Ruth’s Identity ~ Part Two
In part two of this article we are going to continue studying the book of
Ruth. What we have learned in part one
is the history of the land of Moab.
In part two we will focus on Ruth’s pledge and the command of
Yahweh which forbids any Moabite from entering the community of Israel for ten
generations. Could it be possible that Ruth was related to the tribes of Israel
that were on the east side of the Jordan River?
If this is true, we will see a picture of Ruth as a prophetic shadow of
the House of Israel and the Christian Church, who gets married to a Kinsman
Redeemer from the town of Bethlehem.
Ruth and Naomi
In this story I see Naomi as a picture of the House of Judah (i.e., the
Jewish people). She knows her identity, she
is from the town of Bethlehem, and she worships the God of Israel. Ruth is a picture of the House of Israel or
what is known today as the people group called Christianity. Most Christians, like Ruth don’t know their full
ancestry, and consider themselves gentiles, but like Ruth, they find themselves
with a love for the Jewish people and the God of Israel.
Ruth
1:16-17 Ruth said, 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.
This is called Ruth’s pledge. In
this pledge we see the love and devotion that Ruth (who is a picture of
Christians) has for her mother in law Naomi (who is a picture of the Jewish
people). The words [shall be] are in brackets. This indicates that these two words are not
in the original Hebrew text. These words
were added by the translators to help us understand what was really being
said.
What Ruth said is:
“your people my people, and your
Elohim my Elohim”
or
“your people (are) my
people, and your Elohim (is) my
Elohim”
I have added what I think would
be better words (are & is)
to express what Ruth was saying. Did she
have some knowledge of her identity among the tribes of Israel that was given
to her from parents or grandparents? Is
this knowledge of her ancestors what would cause her to say “your God is my God
and your people are my people.” Or was
she just saying “your people will
become my family and your God will
become my God.”
Ruth does say:
Ruth
2:10 Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said
unto him, “Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take
knowledge of me, seeing I [am] a stranger?”
This phrase reminds me of many Christians who say the same thing- “well I’m
just a gentile, those Feasts
and Sabbath aren’t for me.” Just for the
record, I am not saying definitively that Ruth was related to the tribes of
Israel. Scripture does not say that,
what I am saying is that when we take all the things into consideration that we
have studied in these two articles, we may see a possibility of a slightly
different relationship between Boaz and Ruth.
The Exclusion of
Moab
Deut 23:3
No Ammonite or Moabite - or any of
their descendants, even in the tenth generation - may be included among God's
people.
Why were
they excluded from entry into the community of Israel?
Deut 23:4-5
They refused to provide you with
food and water when you were on your way out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam
son of Beor, from the city of Pethor in Mesopotamia, to curse you. But your God
would not listen to Balaam; instead he turned the curse into a blessing,
because he loved you.
Deut 23:6 As long as you are a
nation, never do anything to help these nations or to make them prosperous.
These
instructions regarding the Ammonites and Moabites from entering into the
community of Israel was to be a lasting regulation. If Boaz had married a Moabite woman, he would
have disobeyed God's Torah and thereby brought a curse upon himself and the
lineage that Yeshua the Messiah came through.
Deut 27:26
God's curse on anyone who does not
obey all of God's laws and teachings
If Ruth was
not biologically connected to the tribes
of Israel then the only way this Moabitess could have come into the lineage of
Yeshua is that she was considered ONE
with the native born among Israel (Ex 12:48-49, Numb15:14-16, Eph 2:19).
Ruth gets Married
The book of Ruth
is about the Wedding between a Moabite (who
I believe is mixed with Israelite ancestry) and a Jewish Kinsman redeemer. This is a forerunner and prophetic shadow of what
would become of the Northern Kingdom known as the House of Israel. The House of Israel were divorced from Yahweh
(Jer 3:8&19-20) and lost their Israelite identity. Hosea writes that they would become “not my
people.” In order for the House of Israel
to be brought back into the family of Elohim they need to marry the Jewish
Kinsman Redeemer Messiah Yeshua. This is
called the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
In Conclusion
The story in
the book of Ruth holds many mysteries and prophetic shadow pictures that teach:
1) The relationship that Christians should
have with the Jewish people (Ruth 1:16-18)
2) The house of Israel and the house of
Judah coming together and going back to Israel (Ruth 1:7, Jer 30:1-3, Ezek 37:15-28)
3) The Marriage supper of the Lamb (Ruth
2:20, 4:9-12)
I tend to
believe that Ruth is from the 10 tribes of Israel that settled on the east side
of the Jordan River. They later become known
as the Lost Tribes of Israel and the House of Israel. I see her as a Moabite that has Israelite
ancestry. She is similar to the
Samaritans. Her first husband dies which
releases her to remarry. She marries a
Jewish Kinsman Redeemer, who brings her into the Family of Israel with full
rights and benefits. She loves her
Jewish mother in law and decides to go back to the land of Judah to dwell and
worship the Elohim of Israel.
To hear a
message on this teaching and view Power point notes go to:http://www.sermon.net/thevineyardofyahweh
