Ruth’s Identity ~ Part Two

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