Ruth's Romance of Redemption

by Edward Boone

~ 1936 ~

Fifth Edition

The Boone Publishing Company

Des Moines Iowa

STUDY ONE

THE DISTRESS AND THE REMOVAL

"Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And

a certain man of BethlehemJudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and

his two sons. And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the

name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of BethlehemJudah. And they came into

the country of Moab, and continued there. And Elimelech Naomi's husband died; and she was

left, and her two sons. And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was

Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years. And Mahlon and

Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband" (Ruth

1:1-5)

The events recorded in the Book of Ruth took place "when the judges ruled" (v. 1). These are the

first words of the Book. The Book of Judges gives us a survey of the condition of the people of

Israel at the time the Book of Ruth was written. During the rule of the judges, the spiritual

atmosphere was good when the people obeyed the Lord. The declination, however, was very

apparent during these 450 years and especially toward the close of this period. The three

outstanding conditions of the children of Israel are described in the book of Judges are as

follows:

1. Disobedience. When the Israelites would disobey the Lord, He in turn would send them

chastisement from the hands of a foreign nation. When Israel would humble themselves and

implore GOD for mercy, He would send them a deliverer -- a Gideon, a Deborah, or someone to

help them out of their distress. However, every time they disobeyed GOD, the chastisement

seemed to become greater, and a longer time elapsed before they called on GOD for deliverance.

This shows that a person's heart will become harder by continuing in disobedience.

2. Defeat. When the Israelites disobeyed GOD, He sent some nation -- the Moabites, the

Philistines, the Ammonites, or other enemies -- who would defeat them. They destroyed their

property, their crops, and their cities. In turn, Israel would humble themselves, repent of their

disobedience, and ask GOD for victory over their enemies. The disobedient will meet defeat.

This was proved in the character of King Saul, who disobeyed the commands of Samuel and

finally went down in defeat to a suicide's grave.

3. Disgrace. The Book of Judges describes the low and degrading moral condition of the

children of Israel at that time. The 19th chapter is sufficient proof of their low standard of living.

Along with the downfall of standards usually comes strife and jealousy. At this time, it existed in

such a degree that brother fought against brother, and tribe against tribe. The tribe of Benjamin

was so nearly wiped out at one time in cold bloody slaughter that only 600 men survived.

The Book of Judges closes with the words "In those days there was no king in Israel: every man

did that which was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25). This described the condition of Israel.

Each man was a law unto himself and declared, "We are independent, we will be our own

bosses". When the laws of GOD, of a nation, or of a family are set aside, nothing but confusion,

strife, and disorder can remain. There must be law and order to preserve peace, but here there

was none, for there was "no king in Israel." This should be a lesson to those in the ranks of the

church who would be a law unto themselves and who, regardless of the opinions of others, desire

to run the church according to their own plans. Many a spiritual church has been wrecked

because of church bosses that existed within their ranks. Some consider the preacher only a

figurehead and not one who is called by GOD to lead and guide the flock. Eternity alone will

reveal the grief and sorrow some ministers have had to endure because of those who wanted to

be dictators on the official board or within the society of the church. Notice how different the last

verse of the Book of Ruth: "And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David." David means the

"beloved one," and the "Beloved One" -- JESUS CHRIST -- was a descendant of David.

THE NUMBER EIGHT

The Book of Ruth surely has its proper setting between the Book of Judges and the Books of

Samuel. It is the eighth Book in the Bible. The number eight signifies "a new beginning." It is

associated with resurrection -- the beginning of a new order of things -- for CHRIST arose on the

first day of the week, the eighth day. "Noah, the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness," (II

Peter 2:5), stepped from the ark into a new world with a total of eight people to begin, as it were,

a new race (I Peter 3:20). The Jewish boy was circumcised on the eighth day, a type of new life,

the new birth, and the new creation. The cleansed leper was presented by the priest before the

Lord on the eighth day; this marked his new beginning: "And on the eighth day he shall take two

he lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, and three tenth

deals of fine flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil. And the priest that

maketh him clean shall present the man that is to be made clean, and those things, before the

LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation" (Leviticus 14:10-11). The eighth note

in the musical scale is the note of new beginning, just as Sunday is the eighth day, the beginning

of a new week. So we see from this that the Book of Ruth appropriately goes before the Books of

Samuel because in the closing verse it introduces David, the eighth son of Jesse, from whom

there would begin a new plan on the basis of Divine grace. The Book of Ruth describes this

marvelous working of grace to the Gentile race through JESUS CHRIST of the seed of David. It

is a bright picture on the dark background of Israel's apostasy had come to its fullness, and now

GOD was to have a new beginning. After the rule of judges had failed, GOD began the order of

prophets, as seen in the Book of Samuel, which follows Ruth. Just so, hundreds of years later,

after the law had failed to give a man what his soul was in need of, GOD began His dispensation

of grace through JESUS CHRIST, Who was of the seed of David. In this study we find the

following:

1. THE FAMILY

2. THE FAMINE

3. THE FAILURE

1. THE FAMILY

There were six members in the family: Elimelech and Naomi, the husband and wife; Mahlon and

Chilion, the two sons; and Orpah and Ruth, the two daughters-in-law.

THE NUMBER SIX

The number six falls short of the number of perfection, seven, thus indicating incompleteness

and symbolizing fallen man without CHRIST. He lacks the One Who is altogether necessary to

bring him into the perfect state. Man was created on the sixth day, one short of seven, which is

typical of rest. The descendants of Cain are mentioned only in the sixth generation. There were

six cities of refuge, provided for safety from the avenger of blood. The only safe and perfect

security is in the seventh -- JESUS CHRIST. At the marriage of Cana (John 2:6), there were six

water pots of stone; these were empty and needed filling. JESUS CHRIST, the seventh, supplied

their needs. He is the only One Who is able to bring man the blessings of which he stands in

need. When JESUS was crucified, darkness began at the sixth hour (Matthew 27:45). So, the

doom of man in his eternal state without the redeeming power of JESUS CHRIST in his life is

outer darkness. The rebellious man who rejects GOD will finally end with the Antichrist, whose

number is 666. Goliath, the giant of Gath, who is a type of the Antichrist, was 6 cubits tall, wore

6 pieces of armor, and carried an iron spearhead weighing 600 shekels. The image erected by

Nebuchadnezzar in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon was 60 cubits high and 6 cubits

wide; this is prophetic of the image that shall be erected by the Antichrist before which the world

must bow in worship.

However, there is yet another character found in the Book, the seventh; his name is Boaz. He is

the one who so nicely portrays the Lord JESUS CHRIST as the kinsman redeemer for the

Gentile race. There are other characters in the Book such as the neighbors, (4:17), handmaidens,

young men, the servant, (2:5), and the disabled kinsman, (4:6), but their names are not

mentioned.

THE NUMBER SEVEN

The number seven represents dispensational completeness. In some places it refers to Divine

fulness, and in other places it speaks of dispensational perfection. It is composed of the numbers

three and four, the Divine and the creature in unison. Sometimes it refers to the perfection of evil

as in Matthew 12:45 where seven spirits re-entered the man, and his last state was worse than his

first. GOD created the world in six days but rested on the seventh in answer to the complete

satisfaction of His work. Moses was the seventh from Abraham and to him was given the

complete law of GOD for the old dispensation. Enoch, who was not, for GOD translated him,

was the seventh from Adam. He is a type of the church of JESUS CHRIST in its dispensational

completeness when it will be raptured away to meet the Lord. There are seven epistles, bearing

the complete instructions necessary for eternal life and godliness, written to the churches. There

are seven letters written to the seven churches in Revelation, chapters two and three, giving the

complete church history from the Day of Pentecost until its close. When the people of GOD

conquered Jericho, they marched around the walls seven times on the seventh day, following

seven priests, who were carrying seven trumpets. This displayed the perfect, complete victory of

faith over the city that was cursed. The complete and perfect measure of forgiveness is seventy

times seven as taught by JESUS in Matthew 18:22. The seven devils cast out of Mary

Magdalene by JESUS shows the complete climax of iniquity in her life. So we see that Boaz,

being the seventh, is the one to bring about spiritual perfection in the life of Ruth, who

prefigured the Gentile church.

The Seven Characters of the Book

We are now going to study the names of each of the seven characters, give their meaning, and

then see how nicely they fit into the picture of the Book.

A. ELIMELECH. His name means "GOD is my king". In the days when there was no king in

Israel, there was one man, at least, who looked to the GOD of Heaven to be king of his life. This

shows that in every apostasy GOD has a few who have stood true to their faith in Him, just as

Enoch in the antediluvian age and Elijah during the apostasy of Ahab.

B. NAOMI. Her name means "my pleasant one." Truly this is a wonderful name to have.

However, because of her life of wandering and backsliding, she renounced the name and

requested that she be called "Mara, meaning "bitter." Ten years in the land of Moab brought her

home in a bitter condition.

C. MAHLON. This means "sickly." The offspring of Elimelech and Naomi were sickly. By

inference, we note the spiritual decline of the parents, which is manifested in the names of their

children. Usually children reap a portion of what is sown by the father and mother. When there is

a decline in spirituality at the head of the home, the effect is soon noticeable in the children.

Likewise, when the pastor and official board of a church cease to be spiritual, the result may

soon be discerned. In the same way, when the head officers and officials of a church

organization no longer have the missionary and evangelistic spirit, and worldliness creeps into

their lives, it is soon apparent in the other avenues of the church.

D. CHILION. His name means "consumptive." He is possessed with a germ and a disease that

will terminate in death. Again the same spiritual drifting of the parents is being manifested in the

second child but in a worse form, showing their spiritual state is rapidly declining as years go on.

Throughout the Old Testament the names of the people picture the circumstances surrounding

their birth. When the angel announced to Abraham and Sarah that Isaac was to be born, she

laughed. When he was born, they named him Isaac, meaning "laughter." When Joseph was sold

by his brethren into Egypt, he went through many hardships and prison experience, which finally

led him to the throne. While there he married a Gentile wife, who gave birth to a son. Joseph

called his name "Manasseh," which means "He hath made me forget all my toil, and all my

father's house." (Genesis 41:51). Likewise, around these parent's lives there, no doubt, existed an

unrevealed reason for them to name these sons "sickly" and "consumptive."

E. ORPAH. This means "a portion of the neck and back." When Naomi left Moab for the land

of Bethlehem, she tried to induce her daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth, to return to the land of

Moab, but they both declared, "We will return with thee unto thy people." (1:10). Again she tried

to persuade them to return to Moab. "Orpah kissed her mother-in-law; but Ruth clave unto her."

(v. 14). Thus, we see, the meaning of her name was fulfilled in her act when she turned her back

on Bethlehem to worship idols in the land of Moab. How many have started like Orpah, but

because of persecution, the separation the Christian life demands, or the mocking of some

friends, they turned their backs on Bethlehem-Judah to return to their idol worship again.

F. RUTH. Her name means "satisfied." She did not find her satisfaction in Moab, in Naomi, or

in Bethlehem-Judah, but she found it in Boaz, whom she later married. Ruth was much like the

man in the 91st Psalm, who had set his love upon the Lord, (v. 14), and because of that fact GOD

said, "With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation" (v. 16). Many have tried to

find satisfaction in different things, but the only lasting satisfaction that is worth while for time

and eternity is to be found in JESUS CHRIST. Yet this satisfaction is not complete, for man still

dwells in the realms of sin, still has a decaying body, and still lives in the midst of temptations.

David sensed that fact and said, "I shall be satisfied, when I wake with thy likeness." (Psalm

17:15). How we should thank GOD for the prospects ahead; "It doth not yet appear what we

shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him." (I John 3:2).

G. BOAZ. His name means "in him is strength." When Solomon was building the temple, he

brought out from Tyre, Hiram, who made and erected two pillars of brass.

"And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre. He was a widows son of the tribe of

Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom,

and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and

wrought all his work. For he cast two pillars of brass, of eighteen cubits high apiece: and a line

of twelve cubits did compass either of them about. And he made two chapiters of molten brass, to

set upon the tops of the pillars: the height of the one chapiter was five cubits, and the height of

the other chapiter was five cubits: And nets of checker work, and wreaths of chain work, for the

chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars; seven for the one chapiter, and seven for the

other chapiter. And he made the pillars, and two rows round about upon the one network, to

cover the chapiters that were upon the top, with pomegranates: and so did he for the other

chapiter. And the chapiters that were upon the top of the pillars were of lily work in the porch,

four cubits. And the chapiters upon the two pillars had pomegranates also above, over against

the belly which was by the network: and the pomegranates were two hundred in rows round

about upon the other chapiter. And he set up the pillars in the porch of the temple: and he set up

the right pillar, and called the name thereof Jachin: and he set up the left pillar, and called the

name thereof Boaz. And upon the top of the pillars was lily work: so was the work of the pillars

finished (I Kings 7:13-22).

The right pillar he named Jachin, which means "he shall establish." The left pillar was called

Boaz, meaning "in it is strength." Throughout the Scripture brass is typical of judgment. The

altar in the tabernacle was made of brass, signifying that the judgment of sin was met in the

sacrifice there consumed. In the vision John the Revelator had on the Isle of Patmos he saw

JESUS, "His hairs were white like wool . . .; his eyes were as a flame of fire; and his feet like

unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace." (Revelation 1:14-15). Here CHRIST is not

dressed in His high priestly garments, for His work as HIGH PRIEST is completed; He now

comes with His feet like unto fine brass to trample under His feet in judgment all those who have

rejected the atonement He had offered. So these pillars portray JESUS CHRIST Who, like the

sacrifice on the altar, endured the judgment for lost men. Although Solomon was a great man

and able to build, in his day, a magnificent temple, there is One Who is greater than Solomon,

Who shall be able to build a greater Temple, the Church of the living GOD. By the strength of

His death and resurrection, He shall be able to establish a church against which the gates of hell

will not be able to prevail. This church, composed mostly of Gentile believers, will be called "the

body of CHRIST." From this we see the name Boaz points forward to Him Who is to be the

descendant of David.

THE NUMBER TWO

You may wonder why there were two pillars. Two in Scripture is the number of testimony.

JESUS said, "In the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established." (Matthew