A Deeper Dive Into the Book of Revelation - Part 39
Immediately after Ruth declared herself to be a maidservant to Boaz, she declared her desire to marry him.
She said, “I am Ruth, your maiden; take me under your protecting wing. You’re my close relative, you know, in the circle of covenant redeemers—you do have the right to marry me.”—Ruth 3:9 (MSG)
Boaz knew exactly what this meant. In the Jewish law, God made a provision for husbands who died childless, like Ruth’s husband. The husband’s unmarried brother was to marry his brother’s widow. Their first-born son would then be the dead husband’s heir and would be entitled to inherit his estate and carry on the family name.
“When two brothers are living together and one of them dies without leaving a son, his widow must not be married outside the family to a foreigner. Instead, the brother-in-law must go to her, take her as his wife, and by doing so perform the duty of a brother-in-law. The firstborn whom she will bear will continue the name of the dead brother, so his name will not be erased from Israel.”—Deuteronomy 25:5-6 (ISV)
Ruth was not satisfied with the “Holy Place” relationship of a servant to her Redeemer. She set her heart on having an intimate marriage relationship with Him. This would symbolically take her into the Holy of Holies in her relationship with her redeemer. In doing this, Ruth would move beyond Passover and Pentecost to experience the Feast of Tabernacles with her redeemer as they began to dwell together in unity of spirit, soul, and body.
Marriage with the Lord Jesus Christ is reserved for those whose hearts are totally His. This experience is only shared with those who have an intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and who have allowed themselves to be transformed into His image.
There are some things that Jesus will never share with those who do not have an intimate relationship with Him. Even during His earthly ministry, for example, Jesus did not share His transfiguration experience with all of His followers. Only Peter, James, and John—those in His inner circle—were allowed to share in this experience.
The five foolish virgins wanted to join the wedding celebration, but they were locked out because they did not have a deep, personal relationship with the Bridegroom.
“Later the others also came, and said, ‘Lord, Lord, open [the door] for us.’ But He replied, ‘I assure you and most solemnly say to you,** I do not know you [we have no relationship].’”**—Matthew 25:11-12 (AMP)
Marriage with the Redeemer is not for those Christians who serve themselves in the Outer Court, or even for those who limit their relationships to serving God in ministry in the Holy Place. This experience with the Lord is only for those who long for a deeper, intimate relationship with the Redeemer in the Holy of Holies, sharing His secrets, His purposes, and His goals as His helpmate—His Bride.
These are the Overcomers that Jesus singled out for great rewards in Revelation chapters 2 and 3.
Naomi Missed Out
Boaz responded to Ruth’s plea by saying, “May the Lord bless you, young woman. You have been very kind to me. Your kindness to me is greater than the kindness you showed to Naomi in the beginning. You could have looked for a young man to marry, rich or poor. But you did not” (Ruth 3:10 ERV).
Evidently, there was a significant age difference between Boaz and Ruth. Boaz was probably closer to Naomi’s age than to Ruth’s age, but Naomi did not pursue an intimate relationship with her redeemer. Only Ruth pursued his heart. Because of this, Ruth was greatly rewarded and Naomi missed out. If Ruth had not shared some of her leftover blessings with Naomi, the situation for Naomi might have been even worse than it was.
Overflowing Blessings
Before Ruth left the threshing floor, Boaz poured overflowing blessings onto her.
“He also said, ‘Give me the shawl you are wearing and hold it out.’
“So Ruth held it and he measured out six measures of barley [into it] and placed it on her. And she went into the city.
“When she came home, her mother-in-law said, ‘How did it go, my daughter?’
“And Ruth told her everything that the man had done for her. She said, ‘He gave me these six measures of barley, and he said to me, “Do not go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.”’”—Ruth 3:15-17 (AMP)
Ruth literally experienced the blessing of Luke 6:38:
“Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” (NKJV)
These six measures of barley, along with the measure that Ruth had already gleaned from the field of Boaz in Ruth 2:17, gave Ruth seven measures of barley. Symbolically, this represents the complete perfection of the blessings of the Lord on the life of Ruth the Overcomer, the future Bride of her Redeemer.
**Reference: **
Cummins, D. (2021). I Am Ruth Thy Handmaid. Capitol Worship.
