Does the story of Ruth hint at far more than just historical narrative? Is it in fact a prophetic parable of profound significance? Given current world events, has engagement with this prophetic parable suddenly become urgent, and informative? Simon Pease considers.
Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her. “Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.” But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” (Ruth 1:14-16)
HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT
In the Tanakh (“Old Testament”), prophets, kings and high priests were anointed, prophetically foreshadowing “the anointed one” (Messiah), whose ministry encompasses each of these roles. So, we catch glimpses of Yeshua (Jesus) in the respective ministries of Elijah, David and Aaron. The Tanakh prophets and Yeshua also used parables prophetically, sometimes even including characters who symbolically represented other people:“When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew He was talking about them”.
The simplest way to discover typology in the Tanakh is by considering where Yeshua might be “hidden in plain sight”. In the Book of Ruth, the appearance of a righteous Jewish man from Bethlehem, described as “redeemer”, and a direct ancestor of King David (and Yeshua surely points to Boaz as a “type of Christ” – without needing Sherlock Holmes-like powers of deduction!
Ruth is of course the central figure of the story, prompting consideration of whom she represents in type, and therefore her relationship to Boaz. A Gentile woman who came to faith in the God of Israel, she was drawn through circumstances into a love relationship with Boaz, the man who took her under his protection and married her. Therefore, if Boaz represents Messiah, Ruth represents His bride, also described in the New Testament as His body, for a husband and wife become “one flesh”.
EXILES IN A FOREIGN LAND
What then of Naomi the Jewess, whose name means “pleasant”, but who called herself Mara (“bitter”), following exile from her homeland and the death of her closest family in a foreign land? Whom does she remind us of? Forced into exile from the land during a time of intense hardship, she experienced great suffering whilst living among the Gentiles, yet still shared the knowledge of Israel’s God with them. Finally, after many years, as the remnant of her family, she returned to her homeland, where her life was restored and blessed once more. We must ask, how many people groups have ever returned to their original homeland after a long exile? There is only one answer – the Jewish people. Furthermore, Bible prophecy repeatedly emphasises this remarkable event in connection with the last days. In Ezekiel’s famous prophecy of the dry bones, the grave graphically represents the Jewish diaspora among the Gentiles, describing Mara’s own personal experience.
To assess the veracity of this typology, we should consider Naomi’s relationship to both Boaz and Ruth. How do the Jewish people relate to Yeshua and His followers? As a Gentile, Ruth was someone whom Paul described as one of those formerly “separate from Messiah, excluded from citizenship with Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.” Yet through faith, and because of her relationship to Naomi, she who once was “far away” was “brought near”. Gentile believers should never forget that we come to faith in the God of Israel not just due to a Jewish Messiah, but also because of the faithful witness of many Jews to Him throughout history, including their diligent recording of Scripture for our benefit. Boaz, through his relationship with Ruth, is the one who ultimately brings about Naomi’s restoration and the removal of her bitterness. This Jewish woman gains another, extended family, fittingly through the grace and kindness of the “kinsman redeemer” who represents the Jewish Messiah. This is an exceptionally powerful prophetic clue of what will happen in future to the Jewish people, confirming what the Word of God explicitly teaches.
These relationships also help us better understand Orpah as a prophetic type. She, like Ruth, is a Moabite Gentile who not just marries into Naomi’s family, but embraces her mother-in-law’s faith in the God of Israel. The difference with Ruth, however, is that Orpah does not finish the journey she started. Instead, she goes “back to her people and her gods”. There are clearly boundaries to her relationship with Ruth and Naomi. As for Boaz, she never even gets to know him.
DIFFERENT PATHS
What then causes Ruth and Orpah to take such radically different paths? Quite simply, Naomi returns to her homeland of Israel. So, if Ruth does indeed foreshadow believers, Boaz Yeshua, and Naomi the Jewish people, how might we understand the prophetic typology of Orpah? Who or what is of Gentile pagan origin, has apparently embraced the God of Israel, entered into a close relationship with the Jewish people and believers, yet for all that, lacks a genuine relationship with Yeshua? Finally, the return of the Jews to Israel somehow triggers a departure from all these things, being “a bridge too far”. In short, resembling the Bride of Messiah, yet of whom Jesus must ultimately say “I never knew you”.
Could the answer lie within much of institutional Christianity, founded on a mixture of Jewish Bible, Gentile paganism and man-made traditions? Here, surely, we find the evil roots of “Christian” anti-Semitism, which turns Jews and Gentiles alike away from New Testament faith in the Jewish Messiah. Despite all this, down the centuries the Lord has graciously poured out His Spirit on “Christendom”, empowering groups of faithful believers to either stand firm on God’s Word within their local congregations, or to separate themselves entirely. Gospel compromise has misled many into considering themselves ‘Christian’, yet without true repentance, and new birth. As institutional Christianity in our day increasingly embraces apostasy, in varying forms, might the story of Ruth give us insight into the ever-widening gulf within our congregations, and contain a prophetic warning to genuine believers, caught up in “Christendom”, yet unaware of its deceptive power?
What separated Ruth from Orpah was Ruth’s commitment to stand by Naomi and her God, even though she risked her own happiness in choosing an uncertain future, leaving her past behind. Ruth not only helped Noami by assisting her return to Israel, she blessed Naomi spiritually, by being instrumental in introducing her to “kinsman redeemer” Boaz, who would restore her family, home and joyful relationship to Yahweh. Like Ruth, the Lord still leads many true believers to bless the Jewish people in ways which will ultimately help restore them to relationship with their Messiah, the true God of Israel. Whilst some Christians have sentimental attachment to Israel, its “holy places”, history, or even culture, Ruth’s love was of an entirely different nature. Although Ruth may well have come to love her new homeland, this would have happened later, as a consequence of her worshipping the God of Israel, her love for Mara in the brokenness of her spirit, and Ruth’s marriage to the man who saved her from destitution – Boaz.
SPIRITUAL TIDE TURNS
For many believers, the starting point for their own “Ruth journey” has been the recognition that Scripture tells literal truth concerning God’s promises to the Jewish people. Whilst not every believer is called to be part of Jewish restoration, the Lord does require all who follow Him to believe His Word, rather than falling for the lie of “Replacement Theology”, which has caused Israel to become such a stumbling block for so many. Before the rebirth of the State of Israel, believers needed faith to trust the prophetic truth of God’s Word in spite of circumstances. Since then, it requires profound unbelief to deny what Scripture so plainly teaches.
Make no mistake, the Lord is turning the spiritual tide from Gentiles back to the Jews, as the prophets, Yeshua and Paul foretold. This helps to explain why many churches are falling away from the Scriptural foundations of our faith and appeasing the spirit of this age – a dangerous trend, as this same spirit is rising up in a hatred against Jews –unparalleled since the Holocaust. Spiritually deceived and facing Orpah’s dilemma, they risk failing to discern the Holy Spirit’s work in our day! Yet, in the Middle East that Ruth knew so well, Arabs and Iranians, many of them Muslim converts to Messiah, are following in her footsteps with astonishing sacrificial love for Yeshua and His ancient covenantal people. The Lord is still powerfully at work – praise Him!
Ruth – A Prophetic Parable is available from https://www.christian-publications-int.com/ to purchase in paperback, or download as a free pdf here: https://christian-publications-int.com/Ruth_A_Prophetic_Parable_Free_e-book.html
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