Ruth 4:8-12. Final chapter – The virtuous woman creates a home as a type of Christ.

Tuesday June 19,2018

 

Title: Ruth 4:8-12. Final chapter - The virtuous woman creates a home as a type of Christ.

 

RUT 4:9 Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, "You are witnesses today that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon.

 

RUT 4:10 Moreover, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance, so that the name of the deceased may not be cut off from his brothers or from the court of his birth place; you are witnesses today."

 

Boaz shows chesed (lovingkindness, mercy) by redeeming Ruth. He is Christlike and the type of the Kinsman Redeemer. 

 

RUT 4:11 And all the people who were in the court, and the elders, said, "We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and may you achieve wealth [chayil: strength, excellence, valor - used in PRO 31:10] in Ephrathah and become famous in Bethlehem.

 

RUT 4:12 Moreover, may your house be like the house of Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the offspring which the Lord shall give you by this young woman."

 

The Lord makes the woman excellent (vs. 11). A woman without dependence on the Lord is ship without a compass.

 

Of course, this is true about men and women, but the woman has been delegated by God to be a responder to her husband. This means that responding to true authority is ingrained in her. Her true husband and authority is the Lord Jesus Christ and if she doesn’t respond to Him, she will be looking for others to respond to in certain capacities. What man or woman can properly fit that role for her? None. 

 

PRO 31:10-31 is a discourse of the woman of virtue as defined by God and praised by the same.  It is an acrostic. Each of the 22 verses begin with the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet in order.

 

It is debated as to who wrote this last chapter of Proverbs.

 

PRO 31:1 The words of King Lemuel, the oracle which his mother taught him.

 

Many believe that King Lemuel is Solomon. The name Lemuel means belonging to God and in 2SA 12:25 Solomon is named Jedidiah by God, which means beloved of Yavah.

 

It simply may be that Lemuel was an Arab king who had a mother who was either a daughter of Israel or a non-Jew heavily influenced by her faith in Yavah as Ruth and Rahab were. However, this is not a vital issue because the king described here has the traits that Solomon had during a significant portion of his life. He loved illicit sex and alcohol.

 

PRO 31:2 What, O my son?

And what, O son of my womb?

And what, O son of my vows?

 

PRO 31:3 Do not give your strength to women,

Or your ways to that which destroys kings.

 

PRO 31:4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel,

It is not for kings to drink wine,

Or for rulers to desire strong drink,

 

PRO 31:5 Lest they drink and forget what is decreed,

And pervert the rights of all the afflicted.

 

PRO 31:6 Give strong drink to him who is perishing,

And wine to him whose life is bitter.

 

PRO 31:7 Let him drink and forget his poverty,

And remember his trouble no more.

 

Next is the responsibility of the king to rule with justice and compassion.  

 

PRO 31:8 Open your mouth for the dumb,

For the rights of all the unfortunate.

 

PRO 31:9 Open your mouth, judge righteously,

And defend the rights of the afflicted and needy.

 

The king has a realm to manage while the excellent woman has a household to manage. Their relative sizes are inconsequential for the same virtues make both prosperous and bring glory and praise to the rulers.

 

The king’s propensity to unlawful sexual exploit and wine and strong drink make him unfit. He forgets his duty and his obligation and he stumbles in judgment. One who is a slave to lust cannot rule others.

 

Such is not for kings or excellent women or men, and every believer is called by Christ to be both.

 

PRO 31:10 An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels.

 

PRO 31:11 The heart of her husband trusts in her, And he will have no lack of gain.

 

Vs. 10 “A woman” - tva(ishshah)

Chayil - excellence, valor, wealth, strength (used of Boaz, 2:1; Ruth, 3:11; and the blessing upon Boaz, 4:11)

 

The gain is implied as coming from her. What it is, is not mentioned. He has confidence in her to bring gain to him and the home as opposed to taking from it.

 

“Who can find?” refers to her uniqueness. It would be wonderful if such women were everywhere and in abundance, but that is not reality. In each description of her we find a description of the Lord.

 

The fact that she is rare doesn’t mean that there aren’t enough to go around. What I mean to say is, how many virtuous men are out there who actually desire an excellent woman? Does God not give the desires of one’s heart if they seek Him? Of course He does. The point made by the mother of the king is to be cautious and not be fooled into thinking one is excellent when they are not because of lust or any other blinding effect.

 

The same could be said of the Savior. Paul said that some were teaching another Jesus. That is not surprising. What is surprising is that a church founded by Paul was listening. There is only one Christ. He is unique. Do not be fooled.

 

She is unique, rare, and most valuable. These describe Jesus Christ.

 

It is the privilege of the woman to be as the Lord and as such to create a home as He does for His bride, which home we have recently identified in our study.

 

The uniqueness of our Lord is of the most significant and crucial nature. Two natures are united in one Person. The Son of God and the Son of David, Head of the church, are united in one person, which is the hypostatic union.

 

It is also true that He is unique in effect, meaning that His life during the Incarnation was unique in that He perfectly and flawlessly followed the will of the Father. He was uniquely obedient and humble. None of us, and certainly the greatest woman of virtue is included, could be constantly obedient to the Father. However, we can be perfectly obedient for significant amounts of time when humble and dependent upon the word of God and the Spirit of God.

 

The virtuous woman is unique in that she is Christ-like. She is valuable and excellent for the same reason.

 

PRO 31:10 An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels.

 

PRO 31:11 The heart of her husband trusts in her, And he will have no lack of gain.

 

She is trustworthy and those who trust her will prosper.

 

JOH 14:12

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father.”

 

The Lord is worthy of trust. The virtuous woman is trusted by her husband by reason of her virtue. She will not do evil against him or their home. She will do good and not evil all the days of her life.

 

PRO 31:12 She does him good and not evil All the days of her life.

 

She knows what is good according to God and she loves it.

 

HEB 10:7

"Then I said, 'Behold, I have come

 (In the roll of the book it is written of Me)

To do Thy will, O God.'"

 

The virtuous woman becomes a type of the Lord as a homemaker.

Our Lord knew what was good and He loved it. He loved to do the will of the Father.

 

There is no greater power for energy or for perseverance or for diligence than love for the things and ways of God. There is no greater motivation for consistency in sacrifice or patience or bearing heavy burdens than love for the life of Christ.

 

Some will do much out of obligation to duty while lacking love for that duty, but they will not fit the bill of chayil, excellence. The Lord used a similar word to describe His disciples - extraordinary.

 

Hence, she always does good, and not just when it is easy or that her husband is good and deserving. Like our word chesed that we studied, goodness (Hebrew: towb) has to be known and loved.

 

The virtuous woman does what she does because she has fallen in love with goodness, towb.  

 

PSA 34:8

O taste and see that the Lord is good;

How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!