Ⅲ
Chapter 2 of the book of Ruth speaks of Ruth, as one who had returned to God from her heathen background, exercising her right to partake of the rich produce of the inheritance of God’s elect:
A
According to her threefold status as a sojourner, a poor one, and a widow, Ruth exercised her right to glean the harvest; her gleaning was not her begging but her right.
B
God’s ordinance concerning the reaping of the harvest was that Jehovah would bless the children of Israel if they left the corners of their fields and the gleanings for the poor, the sojourners, the orphans, and the widows—Lev. 23:22; 19:9-10; Deut. 24:19.
C
Boaz obeyed this ordinance, thereby testifying to his great faith in Jehovah; under God’s sovereignty, this ordinance seems to have been written for one person—Ruth.
D
Just as Ruth had the right to enjoy the produce of the good land after coming into the land, so we have the right to enjoy Christ as our good land after believing into Him; Ruth’s exercising of her right to gain and possess the produce of the good land signifies that, after believing into Christ and being organically joined to Him in our “joined” spirit (Rom. 8:16; 1 Cor. 6:17), we must begin to pursue Christ in order to gain, possess, experience, and enjoy Him (Phil. 3:7-16).
E
The book of Ruth portrays the way, the position, the qualification, and the right of sinners to participate in Christ and to enjoy Christ; according to God’s ordination, we who have believed into Christ have been qualified and positioned to claim our right to enjoy Christ (Col. 1:12; Rev. 2:7; 22:14).
F
As a narration, the book of Ruth is lovely, touching, convincing, and subduing; in the aromatic story in chapter 2, four types are implied:
１
Boaz, rich in wealth (v. 1), typifies Christ, who is rich in the divine grace (2 Cor. 12:7-9).
２
The field of the God-promised good land (Ruth 2:2-3) typifies the all-inclusive Christ, who is the source of all the spiritual and divine products for the life supply of God’s elect (Phil. 1:19-21a).
３
Barley and wheat (Ruth 2:23) typify Christ as the material for making food for both God and His people (Lev. 2; John 6:9, 33, 35).
４
Ruth, a Moabitess, a heathen sinner alienated from God’s promises (Deut. 23:3; cf. Eph. 2:12), being given the right to partake of the gleanings of the harvest of God’s elect typifies the Gentile “dogs” who are privileged to partake of Christ as the crumbs under the table of the portion of God’s elect children (Matt. 15:21-28 and footnote 1 on v. 27).
Morning Nourishment
Ruth 2:8 And Boaz said to Ruth,…Do not go to glean in another field,…but stay close to my young women.11-12 [For] all that you have done for your mother-in-law…, as well as how you left your father and mother and the land of your birth,…may Jehovah recompense your work, and may you have a full reward from Jehovah the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.
In Ruth 2:8 through 13 we have Boaz’s word of grace to Ruth….When Ruth heard these words, she fell upon her face, bowed herself to the ground, and asked Boaz, “Why have I found favor in your sight that you regard me, though I am a foreigner?” (v. 10). Boaz replied that all that she had done for her mother-in-law since the death of her husband Elimelech had been made known to him.
Boaz not only spoke kindly to Ruth but also showed generosity to her (vv. 14-16). At mealtime Boaz told her to eat some food, extending some parched grain to her, and she ate and was satisfied. When she rose up to glean, Boaz charged his young men to let her glean among the standing grain and not to rebuke her. Then he went on to say to them, “Also pull out some from the bundles for her, and leave it for her to glean; and do not rebuke her” (v. 16). (Life-study of Ruth, pp. 13-14)
Today’s Reading
When Ruth told Naomi that she had gleaned in the field of Boaz, Naomi said to her, “Blessed be he of Jehovah, whose lovingkindness has not failed for the living and for the dead” (Ruth 2:20a). Then Naomi told Ruth that the man was close to them, one of their kinsmen (v. 20b). In verse 22 Naomi charged Ruth, saying, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, so that others do not meet you in any other field.”…What was on Naomi’s heart was not only that Ruth would partake of Boaz’s riches and be satisfied, but also that she would gain Boaz himself as her husband and bring forth a son for the name of Elimelech.Ruth, as one who had returned to God from her heathen background, exercised her right to partake of the rich produce of the inheritance of God’s elect. Ruth, a Moabitess, had come to the good land as a sojourner. According to her threefold status as a sojourner, a poor one, and a widow, she exercised her right to glean the harvest. Although she was poor, she never became a beggar. Her gleaning was not her begging; it was her right.
The book of Ruth portrays the way, the position, the qualification, and the right of sinners to participate in Christ and to enjoy Christ. According to God’s ordination, we have been qualified and positioned to claim our right to enjoy Christ. This means that today we do not need to beg God to save us. We can go to God to claim His salvation for ourselves. We have the position, the qualification, and the right to claim salvation from God. This is the highest standard of receiving the gospel.
As a narration, the book of Ruth is lovely, touching, convincing, and subduing. In the aromatic story in chapter 2, four types are implied. Boaz, rich in wealth (2:1), typifies Christ, who is rich in the divine grace (2 Cor. 12:9). The field of the God-promised good land (Ruth 2:2-3) typifies the all-inclusive Christ, who is the source of all the spiritual and divine products for the life supply to God’s elect (Phil. 1:19b). Barley and wheat (Ruth 2:23) typify Christ as the material for making food for both God and His people (Lev. 2; John 6:9, 33, 35). Ruth, a Moabitess (Deut. 23:3), a heathen sinner, alienated from God’s promises (Eph. 2:12), given the right to partake of the gleaning of the harvest of God’s elect typifies the “Gentile dogs” who are privileged to partake of the crumbs under the table of the portion of God’s elect children (Col. 1:12; Matt. 15:25-28). (Life-study of Ruth, pp. 14-15)
Further Reading: Life-study of 1 Corinthians, msg. 16