RUTHThe book of Ruth tells the story of Naomi, and her daughter-in-law Ruth and their arrival in Israel at harvest time. In doing so it tells us about our time, now.

Naomi, her husband and two sons, had left Israel some years earlier due to famine and hardship. In time the two sons married local “Gentile” or non- Jewish girls. Orpah was the name of one Ruth was the other. How-ever things did not go well for Naomi while she was out of her homeland. Her husband died and then her two sons died leaving all three women widows. At this point Naomi decided to return back to the land of Israel. She told her daughters in law of her decision and initially both offered to go with her. Naomi told them that they were better off in their own country among their own people and family. Orpah headed home but Ruth refused to leave her mother in law. She told Naomi, where you go, I will go, I will live where you live, your people shall be my people your God shall be my God, and where you die I shall die. Ruth was very determined.

Naomi’s home town was Bethlehem. When they arrived they were poor, they were destitute. There was no direct governmental help for the poor in those days, no social welfare system. Instead farmers were required to allow the poor glean from their fields. Gleaning was following the reapers and harvesting whatever the reapers missed or accidentally dropped. This was a way to give help to the poor but they had to work for what they got. Support was not given on a plate. It being barley harvest time Ruth went out to glean food for herself and her mother in law.

She happened to glean from fields of one of Naomi’s relations, Boaz. Boaz sees Ruth and asks about her. Hav-ing checked her character he then he instructs her to glean in all his fields, and only his fields throughout the whole harvest season. He even asks his reapers to purposely drop extra barley for her alone to glean but he also warns them not to lay a hand on her. She is to be kept safe.

Jesus could only teach in parables. Jesus is God and God through the Holy Spirit wrote the Bible. All Biblical stories are therefore parables, and this book is no exception. Naomi must represent something or someone. And the same applies to others in this history; Ruth, Boaz, the fields and the reapers.

After nearly two thousand years of persecution culminating in the holocaust of World War 2, Israel, or Naomi, started returning to her homeland around 1946. The holocaust is represents Naomi’s loss of her husband and sons and Naomi decided to return home. Also in 1946 an angel appeared to William Branham and told him that he had a world wide ministry to call people back to God. Branham was to preach the lost things of the church, one God, water baptism by immersion in the name of Jesus Christ, true Holy Spirit baptism as well as reveal end time events. Ruth, being a gentile, represents those who receive and accept those teachings. Those

The Book of Ruth is only four chapters long

yet it is a powerful parable of world

events today.Only four women,

all from the Old Testament,

are mentioned in Matthew’s genealogy

of Christ. Ruth is one of those.

All four were Gentiles. The Bride of Christ is

also Gentile

believers journey to spiritual Bethlehem, to have Jesus born in their hearts. They glean spiritual food from His fields of the the Old and New Testaments. While Naomi, being a Jew, doesn’t glean, believers like Ruth glean such spiritual food. It is Biblical harvest time right now. Boaz represents the real Lord of the Harvest Jesus Christ, the chief reaper is Branham and the reapers are the apostles, prophets, evangelists pastors and teach-ers who are preaching the Message that God sent. If we are gleaning from the Bible then Ruth represents us. We can now see ourselves in scripture. Boaz liked Ruth. He enquired into her status and character. Having established her motives and objectives he ensured she ate lunch with his own workers. He provides the food at meal times. He also instructs his workers to let some grain that they harvest fall so that she can glean it.

While the harvest is important the key thing for the Lord of the Harvest is this woman, Ruth. She (we) are gleaning the harvest time fruit, God’s Word for this day. It is all in the Bible, but the understanding has been hidden until now. But now the Word is ripe, the Word of God has grown to maturity. Boaz, or Jesus, is a jealous God. The Lord of the Harvest has instructed the reapers, the ministry, not to touch Ruth. This move of God will not become a man made organisation, this Spirit led church will stay true to Jesus Christ and not create a new denomination. True ministry will not rule over or harm Ruth: they are only there to help her.

Instructed by her mother in law Ruth goes to Boaz at night, lays at his feet and asks that he cover her. This is an incredible. Ruth is instructed to completely surrender herself to Boaz at night at his bedside, not something a self respecting woman would do. But it is a picture of commitment for us. Full sacrifice of self, a desire to come under the headship of the resurrected Lord Jesus is the only way forward. In order to fully become a Ruth, a woman that the Lord of the Harvest will have as His bride, requires our complete and utter surrender.

Being an honourable man Boaz decides to marry Ruth, but according to law, the nearest kinsman has the first right to redeem her. Boaz isn’t the nearest kinsman, another relative is. To claim her as his wife he has to be-come the nearest kinsman. Our closest relative is human leadership, human religion, human works. God is so far above us. He cannot redeem us as He isn’t our kinsman. Heaven and God’s glory separates us from God. So God became a man. Jesus Christ was born of Mary in a dirty, filthy, fly and dung infested stable, filled with animals. He did this so that He could be born in a dirty, filthy, fly and dung infested heart like mine or yours. He became our nearest kinsman. And He gave us the six seals just as Boaz gave Ruth six sacks of barley. But then, through marriage, Ruth becomes half owner of all that Boaz has. She becomes part of him.

Jesus will redeem Israel’s land but He will also marry a Gentile Bride, His true church, reliant on Him, not on man made religion. And He will give her gifts, revelations, truth, the fruit of the fully matured Word.

Ruth is a true story but it is also a parable. Jesus Christ has paid our redemption price. True believers of to-day are Ruth. The harvest is just about over now. The next thing will be a wedding!

Ruth lived at the time of Judges

around 1250 BC. She and Boaz had a son

named Obed. His son was Jesse and

Jesse had eight sons, the last one was

called David. Ruth was the grand-

mother of David, the King.