Ruth, Part 5 1/16/2011 §ˆ
- Ruth 2:20, Naomi said, ÒBlessed be he of the
Lord,Ó and then she followed this up with, ÒThe Lord hath not left off His
kindness to he living and the dead.Ó Paraphrased first she said ÒBlessed
be he who was sent by the Lord, for he is our next of kin.Ó This was
different from what she said in verse 19, where she said, ÒBlessed be he
(Boaz) that did take knowledge of thee.Ó This was a more general statement
returning blessing on those who were kind to Ruth. But now she recognized
the hand of the Lord in sending Ruth to the field of Boaz, and that is why
she said, ÒBlessed be he who was sent of the LordÓ for she suddenly
realized the possibility that Boaz was sent to be their Redeemer, and that
is why she said, Òthe Lord hath not left off His kindness to he living and
the dead.Ó Why would this act of God be kindness to the dead? When Boaz
would be their Redeemer, Boaz would raise up a son by Ruth, and this son
would be the heir of all that Elimelech left behind, and would continue to
carry the name that Mahlon left behind. This man is one of our ÒkinsmenÓ
<1350> (8802). The Lord does not abandon a work that He has begun (Phil
1:6).
- Ruth 2:21-22, Ruth informed Naomi that Boaz
liked her to stay with his young men until the end of all his harvest.
This means she was invited to glean in the barley fields as well as in the
wheat fields that Boaz owned.
Why did Boaz mention his young men, whereas Naomi mentioned his
maidens? Boaz gave Ruth the freedom to date the young men if she so
desired. Naomi had other plans. She recommended that Ruth stay with the
maidens of Boaz, so that her reputation would not be marred.
- Ruth 2:22, Ruth stayed with the maidens of
Boaz until the end of the barley harvest and the wheat harvest. The barley
harvest occurred at the time of Passover, in April and May. The wheat
harvest occurred seven weeks later at the time of Pentecost, in June and
July. Pentecost refers to the time of harvest.
- Ruth 2:22, Before her marriage to Boaz, Ruth stayed
and worked on the harvest which is a picture of the saints assisting the
Lord Jesus Christ at the ingathering of the harvest at the end of time.
God says in 1Cor 6:3 that at that time the saints are also judging
the angels that sinned and judging all the unsaved of mankind. Symbolically
the harvest represents the ingathering of the saints at the end of time. The
Lord Jesus told us about this end time event in one of His parables. Read Matt
13:37-43, and notice that first the harvest is attended and the tares
are cast into the fire before the righteous shine forth as the sun, which
they finally do at the marriage feast.
(Ruth, Part 5, rtf)