Scripture Reading: Ruth 1:16-17; 2:1-3, 13-16; 3:9, 12, 15; 4:1-17, 21-22

DAY 1 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 2 & DAY 3 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 4 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 5 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 6 Outline　MorningRevival

«　WEEK 11　DAY 1　»

　　Josh. 1:5-6 …I will be with you….Be strong and take courage, for you will cause this people to inherit the land which I swore…to give to them.

　　Ruth 4:9-10 And Boaz said…, You are witnesses today, that I buy from Naomi’s hand all that was…Mahlon’s. Furthermore Ruth the Moabitess…I acquire as my own wife so that I may raise up the dead man’s name upon his inheritance…

　　Boaz and Ruth typify Christ and the church…. At the beginning and at the end of the portion of Israel’s history from Joshua to Ruth are two prominent persons typifying Christ (Josh. 1:1; Ruth 4:21). These persons are Joshua and Boaz, who signify two aspects of one person.

　　At the beginning Joshua typifies Christ in bringing God’s chosen people into God’s ordained blessings (Josh. 1:2-4; Eph. 1:3-14). As typified by Joshua, Christ has brought us into the good land, has taken possession of the land for us, and has allotted the land to us as our inheritance for our enjoyment. Christ has gained the good land for us, and eventually He is the good land for us to enjoy.

　　At the end Boaz typifies Christ in other aspects. In particular, he typifies Christ as our Husband for our satisfaction. As a man, rich in wealth and generous in giving (Ruth 2:1, 14-16; 3:15), Boaz typifies Christ, whose divine riches are unsearchable and who takes care of God’s needy people with His bountiful supply (Eph. 3:8; 2 Cor. 12:9; Phil. 1:19b). (Life-study of Ruth, pp. 27-28)

　　The book of Ruth tells us that Boaz redeemed Ruth; he also redeemed the birthright for her. This means that Christ, as our real Boaz, has redeemed both us and the birthright. Boaz redeemed his kinsman’s inheritance and married the man’s widow (Ruth 4:1-17); hence, he became a notable forefather of Christ, a great associate of Christ. As a brother and a Boaz, you should take care of others’ birthright of Christ…. In other words, you should not only take care of your own enjoyment of Christ, but also others’ enjoyment of Christ.

　　Ruth and Naomi had lost the enjoyment, the birthright, but according to God’s regulation there was a way to restore the birthright, to redeem it. But it had to be redeemed by someone else. The principle is the same in the church life today….Quite often, some dear ones lose their enjoyment of Christ. In a sense, they become Naomi or Ruth. If so, you need to be a Boaz, able to redeem the lost birthright and marry the redeemed one.

　　To lose the husband means to lose the enjoyment of the birthright….Thus, I need you, as my brother, to redeem my birthright. But you need to be somewhat richer in Christ….Then you pay the price to regain my birthright, and you also marry me. This means that you become involved with me. This kind of spiritual involvement will produce Obed, the grandfather of David. Boaz became one of the great forefathers of Christ. In a spiritual sense, he was the one who enjoyed the largest and richest portion of Christ. If a brother becomes a Boaz to me, he will be the one with the greatest enjoyment of Christ. Because he redeemed my birthright and became so involved with me, our involvement in the Lord will eventually bring forth the full enjoyment of Christ.

　　In the church life today we need to have a number of Boazes…. Some brothers should take care of me, the poor Ruth, but they are selfish in the spiritual enjoyment of Christ. Even in the spiritual enjoyment of Christ it is quite possible to be selfish. However, a Boaz will be generous and pay the price to redeem my birthright. All this indicates that we should take care of not only our own birthright, but also others’ birthright. DAY by day we should take care of others’ enjoyment of Christ. The more we do this, the better. (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 32-33)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Ruth, msgs. 6-7; Life-study of Matthew, msg. 3

«　WEEK 11　DAY 2　»

　　1 Kings 7:21 And he erected the pillars at the portico of the temple. When…he erected the left pillar, he called its name Boaz.

　　Rev. 3:12 He who overcomes, him I will make a pillar in the temple of My God…

　　Gal. 2:20 I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me…

　　The names of these two pillars were Jachin and Boaz (1 Kings 7:21). Jachin means, “He shall establish,” and Boaz means, “In it is strength.” These two pillars standing on the portico testify that the Lord will establish His building and that genuine strength is in the building. Even today, the building of the church gives this testimony. By the details of the picture in 1 Kings 7, we see how we can be a pillar in the building of God, judging ourselves, living by faith, bearing the responsibility, and expressing the riches of life. (Life-study of Genesis, p. 1077)

　　The two pillars were made of bronze (1 Kings 7:15). In Genesis the pillar is a pillar of stone, but in 1 Kings 7 the pillars are pillars of bronze…. [Bronze] signifies God’s judgment. For example, the altar at the entrance of the tabernacle was covered with bronze indicating God’s judgment (Exo. 27:1-2; Num. 16:38-40). The laver was also made of bronze (Exo. 30:18). Furthermore, the serpent of bronze put on a pole (Num. 21:8-9) also testified of Christ’s being judged by God on our behalf (John 3:14)….That the two pillars were made of bronze clearly indicates that if we would be a pillar, we must realize that we are those under God’s judgment. We should not only be under God’s judgment, but also under our own judgment. Like Paul in Galatians 2:20, we must say, “I have been crucified. I have been crucified because I am not good for anything in God’s economy. I am only qualified for death.”

　　If you think that you are qualified, then you have nothing to do with bronze. Instead, you are self-made gold. The experience of bronze is that we are always under God’s judgment and under our own self-judgment. We all must apply this word to ourselves, saying, “Lord, have mercy upon me, for in me there is nothing good.” This is the reason that we have been crucified. If we think there is something good in us, we are liars.

　　In Galatians 2:20 Paul said, “It is no longer I who live, but…Christ…lives in me.” We may also apply his word in 1 Corinthians 15:10, which says, “But by the grace of God I am what I am; and His grace unto me did not turn out to be in vain, but, on the contrary, I labored more abundantly than all of them, yet not I but the grace of God which is with me.” In Galatians 2:20, Paul said, “No longer I who live, but…Christ” and in 1 Corinthians 15:10, he said, “Not I but the grace of God.” Paul seemed to be saying, “Whatever I am, I am by the grace of God. By myself, I am nothing. By myself, I could never be an apostle or a minister of God’s living word. I labored more than the others, but it was not I who labored—it was the grace of God.” This is the experience of bronze.

　　In typology and in figure, the two bronze pillars in 1 Kings 7 tell us that we must be under God’s judgment as well as under our own self-judgment. We must judge ourselves as being nothing and as being only qualified to be crucified. I say this not only to the brothers, but also to the sisters….We must consider ourselves as those under God’s judgment.

　　Our problem is that we do not condemn ourselves. Rather, we vindicate, justify, approve, and excuse ourselves. Often we say, “That is not my mistake; it is Brother So-and-so’s mistake. I am always careful. I am not wrong.” This is self-vindication. After we vindicate ourselves, we proceed to justify and approve ourselves…. Sometimes, however, we are caught in a mistake. Then we excuse ourselves…. In the past, I have had a lot of self-vindication, self-justification, self-approval, and self-excuse…. If we would daily crucify these four things, there would be no fighting whatever. (Life-study of Genesis, pp. 1064-1067,1071)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Genesis, msg. 83

«　WEEK 11　DAY 3　»

　　Matt. 6:28-30 And why are you anxious concerning clothing? Consider well the lilies of the field, how they grow. They do not toil, neither do they spin thread….Not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these. And if God so arrays the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is cast into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, you of little faith?

　　First Kings 7:17 speaks of “nets of checker work with wreaths of chain work for the capitals that were at the top of the pillars, seven for the one capital, and seven for the second capital.”…The checker work resembles a trellis, a frame with small square holes that bears a vine. Furthermore, the word work in this verse implies a design. Hence, checker work is a checker design and chain work a chain design….This checker design is for the growth of the lilies. This trellis is the setting for the lilies. In a sense, it is a net to hold the lilies…. [The] nets of checker work and wreaths of chain work [signify an]…intermixed and complicated situation. (Life-study of Genesis, p. 1073)

　　The burden and responsibility borne by the pillars in the family, in the church, and in the ministry is always in a complicated and intermixed situation. We may often like to straighten out these situations, but we cannot do it. If you straighten out one complication, there will be three others to take its place. If you attempt to make one matter clear, the situation will become even more unclear. The more you try to make it understandable, the more it will be misunderstood.

　　In order to bear the responsibility in this complicated situation, we must live by faith in God. First Kings 7:19 says, “And the capitals that were at the top of the pillars in the portico were of lily work.”…The lily signifies a life of faith in God. Firstly, we must condemn ourselves, realizing that we are fallen, incapable, unqualified, and that we are nothing. Then we must live by faith in God, not by what we are or by what we can do. We must be a lily existing by what God is to us, not by what we are (Matt. 6:28,30). Our living on earth today depends upon Him. How can we possibly bear the responsibility in the intermixed and complicated church life? In ourselves, we are incapable of doing this, but we can do so if we live by faith in God. It is not I but Christ who lives in me—this is the lily. It is not I who bear the responsibility—it is He who bears it.

　　We all have been judged and we need to judge ourselves under God’s judgment. It is easy to be a bronze pillar, saying, “I’m fallen, corrupted, sinful, and good for nothing but death.” But to pass through the three days of the process of resurrection in the midst of the crossing out of the checker work and the limitation of the chain work is very difficult. But the more we are in the checker work and the chain work,…the more the lily grows, and the more of the pomegranates we express. Then we become a living testimony, not of anything natural, but of the process of resurrection under the crossing out of the checker work and the restraint of the chain work. There is no escape. We must stay in the checker work and chain work. It is exactly like being buried for three days and coming out through the process of resurrection. As we pass through this experience, the lily grows and the pomegranates are expressed. Every pillar must bear the testimony of living by faith to express the riches of Christ through the process of resurrection under the crossing out of the checker work and the restriction of the chain work. The bronze in the two pillars in front of the temple indicates that we are under the death-judgment, which brings us into the process of resurrection, signified by the three-cubit height of the base of the capitals. This process of resurrection brings us through the network and the chain work to grow the lily and to bear the pomegranates for a testimony. This is the way for the pillar to bear the responsibility, signified by the five cubits, the total height of the capitals. (Life-study of Genesis, pp. 1073-1075, 1083)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Genesis, msg. 84

«　WEEK 11　DAY 4　»

　　Rom. 7:4 So then, my brothers, 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.

　　Ruth, being a woman in Adam in God’s creation and a Moabitess in man’s fall, thus becoming an old man with these two aspects, typifies the church, before her salvation, as men in God’s creation and sinners in man’s fall being “our old man” (Rom. 6:6).

　　Ruth, being the widow of the dead husband, redeemed by Boaz, who cleared the indebtedness of her dead husband for the recovery of the lost right of her dead husband’s property, typifies the church with her old man as her crucified husband (Rom. 7:4a) redeemed by Christ, who cleared away her old man’s sin for the recovery of the lost right of her fallen natural man created by God.

　　Our old man has been crucified with Christ (Rom. 6:6). Christ’s crucifixion destroyed the fallen part of our old man, but it redeemed the created part. Christ did not redeem the fallen part of our old man; on the contrary, He terminated it. However, He redeemed our created part in order to recover us. Therefore, Christ’s death on the cross terminated the fallen part of our old man and redeemed the part created by God. (Life-study of Ruth, pp. 28-30)

　　Ruth, after being redeemed by Boaz, becoming a new wife to him typifies the church, after being saved, through the regeneration of the church’s natural man, becoming the counterpart of Christ (Rom. 7:4b). Just as the redeemed Ruth became a new wife to Boaz, so the saved and regenerated church has become His new wife, His counterpart, in the organic union with Him.

　　Ruth, [choosing to follow Naomi to the land of Israel and] being united to Boaz, typifies the Gentile sinners being attached to Christ that they may partake of the inheritance of God’s promise (Eph. 3:6).

　　Ruth’s first status was that of a God-created person who was very good (Gen. 1:27, 31). Second, she was a fallen person in Adam who was condemned by God and constituted a sinner before God (Rom. 5:18a, 19a). Third, she became an old man to be, by forsaking God as her Husband, an old husband to herself (Rom. 6:6a; 7:2) who brought her into indebtedness. Fourth, she became a debtor in the sin of her old husband. Fifth, she was a Moabitess, an incestuous Gentile abandoned by God (Deut. 23:3). Sixth, she became one who joined God’s elect, Israel, in partaking of God’s promises (Eph. 2:12-13; 3:6). Seventh, she was redeemed by her kinsman, Boaz, to be a new wife to him, her new husband (Ruth 4:5, 13). Eighth, she was one who kept the line of Christ’s incarnation (Matt. 1:5b). Ninth, she was the great-grandmother of David who brought forth the royal family of the God-ordained government on the earth. Tenth, she became a crucial ancestor of Christ who brought forth Christ, the embodiment of God, to men on earth.

　　We may summarize Ruth’s statuses by saying that she was a natural, God-created person; a fallen, corrupted person; an old wife to an old husband—a person in the old man involved with sin, with indebtedness; a person who joined God’s elect; a redeemed person; a new wife; a person who brought in the royal family of the divine government on earth; and one of the crucial ancestors of Christ who brought Christ to the human race. Stated simply, Ruth was a natural person, a fallen person, a person involved in sin, a redeemed person, a person united to a new husband, and a person who brought Christ to humanity. (Life-study of Ruth, pp. 30, 33-34)

　　Further Reading: Truth Lessons—Level Three, vol. 2, lsn. 34; CWWL, 1956, vol. 2, “Three Aspects of the Church, Book 1: The Meaning of the Church,” ch. 8; CWWL, Bible Notes & Hymns, vol. 1, pp. 339-343

«　WEEK 11　DAY 5　»

　　Rom. 6:6-8 Knowing this, that our old man has been crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be annulled, that we should no longer serve sin as slaves; for he who has died is justified from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him.

　　[The picture of Boaz (typifying Christ as our new Husband) and Ruth (typifying the church with her old man as her crucified husband) is spoken of by Paul in Romans 7:1-6.]

　　In God’s creation man’s original position was that of a wife [cf. Isa. 54:5]…. As a wife to God, we must depend upon Him and take Him as our head. When man fell, he took another position, the self-assuming position of the old man….The man created by God was a wife; the fallen man became a husband. Assuming the position of the husband, the fallen man became independent of God and made himself the head as the husband. Before you were saved, you never considered yourself as a wife…. Among fallen people both males and females think of themselves as husbands…. Hence, fallen man became a strong, ugly husband. The position of the regenerated new man is a genuine wife’s position. Regeneration restores us to our original position.

　　The first husband of Romans 7:2-3 is…the old man of Romans 6:6, which has been crucified with Christ. (Life-study of Romans, pp. 140-143)

　　We, the believers, after being saved, have two statuses—the old and the new. Due to the fall we have the old status; due to regeneration we have a new one. Because of the fall we are the old man, and because of regeneration we are the new man. As the old man we were the husband; as the new man we are the wife. Hence, we have two statuses.

　　[Consider] Romans 7:1-6 in relation to Romans 6:6 and Galatians 2:19-20. Romans 7:1 says, “The law lords it over the man as long as he lives.” This verse presents no difficulty. In 7:2 we are told that the “married woman is bound by the law to her husband while he is living; but if the husband dies, she is discharged from the law regarding the husband.” Please notice that it does not say “she is living,” but “he is living.” If the husband dies, the wife is discharged from the law of the husband. Romans 7:3 tells us that if, while the husband lives, the wife marries another husband she will be called an adulteress. However, if the husband dies, she is freed from the law and may be married to another.

　　[Romans 7:4 says], “So then, my brothers, you also have been made dead to the law through the body of Christ.” We were not put to death as a result of suicide, but through the body of Christ, meaning that we died on the cross of Christ. The phrase “through the body of Christ” modifies death, indicating what sort of death it was…. It was a co-crucifixion with Christ. When Christ was crucified, we died with Him. We need to compare this with Romans 6:6, which says, “Knowing this, that our old man has been crucified with Him.”…This verse…corresponds with Romans 7:4 which says that we were made dead through the body of Christ.

　　Romans 6:6 continues with the phrase “that we should no longer serve sin as slaves.” The old man has been crucified, yet we still live. We should no longer serve sin as slaves….Galatians 2:19…says, “For I through law have died to law that I might live to God.” Are we dead or living? Are we two persons or one? By this verse we can see that we have two statuses, that there are two I’s—an old “I” and a new “I.” The old “I” is dead that the new “I” may live. Verse 20 follows by declaring, “I am crucified with Christ,” a phrase which undoubtedly corresponds to Romans 6:6 and 7:4. These three verses correspond to one another….Then, Galatians 2:20 says, “And the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith of the Son of God.” This verse reveals that a believer has two statuses—the status of an old man and the status of the regenerated new man. (Life-study of Romans, pp. 143-145)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Romans, msg. 12

«　WEEK 11　DAY 6　»

　　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.

　　6 But now we have been discharged from the law, having died to that in which we were held, so that we serve in newness of spirit and not in oldness of letter.

　　In Romans 7:4 Paul puts together a funeral and a wedding. On the one hand, we were buried; on the other hand, we were married. We have been made dead that we might marry another. In Romans 7:4 we are dead to marry; in Galatians 2:19 we are dead to live. If we did not have two statuses, how could this be possible? We were made dead according to our old status that we might marry another according to our new status. According to our new status, we marry Him who has been raised from the dead, that we might bear fruit to God. (Life-study of Romans, p. 145)

　　Now we are married to Christ, our new husband,…“to Him who has been raised from the dead” [Rom. 7:4]. In 2 Corinthians 11:2 Paul also says that he has espoused us to one husband, Christ. Christ is our new husband.

　　As regenerated beings, both male and female believers are a part of the wife. Since Christ is our husband, we must depend on Him and take Him as our Head (Eph. 5:23). If we do this, we will bear fruit in resurrection to God (Rom. 7:4) and serve the Lord in newness of spirit (7:6). We will no longer be in the flesh, but in the newness of the spirit.

　　Christ is not only my head—He is also my person. The wives must take their husbands as their person, not only as their head. We must even take Christ as our life. Christ is our husband, our head, our person, and our life. We have been terminated and have become nobody. Christ lives in us and for us. I have been fully called out of everything else and called into Him. I believe in Him and put my whole trust in Him. Christ is everything to me. He is my husband, my head, my person, and my life. Therefore, I am fully under grace, no longer under law in any way. The law has nothing to do with me, and I have nothing to do with the law. “I through law have died to law” (Gal. 2:19). Now in grace I am alive to God. As a new man and the wife, married to a new husband, whatever we are and do is related to God. We bear fruit to God…. [This] means that God comes forth, that God is brought forth as fruit. Thus, all we are and do must be the living God. We must bring forth God as an overflow of God. In this way we have the living God as our fruit and we bear fruit to God.

　　As a wife we must also serve the Lord in newness of spirit, not in oldness of the letter. The word spirit in this verse denotes our regenerated human spirit in which the Lord as the Spirit dwells (2 Tim. 4:22). We may serve in newness of spirit because God has renewed our spirit. (Life-study of Romans, pp. 146-147, 149)

　　The Spirit now dwells in our regenerated spirit and is joined to our spirit as one spirit (Rom. 8:9-11a; 1 Cor. 6:17). He is not only in us but also joined with our spirit to become one spirit with us. We must therefore exercise to turn our whole being to this joined spirit and set our mind on it (Rom. 8:6b). Do not place your mind on frivolous matters; set it on the spirit by turning your entire being to this joined spirit. We should also live and walk according to this joined spirit (v. 4). We must speak, do things, treat others, and deal with matters according to this joined spirit. We should talk to our family members in our home life according to this spirit. When we live in this joined spirit, we will be able to live out the Body of Christ and become His corporate expression (Eph. 1:23). (CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, “A Thorough View of the Body of Christ,” p. 132)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, “A Thorough View of the Body of Christ,” ch. 2