Boaz and Ruth
The Order of Resurrections
"23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward, they that are Christ's at his coming. 24 Then cometh the end ..." I Cor. 15: 23,24
The early church father believed that Christ would appear at Pentecost. "The Church Fathers highly regarded Pentecost. Easter was always on Sunday, so Pentecost was also. Between Easter and Pentecost, there was to be no fasting. Praying was done standing, rather than kneeling. During this time, catechumens were baptized. Many expected, because the Ascension had taken place near Pentecost, that Christ would return in the same season." Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible V. 4, p. 694.
The Good Man Has Vanished
The spring harvest is when fruit and grain crops come to maturity. Fruit is inspected and stored. Wheat is saved in the granaries. At Pentecost feasts two test loaves of the harvested wheat was prepared. Bread and fruit are typical of redemption, blessing and bounty. But, to Israel during the "time of Jacob's trouble" - the Tribulation - the harvest will not be a time of rejoicing. Instead, we see in Micah 7:1-6:
Woe is
me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the
grape gleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul
desired the firstripe fruit.
2 The
good man is perished* out of the earth: and there is none upright among
men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother
with a net.3 That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.
4 The best of them is as a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity.
5 Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.
6 For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house.
"Perish" is translated from the Hebrew verb avad, meaning "to cause to vanish."
The time of which Micah speaks is the period of late April through early June, in the latter days at the time of the fruit harvest. He is comparing the situation to that of the grape harvest - but there are no grapes, and his soul is hungry for the good fruit ('the good man') that he believes has perished. There is no one good left on the earth; they are all evil. This appears to be a perfect description of the state of the earth after the Rapture.
What is he talking about in verse 4 above: "...the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity: " Ancient Jewish expositions (without going into detail here) believed that this referred to an invasion of Israel from the North. Some of them believed this is a reference to Ezekiel's prophecy of Gog's invasion of Israel (Ez 38:15). The word here used for 'watchman' means both watch and north. For our purposes this is fascinating because that would link the rapture of the church with Ezekiel's prophecy of the northern invasion - a position taken by many Christian prophecy students in the past few years.
First, the fruitful righteous are made to vanish, resulting in a time of unequaled horror when Israel realizes she has nary a friend on the face of the earth. Now is when her troubles really begin.
And it all starts with the early summer harvest.
Jesus prophesied about his own coming:
28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees;
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.
31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.
32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Luke 21:28-32
He is talking about the very beginning of a long process of events culminating in his reign on Earth, beginning with the judgment of the fruit of the trees, and also a metaphor of Israel in the latter days at the time of the spring harvest.
The bridegroom in the Song of Solomon also comes for his bride at the time of the spring harvest "when the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away." This is a type of the Lord and his relationship with the church.
Ruth, the Gentile Bride
Once again, we find the season at which Ruth became the wife of Boaz was in the late spring of the grain harvest. Their descendants include King David and the future Messiah himself. Ruth's first husband, a Hebrew, died, and she went with her mother-in-law, Naomi, to dwell in Bethlehem.
Ruth had no earthly goods, but was a poor widow who gleaned in the fields for food. She caught the eye of Boaz, the wealthy owner of the land, who allowed her to glean among the sheaves. At Naomi's instruction, Ruth laid down on the threshing floor at Boaz' feet on the night of the harvest, Pentecost. That very night he claimed her and, through his legal right as a near kinsman, he married her. He knew of her virtuous reputation and completed her as heir to the Messianic promise through the lineage of David, her grandson through Obed, the son of Ruth and Boaz.
Starting out in a strange land this Gentile bride had only her faith. She is a picture of the church, the bride of Christ.
Rabbinical authority and tradition calls for the Book of Ruth to be read at Shavuot (Pentecost). Michael Strassfeld, writing in The Jewish Holidays, a Guide and Commentary, p. 73, tells us why the Book of Ruth is read that night:
"1. The story is set at the time of the harvest.
2. Ruth's conversion to Judaism is thought to bear a close resemblance to one's voluntary acceptance of the Torah and God's covenant at Sinai.
3. King David, according to tradition, was born and died on Shavuot" [Pentecost].
4. Reading Ruth means that the totality of the Torah is celebrated on Shavuot, for Ruth is part of the .... writings that together with the Torah and the prophets compose the whole Bible."
Even today, the Jews stay up all night in their synagogue, studying the tikkun - a book of selections from the Torah and the Talmud. Strassfeld writes:
"... In this fashion they are prepared for the momentous revelation of the following morning....the sense is heightened by a mystical tradition holding that the skies open up during this night for a brief instant. At that very moment, we are told, God will favorably answer any prayer. They also regard Pentecost as the wedding of God and Israel. Therefore, we stay up all night to 'decorate the bride.'"
Is that a picture of the Rapture or what? The Jewish practices at this time certainly mesh with those of the Church. We, too, look for the sky to open 'in the twinkling of an eye.' And we will vanish without a trace.
Meanwhile, we must complete the tasks before us. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Royal Heir
Posts
