GOD’S ECONOMY
SERIES THIRTEEN
GOD’S ECONOMY IN ALL THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE
God’s Economy as Revealed in the Old Testament
Message Nine
God’s Economy as Revealed in Ruth
Scripture Reading: Deut. 23:3, Ruth. 1:15-17, 2:11-12, 3:12-13, 4:1-22, John 3:29, Eph. 1:23, Rom. 7:4, Matt. 1:5-16
I. The book of Ruth, being a record of a couple’s excellent story, bright and aromatic, is a complete prefigure of the Gentile sinners’ being bought, with Israel, God’s elect, into the divine inheritance through the redemption of Christ in their union with Him—Eph. 2:12-14:
A. As an appendix to the book of Judges, the book of ruth is an excellent, bright, and aromatic story against a background of miserable, dark, and stinking history—Ruth. 1:1, 6-7.
B. The book of Ruth is an important part of the genealogy of Christ—Mat. 1:5, footnote 3.
II. The central thought of the book of Ruth is that a Gentile, even a Moabitess, could be joined to God’s holy elect and become an heir to partake of the holy inheritance through her union with the one of the holy elect who redeemed her—Deut. 23:3, Ruth 1:15-17, 2:11-12:
A. This is not merely a type but a complete prefigure of the Gentile sinners’ being brought, with Israel, God’s elect, into the divine inheritance through the redemption of Christ in their union with Him—Eph. 2:1, 21.
B. Ruth became an important ancestor to bring Christ into humanity; this ushered in the marvelous incarnation, which made God one with man; this is the intrinsic significance of the content of the book of Ruth—Ruth 4:13b-22.
C. The book of Ruth has six sections—1:1-2, 3-7, 19-22, 8-18, ch. 2, 3, 4:
1. The first section (1:1-2) shows us that Elimelech, one of God’s elect, swerved from the rest in God’s economy—
2. The second section (1:3-7, 19-22) concerns Naomi’s returning to the rest in God’s economy. Whereas Elimelech swerved from this rest, Naomi returned to it—
3. What we see in Ruth, however, is not just her resolution or her determination but her choosing for her goal. This is described in the third section of the book—1:8-18.
4. The next section of this book (ch. 2) covers Ruth’s exercising of her right. After she made a choice regarding her goal, she exercised her right.
5. The fifth section of this book (ch. 3) covers Ruth’s seeking for her rest. Once she exercised the right that came to her through her choosing for her goal, Ruth, in wisdom, sought for her rest.
6. Because Ruth was absolute for God’s economy, she received a reward from God. Ruth’s reward for God’s economy is covered in chapter four, the last section of this book.
III. Boaz and Ruth typifying Christ and the church; Boaz typifies Christ in redeeming the church and making the church His counterpart for His increase—John 3:29, Eph. 1:23:
A. Boaz typifies Christ in two aspects—Ruth 2:1, 14-16:
1. As a man of noble birth—1:1, 14-16, 3:15:
a. In Luke 19:12 the Lord Jesus likened Himself to a man of noble birth; this signifies that the Lord Jesus, who is of the highest status, is the God-man, both honorable in His deity and noble in His humanity.
b. As a man rich in wealth and generous in giving, Boaz typifies Christ, whose divine riches are unsearchable and who takes care of God’s needy people with His bountiful supply—Eph. 3:8, 2 Cor. 12:9.
2. As a kinsman of Mahlon—Ruth 4:9-10, 13:
a. The first kinsman of Ruth’s deceased husband, Mahlon, typifies our natural man, who cannot and will not redeem us from the indebtedness (sin) of our old man—v. 6.
b. As a kinsman of Mahlon, the dead husband of Ruth, who redeemed the lost right of Mahlon’s property and took Mahlon’s widow, Ruth, as his wife for producing of the needed heirs, Boaz typifies Christ in redeeming the church and making the church His counterpart for His increase—v. 9-10, 13, John 3:29-30, Eph. 1:23, 5:23-32.
B. Ruth typifies the church, as the counterpart of Christ, being redeemed—Rom. 7:4, Gen. 2:18:
1. Ruth, being a woman in Adam in God’s creation and a Moabitess in man’s fall, thus becoming an old man with these two aspects, typifies the church, before her salvation, as men in God’s creation and sinners in man’s fall being “our old man”—Rom. 6:6.
2. Ruth, being the widow of the dead husband, redeemed by Boaz, who cleared the indebtedness of her dead husband for the recovery of the lost right of her dead husband’s property, typifies the church with her old man as her crucified husband redeemed by Christ, who cleared away her old man’s sin for the recovery of the lost right of her fallen natural man created by God—7:4a.
3. Ruth, after being redeemed by Boaz, becoming a new wife to him typifies the church, after being saved, through the regeneration of the church’s natural man, becoming the counterpart of Christ—7:4b
4. Ruth being united to Boaz typifies the Gentile sinners being attached to Christ that they may partake of the inheritance of God’s promise—Eph. 3:6.
IV. Ruth 1:8-18 shows that Ruth made a choice for her goal and that she exercised her right to enjoy the rich land; under the prodding of Naomi, Ruth sought for a resting place, and finally she received a reward, a gain, for God’s economy—4:1-22:
A. According to chapter four, there are four aspects of Ruth’s reward. First, in verses 10 through 13 she gained a redeeming husband (typifying Christ as the redeeming Husband to the believers)—Rom. 7:4.
B. In addition to gaining a redeeming husband, Ruth was redeemed from the indebtedness of the dead husband—Ruth 4:1-9
C. Another aspect of Ruth’s reward is that she became a crucial ancestor in the genealogy to bring in the royal house of David for the producing of Christ. This indicates that she had an all-inclusive and all-extensive gain with the position and capacity to bring Christ into the human race.—Ruth 4:13b-22, Matt. 1:5-16.
D. Ruth not only became a crucial ancestor in the genealogy for the producing of Christ, but she also continued the line of the God-created humanity for the incarnation of Christ—Matt. 1:5-16.
1. The incarnation of Christ was a matter of His being brought out of eternity into time with His divinity; every day of our Christian life should be a continuation of Christ’s incarnation, with Christ being brought forth in order to be born into others through our ministering Christ to them—1 John 5:16.
2. First Samuel to Malachi is a long record of the generations for the prolonged line of humanity for Christ’s incarnation—Matt. 1:17.
V. The books of Joshua, Judges, Ruth show us one picture with two sides; one side concerns God’s move in His economical Spirit, the Spirit of power; the other side concerns God’s move in His essential Spirit, the Spirit of life—Judg. 3:10, Ruth 1:16-17:
A. With all the judges, and even with Joshua and Caleb, we can see only the work, the move, of God in power—Judg. 3:10, Josh. 1:2,6.
B. In the books of Joshua and Judges it is hard to find even a hint of God’s move in His life—Judg. 16:28-30:
1. Samson is a typical illustration of one who moves in the Spirit of power but not in the Spirit of life; Samson was very powerful, even at the time of his death, yet with him we cannot see anything of life—Judg. 16:28-30.
2. Furthermore, the account of Samson, as the last judge, the conclusion of the judges, indicates that the entire situation of the judges consummated in the exercising of power without anything of life—Judg. 16:28-30.
3. Jehovah’s Spirit came upon Samson; there is no doubt that he had the real power of God; nevertheless, he and so many of the judges had no control over their indulgence in lust—13:25, 14:6, 19.
C. The book of Ruth is a book not of power but of life—1:16-17, 3:12-13:
1. Ruth moved in life in her clinging to Naomi, obeying Naomi, and in her approaching Boaz—1:16-17.
2. Boaz moved in life in his contact with Ruth—3:12-13:
a. Boaz was absolutely restrained, not moved, in his lust—v. 7-15.
b. He was willing to bear his responsibility according to God’s ordinance to redeem Elimelech’s inheritance, yet he would not overstep the one who was ahead of him in this matter—1:12-13.
c. He was lawful in every way, and his being lawful was no based on power but on life—4:2.
D. Only life can bring Christ forth; only life can keep the lineage, maintaining the thin line to bring God into humanity, to produce Christ and to minister Christ and to supply the entire human race with Christ—Matt. 1:23, 1 John 5:12.
Ministry Excerpts:
RUTH BEING THE RECORD OF A COUPLE’S EXCELLENT STORY
Ruth is an appendix to the book of Judges, contemporary with the first half of Judges. Judges is a book of Israel’s miserable history, dark and stinking; Ruth is the record of a couple’s excellent story, bright and aromatic. The main role in this story is like a lily growing out of brambles and a bright star in the dark night.
THE BOOK OF RUTH BEING AN IMPORTANT PART
OF THE GENEALOGY OF CHRIST
The book of Ruth is also an important part of the genealogy of Christ (Matt. 1:5), which is the record that concerns the incarnation of Christ.
In the whole universe, there is nothing greater than the incarnation of Christ. After the eternal God created man, He was nearly silent for four thousand years. During that time no one knew what God was doing. The angels did not know, and the men in the Old Testament, such as Abraham, Moses, and David, did not know. Then the eternal God came out of eternity and entered into time. He came out of eternity with His divinity in order to enter into humanity to make Himself, the Divine, one with man, the human, to become a God-man. This is the greatest thing in the entire universe. The short book of Ruth, containing only four chapters, is related in a particular way to the incarnation of Christ.
THE WRITER
According to the contents of Ruth, its writer should be Samuel, as is the case also with the book of Judges.
THE TIME
According to the word “Jesse begot David” (4:22), the time of writing must have been after the rule of the judges and in the time of the kings. The time of the history covered in this book comprises eleven years, from about 1322 B.C. (1:4) to about 1312 B.C. (4:13).
THE PLACE
The history recorded in the book of Ruth took place in Moab and Judah (1:1, 22).
THE CONTENT
The content of this book concerns a Moabitess, Ruth. Ruth belonged to the tribe of Moab (v. 4). Moab was the son of Lot, the fruit of Lot’s incestuous union with his daughter (Gen. 19:30-38). According to Deuteronomy 23:3 the Moabites were forbidden to enter the congregation of the Lord, even to the tenth generation. Thus, as a Moabitess, Ruth was an excluded one. Nevertheless, she was brought into the holy elect of God and became an important ancestor of Christ through her marriage with Boaz, the great-grandfather of King David (Ruth 4:21-22; Matt. 1:5-6), which became a factor that ushered in the incarnation of Christ (Matt. 1:5-16). From this we see that Ruth became an important ancestor to bring Christ into humanity. This ushered in the marvelous incarnation, which made God one with man. This is the intrinsic significance of the content of the book of Ruth.
THE CENTRAL THOUGHT
The central thought of the book of Ruth is that a Gentile, even a Moabitess, could be joined to God’s holy elect and become an heir to partake of the holy inheritance through her union with the one of the holy elect who redeemed her. This is not merely a type but a complete prefigure of the Gentile sinners’ being brought, with Israel, God’s elect, into the divine inheritance through the redemption of Christ in their union with Him.
THE SECTIONS
The book of Ruth has six sections.
Elimelech’s Swerving from the Rest in God’s Economy
The first section (1:1-2) shows us that Elimelech, one of God’s elect, swerved from the rest in God’s economy.
Naomi’s Returning to the Rest in God’s Economy
The second section (1:3-7, 19-22) concerns Naomi’s returning to the rest in God’s economy. Whereas Elimelech swerved from this rest, Naomi returned to it.
Ruth’s Choosing for Her Goal
Some expositors speak of Ruth’s resolution or determination. What we see in Ruth, however, is not just her resolution or her determination but her choosing for her goal. This is described in the third section of the book (1:8-18).
Ruth’s Exercising of Her Right
The next section of this book (ch. 2) covers Ruth’s exercising of her right. After she made a choice regarding her goal, she exercised her right. (Life-study of Ruth, msg. 1)
In all this Ruth, as one who had returned to God from her heathen background, exercised her right to partake of the rich produce of the inheritance of God’s elect. Ruth, a Moabitess, had come to the good land as a sojourner. According to her threefold status as a sojourner, a poor one, and a widow, she exercised her right to glean the harvest. Although she was poor, she never became a beggar. Her gleaning was not her begging; it was her right. (Life-study of Ruth, msg. 3)
Ruth’s Seeking for Her Rest
The fifth section of this book (ch. 3) covers Ruth’s seeking for her rest. Once she exercised the right that came to her through her choosing for her goal, Ruth, in wisdom, sought for her rest.
Ruth’s Reward for God’s Economy
Because Ruth was absolute for God’s economy, she received a reward from God. Ruth’s reward for God’s economy is covered in chapter four, the last section of this book. (Life-study of Ruth, msg. 1)
FOUR ASPECTS OF RUTH’S REWARD
We have seen that Ruth made a choice for her goal and that she exercised her right to enjoy the rich land. Under the prodding of Naomi, Ruth sought for a resting place, and finally she received a reward, a gain, for God’s economy. A real seeker after God, Ruth eventually gained what she sought after. She chose her goal, she exercised her right, and she sought for a husband and a home as a resting place.
Gaining a Redeeming Husband
According to chapter four, there are four aspects of Ruth’s reward. First, in verses 10 through 13 she gained a redeeming husband (typifying Christ as the redeeming Husband to the believers—Rom. 7:4). Ruth’s gaining of such a husband was witnessed and blessed by the people and the elders in the gate (Ruth 4:11-12), and it was also blessed by God (v. 13b).
We need to be impressed with the fact that Ruth’s reward was for God’s economy. Man was created by God with a purpose according to His eternal economy. This economy is not a common plan or merely a small arrangement. In the universe the divine and eternal economy is second only to God Himself. According to His economy God created the heavens, the earth, and man. But God’s enemy came in to attempt to break the line that joins man to God and God to man. In Genesis 3 Satan cut this line, but eventually Christ as the promised seed of the woman (v. 15) came to repair the line by redeeming man back to God.
In the books of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth, there were not many on earth who had linked themselves to God. At the time of Ruth the line between God and man was very thin. It was thin to such an extent that it consisted mainly of two persons, a couple—Boaz and Ruth. This couple was brought together in a marvelous and sovereign way. Although Boaz was born an Israelite and Ruth was born in Moab, an incestuous country, Ruth was brought to the good land, even to Bethlehem, the city of David.
Ruth had the right to glean from many different fields, but she went to Boaz’s field. When Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law, learned that Ruth had gleaned in Boaz’s field, she was very happy. Desiring to find a resting place for Ruth, Naomi instructed her about what to do (3:2-4). Ruth followed Naomi’s direction, and she and Boaz were brought into a courtship. When they were at the threshing floor, she applied to be his wife. He said to her, “All that you say, I will do for you; for all the assembly of my people know that you are a worthy woman. And now it is true that I am a kinsman, yet there is a kinsman closer than I. Stay for the night; and in the morning if he will do the kinsman’s duty, fine; let him do it. But if he is not willing to do the kinsman’s duty for you, I will do it for you, as Jehovah lives” (vv. 11-13). In a very kind way Boaz was indicating that he would act in accordance with God’s ordinances (Lev. 25:25; Deut. 25:5-10). Their courtship led to their marriage. Through that marriage Ruth, a Moabite widow, gained the holy citizens’ citizenship, becoming one among God’s elect.
The crucial point here is that, as part of her reward for God’s economy, Ruth gained a redeeming husband, who typifies Christ as the redeeming Husband to the believers. Only Christ can be both our Husband and our Redeemer. Before we were saved, we were in trouble and could not get out of trouble. Now as believers in Christ, we have a Husband who is our eternal, present, and daily Redeemer, rescuing us, saving us, delivering us, from all our troubles. What a gain this is!
Being Redeemed From the Indebtedness of the Dead Husband
In addition to gaining a redeeming husband, Ruth was redeemed from the indebtedness of the dead husband (Ruth 4:1-9). This typifies being redeemed from the sin of the believers’ old man. Ruth’s dead husband had sold his field, and the indebtedness of that transaction had fallen upon her in the marriage union and needed to be redeemed. Boaz said to the kinsman who was closer than he, “On the day you buy the field from Naomi’s hand, you must also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead man, in order to raise up the dead man’s name upon his inheritance” (v. 5). That kinsman replied, “I cannot redeem it for myself, or else it will mar my own inheritance. Redeem for yourself what I should redeem, for I cannot redeem it” (v. 6). Boaz did so, redeeming Ruth from her indebtedness.
Our Husband, Christ, is not merely capable; He is almighty. He has redeemed us from the indebtedness of our dead husband. According to Romans 7 the dead husband, our old husband, is our old man. God created us to be His wife, but we rebelled against Him. We gave Him up and assumed the position of the husband for ourselves. Our sinful husband encumbered us with many debts. But on the day we married Christ, we received a Husband who is our almighty, omnipotent Redeemer. We all need Christ to be such a Husband to us. Having Him as our Husband, we should come to Him and simply say, “Lord Jesus, I need You.”
Becoming a Crucial Ancestor in the Genealogy to Bring in
the Royal House of David for the Producing of Christ
Another aspect of Ruth’s reward is that she became a crucial ancestor in the genealogy to bring in the royal house of David for the producing of Christ (Ruth 4:13b-22; Matt. 1:5-16). This indicates that she had an all-inclusive and all-extensive gain with the position and capacity to bring Christ into the human race. She is thus a great link in the chain that is bringing Christ to every corner of the earth. We all are indebted to Ruth, for without her Christ could not have reached us. But wherever we may be on earth, Christ has reached us through Ruth.
The burden of this ministry is to produce Christ in the believers. This means that the goal of this ministry is not to teach you to be humble or merely to glorify God in your behavior. Rather, the goal of this ministry is to “inject” you with Christ, to impart Christ as an “antibiotic” to you. The more we receive such an injection, the more we will be able to sing, “Christ liveth in me, / Christ liveth in me; / Oh! what a salvation this, / That Christ liveth in me” (Hymns, #507). On the one hand, this injection of Christ will kill our old man; on the other hand, it will make us producers of Christ, those who minister Christ to others.
Continuing the Line of the God-Created Humanity for the Incarnation of Christ
Ruth not only became a crucial ancestor in the genealogy for the producing of Christ, but she also continued the line of the God-created humanity for the incarnation of Christ (Matt. 1:5-16). The incarnation of Christ was a matter of His being brought out of eternity into time with His divinity. In a practical way, this needs to take place in our daily living. Every day of our Christian life should be a continuation of Christ’s incarnation, with Christ being brought forth in order to be born into others through our ministering Christ to them. In order for this to happen, we all need to speak for Christ, to speak forth Christ, and even speak Christ to others. Ministering Christ in this way will surely change us.
First Samuel to Malachi is a long record of the generations for the prolonged line of humanity for Christ’s incarnation (Matt. 1:17). (Life-study of Ruth, msg. 5)
GOD’S MOVE IN THE SPIRIT OF POWER
AND GOD’S MOVE IN THE SPIRIT OF LIFE
This crucial point is that these books show us one picture with two sides. One side concerns God’s move in His economical Spirit, the Spirit of power; the other side concerns God’s move in His essential Spirit, the Spirit of life. With all the judges, and even with Joshua and Caleb, we can see only the work, the move, of God in power. In the books of Joshua and Judges it is hard to find even a hint of God’s move in His life.
SAMSON AS A TYPICAL ILLUSTRATION
Samson is a typical illustration of one who moves in the Spirit of power but not in the Spirit of life. Samson was very powerful, even at the time of his death (Judg. 16:28-30), yet with him we cannot see anything of life. Yes, he was a Nazarite, keeping his hair long as a sign that he submitted to God as his Head, not drinking wine, and not eating unclean food. However, this was his following the divine regulations; it did not indicate that he had anything of the divine life. Even though Samson was a Nazarite, he did not know how to restrain the lust of his flesh. The matter of sex was a great stumbling block to him, and both among God’s holy people in the Holy Land and among the Gentiles, he practiced the indulging of his lust. This shows that he was not a person in life.
Furthermore, the account of Samson, as the last judge, the conclusion of the judges, indicates that the entire situation of the judges consummated in the exercising of power without anything of life. It is difficult to understand how a Nazarite could be such a fleshly person. He was full of power and also full of lust. In his case, these two things went together.
This picture answers a question that I have had for many years. A number of Pentecostal preachers have been reckless, without any restraint, or control, of the lust of their flesh. Yet at the same time they have been genuinely powerful in their preaching. On the one hand, they powerfully preached the fundamental gospel concerning Christ, the Son of God, as our Savior; on the other hand, they were living in fornication. I have known a number of cases like this both in China and in the United States. For a long time I could not understand how there could be such a situation. Now I realize that these preachers are today’s Samsons. Jehovah’s Spirit came upon Samson (Judg. 13:25; 14:6, 19); there is no doubt that he had the real power of God. Nevertheless, he and so many of the judges had no control over their indulgence in lust, such as Gideon, who had seventy-two sons of many wives (8:30-31; 9:5); Jair, who had thirty sons (10:3-4); Ibzan, who had thirty sons and thirty daughters, and brought in thirty foreign daughters from abroad for his sons (12:8-9); and Abdon, who had forty sons and thirty grandsons (12:13-14).
THE BOOK OF RUTH BEING A BOOK OF LIFE
In contrast, the book of Ruth is a book not of power but of life.
The Example of Naomi
Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, was punished by God because he did not live according to God’s eternal economy. He did not commit fornication; on the contrary, it seems that he just made a little mistake in leaving the Holy Land. But when he left the good land due to the famine, God came in and dealt with him, leaving his wife and his two daughters-in-law with nothing, as widows without children. I believe that before going to Moab, Elimelech mortgaged all his property, including the inheritance of his two sons. Eventually, Naomi, a widow with two widowed daughters-in-law, returned from the land of Moab, owning nothing. Nevertheless, Naomi did not rebel against God’s dealing. Instead, admitting that God had dealt not only with her husband but also with her, she said, “The All-sufficient One has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, but Jehovah has brought me back empty” (Ruth 1:20b-21a). From her speaking we can see that she was a godly woman. She believed in God, regarded Him, and feared Him.
When Naomi came back to the Holy Land, she came back to the rest in God’s economy to participate again in the enjoyment of the God-promised land, where there would be the possibility of being related to Christ’s genealogy. Her returning was a great thing, yet it was not accomplished by power. Rather, she came back as a poor beggar who sent her daughter-in-law Ruth to glean in the field.
The Example of Ruth
Ruth was outstanding in life. The purpose of the book of Ruth is not to tell us anything concerning power but to reveal the things of life to the uttermost. Naomi made it clear to Ruth that she had no capacity to produce a husband for her who could redeem her and bring forth a descendant for her father-in-law, Elimelech. Feeling that the situation was hopeless, Naomi encouraged Ruth to return to her mother’s house in order to have a future. Ruth’s reply was full of life. She would go with Naomi forever, being with her in poverty. Ruth said to Naomi, “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” (vv. 16-17). This is the real spirit of the New Testament believers—to follow Jesus by forsaking everything: parents, children, relatives, houses, and so forth (Matt. 10:37; 19:29; Mark 10:29-30; Luke 14:26). This is the way of life revealed in the New Testament.
The Example of Boaz
Like Naomi and Ruth, Boaz was a person in life to the uttermost. Naomi said to Ruth, “My daughter, I must seek some resting place for you, that it may go well with you” (Ruth 3:1). Then Naomi charged her to wash herself, anoint herself, put on her best clothes, go down to the threshing floor, and, at the proper time, make herself known to Boaz. Eventually, Ruth identified herself to Boaz, saying, “I am Ruth, your maidservant. Spread your cloak over your maidservant, for you are a kinsman” (v. 9).
In his contact with Ruth at the threshing floor that night, Boaz was absolutely restrained, not moved, in his lust, absolutely different from the lust-indulging judges. Boaz blessed Ruth and highly appraised her. Then he told her that he was willing to bear his responsibility according to God’s ordinance to redeem Elimelech’s inheritance, yet he would not overstep the one who was ahead of him in this matter (vv. 12-13). Here Boaz seemed to be saying, “Daughter, wait until tomorrow. Yes, I am your kinsman, and we are free in God. But there is another kinsman who is closer to you than I am, and he must be allowed to go ahead of me. If I do not care for him in this matter, the holy people of God will condemn me for overstepping. Let the other kinsman go ahead of me. If he is not willing to do the kinsman’s duty for you, I will do it for you.” Boaz was lawful in every way, and his being lawful was based not on power but on life. This shows that Boaz had the highest standard of life.
TAKING THE WAY OF LIFE IN THE LORD’S RECOVERY
In the Lord’s recovery, should we take the way of the judges to be powerful and to do a great work? If we take the way of the judges instead of the way of life, whatever we accomplish will mean nothing. Not one judge was a forefather of Christ. The judges had nothing to do with keeping the line in humanity to bring in God in His incarnation. It was Ruth and Boaz who participated in keeping this line. However, they did not fight a war; they did not exercise any power.
It is crucial for us to see that only life can bring Christ forth. Only life can keep the lineage, maintaining the thin line to bring God into humanity, to produce Christ and to minister Christ and to supply the entire human race with Christ. This was done not by the judges but by Ruth and Boaz, who took the way of life.
In the Lord’s recovery, I have very much promoted the gaining of the increase, but I do not mean that we should try to gain the increase by being a Samson or a Gideon. I would rather have no increase and keep my genuineness in life. I would rather be without any power, without any result from the work, and remain in the line that brings forth Christ out of eternity into time, that brings forth Christ with His divinity into humanity. (Life-study of Ruth, msg. 8)