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FULL BACKGROUND
WHAT IS AN ALLEGORY?
The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines an allegory as:
ALLEGORY, (noun) Narrative description of a subject under the guise of another suggestively similar.
Moving to a more specific Biblical application, Easton in his Bible Dictionary explains it as:
"ALLEGORY — used only in Gal. 4:24, where the apostle refers to the history of Isaac the free-born, and Ishmael the slave-born, and makes use of it allegorically.
Every parable is an allegory. Nathan (2 Sam. 12:1–4) addresses David in an allegorical narrative. In the eightieth Psalm there is a beautiful allegory: “Thou broughtest a vine out of Egypt,” etc. In Eccl. 12:2–6, there is a striking allegorical description of old age."
As mentioned, the Parables of Jesus are short allegories, describing a spiritual application under the guise of a natural one. Jesus usually did this to make His points clearer, but occasionally to hide the truth from those with unspiritual outlooks.
Undoubtedly the best known allegory outside the Bible would be John Bunyan's classic novel, 'Pilgrims Progress'. Indeed it is said to be the world's largest selling book, after the Bible itself - and it was written while he was in prison! Surely says something about the spiritual benefits of persecution!
Initially received in a dream, Bunyan, who was born in 1628, wrote this epic allegory of Pilgrim's journey through life for his own enjoyment, never expecting it to be published. Over the years too, he revised it, even adding new characters.
Some years ago now, when the Lord got me to write the discipleship course, "Walking With Jesus", He gave me an allegory about two men running a marathon. It came in three parts, the decision to race, the training and finally, the race itself, I realized upon completion of the 3-part course based on Revelation 12:11, that the allegory precisely matched the teaching.
Prophecy too, frequently takes an allegorical form, when the Lord gives the prophet pictures or stories of natural situations applicable to an individual's life.
So it should not come as too much of a surprise then, that the Lord would inspire the unknown writer of Ruth in a similar way. In fact, this story has a number of different allegorical applications. Such is the awesome ability of the inspirer! The interpretation here has eternal consequences, for each one of us personally, and His Church as a whole.
'TYPES' IN SCRIPTURE
When I discovered this concept, my understanding of scripture, and faith level, mushroomed. An explanation is also required so that you can see how the revelations that follow have been compiled.
I like to know that things don’t happen just by chance. Are you the same? It did wonders for my faith when I realized the coming of Jesus wasn’t just a good idea that God had on the spur of the moment, but something planned from the beginning of time. For there are a number of people in the Old Testament who, in particular aspects of their lives, are types or pictures of Jesus, some revealed thousands of years before He was born.
In fact, it started right from the beginning, with Adam. But surely not Adam, David? He was responsible for the mess we are in now! What’s your authority? Well I trust my authority is the best – scripture! Take a look with me at 1 Corinthians 15:42-49. For space reasons I will just quote enough to give the idea.
“……The first man Adam became a living being, the last Adam, (i.e. Jesus) a life – giving spirit……The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven……… And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven."
Yes, Adam had a physical body of similar type to Jesus who was to come. There are many other examples where the leaders of the Old Testament exhibited characteristics of Jesus. This study on the book of Ruth is full of these 'types', where all the leading characters reflect what is to happen in today’s world. Isn’t it just amazing how words written thousands of years ago, can still be of relevance today, in ways in which the writers could not have imagined. It just has to be God!
LIFE IN THE TIME OF RUTH
The Israelites had moved over the Jordan and into the promised, Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua and the protection of God, capturing large tracts of territory but without achieving total domination.
The death of Joshua saw the emergence of a new generation that had not experienced the power and grace of God inherent in the conquest, but simply accepted the peace that their forefathers had paid the price for, as being normal. So they deserted God and intermingled with the peoples around them, contrary to His specific instructions, being seduced both literally and spiritually, by the ways of their worldly neighbours.
There was a period of 300 years of great ferment and instability in the region. Time after time the Israelites would be suppressed and mistreated by their neighbours. Finally, when the pain became unbearable, they would remember cry out to God in desperation and He would send a leader, known as a 'Judge' to rescue them. Judges came in all forms, good and bad, weak and strong, male and female. When the people cried out to God, He would hear and rescue them, but for the majority of this period of time, Jewish society degenerated, becoming similar to its pagan neighbours.
Life was tough and often brutal. Society was strongly based around the family unit. Life was particularly harsh for women who, for whatever reason, found themselves outside the protection family provided.
Many Jews intermingled with their neighbours, contrary to God's clear instructions. Yet in some small areas they retained their Jewish identity and looked down upon their 'heathen' neighbours. So here we have a truly confusing situation, surely an apt reflection of the contradictory nature of the times. It was to such a proud, traditional, Jewish area that Ruth returned with Naomi.
THE JEWISH 'SOCIAL WELFARE' SYSTEM!
Even though life was harsh, society, under God's instruction, (Leviticus 19:9-10) made provision so that the very poor, and the foreigners living amongst them, could at least have a subsistence diet.
”When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God."
They were to not to cut the corners of their fields and leave a little around the edge also. This had the additional benefit of avoiding boundary arguments between neighbours. Neither were they to harvest every single stalk, nor go over the ground or vines a second time to ensure they had picked everything. Should a bundle drop onto the ground and break open, the workers were not to pick it up, but rather leave it behind for the poor and needy.
Through these actions farmers were taught to have a generous heart. The poor too, through being active in acquiring their food, learned the value of work and were able to preserve their dignity. A win-win situation for all!
A KINSMAN-REDEEMER
In early Jewish society, a close male relative could bring deliverance to, or freedom of, a person or property by paying the appropriate price.
This was particularly important because of the emphasis the family based Jewish Society placed upon maintaining the family line (and fortune) from generation to generation. Hence it was a matter of great shame if a woman (and it was she who always got the blame!) was not able to have children, or as in Naomi's case, all her offspring died before having children of their own to ensure succession of the family line.
The requirements of a kinsman-redeemer were fourfold:
1. He must be the nearest male relative.
2. Must be able to perform the obligations.
3. Must be willing to perform the obligations.
4. Must fulfill all the obligations.
THE KINSMAN-REDEEMERS OBLIGATIONS
1. If a close relative was murdered, he must be the "avenger of blood" who catches the murderer and kills him. (Numbers 35:6-34)
2. If a close relative lost his land through poverty, the kinsman redeemer must pay to buy it back for him.
3. If a close relative died and left a widow without children, he was to marry the widow. The first child would be considered the child of the dead man. (Levirate marriage law)
When the closest relative refused to do his duty, for whatever reason, he was required to remove one shoe from his foot before the Elders of the city and give it to the person he was unwilling to redeem. The unredeemed person would then spit in his face. For a period of time afterwards, the unwilling relative would have to walk without a shoe, as an acknowledgement to his neighbours of the social disgrace in not performing his duty. After this, another near relative could decide to undertake the kinsman-redeemer obligations.
This process was formally recorded on the back of the scroll acting as a legal title deed for a particular property, where the conditions that a kinsman redeemer must fulfil to redeem that property were set out.
We do not know the relationship of Boaz to Elimelech, Naomi's dead husband in the story of Ruth, except that he wasn't his closest relative. Perhaps he was a younger brother in the family. Or he may have been a cousin.
WHEAT AND BARLEY
The two staple cereal crops in biblical times were barley and wheat, as indeed they are, in particular wheat, in much of the world today.
Great religious significance was placed upon the bounty these two crops provided throughout both the Old Testament, while Jesus himself used them to illustrate a number of aspects about the Kingdom of God.
BARLEY
Barley is a coarser grain than wheat, with a long ‘beard’ which is hard to separate out from the grain. The beard was used as fodder for horses and cattle, even though its sharp strands could sometimes get stuck in the animal’s mouth.
Barley grain was used for making bread. As it was cheaper and less desirable than wheat, it was looked upon as poor people's food. It had two advantages over wheat though, in that it matured more quickly and could be grown in poorer soils.
On both occasions when Jesus multiplied the loaves and the fishes, barley bread was used.
Spiritually, barley can be seen as a type of the resurrection of Jesus, the ‘firstfruits’ of the Harvest to follow. The first harvest, the annual barley crop was the reason for the celebration of the Feast of Firstfruits. Significantly this is celebrated on the exact day Jesus rose from the dead, 3 days after the Feast of Passover, when He died. (See A Revelation of……. The Feasts of the Lord) Surely not a co-incidence!
WHEAT
With the possible exception of rice, wheat is the world’s most popular cereal crop and definitely its most valuable. The universal use of bread, mostly made from wheat, signifies the huge importance of this crop to us.
Wheat has a great flavour and its short beard makes it easier to separate out the grains from the heads in the threshing process. As it takes a little longer to mature than barley, the wheat harvest is celebrated 50 days after ‘Firstfruits’ at the Feast of Pentecost (Weeks). We, of course, relate Pentecost to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on that day. An outpouring of spiritual food!
Jesus too, likened himself to a grain of wheat. The seed must ‘die’, be planted and grow again, in order to produce a crop. The comparison is striking.
In general though, the wheat crop is seen as an illustration of the harvest of souls into the kingdom.
THE HARVEST
Barley and wheat are harvested in slightly different ways. The harvesters, or reapers, would grab the standing grain in one hand and cut it near the top with the sickle they held in the other. Because barley stalks are used for horse and cattle fodder, the whole plant was then generally pulled out by the roots.
With wheat though, the remaining stalks were left for sheep, goats and cattle to graze at a later time. The cut ends of the stalks were tied into bundles and left out in the fields to dry. Once the moisture was removed and the grains had turned a golden brown, the sheaves were taken away to the threshing floor for further processing.
THRESHING AND WINNOWING
This age-old process was perpetuated in Jordan and Syria right through until the mid-1980’s.
Sheaves of grain were spread out over the threshing floor. This generally consisted of a flat area of exposed bedrock surrounded by a low wall of fieldstones. A threshing sledge was made of wood, approximately 3 metres long, a metre wide with an upturned front like a toboggan and embedded with metal spikes or sharp stones on the bottom. This was used to crush the stalks and release the kernels from the husks. A draft animal would pull the sled, heavily loaded with weights, back and forth over the grain. Once threshed, the winnowing process could begin.
For efficient winnowing, the threshing floor would ideally be located at a high spot exposed to afternoon breezes. At this time, an open-ended tent would be erected to funnel the wind more efficiently. Taking a shovel you would throw the grain into the air. The lighter chaff would float away on the wind, while the heavier, denser grain fell more or less straight down. Having disposed of the chaff you then closed up the open ends and slept there overnight to protect the grain from theft. This was the reason Boaz was sleeping out at the threshing floor when Naomi sent out Ruth to lie with him.
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