Leaving Your History To Enter Your Destiny!
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The Romance Of Redemption!
The Romance Of Redemption!
Now Naomi had a kinsman of her husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.
It has been said that the Old Testament is the New Testament CONCEALED and the New Testament is the Old Testament REVEALED!
When we read the Old Testament we need to be aware of four dimensions of meaning.
PESHAT: The simple, plain or literal meaning and the plain sense makes sense!
REMEZ: The meaning that is “hinted” at in the text, the simple meaning infers there is a deeper meaning meaning to discover!
DERUSH: The homiletic meaning of the text, we learn a biblical truth when we seek the biblical answer or precept upon precept . . .
SOD: The secret or concealed meaning within the text. Often what is revealed on the surface of the text may be there to teach us what is beneath the surface of the text.
“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;
The book of Ruth lends itself to all four dimensions of understanding and today we will seek to go deep into the SOD and discern some of the embedded, prophetic layers in The Romance of Redemption!
I. The ROMANCE of FAITH!
The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife, Naomi; and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem in Judah. Now they entered the land of Moab and remained there.
The term “prophetic layer” is not a theological term everyone is comfortable using. The reason for this is because they embrace the position of “if the plain sense makes sense, don’t look for any other sense.” There is nothing wrong with this, but there is treasure buried in the prophetic layers!
For example, we have learned that Elimelech means “My God Is King” and Naomi means “Pleasantness or Sweetness” and Mahlon means “weak or sickly” and Chilion means “whining or pining” and Ruth means “friendliness”. But beyond the meaning of the names each of these individuals represent a biblical TYPE.
TYPE = An Old Testament person, place or event that RESEMBLES a person, place or event in the New Testament!
ANTI-TYPE = The fulfillment of the TYPE
SHADOWS = A shadow in the Old Testament REVEALS the FORM of the person, place, object or event found in the New Testament that it pre-figures. A shadow is not the actual image of the object, but it reveals the form of the object. Later, in the New Testament, the true Light reveals the actual object itself!
When it comes to the book of Ruth, when you sense there is more to the book than pure history, you can discern some rich treasure embedded in The Romance of Faith. For Example:
Elimelech and Naomi are types for the nation Israel, My God Is King and Pleasantness. Elimelech and Naomi had two sons, Mahlon and Chilion who represent the sons of Israel, who are weak and whining!
Elimelech chose to leave Bethlehem which means House of Bread, the land God had given them and dwell in Moab which means God’s washpot or dishwater. The sons of Israel marry Gentile women outside of the covenant community, Orphah and Ruth. In less than ten years, all three men die in the wilderness leaving Naomi, Orpah and Ruth to be widows in Moab.
If Elimelech, Naomi, Mahlon and Chilion represent Israel in the wilderness out of the will of God, Ruth represents the Gentiles God chooses to become the Church! And we see The Romance of Faith beginning with Ruth as a TYPE for the CHURCH!
And they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
Then she said, “Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her gods; return after your sister-in-law.”
But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.
The profession of faith that Ruth makes in chapter 1 is a representation of the kind of profession of faith we make when we enter into early phases of The Romance of Redemption, but it is not the end of the story, it is merely the beginning of the journey!
In addition to The Romance of Faith, notice:
II. The RELATIONSHIP Of LOVE!
Now Naomi had a kinsman of her husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.
We are introduced to a “kinsman” of Naomi’s husband by the name of Boaz which means “in him is strength.” The concept of a kinsman that will redeem was provided to Israel by God to protect the land He had given them from being forfeited due to debt.
There were three things that could be redeemed by the kinsman redeemer: slaves, land and or a childless widow! However there were specific qualifications for the kinsman redeemer. He had to be a near kinsman/relative; he had to be able to redeem and he had to be willing to redeem!
Elimelech and Naomi were types and or shadows for Israel, Ruth is a type and or shadow of the Gentile being drawn by God into a Relationship of Love through the Romance of Faith. But Ruth was from outside the commonwealth of Israel, she was living under a ten generation curse and she could not redeem herself, but through Naomi she would learn about a kinsman redeemer name Boaz!
Boaz is a type and or shadow of Christ in the Old Testament! Boaz is is a Jew and He is a relative of Naomi. Boaz is from Bethlehem and Christ was born in Bethlehem. Jesus is God who became flesh so that He could be born through the virgin Mary and become the kinsman redeemer for all of Israel and the Gentile world!
If you read Ezekiel 32-38 you will notice that Israel has to be restored to the land before their relationship with God will be restored! The same is true in Ruth, Naomi, the Jew, is now back in her land, like Israel is now, and the time will come when Jesus, like Boaz, secures all of the land for Israel and then restores the Jews unto their God!
In chapter 3 we learn about Ruth’s encounter with Boaz. Ruth is a type or shadow of the Church or individual Believer, and Boaz is a type or shadow of Christ! Naomi will be used by God to help Ruth meet Boaz much like Israel was initially used by God to introduce the Gentiles to Christ! According to Romans 11, Gentile Christians will help bring Israel back to God, like Ruth did for Naomi!
How Does The Romance of Faith transition into the Relationship of Love?
A. NAOMI’s plan was BIBLICAL!
Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you?
“Now is not Boaz our kinsman, with whose maids you were? Behold, he winnows barley at the threshing floor tonight.
Ruth met Boaz, the owner of the field she was harvesting in, but she did not know he was the kinsman redeemer Naomi had told her about. Most Believer’s learn to work in God’s field long before they really know who He is!
When Ruth returned from working in the field of Boaz with a bountiful, favor filled harvest, Naomi asked her where she had gleaned such a harvest. Ruth said that she had found favor in the eyes of a man named Boaz! Immediately, Naomi’s countenance changed and she knew that Boaz was attracted to Ruth and she gave Ruth instructions on how to take her relationship with Boaz to the next level!
“Wash yourself therefore, and anoint yourself and put on your best clothes, and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.
B. RUTH’s proposal was BOLD!
“It shall be when he lies down, that you shall notice the place where he lies, and you shall go and uncover his feet and lie down; then he will tell you what you shall do.”
She said to her, “All that you say I will do.”
So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law had commanded her.
What was Ruth doing? She was proposing marriage to Boaz! She was asking Boaz to become her kinsman redeemer!
How did Boaz respond to Ruth’s request for him to become her kinsman redeemer?
“Now it is true I am a close relative; however, there is a relative closer than I.
“Remain this night, and when morning comes, if he will redeem you, good; let him redeem you. But if he does not wish to redeem you, then I will redeem you, as the Lord lives. Lie down until morning.”
If Elimelech and Naomi are types and or shadows for Israel, and Mahlon and Chilion are types and or shadows for the sons of Israel, and Ruth is a type and or shadow for the Church, who is the relative that is closer in line to redeem her than Boaz?
The relative that is closer than Boaz is a type or shadow for The Law of Moses!
The closer relative said he would redeem the land but when he found out he would also have to redeem the Moabite widow, he refused to do so! Why? Because he did not love the woman he had never met, but Boaz did!
We see the ROMANCE of FAITH and the RELATIONSHIP of LOVE, but notice also:
III. The RESTORATION of LIFE!
So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he went in to her. And the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.
Naomi is a type and or shadow for Israel, and she is old and believes the life has gone out of her forever. However, when Boaz and Ruth (Christ and the Church), have their son, the women of Bethlehem speak a blessing on the son!
Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed is the Lord who has not left you without a redeemer today, and may his name become famous in Israel.
And now notice the next part of the prophetic blessing these women imparted over Naomi!
“May he also be to you a restorer of life and a sustainer of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”
How did Naomi respond to this prophetic blessing she heard and received?
Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her lap, and became his nurse.
In Closing, we have seen the ROMANCE of LIFE, the RELATIONSHIP of LOVE, the RESTORATION of LIFE and in closing notice:
IV. The ROYAL LEGACY!
The neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi!” So they named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.
Does anyone notice anything peculiar about a person mentioned in 4:17?
Obed is a baby, Jesse has not been born nor has David, so how do we reconcile this mystery?
These were the days when the Judges governed, it was the period of time after the death of Joshua but before the first King over Israel. Samuel is most likely the author of the book of Ruth and he is able to give us the inspired lineage from Ruth to David!
The Word of God is a story that always ends right! If you will persevere long enough, God always wins, it will always end right! If you know Christ as your kinsman redeemer, things will always end right!
Think about it with me, this Moabite woman, living with a ten generation curse upon her life, a childless widow living in Moab, journeys to a foreign land, broke and unable to provide for herself, ends up gleaning in the corner of a field that belongs to Boaz.
Her life may have started off wrong but it ended right! She ended up with a legacy that stretches from eternity to eternity! God takes nothing and speaks it into something, He takes a nobody and turns them into somebody!
I don’t know about you, but by grace through faith I am kin to Abraham! I once was a son of Adam but I have been brought into the family of God! I’ve got a heritage and a legacy behind me and a future and a hope in front of me! I’ve got royalty in my bloodline!
I don’t know how this year has started for you, but don’t give up, don’t give in, as a son or daughter of God, it is going to end right! Who would have ever thought that a Jewish grandmother bouncing a half Jew and half Gentile baby boy on her knee and nursing him in a small village called Bethlehem would have ever made a difference in this world or in the world to come? But God!
Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse.
Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.
So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.