God’s Plan For Humanity
“Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor. Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking. And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do.” —Ruth 3:1-4
In these four verses, we are given the plan of God for all of humanity.
There are two plans at work in the world today. The two plans are concisely given to us in John 10:10: “The thief cometh not but for to steal and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
In the words of Ruth, what Naomi told Ruth portrays the spiritual plan of God for all humanity.
Rest
In Ruth 3:1, Naomi asks Ruth really two things. The first is, “Shall I not seek rest for thee”? Unredeemed man has no rest in his spirit. There is a war that rages in his heart due to the enmity that is between him and God, all because of sin. It is this quest for peace that drives so many in the world to alcohol and drug abuse. However, true rest can only come to those who are born again, for at salvation man enters into Christ’s rest.
Well
The second part of Ruth’s question is, “that it may be well with thee?” This is the desire of the Lord for all—that it may be well with you. The Lord has only goodness and wellness for all who serve Him.
Wash
In Ruth 3:3, Naomi tells Ruth, “Wash thyself therefore.” The literal meaning of this refers to Ruth taking a bath, but there is a great spiritual truth given to us as well. Spiritually, it portrays redemption. I Corinthians 6:9-11 states: “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”
Because of sin, this world is polluted, spiritually, domestically, economically, and physically. So the very first thing that happens to the believing sinner upon coming to Christ is that he is washed by the blood of the Lamb. All of this is a spiritual process, which is gained by faith.
Anoint Thee
Then Naomi tells Ruth, “anoint thee.” Spiritually, this speaks of the baptism with the Holy Spirit, hence the anointing, which follows the salvation experience.
In Luke 4:18, Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me.” The Bible teaches that the Spirit baptism is a separate and distinct work subsequent to salvation. The book of Acts, the great Holy Spirit book of the New Testament, gives us five instances that proclaim individuals being baptized with the Holy Spirit: Acts 2:1-4, 8:14-17, 9:17, 10:44-46, 19:1-7. Each time, it plainly portrays the Spirit baptism coming after the salvation experience.
New Raiment
Naomi tells Ruth, “put thy raiment on.” Once a believing sinner is washed in the blood of the Lamb and then baptized with the Holy Spirit, his life becomes a life of praise, signified by the garment of praise:
- “I put on righteousness, and it clothed me” (Job 29:14)
- “And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints” (Rev. 19:8)
- “For he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation” (Isa. 61:10)
Humility
Naomi then says to Ruth, “Get thee down to the floor.” This speaks of humility which characterizes the person who is truly washed, truly baptized with the Holy Spirit, and has put on the garment of praise. The literal meaning of the word humility is “a river that runs low.” I Peter 5:5 says, “Be clothed with humility.”
Humility is a state of mind as it regards the individual who sees himself as he really is and Christ as He really is. This will result in the believer conducting himself in a humble manner. We must never forget that none of us have any standing with God except by and through the Lord Jesus Christ and what He has done for us at Calvary’s cross.
He Will Tell Thee What Thou Shalt Do
In Ruth 3:4, Naomi tells Ruth that Boaz, the kinsman redeemer, will tell her what to do. As kinsman redeemer, Boaz is a type of Christ, and it is Christ and Christ alone who “will tell thee what thou shalt do.”
How does the Lord tell us what to do? By His Word, by the Holy Spirit speaking to one’s heart, by anointed teaching and preaching, by anointed music, and at times, by other believers.
So there it is—God’s plan for humanity.
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