08-26-07
Sorry, you must have Windows Media Player 9 or higher. This is a large file which may take a few seconds to start Windows Media Real Audio MP3 (Ruth 1:22) So Naomi [named pleasant; but still Mara “bitter” Ruth 1:20, which relates to the majority of the present day Hebrews] returned, and Ruth [friend] the Moabitess [a Gentile, heathen, infidel, pagan, stranger, (unbeliever)], her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest [Heb: in the sense of roughness, coarseness (37x = 34x OT; 3x NT: John 6:9,13 feeding the 5,000; Rev 6:6)]. (Ruth 2:1,2) And Naomi had a kinsman [first mention in the Book of Ruth] of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth [valour], of the family of Elimelech [my God is King]; and his name was Boaz [in his swift strength – he will establish (Jachin)]. And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean [to pick up] ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace [Ruth was seeking Grace – she didn’t have it yet. Why not?]. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter. 1. Commentary: Ruth’s name means “friend” in Hebrew. To whom was Ruth a friend? Ruth proclaimed herself to be a friend of Naomi, and proved it by becoming inseparable; and Ruth proclaimed herself to be a friend of God, and commenced to become increasingly “attached” to God throughout the balance of the story. Naomi (head of the household) and Ruth were married (actually engaged in Hebrew culture then), i.e. they became one in Christ. The narrator speaks of Ruth’s relationship to Naomi as being “her daughter in law” in chapter 1:22, and Naomi speaks of Ruth as being “my daughter” in chapter 2:2. 2. (Ruth 1:14-18) [VOWS] And they [Orpah and Ruth] lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah [stiff-necked] kissed her mother in law [goodbye]; but Ruth clave unto her. And she [Naomi] said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law. And Ruth said, Entreat 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 [future tense, rather than “are” and “is”] 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 [another phrase used in traditional marriage vows]. When she [Naomi] saw that she [Ruth] was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her. a. (Gen 2:24) Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh [these are three phrases commonly used in traditional marriage vows with “cleave” being the central or the core causative thought upon which the other two are balanced]. 3. (Lev 23:22) And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance [wholly reap] of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning [in the additional sense of dropped stalks] of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them [the gleanings] unto the poor, and to the stranger [foreigner: alien]: I am the LORD your God. a. Commentary: Leviticus 23:22 is a physical manifestation of the spiritual provision (without the bread of life you die) made by God for the salvation (saving of life) of Hebrews, and non-Hebrews “the stranger,” such as Ruth the Moabitess [a Gentile, heathen, infidel, pagan, stranger, (unbeliever)]. Compare certain similarities of the “woman of Canaan” to Ruth in the following narrative from Matthew 15:21-28, which is also about a woman and her daughter. b. (Mat 15:21-28) Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon [heathen cities]. And, behold, a woman of Canaan [a Gentile, like Ruth: a heathen, infidel, pagan, stranger, (unbeliever)] 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 [i.e. the Hebrews]. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet [good, worthy] to take the children's bread, and cast it to dogs [yep, He called her a dog]. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table [a type of gleaning]. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith [i.e. you have little pride]: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. c. Commentary: The bread of life. Eating the crumbs (bread) that fall from the master’s table is the antitype or fulfillment of gleaning the seed (bread) from Boaz’s field. In this graphic comparison, it is interesting to note that in the Old Testament at the table belonging to Boaz (Ruth 2:14) the seed is uncrushed, but in the New Testament at “their master’s table” the seed is crushed. However, both the Old Testament uncrushed seed and the New testament crushed seed are readily edible. Who is the seed? d. (Ruth 2:14) And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither [to the tent in the field], and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers [at the table]: and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left. (Ruth 2:3) And she [Ruth] went, and came, and gleaned in the field [Ruth had to “pick up” to herself the Word of God before she could be saved] after the reapers [i.e. after those Hebrews of the Old Testament who were already harvesting (picking up) the seed of God’s Word; Ruth the Gentile is symbolic prophetically of the New Testament – in many ways]: and her hap was to light on a part of the field [“And she happened to come to the part of the field” NKJV] belonging unto Boaz [a type of Jesus Christ “full of grace and truth” John 1:14], who was of the kindred [second mention] of Elimelech [my God is King]. 1. Commentary: “went, and came” = These are two different words (the comma was added by the translators) describing Ruth’s single action. These two words are opposing expressions from two different points of view. The message revealed in context by these two words is that from Satan’s point of view Ruth “went” from the world, and from God’s point of view Ruth “came” to Jesus. 2. (Luke 8:11) [“gleaned in the field”] Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. a. The story of Ruth is not only factual (logos), but it is also “a parable” in the sense that it has a heavenly meaning(s) (rhema). From one perspective, the story of Ruth is about gleaning souls to Christ. From another perspective, the story of Ruth is one seed among many seeds in the Bible. From another perspective, the field of Boaz is the Bible. From another perspective, the whole story of Ruth is a microcosm of the Bible. From another perspective, the story of Ruth depicts the process of our individual personal eternal salvation from beginning to end. 3. (Rom 8:28) [“her hap”] And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called [Ruth was being “called” unto Jesus] according to his purpose [i.e. to glean God’s word in the field of Boaz… just like us]. Amen Previous Chapter Table Of Contents Next Chapter Click here to download a printable version of this message Click here to download a DOC version of this message
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(Ruth 1:22) So Naomi [named pleasant; but still Mara “bitter” Ruth 1:20, which relates to the majority of the present day Hebrews] returned, and Ruth [friend] the Moabitess [a Gentile, heathen, infidel, pagan, stranger, (unbeliever)], her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest [Heb: in the sense of roughness, coarseness (37x = 34x OT; 3x NT: John 6:9,13 feeding the 5,000; Rev 6:6)]. (Ruth 2:1,2) And Naomi had a kinsman [first mention in the Book of Ruth] of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth [valour], of the family of Elimelech [my God is King]; and his name was Boaz [in his swift strength – he will establish (Jachin)]. And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean [to pick up] ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace [Ruth was seeking Grace – she didn’t have it yet. Why not?]. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter.
1. Commentary: Ruth’s name means “friend” in Hebrew. To whom was Ruth a friend? Ruth proclaimed herself to be a friend of Naomi, and proved it by becoming inseparable; and Ruth proclaimed herself to be a friend of God, and commenced to become increasingly “attached” to God throughout the balance of the story. Naomi (head of the household) and Ruth were married (actually engaged in Hebrew culture then), i.e. they became one in Christ. The narrator speaks of Ruth’s relationship to Naomi as being “her daughter in law” in chapter 1:22, and Naomi speaks of Ruth as being “my daughter” in chapter 2:2.
2. (Ruth 1:14-18) [VOWS] And they [Orpah and Ruth] lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah [stiff-necked] kissed her mother in law [goodbye]; but Ruth clave unto her. And she [Naomi] said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law. And Ruth said, Entreat 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 [future tense, rather than “are” and “is”] 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 [another phrase used in traditional marriage vows]. When she [Naomi] saw that she [Ruth] was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.
a. (Gen 2:24) Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh [these are three phrases commonly used in traditional marriage vows with “cleave” being the central or the core causative thought upon which the other two are balanced].
3. (Lev 23:22) And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance [wholly reap] of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning [in the additional sense of dropped stalks] of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them [the gleanings] unto the poor, and to the stranger [foreigner: alien]: I am the LORD your God.
a. Commentary: Leviticus 23:22 is a physical manifestation of the spiritual provision (without the bread of life you die) made by God for the salvation (saving of life) of Hebrews, and non-Hebrews “the stranger,” such as Ruth the Moabitess [a Gentile, heathen, infidel, pagan, stranger, (unbeliever)]. Compare certain similarities of the “woman of Canaan” to Ruth in the following narrative from Matthew 15:21-28, which is also about a woman and her daughter.
b. (Mat 15:21-28) Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon [heathen cities]. And, behold, a woman of Canaan [a Gentile, like Ruth: a heathen, infidel, pagan, stranger, (unbeliever)] 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 [i.e. the Hebrews]. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet [good, worthy] to take the children's bread, and cast it to dogs [yep, He called her a dog]. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table [a type of gleaning]. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith [i.e. you have little pride]: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
c. Commentary: The bread of life. Eating the crumbs (bread) that fall from the master’s table is the antitype or fulfillment of gleaning the seed (bread) from Boaz’s field. In this graphic comparison, it is interesting to note that in the Old Testament at the table belonging to Boaz (Ruth 2:14) the seed is uncrushed, but in the New Testament at “their master’s table” the seed is crushed. However, both the Old Testament uncrushed seed and the New testament crushed seed are readily edible. Who is the seed?
d. (Ruth 2:14) And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither [to the tent in the field], and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers [at the table]: and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left.
(Ruth 2:3) And she [Ruth] went, and came, and gleaned in the field [Ruth had to “pick up” to herself the Word of God before she could be saved] after the reapers [i.e. after those Hebrews of the Old Testament who were already harvesting (picking up) the seed of God’s Word; Ruth the Gentile is symbolic prophetically of the New Testament – in many ways]: and her hap was to light on a part of the field [“And she happened to come to the part of the field” NKJV] belonging unto Boaz [a type of Jesus Christ “full of grace and truth” John 1:14], who was of the kindred [second mention] of Elimelech [my God is King].
1. Commentary: “went, and came” = These are two different words (the comma was added by the translators) describing Ruth’s single action. These two words are opposing expressions from two different points of view. The message revealed in context by these two words is that from Satan’s point of view Ruth “went” from the world, and from God’s point of view Ruth “came” to Jesus.
2. (Luke 8:11) [“gleaned in the field”] Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
a. The story of Ruth is not only factual (logos), but it is also “a parable” in the sense that it has a heavenly meaning(s) (rhema). From one perspective, the story of Ruth is about gleaning souls to Christ. From another perspective, the story of Ruth is one seed among many seeds in the Bible. From another perspective, the field of Boaz is the Bible. From another perspective, the whole story of Ruth is a microcosm of the Bible. From another perspective, the story of Ruth depicts the process of our individual personal eternal salvation from beginning to end.
3. (Rom 8:28) [“her hap”] And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called [Ruth was being “called” unto Jesus] according to his purpose [i.e. to glean God’s word in the field of Boaz… just like us].
Amen
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