Spiritual
Rapport is the fulfillment of the Right Man - Right Woman relationship
based upon harmonious relationship with God. During Spiritual Rapport
the Plan of God will be fulfilled; and relationship with God
will take precedence over relationship with mankind. The divine solution
will bring unshakable stability, profound understanding, and spiritual
insight into the marriage relationship. Love and intimacy will reach
new dimensions as Marriage
Intimacy Love is poured into the soul of the mature believer.
The wonderful love and happiness of the Intimacy
Room in the soul will fully be operational. The couple will symbolically
return to the Garden of Eden for divine Happiness. And God will bless
the marriage through His love and grace. Harmony with God will bring
a supernatural rapport between Right Man and Right Woman.
Spiritual Rapport is the ultimate solution for the problems of Right Man and Right Woman. No problem is ever solved in the physical or soulish dimensions. Until the spiritual solution is achieved, there will be no solution. Spiritual Rapport is the spiritual solution. In Spiritual Rapport Right Man and Right Woman become a unified system by fulfilling the Plan of God. God has a grace solution for marriage, which can only be achieved by executing the Plan of God. The marriage relationship is first a spiritual relationship. God created the Right Man and Right Woman for each other; and for those who are willing to obey His Plan, a wonderful marriage of love and happiness is available. For those who reject the divine Plan, a lifetime of misery is inevitable.
Whereas, the soul is tested in the Compatibility Phase, spiritual understanding and relationships are tested in Spiritual Rapport. The roots, or foundation of the Edification Complex of the Soul (ECS), are tested during the Compatibility Phase. The roof of the ECS is tested in Spiritual Rapport. In Compatibility Testing love was the issue for the believer. In Spiritual Rapport, authority is the issue. The authority of the Plan of God and the authority of the Right Man must be obeyed. God will not compromise His Integrity for mankind. Neither emotion nor arrogance are compatible with the Integrity, or Holiness, of God. Only the divine solution provided through the love of God by means of the grace of God is acceptable in Spiritual Rapport.
For those who achieve Spiritual Rapport, the blessings of God will be possible in the marriage relationship. Spiritual Rapport is itself a phase and not a one-shot experience. Grace promotion in Spiritual Rapport is achieved only through executing the Plan of God. A multitude of daily tests are brought onto the Stage of Life. The tests challenge every aspect of the Spiritual Life. There are tests of the Personal Sense of Destiny of Right Man and Right Woman, tests of the Plan of God, tests of authority, tests of all categories of Spiritual Warfare, and Evidence Testing.
During Spiritual Rapport Testing, Spiritual Warfare enters a new dimension. The angels of God bring divine support onto the battlefield of human history while the fallen angels seek to nullify the Plan of God. Daily perception and application of Bible Doctrine are required to handle the tests. The Problem Solving Devices must be deployed to stand and withstand the counterattacks from Satan's Cosmic System, the world, and the Old Sin Nature. Since marriage is a Divine Institution, it is opposed by Satan. Only by succeeding in Spiritual Warfare can the blessings of Spiritual Rapport be achieved.
Success in Spiritual Rapport like Compatibility Testing depends upon relationship with God - not relationship with mankind. Social adjustment cannot solve spiritual problems. The issues of Spiritual Rapport cannot be solved by improving the relationship of Right Man and Right Woman with each other. When Spiritual Rapport with God occurs, the byproduct will be harmonious relationship between Right Man and Right Woman. The only real problems in life are spiritual, and the only real solutions are spiritual. The spiritual problems will never be seen without Bible Doctrine circulating in the stream of consciousness. Without Bible Doctrine, it is impossible to please God. Spiritual Rapport is a demonstration of the Bible Doctrine resident in the soul combined with the Plan of God. In Spiritual Rapport, Right Man and Right Woman serve God and reap the blessings of grace.
Then he said, “May you be blessed of the Lord, my daughter. You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first by not going after young men, whether poor or rich. (Ruth 3:10)Boaz recognized the Lord as the source of all blessing. So, he prayed for Ruth to be blessed from the Lord. He called her "my daughter" because of the age difference between them. He was old enough to be her father. He was probably in his fifties and she was perhaps nineteen. In Spiritual Rapport physical differences such as race and age are overcome because in this phase the issues are spiritual - not temporal.
Then Boaz expressed his gratitude toward Ruth by saying, "You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first." The word "kindness" is Hebrew ds#j# (chesedh), which means gracious love or lovingkindness. It is a word for divine love, which indicates Spiritual Rapport with God. The last gracious love was Ruth's expression of love for Boaz as her Right Man along with the demonstration through sexual love at the end of the Compatibility Phase. The first gracious love was Ruth's response to Boaz in the Attraction Phase. She responded to Boaz in the Attraction Phase, but the latest response at the end of the Compatibility Phase was better because she chose her Right Man and did "not go after young men, whether poor or rich." Her decision to chose her Right Man over attractive paramours demonstrated her faith in the Plan of God. She did not deviate from the Plan of God for youth nor the love of money, two worldly standards.
Boaz recognized Ruth's virtue and values. She was motivated by the love of God. Although she was not yet in Spiritual Maturity, as the reflected glory of Boaz, she was receiving divine blessing and was motivated to love the Lord and obey His commandments. Her love response was so strong that she actually proposed to Boaz. Boaz then answered:
“Now, my daughter, do not fear. For all that you ask I will do to you, for all my people in the city know that you are a right woman of virtue. (Ruth 3:11)He told her not to fear because he would fulfill all that she asked. He agreed to accept her through Levirate Marriage as she had requested. He offered proof that he could have her as a wife by saying, "all my people in the city know that you are a right woman of virtue." What all the people thought was important because he would have to settle the issue of being a redeemer in court. He stated that Ruth already had a reputation of "a right woman of virtue." Right Woman is the meaning of the Hebrew hV*a! ('Ishah) here. The word for "virtue" is Hebrew ly!j^ (chajil), which means the strength or capacity for life and love of the Integrity Envelope (or ECS) which clothes the soul. Virtue is the expression of the Integrity Envelope.
Boaz acknowledged Ruth's request to marry her according to the custom of Levirate Marriage as altogether right. In Spiritual Rapport he understood that Ruth was his Right Woman and that her request was spiritually harmonious with the Plan of God. However, there was a legal hurdle that had to be handled.
Now, truly I a redeemer, but there is a nearer redeemer than I (Ruth 3:12).Boaz recognized his limitations. He was not the closest legal redeemer to Ruth. Unlike Lot who chose the verdant valley of the Pentapolis in arrogant disregard for Abraham, Boaz deferred to protocol. He wasn't about to violate authority. He had waited all his life for this woman, but obedience to God's authority was more important to him than the greatest blessing of his life, his Right Woman.
Stay here tonight. Then in the morning, if he will redeem you, well, let him redeem; but if it does not please him to redeem you, I will redeem you as surely as the LORD lives. Lie down until morning. (Ruth 3:13)Having formulated the plan of action, Boaz explained the plan to Ruth and gave her very clear orders. The Right Man has authority over the Right Woman. The Right Woman must come under the Right Man's authority in Spiritual Rapport. Boaz commanded Ruth to stay put. This is the Qal imperative stem in the Hebrew and is very clearly a command. Then Boaz explained that in the morning he would take the issue of their Levirate Marriage to court. He would not violate protocol but would confront the nearer redeemer in court to settle the matter legally.
Then he said to Ruth, "Lie down until morning." She was to sleep with him the rest of the night. The verb in the Hebrew is bk^v* (shakabh, Qal imperative). This is a command also. It is not a demand for sex, though the verb in the Hebrew can mean in other cases to lie down to have sex. It cannot mean that here because sex does not involve authority, and Boaz is very clearly exercising authority. Either the Right Man or the Right Woman may initiate love or even a request for sex, but such a request does not come from authority. It comes from love only.
Boaz told Ruth to lie down and go to sleep. The implication was clearly to sleep with him. He did not send her away. Whether sleeping with Boaz the rest of the night included sex is not stated, though it is within the possibility. This is a beautiful description of Spiritual Rapport. Right Man and Right Woman are perfectly relaxed with each other. Ruth in the boldness of her love had brought them into legal jeopardy. That is why the first thing Boaz told her was not to be afraid. After explaining their legal problems, Boaz told Ruth lie down and go to sleep. Who could sleep at a time like this? Right Man and Right Woman in Spiritual Rapport can because they have the capacity for life and love through the Integrity Envelope to handle the sensitive situation.
The question will be asked, did they sin by sleeping together before they had a legal right? The answer is no, because what they did was to fulfill the Plan of God. It was right because God created them right for each other, and nothing else mattered. Marriage is a Divine Institution for believers and unbelievers. It is a legal relationship under the Laws of Establishment; but it is first and foremost a spiritual relationship of the grace of God. In the case of Ruth and Boaz, the temporal relationship had not been instantiated when the spiritual relationship became operational. Such is the nature of Spiritual Rapport as well as faith. The spiritual precedes the temporal.
The Supreme Court of Heaven had already approved the marriage of Ruth and Boaz even though the courts of the land had not caught up. The Lord is the ultimate judge of marital issues (Hebrews 13:4). The doctrinal believer acts on the spiritual before the temporal; whereas, the legalist demands the temporal and ignores the spiritual. It does not take a legal document to be married in the sight of God. Adam and 'Ishah did not have a marriage certificate. In spite of all this logic, there is no reason the believer cannot comply with the laws of the state, and that is exactly what Boaz proceeded to do.
So she lay in the place of his feet until morning and rose before one could recognize another; and he said, “It must not be known that this right woman came to the threshing floor.” (Ruth 3:14)Ruth obeyed Boaz implicitly. It was not demeaning for a man to be telling her what to do. They were a system. They were in this thing together. They were wrapped in the same robe together. He was the leader; she was the follower; and they were both blessed because they had obeyed the Plan of God in Spiritual Rapport. They put each other foremost in this life, and left the rest of establishment to catch up. In case there is any doubt due to the other translations of this verse. Ruth was not sent to lie down at Boaz's feet. She was so close that she was with him in the same place as his feet. Her Space-Time Coordinate System was perfectly aligned with her Right Man. That is what being in the place of his feet means.
She arose to leave before daybreak before there was enough light to recognize anyone's face. Boaz cautioned her of the need for privacy. Although what she had done was not wrong since they were in Spiritual Rapport, women who went to the threshing floor were usually prostitutes. If people knew that the marriage of Ruth and Boaz started like the relationship with a prostitute, Ruth's reputation of "a woman of virtue" would be damaged.
He said, “Give me the cloak that is on you and hold it.” So she held it, and he measured six measures of barley and laid it upon her. Then he went into the city. (Ruth 3:15)As Ruth was about to leave, Boaz gave her six measures of barley to carry back to her mother-in-law. The six measures were six seahs, which were equivalent to two ephahs1 (1.6 bushels). This would weigh 40 - 50 pounds. So Ruth was given all the barley she could carry. She was obviously a very strong woman.
Then Boaz went into the city. The Hebrew does not say, "she." Further, since Boaz had loaded the barley on Ruth, he obviously did not accompany her home.
Ruth 3:16-17 (NAS)Ruth reported to Naomi all about what Boaz had told her including the legal problem with the nearer redeemer. Then she told her that Boaz sent the six measures of barley to her. This was an act of hospitality to a widow in keeping with Deuteronomy 24:19. The six measures were symbolic. The number six is the number for a man, and therefore it represented Boaz as the Right Man. Barley was the first fruit of the land and symbolized the blessings of the first-born under the law of primogeniture. Thus, a fruitful marriage was implied. The six measures also symbolized Jesus Christ, Who was perfect humanity and the first fruits of the Church (1 Corinthians 15:23).
16 And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “How did it go, my daughter?” And she told her all that the man had done for her. 17 And she said, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said, ‘Do not go to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’”
Then she said, “Sit still, my daughter, until you know how the legal issue turns out; for the right man will not rest until he has settled the legal issue today.” (Ruth 3:18)Naomi told Ruth to "sit still", which is the Hebrew bv^y* (jashab). This is a word for Faith-Rest. There is nothing more that Ruth can do to solve the legal issue. She should leave the matter in the Lord's hands and wait for Him to solve it. Jashab is also a word for a wife sitting in a house,3 which in the English vernacular is called a house-wife. Ruth should wait in faith. She was symbolically on the teeter totter with Boaz. She should wait patiently on the Lord rather than get ahead of the Plan of God. She should stick with the timeline of the time axis of the Space-Time Coordinate System. Though she could not solve the legal issue, she could by disobedience to doctrine jeopardize the situation.
The mature believer knows when to act and when to wait.Naomi also called Ruth her "daughter," which means Ruth is young enough to be her daughter. Naomi and Boaz could have been nearly the same age. The word that has been translated, "legal issue," is Hebrew rb*D* (dabar), which means a formal specification, hence, a legal issue. Naomi told Ruth to "sit still" because she recognized that Boaz would not rest until he had settled the legal issue that day. The word for "rest" is Hebrew fq^v* (shaqath), which means to be quiet or to rest. Boaz would act while Ruth rested.
Boaz had gone up to the gate and had sat down there. Behold, the redeemer of whom Boaz spoke came by; so he said, “Turn aside, friend. Sit down here.” And he turned aside and sat down. (Ruth 4:1)"Boaz had gone up to the gate." In the scripture going up symbolizes victory whereas going down symbolizes defeat. Going up symbolizes taking the high ground, the place of strength. Going up also symbolizes going up to a higher court for justice (Deuteronomy 17:8-9). Boaz sat down and waited for the other redeemer to come by. Here Boaz was practicing Faith-Rest. He was waiting for the Lord to bring the redeemer onto the Stage of Life so that the legal issue could be settled. Boaz did not go to the man's home and interrupt him, but he allowed the Plan of God to run its course. As a grace-oriented believer, Boaz did not open doors for himself, although he was very bold when the Lord had opened the door.
That morning the man came by. The sentence begins with, "Behold!" which is an interjection. The Lord had opened the door for Boaz to bring the legal case to court. Boaz called the redeemer aside and, in essence, said, "Meet me in court." He did not try to cut a friendly deal with the man. The reason is that the Mosaic Law required a public proceeding. For Boaz to obtain Ruth, the other redeemer would have to relinquish his rights in a public.
He took ten men of the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. (Ruth 4:2)Then Boaz gathered ten elders of the city to hear the case and asked them to sit in as a jury to witness the legal proceedings. The number, ten, symbolizes the Laws of Establishment just as there were Ten Commandments in the Decalogue.
Then he said to the redeemer, “The piece of land which belonged to our kinsman, Elimelech, Naomi, who has come back from the land of Moab, has sold . (Ruth 4:3)According to the Law of Inheritance (Numbers 27:8-11), when the husband died, his property went to his children. If he had no children, then it went to the nearest relative. However, according to the custom, the transfer of property did not occur immediately if the husband left a widow. The widow kept the property until she died, and then it was transferred to the next of kin of the children. Naomi, in poverty, had sold the land that belonged to her deceased husband, Elimelech.
However, according to the Mosaic Law, land that was sold could be redeemed in order to keep it in the family ( Leviticus 25:26, 48, 49). If a Jew sold his land due to poverty, his nearest relative had the legal right to redeem it. The redeemer was to pay a prorated amount for the land based on the numbers of years to the next Jubilee when it would revert back to its original owner anyway. The key to the legal arguments here is that Boaz was bringing a legal case to redeem, or buy back, the land that Naomi had sold. Since the woman went with the land according to the custom, Ruth would also be acquired for Levirate Marriage along with the land.
“So I have thought I will open your ear (inform you), saying, ‘Buy it before those who sit here, and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem, redeem; but if you will not redeem, tell me that I may know it; for there is none beside you to redeem it, and I am after you.’” And he said, “I will redeem.” (Ruth 4:4)Boaz presented a summary of the problem to the redeemer in front of the ten elders. He said simply that Naomi had sold the property, and that if the redeemer would redeem the property to say so. Otherwise, he (Boaz), who was next in line, was interested in redeeming the property. The redeemer agreed to redeem the property.
Boaz was prepared for this and countered with a brilliant legal argument.
Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you are also buying it from Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of the deceased, in order to restore the name of the deceased upon his inheritance.” (Ruth 4:5)Boaz pointed out to the redeemer that not only did Naomi go with the field, but also Ruth, the Moabitess; and that he would be expected to fulfill his duty in Levirate Marriage to have children by her so the property would have an heir. In other words, when Elimelech died, he passed the property on to his children; and when his children died, he passed the property on to the nearest relatives of his children. However, there was no set time in the Law when the transfer of property would take place. So, the transfer occurred according to the custom when the widow died. So, Naomi had the property as long as she lived; and since Ruth was the wife of Mahlon, she also had a share in the property. Furthermore, Naomi had sold the property; and the two closest relatives were haggling over who should redeem it.
Whether Boaz was playing upon the racial prejudices of the other redeemer or whether he was playing on his business acumen, isn't obvious; but his argument worked.
Then the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar my own estate. Redeem it for yourself, my right of redemption; for I cannot redeem it.” (Ruth 4:6)The redeemer rejected the right of redemption on the grounds that it would mar his own estate. The word for mar is Hebrew tj^v* (shachath, Hiphil imperfect), which means to mar, devalue, corrupt. The point he was making was that if he bought the field, it would very shortly go to the son of Ruth. If he could have simply bought the field, it would have added to his own estate. But if he had to buy it and then give it away shortly to the son of Ruth, then the net present value of the field would not be adequate to cover his initial investment. If Ruth had a son within a year, he couldn't make enough from the field to cover his expenses in buying it. When viewed from a monetary perspective, Ruth wasn't worth it.
Boaz, however, did not see it that way. He saw Ruth as his Right Woman, someone more valuable than all the money in the world. In Spiritual Rapport, his values were love of God and love of Right Woman. He wasn't about to walk away from Right Woman just because she was a poor business investment.
7 Now this was formerly the custom in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging to confirm every transaction: a man removed his sandal and gave it to another; and this was the manner of attestation in Israel. 8 So the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself.” And he removed his sandal. (Ruth 4:7-8)This was "formerly" the custom in Israel means that at the time the book of Ruth was written the custom was no longer extant. The custom which existed among others in the ancient world besides Hebrews was that since fixed property was acquired by treading upon it, then taking off the shoe and handing it to another was a symbol of the transfer of ownership or the right of possession of the property (Deuteronomy 25:9).1 So, the redeemer renounced his right of redemption, and removed his sandal as the symbolic gesture of legal formality associated with the renunciation. The redeemer told Boaz that he could buy the property himself.
Boaz seized the opportunity to redeem the property. Through brilliant legal maneuvers, he had won the case, and secured a clear legal right to acquire Ruth, his Right Woman in Levirate Marriage.
Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon. (Ruth 4:9)Boaz made a public proclamation that he had redeemed the property of Naomi before the elders and all the people who had gathered to listen to the proceedings. The court session was apparently a very popular event in the history of the city and a crowd had gathered to witness the proceedings. Boaz's redemption was witnessed before the elders and the people.
“Furthermore, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife in order to restore the name of the deceased on his estate, so that the name of the deceased may not be cut off from his brethren or from the gate of his birth place. You are witnesses today.” (Ruth 4:10)The public marriage ceremony between Ruth and Boaz was before the court and the people who had come to hear this high-profile case. And Ruth was not even present. She was still "sitting" at home in Faith-Rest. Boaz was a wealthy aristocrat and undoubtedly known by everyone in the small town of Bethlehem. As soon as word got out that he was in court, the townspeople had gathered to witness the proceedings. Then when Ruth, the Moabitess, became involved, the land deal suddenly escalated into a drama. After buying the land of Naomi, Boaz publicly proclaimed that he was marrying Ruth also.
Ruth 4:11-12After Boaz proclaimed his marriage vows, the crowd of people expressed the wishes for a successful marriage. The power of these wishes verify that Boaz was a bachelor who had waited for his Right Woman. The wishes of the people were also prophetic.
11 Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who shall come into your home like Rachel and like Leah, which two built the nation of Israel. You manufacture strength (ECS) in Ephrathah and make yourself a well-established name in Bethlehem. 12 May your house be like the house of Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the descendants that the Lord shall give you by this young woman.”
FIRST WISH
"May the Lord make the woman who shall come into your home like Rachel and Leah, which two built the nation of Israel."Rachel was the Right Woman of Jacob, who bore Joseph and Benjamin. Leah was the other wife of Jacob, who bore seven children. The maids of Rachel and Leah also bore children to Jacob. The first wish was for family blessings in fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12:2).
SECOND WISH
"You manufacture strength (ECS) in Ephrathah."The second wish was for Boaz and his family to manufacture strength, which is Hebrew ly!j^ (chajil) and refers to the strength of the Edification Complex of the Soul. The ECS is the strength of the soul (Proverbs 31:17). It is not referring to physical strength. The strength of the ECS is manufactured through metabolization of Bible Doctrine. "Ephrathah" was another name for Bethlehem (Genesis 35:19)
THIRD WISH
"Make yourself a well-established name in Bethlehem."The third wish was for Boaz and his family to establish an honorable family name that would be revered. This was not a wish for fame or the glory of the world, but for a name that was worthy of remembrance.
“May your house be like the house of Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the descendants that the Lord shall give you by this young woman.”Boaz was descended from Perez, who was the son of Tamar and Judah. Judah was the greatest of the tribes of Israel. It was the leader and the tribe through which Jesus Christ, the Messiah, would be born. The fourth wish was another wish for family blessing. The wish was for the family to come by means of grace - "that the Lord shall give to you." The phrase, "by this young woman," specifies Ruth as the wife of blessing. "Young woman" is Hebrew hr*u^n^ (na`arah), which means a young woman of marriageable age.3 The term was commonly used for young virgins 14 to 16 years old. Ruth was probably around nineteen at the time.
This was obviously a very joyous wedding ceremony. After a drama at the city gate where court was held, Boaz, the most eligible bachelor in town had married a Moabite girl, who was a widow in poverty and without a place to call home. The whole town turned out for the wedding ceremony except for Ruth and Naomi, who were still "sitting" in their house and practicing Faith-Rest. Of course, what they knew about Right Man - Right Woman was beyond the scope of most of the populous.
The wedding ceremony was probably over before noon. What had begun earlier that day when Boaz awoke with Ruth caressing him on the threshing floor had now climaxed in marriage before noon. The temporal had now caught up with the spiritual. The spiritual always precedes the temporal. Both Boaz and Ruth had already concluded they were Right Man - Right Woman. They had suffered through a brief separation during Compatibility Testing. Having been in Spiritual Rapport for less than 12 hours, they were now formally married. Boaz never hesitated to formalize his marriage to Ruth after they discussed it once on the threshing floor. He knew what was happening and accepted responsibility for his actions. She knew what she was doing and accepted responsibility for her actions. They were executing the Plan of God the whole time; and things worked out for them, as they always do in the Plan of God.
To put this is perspective, Boaz and Ruth are now spiritually where Abraham and Sarah were when Isaac was conceived. They are where Isaac and Rebekah were when they were married. Boaz and Ruth are Right Man - Right Woman in the blessing of maturity. Boaz was in Spiritual Maturity and Ruth received the blessings of maturity as his reflected glory. All the wishes of the crowd at the wedding can be fulfilled in this marriage in Spiritual Maturity. A marriage of Right Man - Right Woman in Spiritual Maturity passes the blessing of maturity as an inheritance to their family.
Thus, Boaz took Ruth; and she became his wife; and he went in to her. And the Lord enabled her conception, and she gave birth to a son. ( Ruth 4:13)The marriage of Ruth and Boaz was consummated with sex on their honeymoon after a fever-pitched night on the hay that led to their engagement, proceeded through the courts, and included a wedding ceremony in front of the whole town without the bride - all within a 24 hour period. Boaz was not a man of procrastination, and Ruth did not lack courage.
The next thing Ruth was pregnant. The Lord enabled her conception, which is interesting because she didn't have any children with Mahlon. This, too, was necessary in the Plan of God for Ruth to marry her Right Man. Without an heir, she needed a redeemer; and God provided Boaz. Needs are the open doors for fulfillment of the grace of God.
Ruth soon gave birth to a son, and the women all gathered around to ooh and aah over the new baby as women always do. At that time they said to Naomi:
Ruth 4:14-15The women gave thanks to the Lord for the birth of the son. They called him Naomi's redeemer not because he would one day redeem all of Naomi's possessions, but because the son of Ruth was also the son of Naomi. The birth of the son took away Naomi's reproach of being childless and having no one to comfort her and provide for her in her old age. The women wished the boy to be renowned in Israel as a great person.
14 And the women said to Naomi, “Blessed is the Lord who has not left you without a redeemer today, and may his name be renowned in Israel. 15 May he also be to you a refresher of the soul and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”
The women remarked that Ruth who had left her homeland out of love for Naomi and in obedience to the Plan of God was better to her than seven sons. Seven is a large number of sons and a symbol of categorical prosperity, i.e. complete prosperity. Leah, for example, had seven children (6 sons and 1 daughter).
Ruth 4:16-17Naomi became the child's nurse, and the neighbor's in their excitement saw the irony and said, "A son has been born to Naomi!" They named the boy Obed, which means the serving one.1 He served his grandmother. He lived for her and would one day take care of her in her old age. Now, Obed was the father of Jesse, the father of David. David became the greatest king in the history of Israel.
16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her lap, and became his nurse. 17 And the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi!” They named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.
Boaz was perhaps the greatest husband in the Bible. He was a worker, a leader, an entrepreneur, a businessman, an agriculturist, and a brilliant lawyer. He was spiritually mature and the recipient of the blessings of God. He was the tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth his fruit in his season. The only other great marriage in the Bible that can compare to the marriage of Boaz and Ruth is the marriage of Abraham and Sarah. But Abraham and Sarah got married before they reached maturity; whereas, Boaz and Ruth waited until Boaz had reached maturity. The teachings of Paul in the epistles to the Church recommend the approach that Boaz and Ruth took.
At first glance, the marriage of Ruth and Boaz would not appear to be a marriage made in heaven. After looking at the facts, however, it was a marriage that could only have been made in heaven. Ruth was a Moabite. Moabite girls were expected to lose their virginity as prostitutes of Baal. Ruth's early life is not known, but she probably did not become a believer until her marriage to Mahlon, who was not her Right Man. If she married Mahlon at age 14 or 15, she would have been a believer for only 4 or 5 years when she met Boaz. During that time the events that had to transpire to bring her to her Right Man were:
God blessed the marriage of Boaz and Ruth because they were Right Man - Right Woman and Boaz was in Spiritual Maturity. The formula for blessing produced a son, Obed, who was the grandfather of David, the greatest king in the history of Israel. Through the line of David, came the Messiah. And Boaz and Ruth are in the genealogy of Christ (Matthew 1:5).
Through the Divine Institution of Marriage, God blesses or curses the human race. Those who will believe Bible Doctrine, advance to Spiritual Maturity, and marry Right Man or Right Woman, become the basis for blessing the family, the nation, and all mankind. Marriage is the basis for blessing or cursing the culture. The formula for blessing is:
Spiritual Maturity + (Marriage of Right Man to Right Woman) = BlessingAny other combination will lead to cursing.
The story of Ruth is the vindication of the concept of Marriage Culture. Through it can be seen how the Lord overcomes every obstacle to fulfill his promises to mankind and how the Plan of God provides for marriage. The ultimate testimony to the importance of Marriage Culture was the birth of Christ through a predefined lineage and the Right Men and Right Women in His genealogy. Ruth and Boaz were two of the greatest examples of the faithfulness of God in the genealogy of Christ and in all of human history.
Author: Larry Wood
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