| RUTH AND NAOMI: A STORY OF REDEMPTION By Peter Cohen -- pg. 5 |
| FOREIGNERS TO THE COVENANTS: Naomi's closest kinsmen-redeemer was unwilling to redeem the property of his relative, Mahlon, when he heard that he would also have to take a Gentile bride because he believed it would endanger his own inheritance. He wanted to take up the right to buy the property but he did not want to fulfill the duty of a kinsman to the wife of the deceased. He may have had legitimate grounds for such fear, but, as the Scriptures now testify, he remains unnamed, while the Scriptures record the descendants of the Moabite woman including King David and Yeshua the Messiah. The unnamed Israelite who was afraid of losing his inheritance unknowingly cut himself off from what became the direct generation of the Messiah. Faithfulness always triumphs over strict legalism. The Torah set up a barrier between Jew and Gentile which in Messiah is removed. Many Jewish people are afraid that accepting Yeshua as their Messiah and Redeemer will endanger their inheritance through assimilation into what is perceived as a Gentile religion. Isaiah wrote prophetically about the suffering and death of the Messiah: "By oppression and judgement He was taken away. And who can speak of His descendants? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of My people He was strickened." (Isaiah 53:8). Elimelech and his two sons were cut off from the land of the living, but the family name and inheritance was preserved through Boaz their close kinsman-redeemer. Those who would determine inheritance strickly according to the physical line of descent would say of Yeshua the Messiah, "Who can speak of His descendants?", but we read further into the prophecy of Isaiah, "Yet it was The L- RD's will to crush Him and to cause Him to suffer, and though the L-RD makes His life a guilt offering, He will see His offspring and prolong His days, and the will of the L-RD will prosper in His hand." Paul the apostle wrote: "It is not as though G-d's Word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are His descendants are they all Abraham's children. On the contrary, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." In other words, it is not the natural children who are G-D's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring." (Romans 9:6-8). All the believers in Yeshua the Messiah who are born again of the Holy Spirit are counted as His offspring. They are not born of the perishable seed of the flesh of man, but of the imperishable seed of the Word of G-D. The disciples of Yeshua the Messiah are the redeemed of Israel and are a sign to the whole nation of G-D's mercy and faithfulness as is alluded to in the prophecy of Isaiah 8:18 concerning the faithful remnant of Israel: "Here I am, and the children the L-RD has given Me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the L-RD Almighty Who dwells on Mount Zion." Just as the Messiah's line is traced back to the family redemption of both Jew and Gentile - Ruth and Naomi, so too, our redemp-tion in Messiah brings about the unity of both Jew and Gentile. Only Yeshua the Messiah is able to demolish the dividing wall of hostility between Jew and Gentile and to reconcile both to G-D as one new man. This spiritual birth is the only way by which all men may be redeemed and restored to a living relationship with the G-D of Israel, Who is the Creator of all of mankind. WIFE OF NOBLE CHARACTER: "A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies." (Proverbs 31:10) "A wife of noble character is her husband's crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones." (Proverbs12:4) The elders of Israel who witnessed the redemption of Mahlon's property and Boaz's marriage to Ruth recognized in her a woman of noble character. This recognition was for her kindness and faithfulness to the people of Israel. They blessed the marriage by saying, "May the L-RD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. Through the offspring the L-RD gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah." The L-RD blessed their union and she became the great-grandmother of King David and of course the maternal ancestor of Yeshua Messiah. The Scriptures record that it was the L-RD Who enabled Ruth to conceive and bare a son to Boaz. The Soncino commentary says the following in this regard: "The peculiar construction of the text leads a Midrash to explain that a miracle occured whereby a new womb was given her. It was surely divine intervention which enabled her to have children by the elderly Boaz and not by the young Mahlon." The women said to Naomi: "Praise be to the L-RD, Who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer. May He become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth." (Ruth 4:14-15). This points forward to the divine intervention and miraculous birth in Bethlehem of Yeshua the Messiah, the One born without sin to a virgin mother, Who would have the power and authority to redeem His people from their bondage to sin and restore them to their position as heirs in G-D's household. The literal rendering of "May He become famous" is "His Name shall be called." The Soncino comments that this means that His Name shall be on the lips of all. There is only one son of Israel Whose Name has become so famous that it is on the lips of all, Jesus the Name above all names. This brings to mind another great prophecy of our Messiah and Redeemer: "And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty G-d, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace". (Isaiah 9:6). The un-named Israelite who refused to redeem Mahlon's property saw in Ruth only a Moabite. He failed to see her faith-fulness and kindness to his people. Many Jewish people see only the hatred and anti-Semitism of those who masquerade as followers of Jesus Christ, but who by their actions deny Him. Like Boaz, they need to see the true shining quality of humble believers like Ruth, who have forsaken their former lives in this world and embraced the G-D of Israel and the people of Israel through a pure and sincere faith in Yeshua the Messiah. Ruth epitomises everything the Church should be - full of kindness, compassion, humility, faithfulness and perseverance in the face of difficulty. When unbelieving Israel sees these qualities in the Church she, like Naomi will come to realize her blessings through the Church. Just as Ruth played a key part in the redemption of Naomi, sincere Gentile believers play a key role in restoring the Jewish people to an intimate knowledge of their G-D through their kinsman-redeemer. May those whose hearts have been changed by the love of Yeshua lead them gently back to Beit lechem, to the House of Bread and to the loving arms of Yeshua the Messiah and Redeemer. |
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