Lesson for September 16, 2020
Knowing the Bible
Lesson 17
The Book of Ruth
The book of Ruth covers a period of about 10 years and tells a story of a kinsman redeemer named Boaz who is a type of Jesus Christ. Ruth was not an Israelite (Jew). She was a Moabitess (Gentile) who had married an Israelite named Mahlon. Her mother-in-law was named Naomi and along with her husband and two sons had fled to Moab to get away from a famine. Naomi’s sons both married women of Moab, but both sons died shortly thereafter along with their father. This left Naomi, Ruth and the other daughter-in-law Orpah alone. When the famine had ended Naomi decided to return to the land of Israel. Orpah decided to return to Moab, but Ruth would not leave Naomi. Moabites were descended from Lot and eventually became Gentiles by rejecting God for pagan deities, pagan practices and intermarriage with Moabite women.
The book of Ruth takes place during a period when the nation of Israel was in serious decline. They had turned their back of God and followed the path of their own sin natures and sought pagan gods and pagan practices. (Judges 17:6) God therefore raised up judges to deliver the nation of Israel from the hands of the pagan nations around them that wanted to conquer them. (Judges 2:16) In the midst of this period there is a love story that was recorded in the Book of Ruth.
The love story between Ruth and Boaz began shortly after Ruth and Naomi arrived in Bethlehem. Ruth would go to the fields to gather what the harvesters had left behind, which was a common practice in Biblical days under the Law of Moses. The field where she gathered was owned by Boaz who was a near kinsman to Naomi and by law to Ruth.
It was also a common practice for a near kinsman to take care of those to whom he was kin when they were in need. In the case of Naomi and Ruth, Boaz voluntarily chose to redeem a parcel of land that was the inheritance of Mahlon, Ruth’s late husband that she was unable to redeem herself. Redeeming this land also meant that Boaz was responsible for the care of Ruth, which he was obviously more than willing to do. Boaz married Ruth when a closer kinsman to Ruth (who was apparently already married) deferred to Boaz as kinsman redeemer. Had Boaz not become Ruth’s kinsman redeemer, both she and Naomi would have been forced into servitude.
An interesting fact in the Book of Ruth is that Boaz lived in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus. It was to Bethlehem that Naomi along with her daughter-in-law Ruth returned after the death of Naomi’s husband and sons. There is a significant prophecy written 700 years before the birth of Christ in Micah 5:2 regarding the birthplace of the Messiah. This prophecy states that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem-Ephratah (Ephratah being the former name of Bethlehem according to Genesis 48:7). Bethlehem became known as the City of David since it was his birthplace. The royal line therefore began in Bethlehem and the journey to Bethlehem by Joseph and Mary from Nazareth was because Joseph was in the lineage of David. God’s plan was being fulfilled even when Ruth traveled to Bethlehem with Naomi. Ruth’s decision to accept the God of Israel (Jehovah) as her God (Savior) and stay with Naomi resulted in God’s blessing in her life. She met and married a wonderful God-fearing man who just happen to be wealthy enough to care for her and Naomi. Boaz and Ruth eventually had a son of both Jewish and Gentile blood who would continue the line of David and eventually that of Jesus Christ.
Many parallels have been drawn from the Book of Ruth to the dispensation of the Church. However, the most important parallel found in this book is that between Boaz and Jesus Christ. The Book of Ruth is the love story of Boaz, the kinsman redeemer of Ruth that parallels the Kinsman Redeemer of the human race, Jesus Christ. In recording this love story, God was laying out the genealogical line from which the Lord Jesus Christ would come. We discover that Boaz and Ruth were the parents of Obed, who was the father of Jesse, who was the father of David. From the royal line of David came the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
The Old Testament practice of the kinsman redeemer is a perfect example of how Christ redeems us from the Law and from sin. Certain requirements had to be met in order for a person to free someone from slavery. The redeemer had to be a relative, he had to be able to redeem by meeting the purchase price and he had to be willing to redeem the person in slavery. The biblical definition of the word “redeemed” is “to be purchased from the slave-market of sin.” There are three Greek words for redemption: “agorazo” meaning “to buy”, “exagorazo” meaning “to buy out of or remove from sale” and “lutroo” meaning “to release on receipt of ransom or payment.” Christ has redeemed us from the slave-market of sin and from the Mosaic Law. (Romans 7:14)
By His taking on humanity (the doctrine of the Hypostatic Union), Jesus Christ became a kinsman to all mankind (Jew and Gentile). (John 1:1-3,14) In order to meet the purchase price, Christ had to be perfect (no sin of His own to pay for – the doctrine of Impeccability). He was born of a virgin without a sin nature and He lived a sinless life, which qualified Him to meet the purchase price for our salvation (deliverance). (Matthew 1:23, I Timothy 3:16; Romans 5:8; II Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 2:9-11, 4:15: I Peter 1:18) Christ was also willing to redeem us. He was obedient to the Father’s plan for salvation and gave His life freely. Christ even restricted the use of the power of His deity (doctrine of Kenosis) and used the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish all of this for us. (Philippians 2:5-8; Romans 5:19, Luke 22:42, 23:46)
Hypostatic Union
Jesus Christ is the unique Person of the universe. He is the only Person in history to be both fully God and fully man. The term for this unique union is derived from the Greek word hupostatis meaning essence. In the case of Christ, it is both divine and human essence in one Person forever. He is the God-Man. (Hebrews 1:3)
Christ was born of a virgin and without a sin nature. He is superior to man because He is God. He is superior to sinful humanity because He is sinless. Even though His two natures are united in one Person, they retain their separate identities. The attributes of one do not belong to the other. Deity remains deity and humanity remains humanity. Because of this unique union, Christ is the perfect mediator between God and man. Christ was also our prototype in that He lived an impeccable (sinless) life under the control of God the Holy Spirit. (I Timothy 2:5) Having no sin of His own to pay for, He was uniquely qualified to pay for the sin of the entire human race.
Jesus, as a man, is seated at the right hand of the Father at this very moment. Deity is omnipresent and does not sit; only His humanity sits. And it is His humanity that will return to earth at the Second Coming. Theologically we say that Jesus is undiminished deity and true humanity in one Person forever. He is undiminished deity in that He is as much God as the Father and the Holy Spirit in essence, attributes and character. He is true humanity in that our Lord possesses a body, a soul and a spirit. (Acts 5:31; Hebrews 1:3, 4:15,10:5; I Peter 2:24; Matthew 26:38; Mark 2:8; Luke 23:46; I John 3:3)
Impeccability
Christ remained free from the three categories of sin: the sin nature, Adam’s original sin and personal sins. The sin nature, as we have studied, is passed down genetically from the father, but Christ had no human father. The virgin birth of Christ assured that He would have no sin nature. (I Corinthians 15:22)
Without a sin nature, Adam’s original sin could not be imputed to Christ since it had no home or target like the rest of humanity. Therefore, the first two categories of sin were already taken care of when He was born. Christ was born physically and spiritually alive, whereas, we are born physically alive but spiritually dead (separated from God). (Romans 6:12)
Christ did, however, have to face the avoidance of personal sin. As deity, He was not able to sin and as humanity, He was able not to sin. This means that the possibility of committing personal sin existed. Christ was tempted to sin in His humanity, not in His deity. God cannot be tempted to sin, but Christ, as a man, could be tempted to sin. How could Christ accomplish the amazing task of a sinless life? The only way He succeeded in not sinning was by residing in and relying upon the power and control of God the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ, our Savior has paved the way for us to execute the Victorious Christian Way of Life. (James 1:13; Hebrews 4:15; I John 3:5; Matthew 4:1-4)
“Able not to sin” emphasizes Christ’s free will to make the right decisions to obey God’s mandates. Satan’s temptations of Christ were real and intense. And remember that Christ in His humanity was personally weaker than Satan, yet He was able to resist him by the power of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. (Hebrews 2:7)
The filling of God the Holy Spirit is much more powerful that Satan, all his demons and this World System. Christ tested andproved the life under the control of the Holy Spirit. We cannot be sinless like Christ, but we can use the same power system that He used. God has given us the Rebound recovery system, something that Christ did not need, in order that we might utilize His power system to our maximum advantage. We, therefore, have no excuse for not living in the same spiritual environment in which Christ lived. We can acquire wisdom, make good decisions from a position of strength, develop a personal sense of destiny, increase our capacity for love, happiness and blessing, have complete control over our lives and bring glory and honor to God by a life filled with virtue and integrity. (I John 4:4)
Kenosis
Christ voluntarily restricted the function of His deity. This doctrine takes its name from the Greek word kenoo, which means to deprive oneself of a rightful function. This doctrine explains how Christ, the creator of the universe, could leave Heaven and become a man.
II Corinthians 8:9, tells us that even though Christ was rich, for our sakes He became poor. This is kenosis.
We must remember that Jesus Christ is coequal and coeternal with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. He voluntarily subordinated Himself to the Father’s plan of salvation. This means He also deprived Himself of the exercise of His divine attributes. At no time did Christ “empty Himself” of His deity. He was never less than God. He simply restricted the use of His divine attributes voluntarily. (Colossians 2:9)
Jesus was born as a man and had to learn the Scriptures the same way that we do, under the control of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was the one who empowered Him and sustained Him throughout His life on earth. As a man, Christ suffered in the same ways that we suffer but much greater, of course. The ultimate humiliation was suffering the divine judgment from God for our sins. (Matthew 24:36; John 8:56, 16:14; Philippians 2:8)
Christ glorified the Father by executing the Father’s plan, not by glorifying Himself. However, the limitation of kenosis ultimately glorified Christ because He was able to execute the plan perfectly, without sin. As a testimony to the fact that God is completely satisfied with the Son, Christ is now seated at the right hand of the Father. This impeccable life was our prototype to demonstrate to us the fact that we too can execute God’s plan. (John 19:30; Philippians 2:5-8)
The book of Ruth perfectly portrays the Person and work of Jesus Christ in the person of Boaz. Ruth was unable to be redeemed by the nearer kinsman which perfectly represents the Law of Moses, which was unable to redeem anyone. The redemption of Ruth by Boaz, the next closest kinsman, represents the grace work of Jesus Christ on the Cross which is able to redeem anyone. In like manner as Boaz took Ruth to be his bride after redeeming her, the Lord Jesus Christ takes believers to be His bride for all eternity.