of Boaz over Ruth, what does that signify.  God tells us in Ezekiel 16:8, “Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time [was] the time of love; and I spread my skirt (כָּנָף (kānāp̄;^H3671) over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.” It is difficult for one’s eyes not to swell up with tears at the reading of these Words of God.  

It should also be noted that God was talking about how well He loved and cared for National Israel through to verse 14 of Ezekiel 16.  However, verses 17 through 59 show us God’s disdain and judgment upon Israel for her spiritual adultery, but nonetheless, in the last four verses in Isaiah 16:60-63, God says that he will remember His covenant and promises to establish a new and everlasting covenant (with the spiritual eternal Israel, the true believing Christians, out of all the world saved by grace and not by the works of the law).

NOTE: The word used for skirt (כָּנָף (kānāp̄;^H3671) is most commonly translated as “wings” as we read back in Ruth 2:12, “The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings (כָּנָף (kānāp̄; ^H3671) thou art come to trust.” But as we stated earlier, this is the desire of every believer as we read in the Book of Psalms:

Psalm 17:8,  “Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings(כָּנָף (kānāp̄; ^H3671),”

Psalm 36:7, “How excellent [is] thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings (כָּנָף (kānāp̄; ^H3671).”

Psalm 63:7, “Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings(כָּנָף (kānāp̄; ^H3671) will I rejoice.

Psalm 91:4, “:He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings (כָּנָף (kānāp̄; ^H3671) shalt thou trust: his truth [shall be thy] shield and buckler.“

Kinsman Redeemer

Note Also that the words “Near Kinsman” is translated from the Hebrew word גָּאַל (gā’al) ^H1350  , which is translated 18x in the Bible as “Redeemer” as we find in the following examples which all unequivocally point to the LORD Jesus Christ:

Psalm 19:14, “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength,and my redeemer. ^H1350“

Proverbs 23:11, “For their redeemer ^H1350 [is] mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee.”

Isaiah 44:6, “Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer ^H1350 the LORD of hosts; I [am] the first, and I [am] the last; and beside me [there is] no God.” (See also Revelation 2:8 and Revelation 22:13)

Isaiah 48:17, “Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, ^H1350 the Holy One of Israel; I [am] the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way [that] thou shouldest go.”

Isaiah 54:5, “For thy Maker [is] thine husband; the LORD of hosts [is] his name; and thy Redeemer ^H1350 the Holy One of Israel;The God of the whole earth shall he be called.”

In Verse 10, “And he said, Blessed [be] thou of the Lord, my daughter: [for] thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich.”  Boaz realizes that he is old enough to be Ruth’s father and that he would not normally be appealing to a younger woman. Boaz Blessed Ruth in the Name of the Lord and again called her “daughter”! Boaz also was speaking comfortably to Ruth, similar to what we read in Isaiah 40:1 & 2, “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’S hand double for all her sins.“

In Verse 11, “And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou [art] a virtuous woman.” The meaning of a virtuous woman can be found in Proverbs 31:10-31 and Titus 2:5. For more on what it means to be a virtuous woman according to the Bible, please see:  https://bereansearching.com/2017/01/24/who-can-find-a-virtuous-woman-proverbs-3110-31/ 

In Verse 12, “And now it is true that I [am thy] near kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I.” This is much more straightforward, because there is another closer living relative to Elimilech, who has the first right of refusal, that could serve as the kinsman redeemer.  (More on this later in Chapter 4)

In Verse 13, “Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman’s part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as the Lord liveth: lie down until the morning.” Boaz promises Ruth of his intent to marry her if the closer relative refuses. Boaz’s instruction to Ruth is simply to lay down until morning, and therefore was telling her to go to sleep. Psalm 4:8, “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.” Proverbs 3:24, “When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.” Ruth was safe with Boaz as the believers are with Jesus.

At His Feet…Showing Obedience and Servitude

In Verse 14, “And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor.”  Ruth remained safely laying at Boaz’s feet through the night until morning, and, as was mentioned earlier, rising up is symbolic of resurrection to life. The spiritual implications remain unclear at this time regarding not letting it be known that a woman was on the threshing floor.  Regardless, it is worth reviewing some other verses pertaining to being at the feet of Jesus:

Matthew 15:30, “And great multitudes came unto him, having with them [those that were] lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them:”

Mark 5:22, “And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet,”

Luke 7:38-47,48, “And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe [them] with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed [them] with the ointment.”

Finally we have the two complimentary verses from Isaiah 52:7 “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!”

and Romans 10:15, “And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”

In Verse 15, “Also he said, Bring the vail that [thou hast] upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six [measures] of barley, and laid [it] on her: and she went into the city.” The barley represents the Word of God, the six is linked to mankind created on the sixth day, and going into the city is where the believers are to be fed with the Word of God.

In Verse 16, “And when she came to her mother in law, she said, Who [art] thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her.”  It is likely that Naomi was really enquiring about what happened overnight, and so Ruth explained that Boaz promised to be the kinsman redeemer if the nearer kinsman forebears.

In Verse 17, “And she said, These six [measures] of barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother in law.”  Given that Naomi is representative of the remnant saved by grace from National Israel, it is clear that Ruth is representative of the Gentiles bringing the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ (represented by the barley) to that remnant.

In Verse 18, “Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day.” “Sit still” is from the Hebrew word, יָשַׁב (yāšaḇ) ^H3427, which is most often as dwell (437x), inhabitant (221x), sit (172x), abide (70x), inhabit (39x), etc. Clearly Naomi is instructing Ruth to abide with her until the day’s events have fully unfolded. Interestingly, it is the same word that we find in the 23rd Psalm, verse 6, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell ^H3427 in the house of the LORD for ever.” Naomi knew Boaz was fully committed to his mission to fulfill his promise to Ruth.

Chapter 4

In Verse 1 we read, “Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by; unto whom he said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down.” Boaz went and sat down at the entrance gate, presumably of the village of Bethlehem, to hold a conference with the unnamed nearer kinsman of Naomi’s deceased husband Elimelech.

In verse 2, we read that in keeping with “And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down.” This was being done by Boaz in accordance with what we find in Deuteronomy 25:5-10.

Performing the Duty of Next of Kin, The Kinsman Redeemer and “the Loosing of the Shoe”

We read of the role of a kinsman in the event that a married brother dies leaving no offspring in Deuteronomy 25:5-10, “If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband’s brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband’s brother unto her. And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother [which] is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel. And if the man like not to take his brother’s wife, then let his brother’s wife go up to the gate unto the elders, and say, My husband’s brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel, he will not perform the duty of my husband’s brother. Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak unto him: and [if] he stand [to it], and say, I like not to take her; Then shall his brother’s wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother’s house. And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed.”

Irony of Ironies!

It should also be noted here that there is an interesting irony to this law of the service of a kinsmanfor a dead brother, which could be easily missed without some careful study.  Boaz was descended from Pharez, who was one of twins born to Tamar via Judah when her husband had died and her husband’s brother, Onan, refused to honor his dead brother by faithfully fulfilling the duty of a kinsman (and “the thing which he diddispleased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also” (God killed Onan) as a result, see: Gen 38:8-10 ).  Judah failed in his subsequent promise to Tamar to provide a younger brother, Shelah, as a husband to her, whereupon Tamar, in desperation, was forced to devise a way (albeit a sinful way) to obtain children via her dead husband’s line directly from Judah. The point being that had Onan lovingly fulfilled his Kinsman Redeemer’s duty for his dead brother, then Pharez, hence Boaz, would have never been born.  But God foreknew and predestinated these events to fulfill His purposes for His Glory and to teach us spiritual lessons. Is it not amazing that Boaz not only took on the very role of a kinsman for Ruth, for which one of his own living relatives was unwilling to take, but also that one of his own relatives in the past was unwilling to take, which if that relative had, then Boaz would never have been born. Amazing!

Moreover, Jesus was descended from Pharez from sons following to Boaz, Obed, Jesse, David, Nathan and eventually to Mary, and Jesus took it upon Himself to be the believer’s Kinsman Redeemer…when no one else ever would, or could, perform that Perfect Atoning and Reconciling Savior’s Role.Romans 5:6-11 tells us, “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”  And we are comforted by John 15:13, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. And not only [so], but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.”

Verse 3, “And he said unto the kinsman, Naomi, that is come again out of the country of Moab, selleth a parcel of land, which [was] our brother Elimelech’s:”  This discourse tells us that Naomi sold what ever property was previously the inheritance of Elimelech’s after returning from Moab and that both Boaz and the the unnamed kinsman were considered to be “brothers” of Elimelech qualifying them in order of nearness in relationship to Elimelech to serve in the role of kinsman redeemer.”

Verse 4, “And I thought to advertise thee, saying, Buy it before the inhabitants, and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem [it], redeem [it]: but if thou wilt not redeem [it, then] tell me, that I may know: for [there is] none to redeem [it] beside thee; and I [am] after thee. And he said, I will redeem [it].” This is straightforward and the result was that the unnamed nearer kinsman initially accepted the role of redeemer.

When Adam and Eve sinned back in the Book of Genesis, they lost their (and all of mankind’s) birthright to the earth, their first estate, which was lost to the devil.  And they also lost their lives and died without a redeemer. When Jesus, as the Lamb of God, paid the price for every believer’s sins in the substitutionary Atonement that was finished at the cross, Jesus also paid the full price of redemption as the eternal Kinsman Redeemer.  The unnamed nearer kinsman, represents anyone of all humankind, going all the way back to Adam (remembering that initially Adam was also “sinless” before the fall), who both unwilling and unable to assume that role of kinsman redeemer, so Jesus willingly took it upon Himself to fulfill that role.

We should also remember that Jesus is both our “Near Kinsman” and “Redeemer” because Jesus is counted as our Brethren as we read in Hebrews 2:16-18, “For verily he took not on [him the nature of] angels; but he took on [him] the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto [his] brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things [pertaining] to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.” Jesus had to take upon Himself a body of flesh and bones and be descended from Abraham, hence Adam (through Judah to David to Mary).  We also know from 1 Corinthians 15:22, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” and 1 Corinthians 15:45, “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam [was] made a quickening spirit.“

Exodus 6:6, “Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I [am] the LORD,and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:”

Job 19:25, “For I know [that] my redeemer liveth, and [that] he shall stand at the latter [day] upon the earth:“

Romans 3:24, “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:“

Ephesians 1:7, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;”

Conclusion: The LORD Jesus Christ Is The True Kinsman Redeemer in the Book of Ruth

We know that the Lord God is the Ultimate Eternal Redeemer.

In Psalm 106:10 we read how God save the nation of Israel from Egypt in Moses’s day, “And he saved them from the hand of him that hated [them], and redeemed (גָּאַל (gā’al)^H1350 them from the hand of the enemy.”

In Isaiah 48:17, “Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer (גָּאַל (gā’al) ^H1350, the Holy One of Israel; I [am] the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.”

Redemption is also like paying a “ransom” (פָּדָה (pāḏâ)) ^H6299.

In Psalm 130:7 & 8, we read, “Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD [there is] mercy, and with him [is] plenteous redemption (פְּדוּת (pᵊḏûṯ) ^H6304). And he shall redeem (פָּדָה (pāḏâ) ^H6299) Israel from all his iniquities.”

In Isaiah 35:9&10 we read, “No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed (גָּאַל (gā’al)^H1350 shall walk there: And the ransomed (פָּדָה (pāḏâ)) ^H6299 of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”

(There are many more verses in the Old Testament that you can search out for yourself)

And in the New Testament,

Ephesians 1:3-7, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly [places] in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;”

Galatians 3:13 we read, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed [is] every one that hangeth on a tree:” (see also John 3:14 )

In 1 Corinthians 1:30, “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:”

And finally, most emphatically, we read in 1 Peter 1:18-21, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, [as] silver and gold, from your vain conversation [received] by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.“

And we see God’s hand was always working behind the scenes in the book of Ruth: God sent the famine that drove Naomi’s family to Moab, where Ruth was; God made certain that Ruth “happened” to come to the field of Boaz; God had previously instituted the law of kinsman redeemer in Deuteronomy 25. It was considered extremely important by the Israelites to continue the family line and preserving one’s divinely appointed inheritance; and God enabled Ruth to conceive. Through it all, God’s plan was to bring David into the world which would continue through to the genealogical line of Christ.

All believers must clearly see  that they destitute spiritual paupers, widows and strangers, that so desperately need Jesus, the Mighty Man of Wealth as their Kinsman Redeemer and eternally praise Him in Glory in Heaven. We all should be grateful for this profound illustration of that redemptive action as allegorically provided in the Book of Ruth.

The Book of Ruth is an amazing example of God’s providence, mercy, grace, love, and comfort!  It shows how God intervenes throughout time and space to perfectly achieve His purposes. Some have called it a love story, and indeed that it true, but it is more than just the earthly story about the love between Boaz and Ruth, it is more importantly a glorious picture of the eternal spiritual love that God has for His eternal church (The Bride of Jesus Christ) made up of believers throughout time from both the Jew and Gentile nations.

In Psalm 146:9 we read, “The LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.”  The account of Ruth is about a destitute “widow” and “stranger”, Ruth, who accompanied another widow, Naomi, a “widow” indeed, finding grace and blessing from God, while the account of Esther is about an orphan (“fatherless”) being blessed by God, who becomes queen of a glorious kingdom.  In both cases, they spiritually represent all of God’s elect, His Church, and how the miraculous intercession of God was necessary through them to bring about the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem at the appointed time.  At the same time, we are also provided the unequivocal proofs that God perfectly crafted the events and the recording of them to reveal His Magnificent Salvation Plan through the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ to save sinners Who God calls out of darkness and despair.  As a result we are comforted in the knowledge that, as we read in Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called:and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who [can be] against us?“

Postscript: Jesus is Descended from a Long Lineage of Sinners!

“…God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as [it is] this day, to save much people alive.” Genesis 50:20

We also see that God has provided some interesting factual insights regarding Himself, and about Jesus’ earthly geneology in the Book of Ruth.  We can see that Jesus was descended (through Mary’s line from David via Nathan, See Matthew 1:5) via an incestuous relationship (through Ruth, hence Moab, hence Lot with Lot’s daughter).  We are also reminded of another unseemly point when we are provided this verse, Ruth 4:12, “And let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which the LORD shall give thee of this young woman.” Tamar was the daughter-in-law of Judah and she played the harlot (prostitute) to entice Judah in order to conceive Pharez by him, and Jesus’s earthly lineage is via Pharez (“Phares” in Matthew 1:3 and Luke 3:33). Moreover, the mother of Boaz (Booz in Matthew 1:5 and Luke 3:32) was named Rahab (also as “Rachab” in Matthew 1:5), and Rahab is the name of a harlot (prostitute) whom Joshua (meaning “Saviour”, the same as the Greek “Jesus”) saved, when the city of Jericho was destroyed, see: Joshua 6:17. Even David, with whom Jesus is linked by birth through Mary via David’s son Nathan (Luke 3:31), was both an adulterer and pre-meditated murderer (David orchestrated the death of Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah the Hittite). As was mentioned in the body of this study, these sordid historical aspects of the lineage of Jesus were all included in the Bible by God, very deliberately, to show us how God was willing to clearly and unequivocally associate Himself with sinful mankind from every possible perspective (and yet Jesus Himself knew no sin, 2 Corinthians 5:21) in order to take the believers’ places on the cross, and to pay the full price of redemption as our Kinsman Redeemer, saving us from what would have otherwise been an eternity in Hell.  Jesus came to save sinners!  Praise God from Whom all blessings flow! Hallelujah!