Title: Restoration of Israel (Ruth 04:11-12)
When Boaz proclaimed the corruption, all the people and the elders said, 'We are witnesses that the Lord will make women entering your house like Rachel and Leah, who built the house of Israel, and make him famous in Bethlehem. I will give you an heir to your house, Tamar to Judah
I want you to make it like the house of Perez, which the crab gave birth to' (Ruth 4:11-2).
However, this blessing has a great meaning. That is, Israel, or Jacob, had 12 sons through Rachel and Leah, and through these sons the nation of Israel was formed. Therefore, being like Rachel and Leah is a blessing that Ruth wants to be the father of the new Israel, just as they were the fathers of Israel.
And the fact that Tamar is like the house of Perez, born of Judah, means that an eternal king will be born through Judah. Genesis 49:8-11. will become Then, through Ruth, the new Israel was formed and the desired king was blessed. Indeed, this blessing has been fulfilled.
Soon, David appeared in the land of Bethlehem was the fulfillment. However, the blessing of this prophecy was realized in David, but in the distant future, indeed, a true Messiah was born from among Ruth's descendants, and this Messiah became the founder of spiritually new Israel.
As if to prove this, the book of Ruth says, 'This is the world of Perez (Perez was the son of Judah).... Boaz fathered Obeb, Obeb fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David' (Ruth 4:18-22). and end with a note. And later, including all these events, Matthew writes: ‘Judah fathered Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez fathered Hezron, Hezron fathered Ram, Aminadab fathered Nasson, Nashon fathered Salmon, Salmon fathered Boaz from Rahab, Boaz fathered Obeb from Ruth, and Obeb fathered Jesse. Jesse begat David' (Matthew 1:3-6).
Indeed, the prophecies of the people were fulfilled in Bethlehem in the old days, and Jesus Christ, the eternal King, was born in Bethlehem. When Boaz and Ruth got married and had a son, Obeb, the women of Bethlehem came to Naomi and sang praises. “Blessed is the Lord, who has not left you with any business today. May the name of this child be made famous in Israel, the restorer of your life, the keeper of your old age, the one born to you who loved you and more precious than seven sons. c' (Ruth 4:14-15).
As this hymn sings, it is the Lord who instigates all these things. And the son is the restorer of life. Naomi held the child to her chest. But God, who has finally accomplished these things, has already put the restorer of our lives in our arms. And we must examine once again that the fulfillment of all these things was finally completed in our Lord Jesus. In other words, the book of Ruth powerfully shows that the building of the kingdom of God that God promised to Abraham will be finally completed by a king whom God will establish, that is, King David, and we can read that the fulfillment of all such prophecies was completed by our Lord Jesus Christ. it can be
In particular, it is surprising that Ruth entered Canaan, the kingdom of God, as a Gentile woman and as a Moabites who could never enter the congregation of Israel. Shortly thereafter, the Moabites were forcibly enslaved to Israel by King David. Even so, of course, the Moabites are nothing but the congregation of the people of the promised kingdom of God.
However, when our Lord came, he was not conquered by the sword, but a new commandment was engraved on his heart, so that all of us Gentiles became partakers of the holy inheritance of the kingdom of God. How can God's plan and providence leading history be like our wisdom, so that we can conclude that it lacks power and is small and insignificant? Truly, God's work is so vast, vast, and wise. We can't help but marvel at God's great and secret plan.
It is precisely this majestic and majestic image of God that flows through the book of Ruth. Therefore, if we understand the Bible in detail and correctly, it will be a good guide that can fill such a great work of God, so we should not spare our attention and passion more and more.
Let us now summarize the meaning of the book of Ruth. The book of Ruth is not just a story about family history. The book of Judges ends by saying that a king is needed and the book of Samuel records the history of the establishment of King David. In the meantime, the book of Ruth records how David was born. because he cannot think apart from King David.
Considering these points in mind, the Book of Ruth can be said to be a book that shows the meaning of the work of King David, who will be set up as king in the future, for the nation of Israel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Seeing that the falling family will soon be revived and a ransom will be made by Boaz, King David must rebuild the fallen Israel, and the Redeemer who will rebuild the new Israel must be the king. The Book of Ruth is a book that summarizes all the work of King David that he will soon come under the rule of God into the kingdom of God.
And seeing that all these events are finally completed in Jesus Christ, Matthew's record that 'the world of Jesus Christ, the son of Abraham and David' (Matthew 1:1) is the nature of the work of Jesus Christ is also the construction of a new spiritual Israel This can be seen as revealing that it is for the construction of a new character of the kingdom of God.