The Book of Ruth, Parts 15 and 16 by S. Jones

THE BOOK OF RUTH, PARTS 15 AND 16

By Dr. Stephen Jones

Blog Post Date: 6-29-2019

THE BOOK OF RUTH, PART 15, PROPHETIC MEASURES

The ephah of barley that Ruth gleaned from Boaz’ field represented a Pentecostal measure of the Holy Spirit. An ephah is ten omers (Exodus16:36) but only a tenth of a homer (Ezekiel 45:11). Ezekiel 45:10-12 prophesies that the Kingdom of God will have just weights and measures.

The prophet was referring to the law in Deuteronomy 25:13-16. In verse 15, the Hebrew word translated “measure” is ephah, which the translators of the Greek Septuagint rendered as metron. The same is true in Ezekiel 45:11, where again the Greek word metron was established by the rabbis as the equivalent of ephah.

Measuring Truth and the Holy Spirit

Thus, John the Baptist testified of the Messiah in John 3:34,

³⁴ For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure [metron].

In other words, according to John, the Messiah’s word of truth was to be anointed by the Spirit “without measure.” While many may speak the words of God, they, like Paul, “prophesy in part” (1 Corinthians 13:9), because they yet “see in a mirror dimly” (1 Corinthians 13:12). Their words are not necessarily incorrect, but rather their words set forth incomplete truth.

He implies that the Messiah’s portion of the Spirit was to be greater than an ephah. There are three measures of the Holy Spirit. We are given the first measure (omer) of the Spirit through Passover when we are begotten by the Spirit. We are given a second measure (ephah) of the Spirit through Pentecost, when we receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The final measure (homer) is given through Tabernacles, when we receive the Holy Spirit without measure.

Because all three measures are established biblically, everyone receives a just reward in his or her measure of the Spirit, for each is given according to the progression from conception to birth. Those who are content with a smaller measure of the Spirit in their spiritual life are not defrauded by receiving only an omer or an ephah of the Spirit. An ephah is ten omers, but a homer is 100 omers. The number 100 signifies fullness or completeness.

Many evangelical and fundamentalist believers are resistant even to an ephah (Pentecostal portion), being content with an omer. Pentecostals rejoiced to see an ephah measured out to them, but many have no vision of Tabernacles. When the revelation of the feast of Tabernacles was given to the Church in the Latter Rain movement (1948-1952), most of the Pentecostal denominations rejected it and thereby blinded themselves to the revelation of Tabernacles.

The Requirement for Spiritual Maturity

Eventually, in order to come fully into the image of Christ, all must progress to the full measure of the Spirit, if only in the coming age. The Great White Throne judgment will reveal to all the true nature of God, along with His plan to save all mankind, for at that time every knee will bow and every tongue will confess (exomologeo, “profess”) Him as their Lord (Philippians 2:10, 11). The Greek word means “to acknowledge openly and joyfully.”

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=G1843&t=KJV

In another place, Paul says in Romans 14:11 that “every tongue will give praise to God,” which is the equivalent of declaring Him to be Lord to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:11).

Their profession of faith will grant “justification of life to all men” (Romans 5:18). Their praise and confession of Jesus as Lord will be made by the power of the Holy Spirit, for 1 Corinthians 12:3 tells us that “no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” Hence, not only will all men be justified, but all will also be filled with the Spirit. They will receive two measures of the Holy Spirit at that time—the measure of Passover and the measure of Pentecost.

However, even this is not the final measure of the Spirit, for they must yet learn the discipline of the “fiery law” (Deuteronomy 33:2 KJV) by which they may come to a place of spiritual maturity. Hence, during that age of divine judgment, the “fiery law” will ingrain their revelation into their lives through practical discipline as they live under the authority of the overcomers who rule and reign with Christ.

In my view that final age will last 42,000 years, or another six great “weeks” of history. Time will end only at the end of 49,000 years, when the Creation Jubilee is declared at the start of the fiftieth millennium. At that time, the “grape harvest” of creation will be fully trodden out and will receive the third and final measure of the Spirit, so that God can be “all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:28).

Ruth’s Measure

When Ruth brought an ephah of barley back to Naomi, on account of the generosity of Boaz, she was prophesying (inadvertently, no doubt) of a Pentecostal portion of the Spirit. This being the time of barley harvest (Ruth 2:23), her gleanings were gathered during the time that the people were counting the omer for the 50 days leading to Pentecost. Her ephah measured a greater portion than the average Judahite in Bethlehem was then measuring and counting. Yet the omer and the ephah were but differing measures.

Her measure during this time was ten times that of the others who were counting a mere omer. Even so, she still did not have the full measure (homer), which would signify the feast of Tabernacles and the fullness of the Spirit. Her story gives us a progression of events leading to the birth of her son, Obed, which properly overlays with the birthing of the sons of God on the first day of Tabernacles in prophecy. That event is reserved for a last page of her story.

When we understand how the law of weights and measures have prophetic applications, we are able to see how this small detail adds to our understanding of the overall divine plan.

THE BOOK OF RUTH, PART 16, THE BLESSING OF GOD

After Ruth brought home gleanings to Naomi, we read in Ruth 2:19, 20,

¹⁹ Her mother-in-law then said to her, “Where did you glean today and where did you work? May he who took notice of you be blessed.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.” ²⁰ And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed of the Lord who has not withdrawn his kindness to the living and to the dead.” Again Naomi said to her, “The man is our relative, he is one of our closest relatives.”

It appears that Boaz himself did not tell Ruth of his close relationship with Naomi’s family. He obviously knew who Ruth was, but Ruth did not know who Boaz was. Ruth had been led by the Spirit to Boaz’ field, where “she happened to come” (Ruth 2:3).

Blessing and Cursing

It was customary to bless those who had shown kindness or integrity toward others. The word “blessed” is from the Hebrew word baraq, which literally means “to bend the knee.” Strangely enough, baraq is also translated “curse” in Job 2:5, where Satan speaks to God about Job:

⁵ However, put forth Thy hand, now, and touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse [baraq] Thee to Thy face.

Again, we read in Job 2:9,

⁹ Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse [baraq] God and die!”

The usual word for “curse” is arar, as we see in the story of Balaam in Numbers 22:12,

¹² And God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them; you shall not curse [arar] the people; for they are blessed [baraq].

Apparently, baraq, “to bow the knee,” has to do with submitting to another’s blessing or curse, depending on the situation. The implication is that the blessing may also be turned into a curse or a curse turned into a blessing, according to the will of the one speaking it. Perhaps this is similar to the greeting shalom, “peace,” where this blessing may also be revoked (Matthew 10:13).

Curses do affect those people, as we see from Scripture, particularly when the curse is pronounced on account of some sin. The divine court backs such curses until or unless the cursed ones repent and reverse its cause. When Noah cursed Canaan in Genesis 9:25, he and his descendants, the Canaanites, came under a long-term curse that finally resulted in their expulsion from their land in the time of Joshua. Joshua led Israel into the land to displace the Canaanites 828 years (2 x 414) after Noah’s curse. This is according to the factor of Cursed Time, which runs in cycles of 414 days or years.

See chapter 4 of my book, Secrets of Time.

Balaam was unable to curse Israel, because they were blessed. In other words, the divine court would not ratify a curse on Israel nor put them on Cursed Time, because they had done nothing worthy of such a curse. Only later do we find a different situation. For example, when Saul consulted the witch of Endor (1 Samuel 28:7), he put the monarchy of Israel under Cursed Time, and 414 years later the result was that King Jehoiachin was deported and put into a Babylonian dungeon (2 Kings 24:12).

See chapter 6 of my book, Secrets of Time.

Men and nations are not placed under Cursed Time for every type of sin, but some are serious enough to warrant it. Most of the time, it has to do with claiming a calling that belongs to someone else, or, conversely, by refusing one’s calling. Regardless of the causes, repentance is always the solution, and the period of Cursed Time is actually God’s grace period giving them time to repent.

If they repent by the deadline, they begin to transition into Blessed Time, which is characterized by the number 490. Often this means a 76-day cycle for individuals and a 76-year cycle for nations. In this way, the curse is turned into a blessing, because the time spent under Cursed Time turns out to be a learning experience through divine discipline. The execution of divine judgment is thus avoided, and the person or nation grows in spiritual maturity.

We see multiple examples of this in Scripture and in long-term history. I have also experienced this in my own personal life in short-term 414-day cycles. (See The Wars of the Lord.) Fortunately, in my own life I was able to repent and lived to tell about it, whereas I have observed others who have died in their unrepentance. Yet I must stress again that not every time of trouble is the result of being on Cursed Time. Such times appear to be fairly unusual and are limited to certain types of sin, most often related to one’s calling.

The Importance of Blessing

In daily life it is wise to treat others with kindness, respect, and love, as Boaz treated Ruth and Naomi. As a result, he received their blessing and the approval of God Himself. Blessings are not just nice words to make people feel good. Blessings are actually backed up by the law of God and are therefore a form of appealing to the divine court in a positive sense. Too often we think of the divine court merely in terms of filing complaints in hopes of obtaining justice, but the great Judge of the Universe loves to hear cases of blessing as well.

Most people bless certain ones through “normal” prayer before the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16) without realizing that this throne is in a court of law. There are three main courts of law in Scripture, though some subdivide those courts further according to various issues. Yet our main point here is to show that the divine court can be used to appeal for blessing as well as to appeal for justice which may result in the curse of the law upon the one who has sinned.

So we see this in Naomi’s blessing upon Boaz for his kindness.

The Relative

When Naomi told Ruth that Boaz was one of her closest relatives, we are given a detail that will soon be vital to the rest of the story. As we will see shortly, near kinsmen had certain rights and responsibilities in the law which mere friends did not have. All of this relates directly to the principles of sonship and the laws of inheritance, which speak directly into the idea of the manifestation of the sons of God in the New Testament.

As we will see, Boaz was not Naomi’s nearest kinsman, as defined by law. There was one other who was responsible to marry Ruth and to raise up an inheritor of Elimelech’s estate in Bethlehem. Boaz could not bypass him without violating the law, and so we find that this nearer kinsman had to be given the first opportunity to marry Ruth. In all of this, Boaz complied with the law’s requirements, knowing (I believe) that if it were truly God’s will that he should marry Ruth, there were would be a way to do so without violating the right of the other kinsman.

Boaz’ Protection

Ruth 2:21-23 says,

²¹ Then Ruth the Moabitess said, “Furthermore, he [Boaz] said to me, ‘You should stay close to my servants until they have finished all my harvest.’” ²² And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his maids, lest others fall upon you in another field.” ²³ So she stayed close by the maids of Boaz in order to glean until the end of the barley harvest and the wheat harvest. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

Boaz was not legally responsible for Ruth’s protection, but he took upon himself that responsibility out of kindness and benevolence. He recognized a broader law of love which was fundamental to the law itself (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37). We are told little about the moral character of the men in Bethlehem, but Boaz was concerned that some might take advantage of beautiful foreigners who lacked protective coverings.

Under normal circumstances, every Israelite family had a head of the family whose duty it was to protect the family. This was the “avenger of blood,” better translated kinsman redeemer, who represented the members of his family in court at the gate of a walled city. Yet there were always a few who had no such covering to protect them, and there were always some who sought to take advantage of such unprotected people.

Those who had no protective covering, such as widows, orphans, and foreigners, were covered by God Himself. So we read in Exodus 22:21-23,

²¹ And you shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. ²² You shall not afflict any widow or orphan. ²³ If you afflict him at all, and if he does cry out to Me, I will surely hear his cry; and My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.

Hence, no one is truly without a covering, but many who have no earthly covering may not realize that God takes personal responsibility for their protection. When unjustly treated, they have recourse to the divine court, where they may appeal to God Himself. God says that in such cases, “I will surely hear his cry.”

This principle also applied to David, who prayed in Psalm 27:9, 10,

⁹ Do not hide Thy face from me, do not turn Thy servant away in anger; Thou hast been my help; do not abandon me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation! ¹⁰ For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me up.

David was not a literal orphan, but when he was considered an outlaw during the reign of Saul, his parents were probably forced to renounce him and were unable to protect him without endangering their inheritance in Bethlehem. For this reason, David appealed to God Himself to be His covering, and we know that the law honored his appeal.

It is the same today. There are some who insist that all believers must be under the covering of some established church or leader and that if they fail to do so, they are outside of the will of God. But, like Saul, the church itself has created many orphans through their oppressive laws (traditions of men). They have no right to turn around and blame the orphans for not returning to their oppressors to receive more beatings. Even David himself had to flee for his life from Saul’s spear, thus becoming a virtual orphan.

The point is that God Himself becomes their kinsman redeemer, as the law tells us. It is not a sin to be an orphan. In fact, we find in many cases that being orphaned by the church is often a sign that God is with them in a greater way than those who have an earthly covering.

Naomi was a widow, and Ruth was both a widow and a foreigner. They were therefore under God’s direct protective covering. The story of Ruth shows how God took an active interest in their lives to protect and guide them to a blessed conclusion.

The Tribe of Benjamin by S Collins

THE TRIBE OF BENJAMIN: A “WOLFPACK” FROM THE NORTH

https://stevenmcollins.com/articles/the-tribe-of-benjamin-a-wolfpack-from-the-north/

By Steven M. Collins

Blog Post Date: 6-27-2019

Benjamin was the youngest son of Jacob and Rachel, and the only full brother of Joseph. This tribe was almost exterminated in an ancient Israelite civil war in which the Benjaminites were sufficiently fearless and foolhardy to fight all the other tribes at once.

This senseless civil war is discussed in Judges 19-21. The Benjaminites were fierce warriors. Although the Benjaminites were outnumbered 400,000 to 26,700, they won the first two battles as they routed the combined forces of the other tribes. Judges 20:21-25 records that the Benjaminites decimated the armies of the other tribes, killing 40,000 of them. The Israelite tribes had to fast and obtain God’s divine help to defeat the Benjaminites. At the end of this needless war, the entire tribe of Benjamin was reduced to only 600 men.

From that time on Benjamin’s population lagged far behind the other tribes, and they were the smallest tribe in Israel at the time one of their members, Saul, was made the first king of Israel (I Samuel 9:21). When the tribes of Israel divided into the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah, Benjamin remained with the tribe of Judah (I Kings 12:21). After Judah went into captivity, a contingent of Benjaminites returned with the Jews to rebuild the Temple and Jerusalem (Ezra 1:5, Nehemiah 11:3-4). However, even as most of the tribe of Judah remained in Asia, most of the Benjaminites also remained in Asian locations.

Herbert Hannay’s book, European and Other Race Origins, included ancient records that “representatives of Benjaminites spread over the whole length and breadth of Asia Minor.”(1) The Bible indicates that Israelites were living in Asia Minor during the Apostolic era. The book of I Peter begins by addressing “God’s People [marginal reading in the KJV] scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia.” The term “Galatia” indicated the same people as the “Gauls” of Europe.

The New Testament records that one famous Benjaminite, Saul of Tarsus, was born in Asia Minor, so there is biblical evidence that Benjaminites lived in Asia Minor in ancient times. Saul of Tarsus was the Benjaminite who became the Apostle Paul (Acts 9:11, 13:9 and Romans 11:1).

Herbert Hannay links the Benjaminites to the modern nation of Norway (2), a conclusion with which I concur. The biblical clue for Benjamin’s location in the modern world is limited, but indicative. Genesis 49:27 states:

“Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.” (KJV)

Wolves are indigenous to northern climates, indicating that Benjamin’s latter day territory will be in a northern latitude. Since this author has identified Finland as Issachar, and Sweden as Naphtali, the only Scandinavian nation in a northern latitude not yet identified as one of the tribes of Israel is Norway. By the process of elimination, Norway would seem to constitute modern Benjamin. Norway is a lightly populated nation, consistent with Benjamin’s historical role as the least populous of the tribes of Israel. Yair Davidy and I have traditionally linked the tribe of Issachar with modern Finland, leaving Norway and Sweden as candidates for the modern Benjaminites.

While it is true that contingents of one tribe can live within the territory of a modern nation dominated by another tribe of Israel, it is my opinion that Norway is most linked to the ravenous, raiding style of the Vikings. Sweden also has twice the population of Norway. Given Benjamin’s biblical role as the Israelite tribe with the smallest population base, Norway’s lesser population also makes it a good candidate for being Benjamin. Yair Davidy and I agree that there is a strong Benjaminite component to the Normans (i.e. “North-men” or Nor-mans) who invaded England in the 11th century A.D.

The tribes of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) would be closer genetically to the Benjaminites than any other tribe of Israel because Joseph and Benjamin were the only sons of Jacob and Rachel. Norway has traditionally had excellent relations with the British and Americans, which one would expect of the descendants of Benjamin.

Sweden has been more distant from the British and Americans, both geographically and politically. In World War II, Norway fought the Nazis as allies of the British and Americans. Although conquered by Nazi armies, Norway had a vigorous “underground” which fought the Nazi occupiers. By sinking a ship with a crucial supply of “heavy water” destined for the Nazi atomic bomb project, the Norwegian underground made a meaningful contribution to the war effort against Hitler. Sweden, on the other hand, stayed neutral in World War II, and chose not to fight the Nazis. In World War II, Norway displayed a much closer affinity to the tribes of Joseph than did Sweden, which one would expect of the tribe of Benjamin.

The phrases about “devouring the prey” and “dividing the spoil” do not describe today’s Norwegians, but they very aptly describe Norway’s well-known Viking heritage. The Vikings were known for preying (in raiding parties akin to wolfpacks) on all the other nations of Europe from bases in their northern coastlands. This parallels ancient times.

Even as Benjamin warred against all the other tribes of Israel in a bloody civil war in biblical times, the Vikings also raided and preyed upon all the other tribes of Israel who had migrated to various locations in Europe. The Vikings raided the British Isles and Western Europe, and the Mediterranean coastlands of Europe as well. The Vikings also raided into and settled in the modern Ukraine and western Russia. National Geographic Magazine made this comment about their eastern forays:

“By the early ninth century they [the Vikings] were navigating the Volga and the Dnieper to reach the merchants of the Abbasid caliphate. By 860 they had attacked Constantinople…”

The Encyclopaedia Britannica notes that the term “Russia” is linked to the term “Russ,” a name given to Viking Norsemen of the 10th century A.D. who migrated from Scandinavia to the regions of Novgorod and Kiev. The name, “Russia,” has a Scandinavian/Viking origin, not a Slavic one, even though modern Russia is now overwhelmingly Slavic. The Viking name, Russ, may well reveal a Benjaminite origin as one of the sons (and clans) of Benjamin was named “Rosh” (Genesis 46:21).

Since the vowels were not written in ancient times, the names of “Rosh” and “Russ” both have the same consonants [R-S] in their root word.

The National Geographic also notes the prominence of wolves (the symbol of Genesis 49:27 for Benjamin) in Viking mythology and art. Historically, other Scandinavian people besides the ancient Norwegians also comprised the Vikings; however, the Viking heritage seems most closely identified with Norway.

There is another possible connection between ancient Benjamin and modern Norway. It was noted above that when the ancient Israelite tribes divided into a northern kingdom of Israel and a southern kingdom of Judah, Benjamin stayed with Judah. The Benjaminites had strong genetic ties to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, but also retained a cultural affinity for the tribe of Judah.

The modern Norwegians brokered the Oslo accords of 1993, a famous peace agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Even though the Oslo Accords now seem to have failed to bring any peace to Mideast, the willingness of Norway to involve itself in the Israeli peace process is consistent with one would expect of modern Benjamin, which was once part of the Jewish kingdom of Judah.

Based on the biblical clues about Benjamin’s location in the latter days, I believe Norway best fulfills the prophecy of Genesis 49 about the tribe of Benjamin. Curiously, while Joseph’s tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh were destined to become the most populous tribes of Israel, Benjamin (Joseph’s brother) became the Israelite tribe with the smallest population.