A STUDY OF THE BOOK OF RUTH

The Old Testament is a shadow of the New Testament. It is full of great details and very illuminating examples for us to easily follow and apply in our lives as believers. I particularly am fully puzzled by the riches of the book of Song of Songs. I have never ceased to worship God for that book. Oh glory to God, the wisdom and knowledge of God is past finding out, I will discuss it later. I would like to take the Book of Ruth for it is much simpler and straight forward for all believers to understand. I have taught it in Primary Schools and the kids have fully been enlightened and blessed by it.
The word of God fully interprets itself unless you read the entire Bible from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21 within six months you can hardly start to interpret the word of God. It you study a good translation and finish the Bile twice within three months you will have so much to write, say and pray about that you will buffle your country.

Chapter 1 of Ruth
Verse 1: Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land.
I would like you to know that the days when the judges ruled were days when God (Jehovah) was really angry with His children (of Israel). After the death of Joshua and they started worshipping idols. So the LORD sent warning after warning but they never took heed. Every man did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 20:25). Exactly this is the present condition of the present Israel. All do what they want. Only traces of Jehovah are left. When people disobey God He sent His arms of war, pestilence and lastly famine. And now in the land of Israel it was famine time. It was at that time that the word of God says in verse 1.

And a certain man of Bethlehem – Judah went out to Sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.

The word of God says, “Lean not on your own understanding”. But this man of Bethlehem – Judah used his mind and decided to leave the house of bread. Bethlehem means, “house of bread”. It is in the land of promise. The land were God can actively be called and He response. But this man decided to disobey the Law of Moses, which had already said, “make no league with the nations around you”. But, he had a reason was, there was no food. The same man could have read about Isaac in Genesis 26:3 where God told him, “Sojourn in this land, I will be with thee…”. V 12 says, “Isaac sowed in that land, received in the same year a hundred fold, and the LORD blessed him”.
This man went to Moab. Moab is the kind of people who are drunk, who can play incest, adultery and immoral acts in darkness (Read19:30-38). The children born from lot, the man fully influenced by Sodom. Hence Moab is the world or the Gentile world. People without the fear of God (Genesis 20:19).
Moab is the Gentile world.
A man of covenant now joins himself with the heathens. That is extremely dangerous. He might die soon. The Bible marks each person in that family so clearly.

Verse 2: And the name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehm – Judah.
God knows all people by name. He knows what you have planned and your influences on other people He knows it altogether. He knows your village completely well. You can’t hide from God.
………………The name of the man was………….So you can refuse to tell anybody where you are taking your family physically, spiritually or mentally but in the final analysis God knows and weighs all your actions. You are marked.

Verse 3: And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died and she was left, and her two sons.
This is very important for the whole book of Ruth. It shows that person who is important, fundamental for understanding all the events. In this one verse she is referred to three times. She is connected to her husband, and she is connected to her children. If you have sharp eyes, you can see that after Jesus died and went to heaven, the Holy Spirit was left in charge of the church and the tribe of Israel. Naomi means “Pleasant” hence I can say that Naomi is the Holy Spirit in the Gentile world. The tribe of Israel has rejected the Messiah. We shall see clearly why I believe that Naomi is the Holy Spirit type in this book.

Verse 4: And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpahm and the name of the other was Ruth: and they dwelt there about ten years.
These uninformed boys mistake of mistakes. Their father never told them their covenant with God. So they followed their father who taught that it is possible to assume God. The LORD, had told the children of Israel never to intermarriage with other tribes. The boys did “ignorantly”. But the wages of sin are just the same – death, the word of God says in Romans 6:23. God knows your acceptable wife. Some wives can mean death to you if they are not in the permissible will of God (Romans 12:2).

Verse 5: And Mahlon and Chilion died also bothe of them: and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband.
They died both of them. God is no respecter of persons. Os far the woman has not done any mistake. But after the death of her husband, she is free to obey God or not. If she continues in Moab she will die, bur if she returns she will live.
Again, you can see the emphasis of the woman in the verse 5. she is mentioned three times again. In five verses she is mentioned eight times. She is the only one in the land of Moab who has a covenant with Jehovah God. She is the only one who knows the conditions of Jehovah, the Holy God. This is the situation in the world today. It is only the Holy Spirit who knows the only true and living God. Without the Holy Spirit we can not know the God of Israel. We can’t even read our way to heaven. Now the Holy Spirit wants to go back.

Verse 6: Then she arose with her daughters in law, she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the LORD had visited His people in giving them bread.
Glory to God…..you can see the wording….
“She arose with her….” She was in complete control that she might return….The only reason, which makes a Gentile to come to the God of Israel, is because bread has been provided by Jehovah. That bread is Jesus. He said I am the bread of life (John 6:48). For God so loved the world (Moab) that He gave His only begotten son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). But Noami has a problem, she knows the conditions of God, Jehovah will not allow a Gentile just simply as the two daughters thought. This a Mabites, people who are earthly minded. They must be heavenly minded before they can fit into the family of a heavenly God. They are too much husband minded. This has to change. Hence the Holy Spirit has this problem with every one who wants to go and be with the heavenly family. They must be ready to face the reproach of the “Jews” at the other side. The Jews will look at the girls as Moabites. The Jews are not ready to marry anybody like a Moabite. So if that is your priority you’d better go back.

Verse 7: wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah.
I thank God for His wonderful word, I desire to sit down and worship such an intelligent God. The word of God says,….she went forth out of the place.
…..She took them until they sere sure they had left Moab or rather they were leaving Moab. Not only that but for them to be sure that they are truly going…….They went on the way to return…….This is the initial stage of salvation. When the Holy Spirit decides to have you for Christ you will sense the great sanctifying power (separating energy) from the world.
Oh, at this stage men really a mixed multitude. Their minds a fully worldly set. They are just taking Moab to Israel out of us and fix our eyes on the eternal issues. Paul said, “we look not at the things which are seen but on things which are not seen” (II Corithians 4:18).

Verse 8: And Naomi said unto her two daughters-in-law, go, return each to her mother’s house. The LORD deal kindly with you as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.
This is the shock of shocks. Naomi ……. What are you saying? The journey was smooth and it was heaven all the way? “No, please, my daughters…….you will not go from this point like you are. You must understand deeply the lesson of holiness and if you ca’t bear it please settle on the lowest godly blessings called “Orpha blessings”. Sincerely speaking my dear brethren, over 60% of all believers have returned home instead of going on to see and be married to Jesus (Boaz). They have gone to their mother’s house. They are receiving the LORD’s blessing at salvation level. But they will never go to heaven, though they were God’s elect in the first. Most of such will be saved during the tribulation period.

We reach this stage with the Holy Spirit, where the Lord urges us to put off the old man jand put on the new man so that we can be created in the image of our husband (Jesus).

God open your understanding so that you can understand the scriptures (Luke 24:45)