Orpah and Ruth – The Harlot and the Bride

[Larry]

• Orpah and Ruth – The Harlot and the Bride

"Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her. ‘Look,’ said Naomi, ‘your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.’

Orpah says goodbye to Naomi

“But Ruth replied, ‘Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.’" (Ruth 1:14-17)

During the Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost, the Book of Ruth is read in every synagogue. It is the love story about a gentile, Moabite woman, who made a choice to be part of the people of God. Because of her, David, the King of Israel, were born. The Book of Ruth ends with the words, “and Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.”

The Book of Ruth is a fitting story for the Feast of Weeks for several reasons. At this Feast, the words of Yeshua were fulfilled “This is what is written: …repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” (Lk 24:47) The door of salvation swung open for the gentiles. Ruth and her sister-in-law Orpah are prophetic pictures of gentiles who have come to faith in the God of Israel through the preaching of the gospel that started on the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem.

Paul wrote about Israel in Romans 11:11-12, “Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!”

Just as Ruth and Orpah are pictures of gentile believers, their mother-in-law, Naomi, is a picture of Israel. It was because Naomi and her family had to leave Bethlehem1 due to a famine, that Ruth and Orpah came to faith just as Paul wrote, “because of [Israel’s] transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.”

Even though Naomi had to leave Bethlehem, there came a time when she returned again, just as the Jewish people have returned again to their homeland in our day after two thousand years. At that time Naomi’s husband as well as both of her sons were dead. In the natural she had no future. But Ruth had understood what Paul later wrote about in Romans, “the people of Israel. Theirs is …the covenants, …and the promises. …For I tell you that Messiah has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed.” (Rom 9:4; 15:8)

Ruth’s name means friendship in Hebrew. In modern Hebrew it is used about soldiers’ faithfulness to each other in the army to fight together unto death. Ruth understood that despite Israel’s fall, God has not revoked his covenants and promises to them. So by faith she made a choice to cling to Naomi and go with her. This is what she told Naomi,

“Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” (Ruth 1:16-17)

Because of her friendship and faithfulness to the God of Israel and to her Jewish mother-in-law, Ruth became the bride of the kinsman redeemer when all hope in the natural had disappeared from the Messianic lineage. Through her David the King, and later on also the Messiah, were born.

Whereas Ruth is the type of the Bride of Messiah, Orpah is a type of the harlot. Her name comes from a Hebrew root word that means neck. Just like Ruth, Orpah had also been grafted in to the family of Israel through one of Naomi’s sons. But in the end she turned her back on her mother-in-law. She left not only Naomi but also the God of Naomi because the two are inseparable. It tragically states, “’Look,’ said Naomi, ‘your sister-in-law [Orpah] is going back to her people and her gods.’”

Ruth and Orpah owed a debt to Naomi for their faith just as Paul wrote in Romans 15:27, “For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings.” Paul also wrote that, “salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.” Ruth beautifully fulfilled that divine destiny through her acts of gratitude of kindness to Naomi when she had lost all hope, whereas Orpah fell away from the God of Israel. Orpah is a symbol of the harlot and the end time apostasy and falling away from faith.

Becoming the Bride

Israel and replacement theology will be the dividing line between the harlot and the bride in the last days. Just like Naomi returned again to the Promised Land, the Jewish people have come back to the Land of their fathers in our time. Will we be like Ruth and pay back our debt to Israel and stand with them even unto death, or will we like Orpah forsake them together with the rest of the world?

When Naomi returned again to Bethlehem she was full of bitterness. “Don’t call me Naomi …Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter.” (Ruth 1:20) She had no faith, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands?” (Ruth 1:11)

Through her unselfish service to Naomi, Ruth was able to provoke her mother-in-law to faith. She labored faithfully in the harvest fields to care for her mother-in-law. When the whole harvest had come in Naomi one day said to Ruth, “My daughter, I must find a home for you, where you will be well provided for.” (Ruth 3:1) Naomi’s bitterness and unbelief were gone. She had come to faith just like Paul wrote in Romans 11:25-26, “Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved.”

After Naomi had come to faith she began to instruct Ruth in the customs of her people. Because of the rich education Ruth received from Naomi, she became the Bride of the kinsman redeemer. “’I will do whatever you say,’ Ruth answered. So she went down to the threshing floor [to wait for the Bridegroom] and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do.” (Ruth 3:5-6)

Namoi’s instructions to Ruth speak of the Torah. Ruth’s pagan customs could not help her win Boaz’ final approval even though her faith had already captured his heart. Likewise in our day we must return to the rich spiritual inheritance of Israel and the instructions of the Torah if we want to become the Bride made ready for the Bridegroom.

We need to bear in mind that we are not marrying a gentile Christ but the Messiah of Israel. Our Savior is a Jew who faithfully kept the Torah and he “is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Heb 13:8) “Listen, daughter, and pay careful attention: Forget your people and your father’s house. Let the king be enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord.” (Ps 45:10-11)

The most remarkable part of the Book of Ruth is that it was a gentile that saved the messianic lineage, just as Paul wrote in Romans 11:31, “in order that they too [Israel] may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you [Gentiles].” Gentile believers today hold the key to Israel’s salvation. Will we face up to the challenge before us by following in the footsteps of Ruth and understanding that our destiny is linked up with God’s promises to Israel?

The Crisis Today in the Middle East

The whole world has decided that Israel must give up half of her God given inheritance to her sworn enemies in order to have peace. Just like Orpah and Ruth when Naomi returned to the Promised Land, the church today is at crossroads. What side will we take in the conflict? It is a choice between the harlot and the bride. The harlot denies Israel of her promises. The bride understands that she has no future outside of Israel because the covenants and promises belong to Israel.

Today there is a lot of talk about unity in the church. In Europe there is a strong ecumenical movement, especially among Charismatics and Pentecostals strange as it may sound, to unite all believers under the headship of the Pope in Rome. At the same time, the Pope is emphasizing that the Holy Land must be divided and half of it must become a Muslim Palestinian state.

We must beware, because this is a false movement. God certainly does not want the followers of his Messiah to unite under the headship of a leader and a church that denies his covenant people their promises! It is the church of Orpah the harlot, and God says very clearly,

“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them,
and I will be their God, and they will be my people.’ Therefore, ‘Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. 
Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.’ And, ‘I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.’” (2 Cor 6:14-18)

Jerusalem Belongs to the Jewish people

We are called to be watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem until Jerusalem becomes the praise of the earth when Yeshua returns! As the nations of the world wants to divide God’s own city and make Biblical Jerusalem the capitol of a Muslim state that hates his chosen people, we have to stand up for justice.

- Jerusalem is mentioned close to 1000 times in the Bible. It is never mentioned once in the Koran.

- God-fearing Jews have like Daniel always turned towards Jerusalem during prayer. Muslims always turn towards Meccah.

Muslims pray at Temple mounth

- In Jerusalem Jews always face the place where God has chosen to place his Name during prayer. Muslims turn their behinds towards this place when they pray.

- Observant Jews mention Jerusalem 21 times everyday in prayer to God. Muslims never once.

- King David, the man after God’s own heart, made Jerusalem the eternal capitol of Israel more than 1600 years before any Muslim existed. Jerusalem has never ever been the capitol of any Muslim state. Jerusalem belongs by historical and religious right to the Jewish people.

Today there is a growing movement among Christians to pray for the peace and prosperity of Jerusalem. It is certainly a work of the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, however, many Christians today lack a solid foundation of faith concerning how to pray for God’s own city. Two thousand years of replacement theology has obscured our thinking and robbed us of a true biblical vision to pray for Jerusalem. It is a shame that Christians generally see no value whatsoever in the Temple, despite the fact that it says about Yeshua, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” (Jn 2:17)

We cannot take a stand for Jerusalem for political reasons alone or just because of sympathy for the Jewish people. We must understand that Jerusalem is and has always been at the heart of God’s redemptive program for mankind. It is the final destiny and resting place for His Son, our Redeemer and King.

"Behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and will call his name 'Yeshua.' He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David [in Jerusalem], and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom." (Lk 1:31-33)

"I heard someone speaking to me from inside the temple. He said: ‘Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet. This is where I will live among the Israelites forever.’" (Ez 43:6-7)

We encourage all of you to meditate over the ancient, Jewish, biblical prayers below and make them part of your daily supplication and agonizing prayers for Jerusalem, God’s Holy Hill. As a “Ruth”, a gentile believer in Yeshua the Messiah, join with “Naomi,” Israel, as a faithful watchman intercessor on the walls of Jerusalem.

"Return in mercy to Jerusalem Your city, and dwell in it as You have promised. Rebuild it soon in our day as an eternal structure, and quickly set up in it the throne of David. Blessed are You, O Lord, who rebuilds Jerusalem."2

"Speedily cause the offspring of Your servant David, Yeshua the Messiah, to flourish, and let his horn be exalted by Your saving power, for we wait all day long for Your salvation. Blessed are You, O Lord, who causes salvation to flourish."3

And after each meal:

“We thank You, O LORD, our God for the inheritance you gave to our fathers: a pleasant, good and spacious land, covenant and Torah and bread for satisfaction. Blessed are You O LORD for the land and for the nourishment.

“Have compassion therefore, O LORD, our God upon Israel Your people, upon Jerusalem Your city, upon Zion the dwelling place of Your glory and upon the kingdom of the House of David You anointed one. Rebuild Jerusalem, city of holiness, quickly in our days. Blessed are You, O LORD, who in compassion builds Jerusalem. Amen.”

A Big THANK YOU!

We want to say a big “THANK YOU!” to all of you who have supported us during the past year when we due to health reasons have not been able to send out our Prayer Alerts regularly or mail out Partners’ Messages. Thank you for your love and faithfulness to stand with us! Please pray for us for continued grace and restoration of our health. God bless you richly.

If you want to partner with us to strengthen our hands in the battle for Israel and Jerusalem, click here! Our calling is to prepare the way of the Lord. Thank you for standing with us! May all of you have a blessed summer!

 

• Pray for a Ruth Bride to come forth among gentile believers in Yeshua to stand with Israel today!
“But Ruth replied, ‘Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.’" (Ruth 1:16-17)

• Pray for exposure and repentance from all replacement theology!
“If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.” (Rom 11:17-18)

• Pray for repentance from the false unity movement with replacement theology today!
“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? …Therefore, ‘Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. 
Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.’ And, ‘I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.’” (2 Cor 6:14-18)

• Pray that Israel and especially Prime Minister Netanyahu will be strong and not give in to the pressures from the nations to divide Israel!
"In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will put them on trial for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel, because they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land." (Joel 3:1-3)

• Pray that the plans for another Gaza flotilla this summer will fail completely!
“Make them like tumbleweed, my God, like chaff before the wind. As fire consumes the forest or a flame sets the mountains ablaze, so pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your storm. Cover their faces with shame, LORD, so that they will seek your name.” (Ps 83:13-16)

• Pray that God's name will be glorified in all the earth through the restoration of Israel!
“Let them see your zeal for your people and be put to shame; …You have enlarged the nation, O LORD; you have enlarged the nation. You have gained glory for yourself; you have extended all the borders of the land." (Isa 26:11,15)

• Pray for a mighty harvest into the kingdom of God in the Muslim world!
 “The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; in him the Gentiles will hope.” (Rom 15:12)

May God bless you as watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem!

Lars and Harriet Enarson