C
Considered in the light of Matthew 1:5-6 and 16, Ruth’s seeking for her rest was actually for the continuation of the genealogy to bring in Christ.
D
Boaz told Ruth, “I am a kinsman, yet there is a kinsman closer than I”—Ruth 3:12:
１
In this verse the first kinsman of Ruth’s husband, Ruth’s closest kinsman, typifies our natural man, who cannot and will not redeem us from the indebtedness (sin) of our old man (4:1-6).
２
Boaz, the second kinsman of Ruth’s husband, typifies Christ, who partook of blood and flesh (Heb. 2:14) to be our Kinsman and who can redeem us from our sin, recover the lost right of our natural man in God’s creation, be our new Husband in His divine organic union with us, and take us as His counterpart for His increase (Ruth 4:7-13).
Ⅴ
Chapter 4 of the book of Ruth speaks of Ruth’s receiving a reward for God’s economy:
A
As part of her reward for God’s economy, Ruth gained a redeeming husband, who typifies Christ as the redeeming Husband of the believers; now as believers in Christ, we have a Husband who is our eternal, present, and daily Redeemer, rescuing us, saving us, delivering us, from all our troubles.
B
In addition to gaining a redeeming husband, Ruth was redeemed from the indebtedness of her dead husband (vv. 1-9); this typifies the believers being redeemed from the sin of their old man:
１
According to Romans 6:6 and 7:2-4, the dead husband, our old husband, is our old man; God created us to be His wife, but we rebelled against Him; we gave Him up and assumed the position of a husband for ourselves.
２
Our sinful husband encumbered us with many debts, but on the day we married Christ, we received a Husband who is our almighty, omnipotent Redeemer; we all need Christ to be such a Husband to us, and we should habitually come to Him and simply say, “Lord Jesus, I need You.”
C
Another aspect of Ruth’s reward is that she became a crucial ancestor in the genealogy to bring in the royal house of David for the producing of Christ (Ruth 4:13b-22; Matt. 1:5-16); this indicates that she had an all-inclusive and all-extensive gain with the position and capacity to bring Christ into the human race; she is thus a great link in the chain that is bringing Christ to every corner of the earth.
D
Ruth not only became a crucial ancestor in the genealogy for the producing of Christ, but she also continued the line of the God-created humanity for the incarnation of Christ; the incarnation of Christ was a matter of His being brought out of eternity into time and with His divinity into humanity:
１
Every day of our Christian life should be a continuation of Christ’s incarnation, with Christ being brought forth in order to be born into others through our ministering Christ as the Spirit into them—2 Cor. 3:6.
２
In order for this to happen, we all need to speak for Christ, to speak forth Christ, and to speak Christ into others; ministering Christ in this way will surely change us, and the ones for whom we care, in a metabolic way for our transformation into His image—v. 18; 4:1.
Morning Nourishment
Matt. 1:5-6 …And Boaz begot Obed of Ruth, and Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king…Isa. 54:5 For your Maker is your Husband….And the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer…
Rom. 7:4 …You also have been made dead to the law through the body of Christ so that you might be joined to another, to Him who has been raised from the dead, that we might bear fruit to God.
If we consider Matthew 1:5-6 and 16, we will see that Ruth’s seeking for her rest was actually for the continuation of the genealogy to bring in Christ. (Life-study of Ruth, p. 21)
In Ruth 3:12 the first kinsman of Ruth’s husband, Ruth’s closest kinsman, typifies our natural man, who cannot and will not redeem us from the indebtedness (sin) of our old man (4:1-6). Boaz, the second kinsman of Ruth’s husband, typifies Christ, who partook of blood and flesh (Heb. 2:14) to be our Kinsman and who can redeem us from our sin, recover the lost right of our natural man in God’s creation, be our new Husband in His divine organic union with us, and take us as His counterpart for His increase (Ruth 4:7-13). (Ruth 3:12, footnote 1)
Today’s Reading
The crucial point…is that, as part of her reward for God’s economy, Ruth gained a redeeming husband, who typifies Christ as the redeeming Husband to the believers. Only Christ can be both our Husband and our Redeemer….Now as believers in Christ, we have a Husband who is our eternal, present, and daily Redeemer, rescuing us, saving us, delivering us, from all our troubles. What a gain this is!Ruth was redeemed from the indebtedness of the dead husband (Ruth 4:1-9). This typifies being redeemed from the sin of the believers’ old man…. Boaz said to the kinsman who was closer than he, “On the day you buy the field from Naomi’s hand, you must also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead man, in order to raise up the dead man’s name upon his inheritance” (v. 5). That kinsman replied, “I cannot redeem it for myself, or else I will mar my own inheritance. You redeem for yourself what I should redeem, for I cannot redeem it” (v. 6). Boaz did so, redeeming Ruth from her indebtedness.
According to Romans 7 the dead husband, our old husband, is our old man. God created us to be His wife, but we rebelled against Him. We gave Him up and assumed the position of the husband for ourselves. Our sinful husband encumbered us with many debts. But on the day we married Christ, we received a Husband who is our almighty, omnipotent Redeemer….Having Him as our Husband, we should come to Him and simply say, “Lord Jesus, I need You.”
Another aspect of Ruth’s reward is that she became a crucial ancestor in the genealogy to bring in the royal house of David for the producing of Christ (Ruth 4:13b-22; Matt. 1:5-16). This indicates that she had an all-inclusive and all-extensive gain with the position and capacity to bring Christ into the human race. She is thus a great link in the chain that is bringing Christ to every corner of the earth. We all are indebted to Ruth, for without her Christ could not have reached us.
The burden of this ministry is to produce Christ in the believers. This means that the goal of this ministry is not to teach you to be humble or merely to glorify God in your behavior. Ruth not only became a crucial ancestor in the genealogy for the producing of Christ, but she also continued the line of the God-created humanity for the incarnation of Christ (Matt. 1:5-16). The incarnation of Christ was a matter of His being brought out of eternity into time with His divinity…. Every day of our Christian life should be a continuation of Christ’s incarnation, with Christ being brought forth in order to be born into others through our ministering Christ to them. In order for this to happen, we all need to speak for Christ, to speak forth Christ, and even speak Christ to others. Ministering Christ in this way will surely change us. (Life-study of Ruth, pp. 24-26)
Further Reading: Life-study of Ruth, msg. 5