May we as believers in Christ be saved from swerving from the rest in God’s economy or cutting ourselves off from God’s economy, as Elimelech did; may we return to the rest in God’s economy and choose the goal of participating with God’s elect in the enjoyment of Christ, even as Ruth did.
The story of Ruth in the book of Ruth is very sweet and fragrant, for it shows us that, even though there was such a dark background in those days in the people of Israel, there was this bright shining star who chose to be associated with God’s people to participate in the rest in God’s economy with the people of God.
And because she made this choice, God richly blessed Ruth; though she was a Moabitess, she became part of God’s people, and she even became part of the ancestors of David the king and of the Lord Jesus, the Savior.
We as believers in Christ are part of the people of God, and we are being transformed into the same image as Christ, from glory to glory, to be part of the corporate expression of God to represent Him with His authority, so that He can gain His rest and satisfaction.
Day by day we need to turn our heart to the Lord and behold HIm face to face so that we may be inwardly transformed into the same image as Him, from glory to glory, that is, from one degree of the Lord Spirit to another degree of the Lord Spirit (2 Cor. 3:18).
The Lord Spirit is in us, and He increases in us, He transforms us, and He conforms us to the image of Christ; all things work together for good so that we may be conformed to the image of the firstborn Son of God to express God corporately.
As we receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness, we will reign in life through Christ. We are being organically saved through the life of Christ so that we may express Him and represent Him.
As we enjoy the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness, grace reigns in us, and we reign in life (Rom. 5:17, 21).
Grace is the Triune God in Christ as the Spirit coming to us to be our enjoyment and our everything; grace is God becoming our enjoyment, causing us pleasure and delight.
This is what God desires: to be our enjoyment, our delight, our everything so that grace may reign in us and we may reign in life.
As we enjoy Christ as grace, He is enthroned as grace within us, and He becomes our Lord, our Head, our King, and our Husband. Amen!
For eternity we will reign and rule with Him forever and ever (Rev. 22:5); He will reign, and we as His co-kings will rule and reign with Him.
No matter how we feel, no matter what our situation is, we need to be encouraged to take grace and enjoy God, grow in life, and cooperate with the Lord, for He will work this out in us, making us the same as Christ in life and nature but not in the Godhead so that we may express Him and represent Him corporately. Hallelujah!
Being Saved from Swerving from the Rest in God’s Economy and thus Cutting ourselves Off from God’s Economy
The fact that Elimelech left the good land and went to the land of Moab was not insignificant; rather, this shows that he swerved from the rest in God’s economy.
He was in the good land, he had a portion there, and he should have remained there; however, because there was a famine in the land, he swerved from the rest in God’s economy and thus cut himself off from God’s economy.
God’s plan and purpose were with His people in the good land, but Elimelech went to a different country and left Israel.
Everything that God wanted with His people was in the good land – their rest, their prosperity, their enjoyment, and their contentment, all of this was in the good land, and it was for the carrying out of God’s purpose.
For an Israelite to leave the good land mean that he cut himself off from God’s eternal economy.
This can be applied to us today in the church life today; we need to be saved from swerving from the rest in God’s economy and thus cutting ourselves off from God’s economy.
We may think that there’s a “famine in the land” so we may go somewhere else, but by doing this, by leaving the rest in God’s economy, we cut ourselves from God’s economy.
Elimelech swerved from Bethlehem, the birthplace of the coming Christ (Micah 5:2; Luke 2:4-7), in Judah, the top part of the good land (Gen. 49:8-10; Exo. 3:8b; Deut. 8:7-10), to Moab, a country of idolatry (Judg. 10:6). Oh, Lord!
He didn’t just swerve outside the border; he swerved from Bethlehem, the birthplace of the coming Christ, which was prophesied in Micah 5:2, and went to a land of idolatry.
We may think that we just swerve a bit, because the church life is “so dry” and we don’t enjoy it anymore, but the only place to go is a land of idolatry, a land under God’s judgement. Oh, Lord.
We need to beware of swerving from the rest in God’s economy – we need to beware of swerving from the enjoyment of Christ as our rest in the Word of God and in the meetings of the church.
Christ will be brought forth in the church life, where the saints remain in and enjoy the rest in God’s economy, where the church as the temple is built up and the kingdom of God is being brought in.
In the eyes of God, the genuine church life is the place where He can rest and is satisfied; it is here that Christ is growing in the saints, He is manifested among the saints, and He is expressed and represented in a proper way.
It is in the place of God’s rest, the rest in God’s economy, that Christ will come forth; His comings forth are from eternity, and He is coming forth in our mind, emotion, and will, and even in our mortal body.
It is here, in the place of God’s choice on the genuine ground of oneness, that we enjoy Christ, we are prepared as His bride, and He can come forth to be our Husband to take us to Himself and enjoy the one thousand years honeymoon together.
We do not want to swerve from bringing Christ back. We need to rather return to the good land, enjoy Christ as the rest in God’s economy, and experience Christ to the extent that we are part of the bringing forth of Christ.
Elimelech swerved from Judah, the land of the royal tribe among Israel (Gen. 49:8-10), the top part of the God-promised land (Exo. 3:8), the top part of the good land (Deut. 8:7-10), and the top part of the land of Immanuel (Isa. 8:8), and went to a place of incest rejected and condemned by God, a country of idolatry (Gen. 19:30-38; Deut. 23:2-4; Judg. 10:6).
May we be saved from swerving from the rest in God’s economy and thus cutting ourselves off from God’s economy!
Lord Jesus, save us from swerving from the rest in God’s economy and thus cutting ourselves off from God’s economy! Save us from leaving the enjoyment of Christ together with all the saints, and going to a land full of immorality and idolatry! Keep us enjoying Christ as the rest in God’s economy together with all the saints. Amen, Lord, we want to be part of the people bringing forth Christ! May the goings forth of Christ continue in us through our sanctification, transformation, and glorification! Amen, Lord, may we be part of the people who brings Christ back for the changing of this age to the age of the kingdom and the bringing in of the kingdom of God!
Returning to the Rest in God’s Economy and Choosing to Participate with God’s Elect in the Enjoyment of Christ
Instead of swerving from the rest in God’s economy like Elimelech, may we be like Naomi, those returning to the rest in God’s economy from any idolatry and immorality.
Naomi’s returning to the Holy Land was her returning to the rest in God’s economy from Moab, the country of idolatry, to Judah, the land of Immanuel (Isa. 8:8), to arrive at Bethlehem, the birthplace of Christ (Ruth. 1:19, 22).
Naomi returned together with Ruth, her daughter-in-law given to her by God for the accomplishing of His economy concerning Christ.
While Elimelech and Naomi were in the land of Moab, their sons got married there; however, at one point both Elimelech and his sons died, and Naomi, hearing that God visited the land of Israel by giving them food, decided to return to the good land.
So she told her daughters in law to remain there, in Moab, and she will return; however, Ruth clung to her and told her, “Do not entreat me to leave you and turn away from following after you.
For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you dwell, I will dwell; and your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.
Where you die, I will die; and there will I be buried. Jehovah do so to me, and more as well, if anything but death parts me from you” (Judg. 1:16-17). Wow!
Ruth, a Moabitess who had no place in God’s people because of their hatred toward God’s people and their history of violence and immorality, chose to participate with God’s elect in the enjoyment of the good land.
She didn’t just want to remain with Naomi because she loved her; she saw something concerning the God of Israel, and she chose to be with God’s people, even to be a part of His people.
Ruth chose the goal of participating with God’s elect in the enjoyment of Christ, and she became an important ancestor of Christ, one who helped bring forth Christ into mankind.
This was her choosing God and His kingdom for the carrying out of God’s economy concerning Christ (Matt. 1:5-6).
Because of her choice to be with Naomi and participate in the rest in God’s economy with the people of God in the good land, Ruth became part of the lineage that brought forth Christ.
She eventually married Boaz, who was the son of Rahab, another Gentile who chose to be part of God’s people. How about that!
Rahab, as we saw in the book of Joshua, chose to hide and protect the spies sent to Jericho, and she believed in the God of Israel, even choosing to be part of them.
Because of this, she was saved, she and her whole household, she married one of the men in the people of God, and her son was Boaz, who married Ruth, a Moabitess, and their son was Obed, the grandfather of David the king. Wow!
We may have discarded or neglected such people as Rahab or Ruth, but they chose strongly to be part of the people of God, for they wanted to enter into the rest in God’s economy, and they were rewarded with being part of the line of people who brought forth Christ.
The Lord does not neglect anyone, neither does He discard someone because he or she is sinful; take a look at John 4, where the Lord purposely made a detour through Sychar to find a sinful woman and give her to drink of the living water.
He knew that she had five husbands, and the one she was living with was not her husband; He knew that she was thirsty for the real water, so He purposely detoured and gave her to drink of the living water.
Regardless of who we are and what our background is, as long as we have a heart that seeks God and His people, we are in a position to be accepted into the birthright of Christ.
May we have a seeking heart for God; may we be the Lord’s seekers, seeking God and seeking to be part of His people, and He will have a way to make us part of those who bring forth Christ.
Lord Jesus, we choose the goal of participating with God’s elect in the enjoyment of Christ. We choose God and His kingdom for the carrying out of God’s economy concerning Christ. We do not look at ourselves, our condition, or our situation; we simply give ourselves to You, Lord, and we choose You. Grant us to have a seeking heart for You. Make us those who seek God and seek God’s people so that we may be put in a position to be accepted into the birthright of Christ. Amen, Lord, may we enter into the rest in God’s economy together with the people of God so that Christ may be brought forth through us!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by bro. Ed Marks for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Ruth, msg. 2, by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-study of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth (2021 summer training), week 10, Ruth’s Choosing for Her Goal, Exercising Her Right, Seeking for Her Rest, and Receiving a Reward for God’s Economy.
- Hymns on this topic:
– Wherever you go, I will go, / Wherever you dwell, I will dwell; / Your people will be my people, / And your God will be my God. / Wherever you go, I will go, / Wherever you dwell, I will dwell; / Your people will be my people, / And your God will be my God. (Scripture song)
– As a lily growing out of a bramble bush; / As a bright star shining forth in the darkest night; / Is a story excellent, bright and fragrant / Of Boaz and Ruth in a divine romance. / Ruth the Moabitess joined to God’s holy elect; / Boaz took care of her and redeemed all her debt. / First she gleaned from his land, / Then got married to him. / This is how she was joined to God’s eternal plan. (Song on, As a lily growing out of a bramble bush)
– When such as we the King can choose, / To share with Him His throne, / ’Tis passing strange that we refuse / To be our Lord’s alone. / O never speak of sacrifice! / A privilege untold / Is to be His at any price, / In Calv’ry’s hosts enrolled. (Hymns #473)
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