The Mysteries of Ruth
“And it came to pass in the days when the judges judged, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Beth-lehem in Judah went to sojourn in the field 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 Beth-lehem in Judah. And they came into the field of Moab, and continued there.” Ruth 1:1-2 (JPS)
Why does it say that they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem? Weren’t they Bethlehemites? “And as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died unto me in the land of Canaan in the way, when there was still some way to come unto Ephrath; and I buried her there in the way to Ephrath--the same is Beth-lehem.'” Genesis 48:7 (JPS)
Bethlehem and Ephrath (or Ephratha) are the same place. Bethlehem can be broken into two parts beyth, meaning “house” and lekhem, which means “bread.” Bethlehem, then, is “house of bread.” It is interesting that they would leave the house of bread because of a famine. Ephrath comes from the word parah, which means “fruit” or “fruitfulness.” Ephrath is basically “place of fruitfulness.” So this place is the house of bread and the place of fruitfulness.
Where are the bread and the fruit brought together? “And while they were dining, Yeshua took bread and blessed it and broke and gave it to his disciples and said, ‘Take eat. This is my body.’ And he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them and said, ‘Take drink from it all of you. This is my blood of the new covenant, which for the sake of many is shed for the forgiveness of sins.’” Matt. 26:26-28 (Younan)
They are brought together in the Passover sacrifice. Where does Passover fit in the scheme of history? “And all that dwell on the earth, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, will worship him.” Revelation 13:8 (Murdock)
Passover actually occurrs before the foundations of the earth. The thing that immediately follows Bethlehem Ephrath is the family of Elimelech leaves Israel. After Passover they go out from the land of lack to a land of plenty. An exodus happens immediately after every Passover. If the Passover was from the foundations of the world, then what exodus followed it? “And God said: 'Let there be light.' And there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.” Genesis 1:3-4 (JPS)
This is the exodus of light from darkness, immediately after the foundations of the world were laid. It is exactly the same in Exodus 12:31, “And he called for Moses and Aaron by night and said: 'Rise up, get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said.” (JPS) Again, this is the exodus of light from darkness.
“And Naomi said: 'Turn back, my daughters; why will ye go with me? have I yet sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?’” Ruth 1:11 (JPS)
This passage shows the Torah being offered to the nations. Some reject it, but Ruth, a picture of Israel, accepts the Torah, saying, “And Ruth said: 'Entreat me not to leave thee, and to return from following after thee; for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God; where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried; the LORD do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me.'” Ruth 1:16-17 (JPS)
Apparently, the time in Moab is the time of Unleavened Bread. It is the time away from Bethlehem, the House of Bread.
“So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, who returned out of the field of Moab--and they came to Beth-lehem in the beginning of barley harvest.” Ruth 1:22 (JPS)
What happens at the beginning of the barley harvest? The barley is the first crop that is ready in Israel. It would be ready about the time of Passover. In Exodus 13:4 the month of Passover is called the month of Aviv. Aviv means “ready” or “ripe” because it is when the barley is ready to be harvested. The feast of firstfruits comes on the first “Sunday” after Passover. “And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you; on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.” Leviticus 23:11 (JPS)
Some will say that it is on the first day after the first day of the feast of Unleavened Bread. However, in Leviticus 23 it is commanded to count seven Sabbaths from the day of Firstfruits. How can seven Sabbaths be counted if Firstfruits can fall in the middle of the week? So this must be on the first day of the week. Ruth and Naomi come back to Bethlehem at Firstfruits. Where does this fit in History? “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Genesis 1:1
The Hebrew word translated “in the Beginning” is b’re’shith. B’ is the prefix for “in” “at” or “to be.” Re’shith is the word that, in Leviticus 23:10, is rendered “firstfruits.” This is properly rendered “first” “firstfruits” or “chief,” rather than “beginning.” Also, there is no excuse for translators to put “the” in this phrase. It does not belong. Then this means “at firstfruits God created the heavens and the earth.”
It is at this time that they returned to the House of Bread. This is interesting because in Leviticus 23:14 it says, “And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor fresh ears, until this selfsame day, until ye have brought the offering of your God; it is a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.” (JPS)
They did not return to the House of Bread until firstfruits. This is an amazing paralell.
“And she went, and came and gleaned in the field after the reapers” Ruth 2:3a (JPS)
This lines up exactly with Leviticus 23:22, “And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corner of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleaning of thy harvest; thou shalt leave them for the poor, and for the stranger: I am the LORD your God.” (JPS)
This is in the commandment about the Feast of Weeks, or Shavu’oth (lit. “weeks”). What did Ruth begin to get at Shavu’oth? Bread. Also, Boaz came into the field at this same time. Lining up the dates from the Exodus from Egypt, it is estimated that the Law was given at Shavu’oth. Moses wrote, “And He afflicted thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every thing that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.” Deuteronomy 8:3 (JPS)
The Word that comes from the mouth of Father, the Torah, is bread. Yeshua said, “Yeshua said to them, ‘I am the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to me will not hunger. And whoever believes in me will not ever thirst.’” John 6:35 (Younan)
If Yeshua is the Bread of Life, which is the Torah, then He is the Torah. He was given at Shavu’oth. Yeshua came at Shavu’oth.
Messianic believers will object to this interpretation, because Yeshua came at Sukkoth. That is true. He was born at Sukkoth. But this is a different level of interpretation. Yeshua’s entire life is described by Shavu’oth, and only His birth is described by Sukkoth.
This understanding is interesting, because the first three feasts described the creation. It will be seen that the last three describe the second coming of the Messiah. Shavu’oth, though, stands alone inbetween these two sets of Feasts, and that is when Yeshua came.
“And Naomi said unto her daughter-in-law: 'Blessed be he of the LORD, who hath not left off His kindness to the living and to the dead.' And Naomi said unto her: 'The man is nigh of kin unto us, one of our near kinsmen.'” Ruth 2:20 (JPS)
Naomi recognizes Boaz as a kinsman-redeemer, a ga’al, which is exactly what Yeshua was, a kinsman redeemer. Then Naomi declares, “Baruch huw’ l’YHWH” which is “blessed is he of YHWH.”
Yeshua said, “I say to you that you will not see me from now on until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.’” Matt. 23:39 (Younan)
That is, in Hebrew, “baruch haba’ b’shem YHWH.” These two phrases are very similar. Until Yeshua is recognized as the kinsman redeemer, and it is declared, He will not be seen again.
“So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and she dwelt with her mother-in-law.” Ruth 2:23 (JPS)
It is towards the end of both the harvests that the fall feasts begin. This shows time passing until the fall festivals.
“And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was startled, and turned himself; and, behold, a woman lay at his feet.” Ruth 3:8 (JPS)
What would startle a man in the middle of the night? Theologians normally say that this was because his feet were cold. If that is so, why did it take him so long to wake up? Why did it startle him? That does not seem like a likely possibility. The word translated “turned himself” is laphath, which appears in Judges 16:29 as “took hold.” Boaz took hold. What did he take hold of?
Leviticus 23:24, “Speak unto the children of Israel, saying: In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall be a solemn rest unto you, a memorial proclaimed with the blast of horns, a holy convocation.” Leviticus 23:24 (JPS)
It is a day of blowing trumpets. The Biblical callendar is lunar-based. When the new moon was sighted someone would blow a trumpet, a shophar, to alert the people. This normally happens right about sunset. However, “at midnight” does not necessarily mean 12:00 A.M., it merely means that it was sometime during the night. There are a number of things that could have caused this. The moon could have become visible earlier than normal, and so it was missed at first, or there could have been clouds that obscured it until late at night. But it seems that this is what would have startled Boaz. When the trumpet call was heard, the men would immediately change from their regular clothes into special white clothes for the holy day. This may be what Boaz took hold of.
But, it’s being unexpected is prophecied. “About the day and about the hour no man knows, not even the angels of heaven, but the Father alone.” Matt. 24:36 (Younan)
“Therefore you also be ready because at that moment that you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” Luke 12:40
How is it made clear that the Messiah’s return will be at this feast, the feast of Yom Taru’a (which means “Day of Blowing”)? Matt. 24:36 calls it the day and the hour that no man knows. It says nothing about the time and the season. The day and the hour that the new moon will be sighted no one can know. Even with advanced technology they cannot be certain when the moon will be visible to the naked eye. Also, Yeshua said, “And he will send his angels with a large trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other.” Matt. 24:31 (Younan)
His messengers go forth with a great trumpet. This clearly reflects Yom Taru’a.
“And she lay at his feet until the morning; and she rose up before one could discern another. For he said: 'Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing-floor.'” Ruth 3:14 (JPS)
It never says that Boaz laid back down. Only Ruth. Perhaps this is because Boaz was up preparing for the Feast.
“Now Boaz went up to the gate, and sat him down there” Ruth 4:1a (JPS)
It is interesting that it doesn’t say “the gate of the city” or “the gate of Bethlehem.” It merely says “the gate.” What gate is this? Is it possible that this is the Gate of the Tabernalce, and that Boaz had gone up there to make his sacrifice? This would make sense, because Boaz would have known that his relative would have to come there to make his sacrifice. He was sure to see him.
“And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said: 'Sit ye down here.' And they sat down.” Ruth 4:2 (JPS)
Why ten men? “Howbeit on the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; there shall be a holy convocation unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls; and ye shall bring an offering made by fire unto the LORD.” Yom Kippur, or The Day of Atonement, is on the tenth day of the month. On the first day of the month was Yom Taru’a. These are called the Days of Awe. They are the days of judging, dividing those that are atoned for, from those who are not. As it says, “And all the nations will be gathered before him. And he will separate them, one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” Matt. 25:32 (Younan)
These ten are the judges, or witnesses.
Going back for a moment to Ruth 4:1, it says, “Now Boaz went up to the gate, and sat him down there; and, behold, the near kinsman of whom Boaz spoke came by; unto whom he said: 'Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here.' And he turned aside, and sat down.” (JPS)
The word translated “Ho” is howiy, which means “woe” or “alas.” In Isaiah 1:4 it is “Ah” as in “alas.” A word of judgment. In Isaiah 5:8, it is “woe” clearly a word referring to judgment.
Who is judged at this time? Clearly Ruth is, but also the kinsman who failed to redeem her. This is the time of the end judgment.
“So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife; and he went in unto her, and the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son.” Ruth 4:13 (JPS)
This is the wedding feast. When is the wedding feast? “And the LORD will create over the whole habitation of mount Zion, and over her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory shall be a canopy. And there shall be a pavilion for a shadow in the day-time from the heat, and for a refuge and for a covert from storm and from rain.” Isaiah 4:5-6 (JPS)
The word “canopy” is the word khupah, which is a wedding canopy. The referrence to the cloud of smoke and the pillar of fire are clearly talking about the time in the wilderness. The word “pavillion” is Sukkah. All of these referr back to the feast of Sukkoth (Sukkoth is the plural of Sukkah).
In giving the command about this feast, it says, “Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are home-born in Israel shall dwell in booths; that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.” Leviticus 23:42-43 (JPS)
All of the Biblical festivals appear in the Book of Ruth, revealing the entire history of the world, from beginning to end.
Amein!
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