A King's Ransom

When we left Ruth, she was sitting still, waiting on word from Boaz (her hopeful go'el - - Hebrew for kinsman-redeemer), waiting on God.  Today's text is Ruth 4.

The climax of the Ruth story is full of suspense.
In verse 1 Boaz goes to where he knows he will encounter the closer kinsman than he, that place being the city gates.  Once he sees that person, he invites him to have a chat.  Boaz then goes on to convene a group of 10 witnesses, godly Jewish men whom he knows, to listen in on the conversation.

Now, let's stop for a moment.
As I've mentioned in previous posts, Boaz is in this historical account a "type" (forerunner, representative) of Jesus Christ.  Ruth is a "type" of the Church, the Bride of Christ.  So, who, then, would the other characters in the story represent?
Some theologians believe the "other, nearer kinsman" represents the sin nature.1  Others believe he represents satan, from whom Jesus took the keys of Hell and Death, after His death and before His resurrection.  The latter group believes this entire transaction is a forerunner of what Jesus did when His spirit descended to Hell during those three days his body was in the grave (1 Peter 3:18-20).

Most agree the 10 witnesses were chosen to overhear so that no one could come back later and claim the transaction was false or flawed (4:9).  The Hebrew word for a group of this type was "minyan", a group which settled legal disputes.  Some think that the number 10 represents the 10 Commandments, or the Law, which has no ability to bring salvation, since "there is salvation in none other" than Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12).  This is pictured by Boaz telling both the nearer kinsman and the 10 witnesses to "sit down" in verses 1 and 2. 
In verses 11-12 the witnesses prophesy over Boaz and Ruth, after the deal was done.  Similarly, the Law points to Jesus Christ, finding its fulfillment in Him.  The utter following of the OT Law, the Torah, in this story, this obedience - - how beautifully it points to and foreshadows the ultimate Love Story of the Bible, that love story between the final Kinsman-Redeemer and His Beloved, His Church.

Ok, back to the story:
At first, the nearer kinsman wants to BE that guy, to redeem Ruth.  And, we're thinking, "No, no!  This is NOT how we want the story to go!"  You know, like when you read a great book and it looks like the hero is not going to triumph, to win, right?  But then, we see the the nearer relative is not willing to make the sacrifice that Boaz is willing to make.  And, indeed, satan would never had died for us, even if he could've.  His "love" for us is a complete counterfeit.  In stark contrast, Jesus' love for us is perfect.

Don't miss this:
Ruth was married to Mahlon for 10 years, and yet was childless.  Stop to grasp the significance of that.  Boaz was willing to marry Ruth, suspecting full well that their union might not produce an heir.  There is no record that Boaz had any other wives (i.e. heirs either).  So, he was willing to sacrifice his (genealogical) "all" to redeem Ruth.  Not many men of that day would have done the same, since "carrying on the family name" was paramount, a huge deal.
Boaz recognized that Ruth was a "hidden treasure" of Matthew 13:44 (ESV) - - - and the price he paid for her was dear, a king's ransom, you might say.

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Jesus made His supreme sacrifice for all mankind, knowing that not all would receive it, or Him.  No other Savior.  Hallelujah!

18For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors,19but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

22Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.^b 23For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

1 Peter 1:18-23 (NIV)

Oh praise God, Who, in His divine providence, opened Ruth's womb.  She did indeed bear children to Boaz.  One of them, the first, was Obed, whose name means "servant".2

A precious and utterly amazing ending of the story is the snippet of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, given in 4:12, 18-22, and the character, Perez.  In the next post, our last Ruth post, we will take a look at that.

Sources:

1    http://www.oudesporen.nl/Download/OS2040.pdf

2    http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Holidays/Spring_Holidays/Shavuot/Ruth/ruth.html

The Gift-Givers

This is a frightfully busy week for me, work-wise, which is why I didn't blog yesterday.  An additional reason is that, in the midst of the work-related mayhem, I wasn't up to tackling Ephesians 4:7-12, today's text.  But, I found, as the day wound on yesterday that I missed my time here in the Word terribly.  I regretted not ordering my priorities well.  Here's today's text (NET):

7But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. 8Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he captured captives; he gave gifts to men.” 9Now what is the meaning of “he ascended,” except that he also descended to the lower regions, namely, the earth? 10He, the very one who descended, is also the one who ascended above all the heavens, in order to fill all things. 11It was he who gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12to equip the saints for the work of ministry, that is, to build up the body of Christ

Here's the gist of it:  Father God gave us His Son.  Then, when Jesus Christ finished the work pre-ordained by God the Father, He was given by Father certain gifts and rights.  He, in turn, gave gifts to us, the members of His Body, the Church.  Not all the gifts look the same or are the same.  He gave to each of us, at the moment of our receiving Him as Savior, the exact spiritual gifts we would need in order to build up His people and to evangelize the world.

Ok, so what is meant by all this ascending and descending?  In these words, Paul is referring back to Psalm 68.  Let's turn there and take a look.  When you read Psalm 68, a long song of praise to God for His triumphing over His enemies, you will notice that verse 18 is quite similar to Ephesians 4:8-10.  The origin of Psalm 68 is that it was written to commemorate the triumphal bringing of the ark of the covenant to Mt. Zion.

When did this occur?  It happened about 1000 years before Jesus Christ was born as a baby (incarnated).  King David had both wanted to build the first Temple in Jerusalem and also to give the ark of the covenant its permanent home there.  But, God decreed that his son, Solomon, should do this.  Solomon built the Temple and the ark was triumphantly installed there, in the Temple's Holy of Holies, where it remained for about 450 years, until the Babylonian invasion.  There it remained, high above all its foes, a symbol of the triumph of God above all His enemies.  This was the first time the Ark had had a "permanent" home.

In his commentary, Barnes1 says this:

 The fact that the ark of God thus ascended the hill of Zion, the place of rest; that it was to remain there as its permanent abode, no more to be carried about at the head of armies; was the proof of its triumph. It had made everything captive. It had subdued every foe; and its ascent there would be the means of obtaining invaluable gifts for people; Mercy and truth would go forth from that mountain; and the true religion would spread abroad, even to the rebellious, as the results of the triumph of God, whose symbol was over the tabernacle and the ark

We see Jesus Christ's triumphal ascension to the throne room of God, after His resurrection pictured in Revelation 4-5.  The Father, seated on His throne, gave to the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, who has triumphed (emphasis mine) a sealed scroll.  Because of his triumph, His finished work, He began to open the seals on the scroll as the Church Age began to unfold.  We are currently approaching the Sixth Seal, which will occur with a mighty world-wide earthquake, when the Church is raptured; and, this will usher in the reign of THE Antichrist and the 7-year Tribulation period.2  But, I digress from todays' topic.

So, Father gave His  Son gifts, and the Son gave us gifts, the first of which is grace - - - grace that is offered to all, even to "the rebellious" (Psalm 68:18), should they turn and accept His offer.  Salvation is offered to every man and woman.  (It is a comfort to me that God has patience and is long-suffering toward those who, for a time, run from Him.)  In addition to that saving grace, Christ bestows on us the gift of His Holy Spirit, and through the Holy Spirit, the various "spiritual gifts".   I've written about those extensively, and won't re-plow that row here.  But, I'll put the links under Sources: below.3

Now, we come to the difficult part of this passage, if you compare it to other related passages.  By itself, Ephesians 4:8-10 seems to say that Jesus was in Heaven, was born (came to Earth), died, was buried, was resurrected and ascended back to Heaven after walking the Earth alive for about 40 days. All of that is true.  But, there are other relevant scriptures, by other writers, which add dimension to Paul's verses here.  Take your Bible and look these up:

• Matthew 12:20 tells us that Jesus was three days and nights "in the heart of the earth".  This goes beyond Joseph of Arimathea's tomb...
• Luke 16:19-28 and Luke 23:42-43 tell us that Paradise and the place of eternal fire and torment were in the same location.  Ephesians 4:9 (NIV) calls this "the lower, earthly regions". This is where the spirits of Jesus and the thief on the cross went after death.
• 1 Peter 3:18-20 tells us that Jesus preached to the spirits in prison who had caused all that mayhem that led up to the Great Flood.  This is part of His "triumph" over His enemies.4

Other sources talk about how Christ changed the entire structure of the abode of the dead with his death, burial and resurrection.  But, that is sort of controversial.  However, I'm not going there (lol!) at the moment....because all of this is plenty enough for one day!

Sources:

1  http://biblehub.com/commentaries/ephesians/4-8.htm

2  Lowe, David W. Earthquake Resurrection: Supernatural Catalyst for the Coming Global Catastrophe. Place of Publication Not Identified: D.W. Lowe, 2005. Print.

3  http://resplendentdaughter.blogspot.com/2015/10/to-each-his-own.html
    http://resplendentdaughter.blogspot.com/2015/10/gifts-small-and-great.html
    

4  http://heavennet.net/writings/did-jesus-go-to-hell-after-he-died/