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11 And all the people who were at the gate, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. The Lord make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who built the house of Israel; and may you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. 12 May your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring which the Lord will give you from this young woman.” ~ Ruth 4:11-12
Today, we continue our study of Ruth 4 where Boaz has redeemed Ruth and the land of Elimelech. In Ruth 1 there were many "tears" due to the famine and the deaths of three husbands and one father. In Ruth 2, Ruth positioned herself to be blessed of the Lord through a man named Boaz through her "toils" in the field. In Ruth 3 we witnessed the growing "trust" between this woman and this man, picturing for us the growing relationship the Lord desires to give us with Him. And, in Ruth 4, we are witnessing the "triumph" of God in the lives of those who believe in Him enough to be defined by Him.
In v.11 of today's passage we read, "And all the people who were at the gate, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. The Lord make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who built the house of Israel; and may you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem."
In Ruth 1 Naomi blessed Ruth. In Ruth 2 Boaz blessed Ruth. In Ruth 3 Boaz noted that Ruth was blessed of the Lord. And now again, in this final chapter, all the witnesses at the town gate. pronounce another blessing upon Ruth. Specifically, their blessing tied Ruth to Rachel and Leah, noting Rachel first. There are several reasons for putting her before Leah. Even though the people of Bethlehem were descendants of Leah, Rachel was the first desire of Jacob as his wife. She also died and was buried not far from Ephrathah where they lived. The main reason Rachel was mentioned first here was due to the fact that she pictured New Testament grace. Leah, on the other hand, pictured the Old Testament law. These two women of note were introduced as hopeful comparisons to Ruth, a wife for Boaz and a mother for his household.
These two women are credited with the building of the house of Israel, meaning the nation itself. This word translated "built" is the same word used to describe the "building" of Eve from Adam’s rib. From this word are derived the Hebrew words for "son" and "daughter." And so it indicates the building of the house through having children. It is made of three different words: Beth means "house," Nun means "heir," and Hey means "behold" as when something great is revealed.
Their blessing was that Ruth will continue to "build" the great name of the House of Israel through subsequent heirs just as Rachel and Leah did when they "built" the house of Israel. This blessing was literally fulfilled in the great-grandson of Ruth, King David. But, her greatest descendant was none other than the Lord Jesus Christ.
This verse ends with two great words: Ephrathah which means "fruitfulness" and Bethlehem which means "house of bread." Accentuated here in the name of the city where our Savior was born is the fruit of the vine and bread. Interesting, the two elements of the Lord's Supper. These two elements point us to the Lord Jesus Christ who was the Bread of Life and His blood was analogized by the fruit of the vine. I doubt these witnesses really understood where all of this was headed.
In v.12 of today's passage we read, "May your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring which the Lord will give you from this young woman."
These words go directly back to Genesis 38 which is one of the most remarkable passages in the Bible as to what it pictures. Ruth, like Tamar, was denied her rightful justice until she personally came forward to claim it, just as Tamar did. Judah failed toward Tamar and was forced to state, "She is more righteous than I." Boaz proved his righteousness in doing what another would not do and fulfilled his obligation as the next closest relative to Ruth. Perez was born to Tamar by Judah and he was used by God as a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. Most interestingly, Perez was an ancestor to Boaz. The blessing upon these two by the people of the town was an acknowledgement that despite Judah’s superstition concerning Tamar being a bad luck omen, she turned out to be a blessing and the mother of a noble house.
All four of these are found tied together in this one grand story which included some nefarious workings. Lot’s older daughter tricked her father along with her sister and she bore a son named Moab who was an ancestor of Ruth. Jacob’s wife Leah tricked her husband and she bore Judah who is an ancestor of Boaz. Judah's wife, Tamar was an ancestor to Boaz, as well. And, Ruth married Boaz, and their son would lead to King David and then to the Lord Jesus. What seems like somewhat scandalous or possibly even immoral occurrences to most people, have all been used for a good purpose and a good end.
The marvel of the Bible which is the unfolding story of God's redemption of sinful man is that it contains everything necessary to enable us to have a personal relationship with God, no matter how badly we have acted on our sinfulness. This kind of revelation is lacking in nature and can only be revealed by God to us personally through special means. These special means have come to pass and they have been compiled into the Bible. This book shows us the great love of God that He has for each one of us and what He did to bring us back to Himself and to a place of idyllic perfection through the sacrifice made by His Son on our behalf.
I close with a quote from Charles Haddon Spurgeon who once said, "Our poor barren hearts ne'er produced one fruit, or flower, till they were watered with the Saviour's blood. It is his incarnation which fattens the soil of our hearts. There had been pricking thorns on all the ground, and mortal poisons, before he came; but our fruitfulness comes from him."
