21-Getting A Heart Like Ruth’s For YHVH’s Kingdom

AUDIO TEACHING

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FULL RECORDED MEETING WITH MIDRASH. The Midrash has a lot of good information contributed by the audience.

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NOTE: THE TRANSCRIPT IS NOT EXACTLY LIKE THE RECORDING.

Ruth, like Rahab, is a woman who shows us what it means to be a Gentile entering YHVH’s Kingdom. She shows us what it means to love and be born again. This is the first time in scripture we see the doctrine of being born again in action.

Ruth’s Loyalty to Naomi

Ruth 1:6  Then she [Naomi] arose with her daughters-in-law, that she might return from the country of Moab; for she had heard in the country of Moab how Yahweh had visited his people in giving them bread.

Crossing out of Israel across the Jordan river is a metaphor for backsliding. Going back across is a metaphor for returning to YHVH.

The famine was over and Naomi’s heart probably yearned for her own people, too.

Ruth 1:7  She went out of the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her. They went on the way to return to the land of Judah.

Naomi will now ‘shub’ (Strong’s H7725), return to Israel. She will show us that returning to YHVH is a walk.

As Naomi is walking, after having left her home in Moab where she never belonged in the first place, we get a sense of determination about her. “She went out of her place”. That is a definite statement. No wavering, no second thoughts. Naomi just gets up and leaves. Now she has set her face like flint toward Bethlehem-Judah and that is where she intends to end up! Back where she belongs.

Each of her daughters-in-law are tagging along and Noami will now offer the first of three rejections to her daughters-in-law on the road out of Moab. These rejections are a hint that we are looking at a “heart change” situation.

Ruth 1:8  Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May Yahweh deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead, and with me.
Ruth 1:9  May Yahweh grant you that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband.” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices, and wept.
Ruth 1:10  They said to her, “No, but we will return with you to your people.”

Orpah’s and Ruth’s lives had been so wrapped up in Naomi after the death of their husbands, Naomi’s sons, that they cannot bear the thought of not ever seeing her again. Separation anguish, this is! It hurts.

Now, Naomi will offer the second of the three rejections.

Ruth 1:12  Go back, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say, ‘I have hope,’ if I should even have a husband tonight, and should also bear sons;
Ruth 1:13  would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from having husbands? No, my daughters, for it grieves me seriously for your sakes, for Yahweh’s hand has gone out against me.”

The second rejection was accompanied by reasoning. ‘I am too old to give you other husbands’ for the levirate marriages.

Some people think the word ‘levirate’ is related to the tribe of Levi and all things Levitical. It is not. The word ‘levirate’ is a Latin word from ‘levir’ meaning “husband’s brother.” Thus, Ruth and Orpah would have the right to marry Machlon’s and Kilyon’s brothers if they had brothers. They did not and Naomi was now too old to bear more sons.

Ruth 1:14  They lifted up their voices, and wept again…

But now, when the sandals meet the reality of the road out of Moab:

…then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law…

This is a goodbye kiss…

…but Ruth joined with her [Naomi].

Orpah’s deep emotional pain turned to a sudden stark reality check. She does not want the adventure to come. She does not want to leave her family. Moabites were not welcome in the assembly to the 10th generation. Moabites would have known that. Don’t think they didn’t. This was only perhaps the 4th generation since Moses spoke those words in the wilderness. She decides that she will be happier in her own culture among her own people where she can find another husband. Orpah will now “shub’ (turn), but in the wrong direction.

This is where Yeshua’s words later come in:

Matthew 19:29  Everyone who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive one hundred times, and will inherit eternal life. 

This is the life for Ruth that so few decide upon.

Ruth 1:15  She said, “Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people, and to her god. Follow your sister-in-law.”

Now, Naomi issues Ruth the 3rd rejection.

Why did Naomi refer to Ruth and Orpah as sisters-in-law if they were sisters? One reason is because the last relationship Ruth and Orpah had was as sisters-in-law even though they were formerly sisters. People are known by their current legal status, even today.

The other reason is because Naomi was trying to psychologically distance herself from them both using their former legal marital status. This psychological distancing was Naomi’s last resort to give Ruth to make the choice to go or stay.

In ancient and modern customs, this kind of rejection is done. The rejection of one person to another is offered 3 times. This is practiced in almost all religions wherein the would-be convert must be rejected 3 times to before being allowed in.

Ruth 1:16  Ruth said, “Don’t urge me to leave you, and to return from following you, for where you go, I will go; and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God my God.
Ruth 1:17  Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May Yahweh do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me.”

This is loyalty looks like. No greater loyalty between two people of any relationship – family or friend – can be found. Ruth’s statement is more than a statement of faith. It is a testimony to the status of her heart toward YHVH.

Ruth’s heart toward YHVH was such that she could not live in Moab any longer. She needed Naomi. Naomi right here is a type and shadow of YHVH’s Holy Spirit who will bring us home to YHVH’s Kingdom. Ruth didn’t “have to” go, she “wanted to”. Yeshua said:

Mat 19:29  Everyone who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive one hundred times, and will inherit eternal life.

Ruth 1:18  When she [Naomi] saw that she [Ruth] was determined to go with her, she [Naomi] saw that she [Ruth].

Naomi stopped rejecting Ruth. The decision was made. Ruth had become an Israelite, a citizen of YHVH’s Kingdom, in her heart. She was “born from above”.

Ruth’s love for Naomi is synonymous with loyalty. This is why loyalty and love are synonymous in YHVH’s Kingdom. When Yeshua said:

John 14:15  If you love me, keep my commandments…

…He was talking about loyalty to Him and showing that loyalty through doing the Law of Moses, the instructions of YHVH to us. Furthermore, the condition is that IF we are loyal to Him, He will be loyal to us.

John 15:10  If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in His love.

We cannot be disloyal to Yeshua, not keeping the Father’s commandments which Yeshua delivered to Israel at Mount Sinai, and still expect Him to continue being loyal to us. While He will be patient and try everything to bring us back, there will come a time of no return.

Let’s now talk about how Rahab and Ruth show us the 2 necessary steps to our salvation and Kingdom citizenship.

Rahab And Ruth: Two Steps

Rahab and Ruth are two Gentile women showing us the 2-step process of turning and returning to YHVH. Rahab shows us faith. Ruth shows us being “born from above”. I am not saying Rahab was not “born from above”. I am saying that faith in YHVH comes first, then being “born from above” comes next because we cannot be “born from above” without first having faith.

Let me skip verses 19-21 for now to discuss verse 22 because it lends itself to this.

Ruth 1:22  So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, who returned out of the country of Moab. They came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.

They returned at the time of Passover, the covenant renewal for all Israelites. Ruth was a new Israelite who would have kept Passover at Shiloh with her new husband, Boaz, and her beloved mother-in-law, Naomi.

The Way Of Return

Here is where I will get technical about Ruth’s and our hearts. So hold on. Take notes because this is important. It can help us to understand our personal walks and those of our family and friends.

The word used for the return of Naomi and Ruth is ‘shub’.

H7725
שׁוּב
shûb
shoob

A primitive root; to turn back (hence, away) transitively or intransitively, literally or figuratively (not necessarily with the idea of returning to the starting point).

‘Shub’ means “turn back” and “turn away”, according to the context. Naomi ‘shub’-ed, she returned, in verse 6. She could “re-turn” because she had already been there at one time. Ruth, however, ‘shub’-ed by turning away from the nation of Moab. See the context. The result was that Ruth’s “turning away” made her to became part of YHVH’s Kingdom.

I can’t go further without mentioning that ‘Shub’ is the root of the Hebrew word, ‘teshuvah’.

H8666
תּשׁבה    תּשׁוּבה
teshûbâh  teshûbâh
tesh-oo-baw’, tesh-oo-baw’

From H7725; a recurrence (of time or place); a reply (as returned): – answer, be expired, return.

‘Teshuvah’ is translated as “repentance”. Notice that it recurs, there is a recurrence of teshuvah in time or place. When does teshuvah, repentance, recur? Cyclically in the nation of Israel, ‘teshuvah’ happens at Yom Kippur. In our personal lives, it happens if we sin and must repent to get back in right standing with YHVH. New converts ‘teshuvah’, repent automatically when they ‘shub’ or turn away from worshiping the gods of this world and become part of YHVH’s Kingdom.

I used the phrase “born from above” instead of “born again” earlier in this teaching. Here is why.

John 3:3  Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
John 3:4  Nicodemus said to Him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb and be born?
John 3:5  Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
John 3:6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
John 3:7  Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again. – MKJV

The Greek word for “again” is:

G509
ἄνωθεν
anōthen
an’-o-then

From G507; from above; by analogy from the first; by implication anew: – from above, again, from the beginning (very first), the top.

It comes from:

G507
ἄνω
anō
an’-o

Adverb from G473; upward or on the top: – above, brim, high, up.

Adding “then” to ‘ano’ causes what is above to move in a direction. The direction is downward. What comes from above moves downward, right? It moves toward us. YHVH is above and we are below.

‘Anothen’ also means “from the first”. Who is “the first”? Yeshua. This tells us that the “from above” direction comes from Yeshua meaning we are born of Him. The term “born again” is less explicit of what really happens to us.

‘Anothen’ can also mean ‘anew’ but something has to first be ‘new’ before it can become ‘anew’. YHVH does not do anything “anew”. He always “renews” because everything that is already has been. The better translation of ‘anothen’, then, is to be “born from above”.

There is another term which is used in Christianity as synonymous with “born from above” or “born again”. That word is “conversion”. Be aware that words matter and their definitions matter. We must know what YHVH said and what He meant when He said it.

There is no Hebrew equivalent in scripture for this modern term. In our English KJV Bibles, Yeshua told us to “be converted”.

Matthew 18:3  and said, Truly I say to you, Unless you are converted and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven.

In Act 3:19:

Acts 3:19  Repent therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; -KJV.

In the Greek, the word is ‘epistrepho’, “return”.

The word for convert is:

G1994
ἐπιστρέφω
epistrephō
ep-ee-stref’-o

From G1909 and G4762; to revert (literally, figuratively or morally): – come (go) again, convert,
(re-) turn (about, again).

‘Epstrepho’ has 21 Hebrew meanings. Contextually, Yeshua and Peter were telling the Jews to ‘shub’, to turn back from Judaism to His Kingdom. ‘Shub’ is one of the 21 Hebrew words for this one Greek word. Religion will not get you into the Kingdom so just abandon your religion!

“Conversion” happens in all kinds of ideologies, religions and religious practices. One can convert from being a Democrat to being a Republican. One can convert from Christianity to Judaism. Christians convert from one denomination to another. In the world and in religion, “conversion” is just jumping from one falsehood to another. YHVH uses the word ‘shub’ for returning to Him. And it is always through teshuvah, repentance, that this happens.

Teshuvah, according to YHVH, comes from His Law. Few know this.

Psalms 19:7  The Law [Torah] of YHVH is perfect, converting [teshuvah, turn(ing)] the soul; the testimony of YHVH is sure, making the simple wise.

The English word “converting” there is the Hebrew word “teshuvah”. The Law of YHVH is what turns our soul toward Him and causes our repentance. It is repentance that takes us from Satan’s world to YHVH’s Kingdom. The word “conversion” is the wrong word and is too broad when dealing with the quickening of the Holy Spirit in us (1 Corinthians 15:45).

IF we walk in His commandments, not adding to them or subtracting from them, the commandments will turn us, shub, and cause our repentance (teshuvah). Ruth had already been walking in YHVH’s commandments from her heart, not just in her outward actions because she had to being married and living with Israelites. The Law of Moses had changed her and YHVH’s Spirit was in her heart before Naomi left Moab and she went with her.

Orpah shows us what it looks like to put on the outward appearance without the heart having turned. We have that in Hebrew Roots right now where some Hebrew Roots teachers have taught false doctrine within the movement for a long time and now they are turning further away and teaching people to turn further away from the Kingdom.

How did this start? With the false doctrine that YHVH’s people don’t need to go to Jerusalem for the Feasts. That’s how! YHVH said:

Exodus 31:13  “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Most certainly you shall keep my Sabbaths: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that you may know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies you. 

YHVH has Sabbaths, plural. You can’t just keep the weekly Sabbath and call that “good enough”. It isn’t “good enough”! We have to keep ALL the Sabbaths which include the 7 Feasts of YHVH, otherwise we will fall into other sins, and the closest one to keeping the Feasts against YHVH’s express instructions and in the way and the place He tells us to, will result in following an apostate calendar such the sliver moon calendar, the Zadok calendar or others which change YHVH’s times and the seasons. This is one of the attributes of the Antichrist.

This is why we must do ALL of the commandments which we are able to without a Temple (for sacrificing) instead of interpreting our way out of doing them. YHVh wants a heart that says “yes”. He just wants to get to your “yes”. A “yes” heart is a circumcised, fully returned and “born from above” heart.

Back to Nicodemus for minute. He was a believer was in Yeshua, but his heart had not yet been properly prepared. Let me show you why Nicodemus should have known the doctrine of being “born from above” and how to prepare your heart for the Kingdom. It was right there in the Torah all along.

All doctrines Yeshua taught in the New Testament came from the Torah. There is not one doctrine that Yeshua or any of the prophets spoke of which is not in Torah. Christians are not taught the doctrine of being “born from above” from the Torah. This contributes to their confusion about the Law of Moses and the walk they supposed to have before YHVH.  

The doctrine of being “born from above” is found in:

Deuteronomy 10:16  Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiff-necked. 

It is our heart that YHVH wants. Our ‘shub’-ed hearts because this kind of heart is “form from above”. If we are willing to circumcise our own hearts, we will ‘shub’, return to YHVH. We perform our own heart circumcision and then YHVH will do His part.

Deuteronomy 30:6  Yahweh your God will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your offspring, to love Yahweh your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, that you may live. 

Here is Deuteronomy 30:6 in context:

Deuteronomy 30:1  It shall happen, when all these things have come on you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you shall call them to mind among all the nations, where Yahweh your God has driven you, 
Deuteronomy 30:2  and return [teshuvah] to Yahweh your God, and obey his voice according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart, and with all your soul; 

There it is! Circumcision of the heart before circumcision of the flesh. Circumcision of the heart is what both Rahab and Ruth did. Notice that teshuvah is followed by obeying the commandments. There cannot be one without the other. There is no teshuvah, return to YHVH, without then walking in His Torah. Teshuvah without walking is like a miscarriage, the birth from above is incomplete.

Deuteronomy 30:3  that then Yahweh your God will release you from captivity, have compassion on you, and will return and gather you from all the peoples where Yahweh your God has scattered you. 
Deuteronomy 30:4  If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of the heavens, from there Yahweh your God will gather you, and from there he will bring you back. 
Deuteronomy 30:5  Yahweh your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you will possess it. He will do you good, and increase your numbers more than your fathers. 
Deuteronomy 30:6  Yahweh your God will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your offspring, to love Yahweh your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, that you may live. 

“Circumcision of the heart” and being “born from above” are two synonymous terms. Nicodemus did not understand until Yeshua explained it. Nicodemus’s religion, Judaism, taught that salvation came through circumcision of the flesh and Judaism mentions nothing of being “born from above”. This is why the believing Pharisees came to the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 asking that all believers of the sect called “The Way” should be circumcised in the flesh.

Circumcision of the flesh is only the outward sign. Without the inward sign of the heart circumcision there is no entry into the Kingdom of YHVH. Ruth’s heart was circumcised. She was “born from above”.

We must also understand that ‘shub’ and ‘teshuvah’ means we are always and continually in “return”. It is a continual walk, a lifelong activity. Repentance is not an event as is taught in Christianity. It is a continual and recuring process.

Here is Paul’s warning to all believers:

2 Corinthians 13:5  Examine your own selves, whether you are in the faith. Test your own selves. Or don’t you know as to your own selves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.

It is interesting that this message of ‘shub’ and ‘teshuvah’ comes during this month of Elul. Repenting in the month of Elul is not a Jewish thing. This practice began with the first Yom Kippur in the wilderness. Yeshua went into the desert to fast for 40 days at the start of Elul and He returned to be baptized in time for Yom Kippur.

Let’s wrap this up.

Ruth 1:19  So they both went until they came to Bethlehem. When they had come to Bethlehem, all the city was excited about them, and they asked, “Is this Naomi?”

Imagine the excitement as Naomi walks through the gate to Bethlehem-Judah! Think about what was going through every Israelite’s mind as they saw Ruth, the Moabitess, with her! What to do! Oh, what to do! But nothing was said about it. Did you notice that?

Ruth 1:20  She said to them, “Don’t call me Naomi. Call me Mara; for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.

Naomi herself was not bitter but she believed YHVH had been bitter toward her. Little did she know how mightily He would weave her story into the genealogy of David so that her name was never forgotten.

There is a lesson here for us. What seems bitter to us now, and difficult – even almost too hard to bear – is where YHVH’s greatest glory can shine through. He make of our situations something beyond our wildest dreams or our deepest imaginations. Naomi’s 3 losses would be turned to incredible joy even though neither her or her husband nor either of their 2 sons would be part of what was to come.

Ruth 1:21  I went out full, and Yahweh has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since Yahweh has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?”

Some commentators say it may be that Naomi had urged Elimelech to leave Israel and this would have made Naomi bear a heavy weight. If so, she did leave Bethlehem-Judah full with a husband and 2 sons but now she returns, repented and empty-handed and viewing her hardships as YHVH’s testimony against her.

Remember what I said in the beginning: Crossing out of Israel across the Jordan river is a metaphor for backsliding. Going back across is a metaphor for returning to YHVH.

Ezekiel 18:24  “But when the righteous turns away from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, should he live? None of his righteous deeds that he has done will be remembered. In his trespass that he has trespassed, and in his sin that he has sinned, in them he shall die. 

Ezekiel 18:27  Again, when the wicked man turns away from his wickedness that he has committed, and does that which is lawful and right, he will save his soul alive. 

It may well be that Naomi was partly responsible for Elimelech moving the family to Moab. As I asserted in the last teaching, desertion is a sin against YHVH and all of the other Israelites left behind. This would explain her saying that she has come home empty-handed. But the important part is that she did come home! YHVH forgives backsliders.

Ruth is our example of the love and loyalty to the Kingdom that comes from a heart “born from above”.

The last thing I want to draw your attention to is back to the national judge of Israel who now is Ehud. It is he who killed King Eglon and subsequently called the Israelites to repentance so that YHVH could remove the famine from Israel.

“Shub”, return in repentance, to YHVH where neither famine of food or Word exists.