An Allegorical Re-interpretation of the Book of Ruth in light of the Present Day Inattentiveness of the Church to the Great Commission.

“Now it came to pass in the days when the Judges ruled there was famine in the land………”

It is not the mandate of Judges to rule, but rather to carry out the decrees of Kings. Yet, in the time of this story, Judges ruled in the land of Israel. Their ruler ship brought about famine in the house of bread, their rule brought about lack in the place of fruitfulness.

     We need to understand that when kings refuse to do their duty – which is to rule - there will always be famine in the land. Anytime there is famine in any area of life, it signifies a break in ruler ship. God created us in such a way that we always need an external agent to help us enforce even that which is for our own good.  The Church has been made an agent of reconciliation[1], because in this age of the New Covenant, we are the Kings[2] and if we refuse to rule, ‘strangers’ to the throne will rule. We also need to know that the Church is our Bethlehem. It’s only in the Church that you can find fulfillment and meaning.

     These strangers are not bad in themselves; it’s just that they are in subordinate to the true kings. These judges in our case happen to be the strangers. The judges are important in the house for we need them to maintain our fruitfulness. The Judges are ‘Teaching, Rebuking, Correcting and Training in Righteousness’[3]. As it’s not a judge’s mandate to rule, so these are not the original and most important mandate of the Church in relation to the world. PERIOD.

“…… and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the land of Moab, he and his wife and two sons ….”                                                                                     

Elimelech which means ‘My God is King’ leaves the ‘land of fruitfulness’ with his wife, Naomi (my pleasant one), with his two sons, Mahlon and Chilion for the land of Moab.

     To understand the significance of what happens next, we need to consider the etymology (origin) of Moab. We have to refer back to the years of Abraham and Lot.                                                                                                                  Lot, the nephew of Abraham had chosen a field close to Sodom and Gomorrah for it looked greener[4]. He ended up in Sodom and Gomorrah. Please keep in mind he did not choose Sodom but he ended up there (it’s the same with playing around sin, we end up in sin[5]). Someone had rightly said, “Sin is a pleasure and sometimes pleasure is sin.” We can rightly say he cherry-picked a place of disorder, Sodom, from which we derive our word ‘Sodomy’. Sodomy is when a man puts his seed where rubbish comes out. No matter how many times he plants, he will never reproduce a baby. You can see the significance of this from the fact that his daughters married in Sodom but never had babies.

     When God had to destroy ‘the twin towns of sin,’ He brought Lot and his family out but his wife did not make it ( trying to explain why she didn't and it significance to New Testament believers will take me into muddy waters, so let leave it for others to do).  After that – the exodus from Sodom, Lot then goes to live in a cave at Zoar.

He who lived like a prince when with Abraham now lives in a cave like an animal with animalistic appetites. With the help of his daughters he gets drunk on two occasions and has sex with them. The first daughter gives birth to Moab and the second to Ben-ammi (Ammonites). We must understand that Moab stands for generational disorder (no incest permitted among God’s people and also Israelites are commanded not to marry Moabites).

     Going back to the Book of Ruth, of all the nations of the world, Elimelech choss to go to Moab with his family. The Church has gone in the way of Balaam for gain[6]. “More often than not, Christianity today is marketed to the Church and to the world as the best way to get the good Lord on your side, the sure path to getting the finest help available – namely God’s. A casual look around the average Christian bookstore reveals a sizable percentage of books that basically focus on how to use God. Their message is clear and predictable: God is absolutely essential for making your life work. For success in finances, family, health, holiness, politics, and personal fulfilment, your approach must include God and His principles.[7]”

Moab for the Christian can be christened ‘Materialism’. “Christian materialism might be defined as the belief that satisfaction in life is most completely achieved when the Christian can possess the things he desires.[8]”  In order not to be accused of having a ‘blessed are you who are poor’[9] theology, let me say that ‘motive’ is everything in the matter of materialism. Why do we need what we need? ‘I’ll be bold to say we are suffering from a Fairytale Syndrome – “I will be happy if my prince charming comes ……..” “I will be blessed if I can only get ……...”

     The root cause of materialism is a breakdown of faith. There is a failure to know, or understand, or believe what the Bible says about a meaningful life. The Bible teaches that Christ has come that we might have life, and have it more abundantly[10], and for that He has given us all that we need for life[11]. Abundant life is in Christ, not in material possessions. The Church should keep in mind that the main point of our spirituality, according to the Bible, is the furthering of God’s glory, not the fixing of our lives. There are fundamentally two ways to approach our spiritual lives: live for God so that we can fully exploit His blessings, or live for Him so He can fully reveal His name. As God refused to be King in Moab so He still refuses to be King when His people try to serve materialism in addition to Him. The Church is sick and it is in danger of pinning away. We should be the salt of the culture, not allow the culture to de-salt us. (Forgive me for saying all that but I believe it has to be said).

According to the Bible, Elimelech died in Moab (Moab will kill all your dreams). Ten years later, both his sons also died (Moab will not just kill your dreams but will also take away your sons and hope).

     I want to take my allegory a step further to say that if all the significant names in the Bible are prophetic, then the names of the two sons also are. Could it be that Elimelech got so ‘sick’ of the disorder of Moab that he began to ‘pine’ for Bethlehem? Elimelech wasted away wanting to return to the house of bread.  The sons, though married, died without children for it is impossible to reproduce in disorder. So it is in our days, because we have moved from our original mandate to be kings and the salt of the world we are not producing. Christ asked us to make disciples of nations[12] but we have unsuccessfully tried to make converts of individuals.

     Although we have people in our Churches, is God their King and are they doing all they can to populate the Kingdom of their King? Why are not more being saved, why is our life not bringing about conviction in the lives of those who see us? Are we seeking the face of God in our Churches and lives or we are seeking his hands and what He has for us? I admit that most times I also get confused and begin to wonder why after all these years as a Christian I have still not learnt the secrets of twisting God’s arm (assuming the sermons we hear about how to make God change His mind are true).

If we seek to reproduce then we need to ‘put first things first’ and we will ‘get second things thrown in’[13] for free. We need to return to Bethlehem. It’s a pity that Naomi is the only one left of the family who went to Moab.

“Then she started to return with her daughters-in-law from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the LORD had had consideration for His people and given then food.”

We are not told how the food increase came about (wish I could say it’s because kings began to rule again – at least my premise will still stand- but I do not have that liberty). The Prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel will help us.

     In Isaiah’s first recorded prophecy concerning the ‘sinful nation ……. who are utterly estranged’ from its owner, Judah, and the subsequent punishments, he goes on to explain why the nation still exists and this is what he says “If the LORD of hosts had not left us a few survivors, we would have been like Sodom, and of Gomorrah.”[14] Also in Ezekiel’s denouncement of Israel he says “It is not for your sake that I will act, says the LORD God; …. but for My name sake …. let that be known to you. Be ashamed and dismayed for your ways, O house of Israel.”[15] The context tells us that though God laments over the unfaithfulness of His children, He still finds a way to save and goes further to bless them. This is what we in the New Covenant call Grace and the Sovereignty of God. God does what He wills.

     God brought about the increase for His own sovereign reasons, but we cannot always expect Him to do all things that way. We can know that for in Ezekiel 22.30 and 31 when God found no one to stand in the gap for the nation He “returned their conduct upon their heads.”

     God has said he will build His Church[16] and we can trust Him to. It has long been recognized by Evangelicals that God does the work of God and man does the work of man. God will not do the work of man and man cannot do the work of God.  Evangelism is an activity of the Church. Conviction of sin is the activity of the Holy Spirit.  If we so much believed that we are saved only be faith, and the faith that saves us is through the grace of God[17] and that this saving faith only comes through the Word of God[18] – if we Evangelicals or Orthodox really, really believed, we will be out of our comfortable Churches reaching out to a dying world with the Word that produces saving faith.

We take it for granted that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved[19], but forget the next paragraph that says “… how are they to believe in one whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim Him?”[20] The Holy Spirit needs a sword by which to cut into the soul and spirit of man, He needs a weapon by which He can demolish all pretentions set up by man in his refusal to believe and that weapon is the Gospel. It’s good we pray about the evangelization of the world but we also need to spread the Good News.

     Somewhere along their journey to Bethlehem or in their preparation toward it, Ruth asked both daughters-in-law to return to their families. Both initially declined but with further arguments Orpah turned back.[21]

     We would be foolish to suppose that we could, by writing a manual or you by reading it, induce the whole Church back to its mission.  The Orpahs’ will always turn back. Some in the Church will not join the battle to win back the lost for God. No matter the evangelistic, revivalist, orderly renewal messages we preach, the Orpahs’ will still stick to that which is comfortable.

     We need to understand that evangelism and discipleship is not comfortable. It takes us out of our comfort zones, it opens us up to hurts, disappointment, and even ridicule but it is all we can give back to Him that saved us. Of the Orpahs it is enough to say that they have no knowledge of the terror of the LORD that motivates a man to persuade others to repentance.[22]

  To make use of a well-known sermon illustration from Joe Aldrich’s book, Life-style Evangelism:

There is a legend which recounts the return of Jesus to glory after His time on earth. Even in heaven He bore the marks of His earthly pilgrimage with its cruel cross and shameful death. The angel Gabriel approached Him and said, “Master, you must have suffered terribly for men down there.”                                                                                                                                “I did,” He said.                                                                                                                            

 “And,” continued Gabriel, “do they know all about how you loved them and what you did for them?”                                                                                                                                                 “Oh, no,” said Jesus, “not yet. Right now only a handful of people in Palestine know.”                                                                                                                      Gabriel was perplexed. “Then what have you done,” he asked, “to let everyone know about your love for them?”                                                                                                              

Jesus said, “I’ve asked Peter, James, John and a few more friends to tell other people about Me. Those who are told will in turn tell still other people about Me, and My story will spread to the farthest reaches of the globe. Ultimately, all of mankind will have heard about My life and what I have done.”                                                                                                             Gabriel frowned and looked rather skeptical. He knew well what poor stuff men were made of. “Yes” he said, “but what if Peter, James, and John grow weary? What if the people who come after them forget? What if way down in the twentieth century, people just don’t tell others about You? Haven’t You made any other plans?”                                                                                                                      

Jesus answered, “I haven’t made any other plans. I’m counting on them.”

     If the message of salvation in Christ is true, then it is the most important piece of information in the world. It carries with it the inherent mandate to pass the information on to others. If someone has told us, then we have to tell someone else.

     So how are we doing? If it depended on us, would Gabriel’s apprehension be justified or not? In Mark 16.5, we read, “Go into all the world, and preach to gospel to all creation.” Not only is it a self-evident conclusion, but it is a command from Jesus. So the question remains, “how are we doing?”

On a personal level evangelism is a lifestyle. Jesus wants our lives to influence others to believe in Him. It is not so much what we do, as what we are. Our evangelism is the most effective when we proclaim the Gospel, when we demonstrate Christ compassion through our words and compassionate service, and when we depend on the Spirit and point to the demonstration of Spirit’s power.

     I have written long on getting you out to evangelize but I have not told you what the word means. Evangelism in its simplest form is introducing our friends to Jesus. Andrew brought his brother Peter to meet Jesus, Philip brought his friend Nathanael.

     Michael Green defines evangelism as: “a presentation of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit so that people will put their trust in God through Him, accept Him as their Savior, and serve Him as their King in the fellowship of His Church.”[23]

“There are people around us whom God longs to touch through us – people whom only we can reach with our particular style and personality, people whom we have been called to. We must begin to ask God, “Is this the one? Is she the one you are seeking?” It’s a fantastic drama, and God wants to use us to accomplish it.

“ ……….. Watching peoples’ lives be transformed by God has convinced me of one thing; there simply is no greater service that one human being can render to another. To see people find wholeness, meaning and joy, to be restored to freedom as they walk in the grace and mercy of God, is a privilege beyond the power of language to describe.”[24]

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REFERENCES.

[1]2 Corinthians 5.18

[2] Revelation 1.6, 5.10

[3] 2 Timothy 3.16

[4] Genesis 13.10,11

[5]Galatians 6.7, 8.Proverbs 22.24,25.

[6]Jude 1.11, ref Numbers 22.

[7]  Dwight Edwards, Revolution Within (Colorado: WaterBrook Press, 2001), p 20.

[8]  Max E. Anders, 30 Days to Understanding the Christian Life (Tennessee: Wolgemuth & Hyatt, 1990), p 167.

[9]  Luke 6.20

[10]  John 10.10

[11]  2 Peter 1.3

[12]  Matthew 28.19,20.

[13]  C. S Lewis

[14]Isaiah 1.9.

[15]  Ezekiel 36

[16]  Matthew 16.18.

[17]Ephesians 2.8,9.

[18]Romans 10.17.

[19]Romans 10.13.

[20]Romans 10.14.

[21]  Ruth 1.8-14.

[22]  2 Corinthians 5.11

[23]Michael Green, Evangelism through the Local Church (Nashville: Oliver-Nelson, 1992), pp. 8-9, 11.

[24]  Rebecca M. Pippert, Out of the Salt Shaker and into the World – Evangelism as a Way of Life (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1999) p. 132.

Definition of Terms.

• ·         Allegory – a story in which a meaning is conveyed other than that of the words themselves; a story to illustrate truth in which one thing is said and something else is meant.
• ·         Bethlehem – fruitfulness, place of revelation, house of bread, the place where wheat is grown, new things are created, the place where the Messiah will come from, where the Judgment of God will begin.
• ·         Judah – praise.
• ·         Elimelech – my God is king.
• ·         Naomi – my pleasant one.
• ·         Mahlon – sick.
• ·         Chilion – pining (to suffer strong longing/yearning, to wither or waste away from longing and grief).
• ·         Ruth – beauty.
• ·         Orpah – hind or fawn (to seek favor supporting slavishly every opinion or suggestion of a superior, back).
• ·         Judge – a person who makes decisions on legal matters.
• ·         Israel – prince with God.
• ·         Moab – son of the father.