Category Archives: Ruth

Language, Ruth, Teaching

Ruth 1:1-18 – Turn back, my daughters, go your way

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In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. When they had lived there about ten years, both Mahlon and Chilion also died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

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 considered his people and given them food. So she set out from the place where she had been living, she and her two daughters-in-law, and they went on their way to go back to the land of Judah. But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back each of you to your mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find security, each of you in the house of your husband.” Then she kissed them, and they wept aloud. They said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters, why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has turned against me.” Then they wept aloud again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

So she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” But Ruth said,

“Do not press me to leave you
or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go;
Where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people,
and your God my God. Where you die, I will die—
there will I be buried. May the Lord do thus and so to me,
and more as well,if even death parts me from you!”

When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.

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This is an optional Old Testament selection from the Episcopal Lectionary for the Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost, Year B 2018. In the numbering system that lists each Sunday in an ordinal fashion, this Sunday is referred to as Proper 26. If chosen, it will next be read aloud in an Episcopal church by a reader on Sunday November 4, 2018. It is important because it tells how all who love God must be as devoted as was Ruth.

I need to be honest here for a moment.

Whenever I hear the name Ruth, my mind immediately goes to The Firesign Theatre [a comedy group from the late 1960’s and early 1970’s … and beyond] and an audio sketch they did on their album How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You’re Not Anywhere at All. Side two of that record was a mock of a fictitious 1941 radio serial “The Further Adventures of Nick Danger.” As that supposed radio re-broadcast began and the narrator was building up the suspense of the play, he spoke of the bravery of the private detective, Nick Danger. As the narrator boldly spoke, “ruthlessly,” the character muttered, “I wonder where Ruth is.” That comedic line struck me as so funny that I cannot help but remember it whenever someone says, “Ruth.”

Now, the mother of my best neighborhood friend while growing up was named Ruth. I never think of her when the Book of Ruth is mentioned by anyone. I think of that gag from The Firesign Theatre because the only time I hear of the Book of Ruth is when the Revised Common Lectionary devotes two Sundays into optional readings from Ruth, of which the reading above is the first. The Episcopal Church only reads from Ruth during Year B.

While a member of one large Episcopal church, there was a female priest [one of two, with a head priest that was male] who led a women’s Bible Study on Wednesday afternoons. One year the group’s discussions focused on the Book of Ruth. I assume [or heard mentioned] the Book of Ruth was important for women to understand.  Being forbidden from attending that study group because I am male, I have no idea why that was.

Personally, I felt that Bible study segregated by gender was wrong, as it shunned the sharing of insight with men. I still feel that way. To have a Bible studies group led by a female priest was certainly not a problem, as gender does not prevent or assist one, as far as having the Holy Spirit’s guidance to understanding Scripture. To have a mid-week study group be led by a woman priest and only teach women made me imagine that women must feel a need to get together and discuss ‘women needs from Scripture’ was from a need to find strength dealing with and maintaining a wife’s subservience to a husband. If it was not that, then I wondered if it were a private revolutionary programming of women, against the male dominated world, in an ever-changing Women’s Power indoctrination. Neither would be a worthwhile agenda for a Bible studies group.

Happily, I did not dwell long on being outcast from that Bible study that focused on the Book of Ruth. I kept saying to myself, “I wonder where Ruth is.”

Still, for all who are familiar with my interpretations that say all true Christians are “brothers,” which means males and females are both reborn as the Sons of God [Jesus Christ] and all who are familiar with my having stated that all true Christians are the wives of God, regardless of human gender, Ruth is likewise meant for both human genders to see as a model of themselves. It is a great flaw in this modern version of Christianity that relegates women as nuns and males as priests. It is not meant for only males to speak for the Father, such that male priests are called “Father,” while female priests are downgraded to “Mother” status [a pagan title that bears importance, more than a designation of a woman who heads a convent]. Alas, women in leadership roles in Christianity are still hard to classify, simply because of self-imposed human gender issues.

Rather than one outhouse, indoor plumbing has created the need to gender identification rooms.

Everybody who reads the Book of Ruth needs to go beyond those gender issues and see him or herself as Ruth, a devoted wife of God. In this beginning to the story of Ruth we are given a background scenario. While all of this should be read as truth and many encouraging elements of this story told can be beneficial to women that struggle for a voice in a male-dominated world, the story has to be raised to a higher level of truth, where metaphor and symbolism must be understood. None of this has anything to do with human sexuality or gender.

The first thing one should be aware of is Scripture is always about YOU. An event that occurred long ago (which scholars may battle over whether or not it actually happened, saying it might have been made up) is meaningless history, unless it has bearing on life today. This is why all the characters of the stories are in some way reflections of what one needs to see in oneself, mostly that which needs to be corrected.

When that set of eyes become focused on this story, one should see how “In the days when the judges ruled” is relative to these days, when the children of Israel [i.e.: Christians today] are not individually led by the Holy Spirit. The “judges” (from the Hebrew “haš·šō·p̄ə·ṭîm”) are those men (and women) who the people [i.e.: Christians] accept as those who graduate from seminaries and are elevated through years of service as the voices of God. Such “judges” today range from popular televangelists, to best-selling book authors and megachurch pastors, to a South American socialist pope and to a rising number of bishops who are known more for their race, gender, and/or sexual preferences than they are known for teaching others to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

That grasp of current religious trends fits into the times when Canaan was filled with Israelites, in Twelve Tribes, whose religious leaders were spread about to all the nooks and crannies of the land where those people had been dispersed. While the Book of Judges focuses on the series of rescuer judges, there were an untold many who were quite slack in their righteous judgment, so the people invariably backslid into sinful ways. It was the punishment of those sins (by those who despised their land being stolen by foreigners) that kept leading the faithful to their knees, where they cried out to God for mercy and redemption. The Book of Ruth is telling of one of those down periods, when “there was a famine in the land.” There is currently such a “famine” in Christianity; but no one is crying out for redemption, as they are too busy crying out for the blood of their political enemies.

When we read, “a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab,” it is important to know that “a certain man” is a generic way of identifying a known person, but one who is too young to name. The Hebrew word that is translated as “a certain man” is “’îš,” which is rooted in “ish,” meaning “man.” When one knows “adamah” is another Hebrew word for “man” [actually meaning “red” or “clay,” which is then combined with “ish” – “clay man”], “a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah” is known today as Jesus.

When “Moab” is known to be the land settled by Lot in Genesis and not part of the Promised Land of Abraham, this should be grasped on today’s terms as a land of Gentiles, albeit a land that welcomed Israelites. The United States of America (as well as all nations where Christianity has been accepted) is where Gentiles have welcomed Jesus into their midst. While the religious values of Moab were different than those handed down by Moses to the Israelites [pagan rituals that were rooted in multiple deities], the marriage of Christian rituals with pagan rituals becomes a reflection of the how the Roman Catholic Church won over pagans by adhering Jewish festivals to pagan holy days, creating a new religion that was led by “judges.” Still, that religion is caused by “famine.”

Realizing that, this is where the names of the characters have meanings that perfectly relate to today’s Christians. Here is a list of the players:

Elimelech = God Is King.
Naomi = My Delight; Pleasantness of the Lord
Mahlon = Great Infirmity; Man of Weakness; Sickly
Chilion = Wasting Away; Pining; Consuming
Orpah = Mane; Neck
Ruth = Beauty

With that known, look at how the story unfolds.

Jesus is given the name that means “God Is King.” Jesus is married to his followers, who were Jews initially, who take on the name that projects the “Pleasantness of the Lord.” The sons that were born of the marriage between Jesus Christ and Apostles – Saints in the name of Jesus Christ – were the synagogues of Judaism that believed Jesus was their Messiah and the churches of Christianity that were created by Gentiles believing that Jesus was the Christ. One religion is then named “Great Infirmity” and the other is named “Wasting Away,” which indicates a weakness seen in both of them by their Father, when they were born.

The “Great Infirmity” in Judaism is it sought to remain one with the Jews, while not being welcoming to Gentiles. The same exclusivity can be seen in the Roman Catholic Church, such that it refuses to recognize non-Catholics as worthy to receive sacramental rites. James, the saintly brother of Jesus, tried to convert Jews, so all would realize the faith of God’s people had been rewarded by Jesus Christ. The Mosaic Law and all the expectations of the remnant of Israel were to be upheld; and, due to the fact that the Christian Church accepted Gentiles, there was little reason to convert Gentiles to Judaism, a form that converted Jews to belief in Christ. The “Sickly” aspect of Judaism was its Zionist branch, which saw the return of national status, through the possession of the Holy Land, as why God chose the children of Israel.

The “Wasting Away” was then Christianity. The strength of Judaism was it being considered a race of bloodline. While its numbers would stay relatively low compared to all in the human race, it would grow in numbers. Its weakness was always having the “Great Infirmity” of works, where their self-imposed restriction to fellow Jews kept their Christian numbers “Sickly” low. Christianity, on the other hand, would grow by leaps and bounds, but then reach an apex that began a slow and steady decline.

“God Is King” saw those ends coming, when he gave his children those names. We are living today in the aftermath of those two children having passed away. Still, Jesus knew his own death would be prior to those deaths.

When the story tells, “But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons,” this is not a reference to Jesus of Nazareth being crucified. There is no death, but a period of transformation and change, where the initial spread of Christianity ended. It says that Jesus Christ would be removed as the husband of Apostles and Saints, which had the effect of stripping the wife, “Pleasantness of the Lord,” from passing on the Holy Spirit directly. At that time, Saints became only recognized through the two religions of Jesus Christ.

When the story says, the two churches “took Moabite wives,” this is a marriage with the pagan Gentiles that took place in Western Europe and the Middle East (including Eastern Europe). This was during the Jewish diaspora from Judea, following the Roman destruction of Jerusalem and the defeat of the Jews in the Jewish–Roman wars (66 – 135 CE).

The wife of “Great Infirmity” was then “Mane” or “Neck,” which traveled the shortest distance. Nearby lands were where the seven churches listed in John’s Apocalypse were. Those people extended into the surrounding areas: Greece, Turkey, Armenia, Syria, Romania, and into Mesopotamia, Persia and lands to the north and east. The husband of the Middle East and Eastern Europe was the Eastern Orthodox Church and all the variations thereof. The Jewish religion became absorbed in that “Neck” of the world.

Could this be the neck with a European head and Asian body?

The wife of “Wasting Away” was then the “Beauty” of Northern and Western Europe. The husband of Northern and Western Europe was then the Roman Catholic Church. The Jewish religion also became absorbed by the “Beauty” of Roman culture and architecture.

In both areas, the people had been cut off from directly being in touch with Jesus Christ, which is the symbolism of that change that came from institutions of ritual. With the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem (the famine that sent Christianity into the surrounding world), the people were no longer taught to be filled by the Holy Spirit by Apostles and Saints. Following that historic change, the two churches that were already destined to likewise transform and change did so. They both died, as no longer being powers of influence.

When the story tells, “the woman [Naomi – “Pleasantness of the Lord” – the Apostles – Saints] was left without her two sons and her husband,” there was no longer any association with an organized religion promoting access to God’s Holy Spirit. This state of divine “Pleasantness” was then left in the company of Gentile converts to Christianity, but the weaknesses that were inherent in the two churches had failed to elevate the people to Apostle-Saint status. They were merely followers of a religion that promoted belief, without teaching how to be reborn as Jesus Christ – knowing “God Is King.” They had only been taught the laws of Moses as the cornerstone upon which laws should be built.

To then read, “[Pleasantness of the Lord] 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 considered his people and given them food,” this means God spoke to His Saints, Apostles, Prophets and Holy Priests saying that the Kingdom of God was theirs. The return to Judah [which is a name that means “Let Him (God) Be Praised”] was the promise of eternal life, with the remainder of one’s time on earth spent as a Church of Christ [Paul’s Tabernacle with its spiritual high priest].

By realizing this singularity of responsibility to please God, we read how the Apostles and Saints said to the Gentile people who had joined their respective churches due to belief and not true faith: “Go back each of you to your mother’s house [motherland]. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead [the collapse of Eastern and Western churches – plus Judaism] and with me [the Apostles and Saints honored by those institutions]. The Lord grant that you may find security, each of you in the house of your husband [the respective church of each, with whom the people married].”

The release of the people of the “Mane” of the Middle East and Eastern Europe was the collapse of the religion due to the rise of Communism. The Russian and Romanian Orthodox churches fell to the atheist governments and the Armenian Christians, Jewish Christians and Arab Christians were slain by Islamic extremism. Like Samson [a judge], the “Mane” was cut, exposing the “Neck,” making Christianity powerless in those places. This was the symbolism of “she kissed them [a goodbye kiss … a kiss of death], and they wept aloud [from knowing the outcome before it happened].”

The release of the people of “Beauty” would come from the beheading of the royalty of France, due to the influence of Zionists in Geneva. Without a bloodline of Jesus being present in the rulers of nations, the moneychangers would then strip the Church of Rome [and all its Reformation derivatives] of any real influence over the people. The “Beauty” created by the power and wealth of a corrupted Church was overturned by the same lusts and greed that had overcome it from within. Instead of a Church offering spiritual promises, philosophical concepts of republics and democracies promised the people freedom through equality.  Likewise, there was the goodbye kiss and tears from knowing this change could not be righted.

When the Apostles and Saints [“Pleasantness of the Lord”] said to the people of all Europe and the Middle East, “Turn back, my daughters, why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has turned against me,” the symbolism needs to be grasped.

Going back to one’s roots is when ministry can be revived or die completely. The question, “Why will you go with me?” is a statement that says, “You cannot go where I am going, because I must go there alone.” The Saints asked them, “Why do you need me, when you have already been shown the way to God?”

When the Saints then asked, “Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands?” they had been reborn as Jesus Christ. God was their husband.  The churches of Jesus Christ had then married the people. However, the death of the churches would not bring about a new Savior from one was a servant to God. The people could marry any number of philosophies and religions, but there would be no new churches in the name of Jesus Christ.

“Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband” says that Apostles of Jesus Christ have now lasted two thousand years [give or take a decade]. That means the end of an Age has come [on the doorstep of the Age of Aquarius]. When the Saints then continued, “Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, would you then wait until they were grown?”  The meaning was that a new sacrificial lamb would take centuries to develop a following [become Church relevant], at which time the new Age worship of science and knowledge would mean the rejection of faith-based religion.

The question, “Would you then refrain from marrying?” is then future looking.  In an Age of handheld telephones-computers and the impatience of high-speed Internet and Wi-fi plugging all into the worldwide web of information, by satellites revolving in the heavens surrounding earth makes that question rhetorical. Therefore the answer was, “No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has turned against me.” That says the “hand of the Lord” is the changing of the Ages. The Age of Technology has made Saints persona non grata.

The remainder of this reading says that the people of the West [more so in the United States than Canada, Central America or Western Europe] have refused to give up an ideal, even though they have nothing more than the hopes that come from belief. With their Roman Church dead [including all splinter groups that amount to the blind leading the blind and the Jewish-Christian synagogues] and only knowledge of Apostles and Saints to believe in, Christianity as a religion will still not die.

“Where you die, I will die— there will I be buried” is a statement of the mortality of all human beings. The funeral rites are recognized as a sacrament.  Yet, it offers the potential of individual self-sacrifice of ego, to serve God.

“May the Lord do thus and so to me, and more as well” is a prayer that the end of Christianity will not come, but instead return to life.  The hope is to be reborn as Jesus Christ.

“If even death parts me from you!” is a promise of commitment, as like a vow in marriage. It swears an oath to defend the memory of Saints, even is mortality takes the lives of the people away, having never known the glory of the Holy Spirit.  It is a marriage promising, “Till death do us part.”

When we read that the Saints “saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her,” that indicates that nothing more could be said as the Word of God from “Beauty” was more than enough.

It is a fresh view of Ruth that tells the story in a light that only us today can see.  It strips away all the antiquity and exposes Jesus Christ as the high priest from Paul’s letter to the Hebrews.  Elimelech [“God Is King”] is the husband Christians must marry to become the tabernacle in which Jesus Christ can sacrifice our brains to save our souls.  Ruth promises the “Beauty” of the mind-meld between Jesus and the scribe, when they both knew the foremost commandment was to love God with all one’s heart, all one’s soul, and all one’s strength.  The message of Ruth exposed says we must marry a Church to express one’s commitment; but true commitment is shown when Jesus Christ stops being an icon in heaven and the churches have proven incapable of getting anyone into Heaven.  Even looking to a Saint brings no reply.  The story of Ruth says each soul is responsible for saving it from eternal damnation, by finding the way to righteousness through patient commitment (love of God) and prayerful sacrifice (the high priest within).

As an Old Testament optional reading selection for the twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost, when one’s own personal ministry for the LORD should be underway – one should see how one IS Ruth (regardless of one’s human gender) – the message here is to see beyond the stories told in the Holy Bible and see oneself. One is living in most obvious times of religious failure and denial of that fact is expressing how the Church of Jesus Christ is dead and we are all flickering flames of individual soul responsibility.

In this story of Ruth, Elimelech and Naomi left Judah with their two sons and went to Moab. I have presented that place as a generic for all Gentile nations on earth, which it is. Still, the root meaning of “Moab” says it either questions, “Who’s Your Daddy?” or “What’s Your Father?” or it is a statement of “Water Of A Father.” Regardless of the dispute over how “Moab” is interpreted, the certainty places focus on “Father,” which is God. As such, wherever “God Is King” would go, it was a flow [as “Water”] of the Father, through the Son. Without God [YHWH] there is no Christ, just as without Christ being reborn in Apostles there is no Church. Everything then becomes a ministry that searches for those who are famished and asks, “Who Is Your Father?”

By understanding the offspring of Jesus Christ and his Saints as the two churches that would promote the Emotion [Water is the element that symbolizes Emotions] of religion, it is easy to see how institutions are lifeless organizations that are recreations of the failures of Israel and Judah. One is “Sickly” and the other is “Wasting Away.” The same inability [impotence] to teach being filled with God’s Holy Spirit as the only way to serve God, being reborn as one Most Holy means none of the people making up those organizations serve God as true Priests. It is believing Jesus said, “Follow the leader,” when the death of such a leader can only cause all those behind in rank to fall down.

The ‘Big Picture’ that is present today includes the failures of Christian institutions past, just as this story tells of the deaths of Mahlon and Chilion. Christians today are the widowed wives of icons of weakness, although Communism and Islam have severed the head of Orpah, so the Greek Orthodox Church, the Russian Orthodox Church, the Romanian Orthodox Church, Arab Christians, Jewish Christians and Armenians are persecuted and forgotten as was Eastern Europe after World War II. The “Beauty” of Christianity in Western Europe has been reduced to state-owned buildings that were once demanded by Rome to be built by the people. Christianity in Western Europe has become a tourist attraction; it is not where Saints are born.

We are all on our own, which is why I state each time I interpret these readings as it is when one’s own personal ministry for the LORD should be underway. The “Pleasantness of the Lord” has given the instructions to go back to when you came from and take with you whatever good that has been implanted in you by a church of Christianity. The laws of Moses might or might not be vogue in all lands, so it is up to each individual to be righteous without a true Church to assist.

What did your priest do on his or her summer vacation [or sabbatical]? Did he die on the cross for strangers, so a fill-in had to baptize your grandbaby? Why can’t priests give unto Caesar what is Caesr’s and focus on giving their souls to Yahweh, the rightful owner?

As can be seen, today’s churches have become soapboxes for liberalism and socialism, speaking for a Jesus Christ they never knew. The laws are rewritten to accommodate the sins of the present. We glorify politicians as if they were saints. So, as reflections of Moab, the question is “Who Is Your Father?”

It is impossible to worship two lords or masters. The United States of America, as Ruth, wants to cling to the concept of Saints; but the question is, “Who does she serve?”

We are trudging through the end of the Age of Pisces, ruthlessly – a word that is defined as: “Having no compassion or pity; merciless.” [American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition]

Once again it makes me laugh. “I wonder where Ruth is.”

Language, Ruth, Teaching

Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17 – A son has been born to Naomi

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Naomi her mother-in-law said to Ruth, “My daughter, I need to seek some security for you, so that it may be well with you. Now here is our kinsman Boaz, with whose young women you have been working. See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. Now wash and anoint yourself, and put on your best clothes and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, observe the place where he lies; then, go and uncover his feet and lie down; and he will tell you what to do.” She said to her, “All that you tell me I will do.”

So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When they came together, the Lord made her conceive, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without next-of-kin; and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has borne him.” Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her bosom, and became his nurse. The women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed; he became the father of Jesse, the father of David.

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This is an optional Old Testament selection from the Episcopal Lectionary for the Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost, Year B 2018. In the numbering system that lists each Sunday in an ordinal fashion, this Sunday is referred to as Proper 27. If chosen, it will next be read aloud in an Episcopal church by a reader on Sunday November 11, 2018. It is important because we see that the commitment Ruth [“Beauty”] made to stay with Naomi, as a Gentile married into the family of Yahweh, paid off as she found a new husband and bore the grandfather of David [Obed].

In last Sunday’s ‘episode’ we left off with the camera zooming in on Naomi, who had nothing to say about Ruth’s promise to stay with her mother-in-law until death, because she was part of her dear family.

She would not return to her homeland [Moab] and her birth family. Now the story has progressed to Naomi doing the works of matchmaking, because Ruth has become Naomi’s full-fledged daughter.

Once again, the reader has to be fluent in the language of names, as all the names of the Holy Bible play a role in establishing the character of those given their names. The first name of importance is Boaz, the eligible Israelite bachelor who will be seduced by Ruth’s “Beauty.” The name “Boaz” means, “By Strength,” implying “In Him [the Lord] Is Strength”. Thus, Naomi knew that Boaz was a righteous man, whose strength was greater than physical.

Now, this reading is the beginning of chapter three [five verses] and then it skips to near then end of chapter four [five verses], which can leave the impression that some hanky-panky took place. Nothing of the sort happened. This reading simply tells how Naomi led Ruth to be introduced to a man of importance, so that a friendly relationship could begin. This then led to Boaz marrying Ruth, out of love, and conceiving a holy child by God’s assistance.

The name of the child is then Obed. The name “Obed” means “Servant” or “Slave.” Some sources say the name means “Serving.” For such a name to be given to an infant by his father means service was a valued characteristic in the Israelite people.

Ruth identified herself to Boaz as “your maidservant” (“’ă·mā·ṯe·ḵā”), because she and Naomi had to serve as slaves because they had no husbands.

Boaz was identified as a “kinsman redeemer” (“ḡō·’êl”) because Naomi was from the same bloodline and as a kinsman with property and wealth, Boaz provided a service to widows by becoming their employer. Therefore, the pair bonded through their service to the tribe and their service to Yahweh; meaning their child was to reflect that value.

As an optional Old Testament reading selection for the twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost, when one’s own personal ministry for the LORD should be underway – one has entered into deep-felt Service to God – the message here is the redemption that comes from marriage to God. God is our Strength; and from God entering into our hearts is born the ultimate Servant, Jesus Christ.

The story of Ruth is she was seen as a Moabite, which is a Gentile. She was not born of the blood of the descendant of Jacob. She married into that family when she wed Naomi’s son Mahlon [“Great Infirmity”], but with his death coming before they had a child together, Ruth was free to return to her Moabite roots. She refused to be released from Naomi [“Pleasantness of the Lord”].

Christians [males and females] should all see themselves as Ruth. Being Christian means adhering to the principles of Mosaic Law, believing in only One God – YHWH. In today’s modern world, there is much rejection of the Old Testament stories, where people who sin are called abominations and the enemies of the Israelites were ordered slain [men, women, children and animals] by God’s prophets. Westerners of Christianity reject what they see as no longer viable. They reject it as uncivil and many lean on the concept of Jesus telling everyone to love, rather than judge others for what they are. That is not being a reflection of Ruth.

Ruth was the lowest of the low in the Israelite societal pecking order. She had no voice about what was right or what was wrong, according to the Laws of Moses. She had been given her freedom to practice whatever rules and customs the descendants of Lot had established which might have included idol worship and human sacrifices to please many gods. The same freedom is given to ALL human beings in the world, because God never sent a fireball from outer space to destroy the Egyptians or the Canaanites or anyone else. However, being one of God’s chosen people means: agreeing to the Mosaic Laws; and choosing to only SERVE Yahweh.

When those two stipulations are met, then one lays at the feet of God as His maidservant [regardless of human gender]. There can be no Big Head of self that tells God, “Hey God, we’ve been thinking and all this harsh legal stuff is just too much to agree to anymore. So, we are going to make a few changes here and there and instead of praying to You, we are just going to idolize You Son Jesus. How’s that sound to You?”

[SILENCE] [Cue the cricket chirping soundtrack]

That means turning one’s back on God, so call yourself whatever you want to call yourself, it does not make you one of God’s chosen people. You have rejected God, so God has rejected you. You have gone all Old Testament on your soul and killed its chance of eternal life in Heaven.

Ruth symbolizes a love of the Law – which is symbolized by Naomi being “Pleasantness of the Lord” – where nothing bad ever happened to those who followed the commandments of God through His Prophets. Only the evil suffered physical death – but those souls all lived to be reincarnated another day, with no real harm done. Ruth became a servant of the law, even though the law made he the lowest of the low, as a widow without issue. She did not rise in rebellion to the unfairness of the Law. She complied out of love, trusting in the God of Israel to show His love in return.

It is vital to realize that the STRENGTH of Israel was the Ark of the Covenant. When a judge or prophet was told by God to encounter an enemy, the Ark was always carried into the field of battle. The Israelites were able to defeat evil because God was with them. Israel was a body of parts [the Twelve Tribes] with the Ark of the Covenant being the heart of that body. This is how a heart symbolizes the strength of courage, which is also symbolized in the lion’s strength and kingliness.

When Ruth was taken in marriage by Boaz that symbolizes one today being married to God. One is totally committed to being God’s wife [regardless of human gender]. From that marriage is born Jesus Christ, which is the STRENGTH of God within that defeats all attacks by evil. The Ark of the Covenant has not been lost; it has been transformed into an inner tabernacle, where Jesus Christ serves the Father as one’s personal high priest. Wherever one goes, the Ark of the Covenant is there – in the battlefield of life.

The threshing and winnowing of barley is a necessary work that separates the chaff from the grain.  Ruth was sent to the threshing floor to see the work that is necessary for the bread of life to be gained.  The STRENGTH of Boaz was witnessed, through the work that he did.

Whoever refuses to have the Law written into their hearts is not Ruth. Anyone calling himself or herself Christian, while bending the laws of Moses to suit one’s needs, is more in line with the ex-daughter-in-law of Naomi, Orpah [Mane or Neck]. One proudly holds high the head and its inner brain as the personal source of strength. While one kissed the “Pleasantness of the Lord” and the Law Naomi stood for, one feels strong enough to remember some of the Law, while rewriting that which was misunderstood. One has not then married Yahweh, but one has returned to pagan worship and idolizing multiple gods.

To truly be Christian, one must say to the Law the same as Ruth told Naomi: “All that you tell me I will do.” Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:17)

Jesus Christ being resurrected within a true Christian is the miracle blessing of the Lord, as one has been recognized as a “next-of-kin,” a Brother [regardless of human gender] in the holy bloodline of God’s chosen people, another Son of Man. Being reborn as Jesus Christ means, “he shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age.”

A true Christian has been redeemed by the STRENGTH of the Lord and made a SERVANT that offers salvation to other lost souls. As such, when one reads, “Naomi took the child and laid him in her bosom, and became his nurse,” this is the “Pleasantness of the Lord” [the Law] being written onto one’s heart and nourished daily. One does not seek to change the Law to match the laws of Gentiles. Instead, the Laws nourish the SERVANT that one has become, as the Son of God reborn. This is why the women [all Christians, regardless of human gender] gave a name to those who honor the Law: “A son has been born to Naomi.”

The Law’s Pleasantness has delivered one’s Savior, once again.

#Matthew517 #Ruth315 #Ruth41317

Language, Ruth, Teaching

Ruth 1:1-18 – The love of Naomi and Ruth

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In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. When they had lived there about ten years, both Mahlon and Chilion also died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

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 Yahweh had considered his people and given them food. So she set out from the place where she had been living, she and her two daughters-in-law, and they went on their way to go back to the land of Judah. But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back each of you to your mother’s house. May Yahweh deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. Yahweh grant that you may find security, each of you in the house of your husband.” Then she kissed them, and they wept aloud. They said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters, why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of Yahweh has turned against me.” Then they wept aloud again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

So she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to eloheha her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” But Ruth said,

“Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; Where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and welohayik elohay your gods and my gods. Where you die, I will die—there will I be buried. May Yahweh do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!”

When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.

——————–

This is the Track 1 Old Testament reading selection to be read aloud on the twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost [Proper 26], Year B, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. If the individual church is on the Track 1 path for Year B, then this will be accompanied by a singing of Psalm 146, where David wrote, “Yahweh loves the righteous; Yahweh cares for the stranger; he sustains the orphan and widow, but frustrates the way of the wicked.” That pair will precede a reading from Hebrews, where Paul wrote, “When Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation), he entered once for all into the Holy Place.” All will accompany the Gospel reading from Mark, where we read, “One of the scribes came near and heard the Sadducees disputing with one another, and seeing that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?”’

I wrote about Ruth 1:1-18 back in 2018, the last time it came up in the lectionary cycle. I posted my views on my website at that time, which has since been shut down. The posting, however, can be view on this website, by clicking on this link. I did a thorough breakdown of the name meanings found in this reading; and, I explained how names help one gather deeper insight from all Scriptural readings of this sort. My views then of Ruth’s story became a metaphorical prophecy of modern times, which I doubt has ever been explained as such elsewhere. I stand behind that analysis firmly and welcome all readers to read what I wrote then. That can be compared to what I will now add. I will make observations that will align Ruth to the other readings for this Sunday. Please let me know your views.

In 2018, I was not focused on the mistranslations in Old Testament text into English. I now see the importance of pointing those errors out. In the above translations [from the NRSV], you will note that I have placed in bold font the proper name “Yahweh,” which is clearly written. This specific name has been reduced by translators [more than just the NRSV] to say “the Lord.” Without realizing Yahweh was the One God of Israel, “in the days when judges ruled,” one can easily get confused and think “the Lord” was one of the “gods” of the Moabites, where they had too many “lords” to name [in this story]. That polytheism is further masked when the translators take the plural words that are formed from the plural root “elohim” and pretend they say “your God” and “her God” and “my God.” I have restored the transliterations of the Hebrew, because all that is written there tells of “gods,” with those actually being the “lords” of the flesh that people worship, rather than Yahweh.

Because I did such a deep interpretation of Ruth in 2018, I will try not to repeat all that I wrote then. My focus now becomes relative to the specific naming of Yahweh, as the truth of Naomi’s story is her soul was married to Yahweh. That made her soul in the flesh become a Yahweh elohim. Her references to her daughters-in-law, relative to “her gods” (her elohim) and “your gods” (your elohim), in the verses with Naomi saying “my gods” (my elohim) the elohim must be understood as the possession of a soul within its flesh, with a soul (as an eternal entity) being the “god” (in the singular – an el) of one’s flesh. All who were like Naomi had the same divine possession of their souls through marriage to Yahweh. As such, “my gods” becomes a statement of “my people who are Israelites,” where the name “Israel” means “One Who Retains Yahweh as one of His elohim.” Thus, “my gods” is stating the difference from calling any old “god” mine [saying “the lord”] and specifically naming Yahweh mine [saying “Yahweh”].

In 2018, I mentioned the element of Naomi and Ruth being female characters of the Old Testament, which makes them be used by female priests as a reflection of lady Christians, which is bogus crap. I said the story of Ruth must be seen in all who read this story, both men and women, because one’s “god” of the flesh (one’s soul) has no reproductive parts. All should read Ruth and come to the realization that every he or she Christian reading this story must realize one’s own personal need to find a most holy Husband, which is Yahweh. This means the story is clearly stated to be about the need to find that Husband, in order to survive. The elements of famine and death without heirs are all worldly limitations. Divine marriage to Yahweh is the only way to withstand the harshness of the material realm and have a soul gain eternal life.

In the Track 2 Old Testament reading, from Deuteronomy 6, we read: “Moses said: Now this is the commandment–the statutes and the ordinances–that Yahweh elohekem [“you gods of Yahweh”] charged me to teach you to observe in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy, so that you and your children and your children’s children, may fear Yahweh eloheka all the days of your life, and keep all his decrees and his commandments that I am commanding you, so that your days may be long.” That was the marriage vows between all Israelites and their Husband Yahweh. They were told to live up to that agreement and raise their children to love Yahweh and also marry their souls to Him. However, what happened? They maintained the agreement for forty years, and then they backslid and cheated on Yahweh for forty years, leading them to the brink of destruction. In those down times, judges would be sent to rescue them from a divorce agreement. That is called “a famine in the land.” The “famine” was caused by waywardness.

The Deuteronomy reading then becomes a direct link to the Gospel reading from Mark, as Moses proclaimed: “Hear, O Israel: Yahweh is elohekem, Yahweh alone. You shall love Yahweh eloheka with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart.” That statement of love means divine marriage, with “Israel” being a statement of self – a soul in the flesh married to Yahweh. The sad thing about this is the NRSV translation cannot even say the name Yahweh. I had to restore the name, so love can truly be expressed. The poor translations are a sign that we too live in a “famine,” where spiritual food is non-existent for souls to feed on.

In the story of Ruth, when there are no longer any churches that can enhance one’s faith (through the deaths of all the menfolk, leaving the women husbandless), Naomi declared (basically), “It is every soul for itself.” She was going to die married to Yahweh, such that she welcomed death over having to pander to some half-baked religious views that were false and unsatisfying. She told her daughters-in-law to go back to find their own “gods” that could keep them alive on the material plane for forty more years or so. Maybe if they survive, then they will find their souls finding a return of spiritual food, so they can be led to marry Yahweh (not some lesser god or gods). All of this is because there is no longer love of Yahweh, as seen by the words of the Old Testament being stripped bare of Yahweh’s name (in English versions).

The words of Paul that tell of the high priest being Jesus, such that he enters the tabernacle of flesh; and, instead of animal blood he sacrifices his blood. This reflects Naomi saying she has already given birth to sons and is too old to bear more children, much less attract a new husband. It is the children Moses said must be raised to keep the Spirit of Israel alive, away from famine and death. When Ruth held onto Naomi, Ruth was a Gentile woman [all non-Israelites of the world, including Jews then and Jews now] that had found a Saint, whose God was the truth. Ruth did not want to simply stay alive via service to some lesser gods; she wanted to marry Yahweh. This becomes a story of love, where she was willing scarified her own blood to be filled by the blood of Jesus, the Son of Yahweh.

This then leads to the Gospel reading from Mark, where the trick question posed to Jesus was, “What is the most important law [out of over six hundred listed]?” Jesus told them what they knew, which came from Deuteronomy 6, but added the love your neighbor as yourself, which could have been stated as, “And then there is the Naomi rule, where even Gentiles who want to marry their souls to Yahweh have that right.” This means Jesus told the ones who were like a famine on the land, keeping all the Jews from becoming true Israelites, they were why all the Israelites of Israel and Judah were scattered all over the known world. The most important Law is fall in love with Yahweh, marry your soul to His Spirit, be reborn as His Son, and then let the whole world know the same love is available to them too.

This makes Naomi become metaphor for the love of Yahweh. It makes Ruth metaphor for marriage to Yahweh, as a soul that refuses to turn away from Yahweh, fearing evil elohim, as we read in Job. Again, I urge all to read what I published in 2018, as the story told in Ruth is like a parable that is highly symbolic and difficult to see with eyes that are not in love with Yahweh. Naomi is the story of commitment; but Ruth is the story of love and marriage; and, that is offered to those of all nations and all peoples, as long as they cut their ties to their “gods.”

As an optional reading to be read aloud on the twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost, when one’s own personal ministry for Yahweh should already be well underway, the lesson here is to marry into the true holy family of Yahweh. The seed of faith taking root within one’s soul becomes the strength one needs to withstand all spiritual famines without. It is, like we read last Sunday in Psalm 126, the stream of divine love from the outpouring of holy Spirit, which returns life to the Negev. Famine is the result of drought; but an oasis in the middle of the desert is due to deep waters that find a way to surface. True Christianity is being that source of eternal life that can be shared with others in ministry. Ruth is the metaphor for all who become true priests of Yahweh, refusing to turn away from living waters that are sourced in spiritual love.

Language, Ruth, Teaching

Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17 – Marrying God and having His baby

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Naomi her mother-in-law said to Ruth, “My daughter, I need to seek some security for you, so that it may be well with you. Now here is our kinsman Boaz, with whose young women you have been working. See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. Now wash and anoint yourself, and put on your best clothes and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, observe the place where he lies; then, go and uncover his feet and lie down; and he will tell you what to do.” She said to her, “All that you tell me I will do.”

So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When they came together, Yahweh made her conceive, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be Yahweh, who has not left you this day without next-of-kin; and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has borne him.” Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her bosom, and became his nurse. The women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed; he became the father of Jesse, the father of David.

——————–

This is the Track 1 Old Testament selection that will be rad aloud on the twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost [Proper 27], Year B, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. If an individual church is marked for the Track 1 course, then this reading will be accompanied by a singing of Psalm 127, which says, “Children are a heritage from Yahweh, and the fruit of the womb is a gift.” This pair will precede a reading from Hebrews, where Paul wrote, “he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself.” All will accompany the Gospel reading from Mark, where Jesus taught, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets!”

I wrote of this selection from two chapters in Ruth when it last came up in the lectionary schedule (2018). I posted my views on my website then, which can now be read on this website, by searching this site. Rather than repeat what I wrote three years ago, I will add new observations, including some that make this reading fit into the theme of the other reading also chosen by church elders to be read on this Sunday. Please feel free to read this commentary, the one from 2018, and all the others that are written for this same Sunday and let me know what you think.

In this split selection of readings from Ruth’s chapter three and four, it can be easy to misconstrue Naomi telling Ruth to go seduce Boaz after work, which then leads to her getting pregnant. This is a wrong conclusion to draw, as the text of the ‘in between’ story makes it clear that Boaz is a brother of Naomi’s deceased husband, Elimelech, thus much older than Ruth. Indeed, when Naomi told Ruth, “our kinsman Boaz, with whose young women you have been working,” those young women were virgin daughters of Boaz, so all the “young women,” including Ruth, were seen by Boaz and Naomi as children, not yet married.

Because Ruth had been the wife of Naomi’s son Mahlon, she was not a virgin. Because Mahlon died without having impregnated Ruth, Naomi freed Ruth and Orpah to seek other husbands who would supply for their needs in a male-dominated world, herself unable to guarantee such support with her husband and two sons then dead. Ruth clung to Naomi, because of Naomi’s spiritual marriage to Yahweh, which Ruth felt strongly pulled to have her soul serve also. Naomi and Ruth had been in Moab, seeking land that could afford life during famine, because Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, had sold his land in Judah. He sold what he possessed there because he felt a need to leave a land that was no longer supplying food (including spiritual food). Without property, without male heirs to support Naomi, Ruth became her daughter as the two returned to the Bethlehem area, where Elimelech had family still living.

The element of working the fields to harvest grain (barley) says the famine is past or at least rain had returned and the land was producing food. This becomes an indication that Israel, which had been in a spiritual drought, had been in times when led by judges, when a judge was in need but not present. The past famine now over says their wayward ways had been corrected.

Here, again, the names of Ruth’s first chapter are important. There Elimelech was named and is again mentioned [not in this reading], meaning it is important to recall that name means “My God Is King.” That name says Elimelech could no longer live in Judah, selling everything he owned and moving to Moab, because of the wicked ways. In Moab he died. This must be seen as symbolic of Moses and the Covenant [who died and was buried in Moab], where all Israelites were expected to have their souls each be married to Yahweh. When times suffered, this said the commitment to that marriage agreement was not being met. Thus, with the fields again producing grain, physical food reflects the spiritual food of souls returning to honor their marriage agreement.

As the brother of Elimelech, the name “Boaz” means “In Strength, By Strength,” with the Temple of Jerusalem’s left pillar also called “Boaz.” Strong’s alludes to this, as well as saying the word “boaz” means “quickness.” The pillar to the right [both free-standing and not supporting any structure above] was called “Jachin,” which means “He Establishes, He Will Give Certainty,” with “He” referencing “God” [as “Yah”]. This implies that Boaz was a pillar of strength upon which the return of commitment to Yahweh is symbolized. As the brother of “My God Is King,” Boaz was then the kinsman to whom Judah and Bethlehem relied.

When this broad-stroke meaning from the metaphor is seen, an arranged marriage between Ruth (a Moabite woman, not an Israelite) to Boaz (the elder revitalizing commitment to Yahweh), with Ruth realized to be the welcomed adoptee of Naomi (an Israelite soul married to Yahweh), the story develops as a new branch being spliced unto the tree of Israel. The symbolism of the marriage between Boaz and Ruth needs to be viewed as that renewal of the spirit of commitment to Yahweh. Ruth would be the new blood that desired to be one with Yahweh, who would merge with the old blood of those descended as chosen – marrying the dulled with responsibility to the sharpness of desire to please God, with all one’s heart, soul, and strength. It is that union that beget the grandfather of David (Obed).

The name “Obed” means “Servant, Slave.” This must be seen as a name given out of love and admiration for Yahweh. For Naomi to take this child to her bosom and become its nurse (at an old age, beyond that of a wet nurse), she was nurturing Obed to love servitude to Yahweh. From that nurtured love, Jesse and David would come. The name “Jesse” means both “My Husband” and “Yah Exists.” Here again is a name restating the Israelite commitment to Yahweh in divine marriage – soul to Spirit. The name “David” means both “Beloved” and “Weak, Flowing,” where this restates the total commitment to Yahweh through love, with a willingness to go with Yahweh’s flow of direction, letting Yahweh be one’s strength.

In the place where Naomi told Ruth what to do after Boaz ate and drank and laid down to sleep, the Hebrew words [transliterated] “wə·ḡil·lîṯ mar·gə·lō·ṯāw” [from the roots “galah” and “margeloth”] are translated as “uncover his feet.” This is perplexing as to what it means. In the text not read aloud, from Ruth 3, is said that Boaz awoke at midnight and found “there was a woman lying at his feet.” Possibly the words were indicating that Ruth should disrobe (“uncover) and then lie at “his feet.” This would then be both a sign of willingness to submit oneself into one’s service (laying at the feet), while also offering oneself physically in marriage. Boaz thanked Ruth for choosing him, rather than someone else, either poor (youthful passion) or rich (gold-digging). Regardless, there was no sex on the threshing room floor. Boaz told Ruth what needed to happen for the two to marry legally; and, he sent her back to Naomi with an allotment of grain. The meeting promised that Boaz would become the kinsman-redeemer [“gō·’êl”]; but when Ruth told this to Naomi, Naomi said, “We need to wait and see.” That attitude says Naomi had left Bethlehem with her husband and sons because in the times of judges many Israelites said things that were not backed by the truth. She did not distrust Boaz, but the other relative who Naomi knew had to approve Boaz as the kinsman-redeemer.

The jump forward to chapter four then has everything done as planned, with Yahweh guiding the marriage of the two souls that were both married to Yahweh. The land was again restored. Still, when a generation is twenty years, the two generations that would be Obed and Jesse (leading to the generation of David) would amount to forty years, this timing says the cycle of forty years in servitude to the Covenant had ended. That would be followed by forty years of spiritual famine, which coincided with the time David would be born, when the elders of Israel would go to their aging judge – Samuel – and tell him to appoint them a king, to be like other nations. That would make David the final judge of Israel, which makes this marriage between Boaz and Ruth significant to understand.

When this cycle of up and down is seen as continuous, the happiness of Ruth’s marriage saving Naomi and Judah is shown to then collapse in the times of Elijah, who was a prophet of the Northern Kingdom. Rather than be a judge, David had ceased those times. Elijah was a soul married to Yahweh who became a powerful voice of Yahweh on earth. The Track 2 Old Testament reading then tells of Elijah during a time of famine, when Yahweh sent him to Zarephath to be provided for by an old widow. The widow was preparing the last supper for herself and her son, after which they both prepared to die. That becomes a parallel of Naomi and Ruth, as they clung to one another during a time of famine in Judah. The miracle of Elijah should then be seen as a reflection of the miracle of Boaz marrying Ruth, having a son, who restored Naomi from worthless widow to a woman surrounded by the wealth of Yahweh’s love.

In the Hebrews reading, Paul writes that mortals only die once, so Jesus was “offered once to bear the sins of many.” This simply says Jesus was mortal, so he too only could die once. However, his one-time death released a pure soul that could return and fill many souls animating bodies of flesh, who also could only die once. Being possessed by the soul of Jesus would mean the sins of the many would not condemn them, once possessed and led to a righteous state of being. This means the soul of Jesus would become like baby Obed, who Yahweh would send to marry the souls of His wives and make them pure before that one death.

Naomi was married to Yahweh., Ruth marrying Boaz married her soul to Yahweh, so she gave birth to her own baby Jesus, meaning her past sins were erased and she would sin no more. When Paul said Jesus “will appear a second time,” that “second time” occurs many times, each as a second birth in the souls of those married to Yahweh.

Christians have to get beyond thinking ‘belief’ in Jesus as the Son of God will save them, because Jesus died on a cross for them to be saved. That is the fault of Israel obeying the Covenant for forty years, and then straying and breaking all the agreements the next forty. Belief in God does not work for long. One’s soul must marry YAHWEH and be made forgiven of all past sins. Then one’s soul needs to give rebirth to the resurrected soul of Jesus, so that high priest will keep one’s soul from sinning ever again.

Finally, the Gospel reading from Mark places focus on a widow woman. Both Naomi and Ruth were widows. Neither of them had any possessions or any rights. They were, in essence, beggars. They were the poor who could demand alms and the outer fringes of crops (when no famines were around). In the Elijah miracle of First Kings a widow woman and her son were about to die, because they had nothing. Jesus warned about the scribes, who preyed on widows.

That never goes out of style. Every church organization today makes guilt calls on old ladies with some form of security, reminding them to give to the church when they die. None of those berobed hired hands care about the souls of anyone. All they care about is taking from the poor and giving to themselves. This means the story of Ruth is like the time of celebration Job experienced, after he defeated the tests of Satan. Satan always comes looking like a priest, never as the wolf clothed robes.

As the Old Testament reading to be read aloud on the twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost, when one’s own personal ministry for Yahweh should already be well underway, the lesson to grasp is to marry Yahweh (as Ruth did Boaz) and then let Yahweh make one conceive and bear his Son Jesus. This is not having a baby with a husband, as if only women can marry Yahweh. Everything is spiritual, with nothing physical (other than servitude and ministry).
Likewise, there is no Jesus salvation without one’s soul marrying Yahweh OUT OF TRUE LOVE.

The message of Ruth chapter three is listen to your soul telling you how to get Yahweh to marry you. Expose your sins to Him in sincere confession and then lay your soul at His feet, in complete and willing submission to His Will. Let Yahweh reward you with a few pounds of spiritual food to chew on, while He watches to see what you do next. Then, follow go with the flow, with complete faith that Yahweh’s hand will be guiding one’s life. When Yahweh calls your soul to the marriage altar, then say, “I do.” Then, let baby Jesus be reborn within your soul, as your new high priest.