The Church is not in the Old Testament. Whether we think of it dispensationally, as the body of Christ, or locally, there is no revelation of it from Genesis to Malachi. A firm grasp of this fact is a powerful antidote to hermeneutical headaches and doctrinal errors.
There are, however, Old Testament passages which, from our privileged historical perspective, illustrate church truth. In this article, we want to turn our eyes to Bethlehem at the time of the barley harvest and to think of the welcome, the work, and the wealth that a Moabite girl called Ruth found in the field of Boaz. This application is not without Scriptural warrant. 1 Corinthians 3.9 describes the assembly as "God's husbandry" – God's farmland, or cultivated field, and we can learn lessons about the assembly by considering Boaz' field.
The first thing that we learn about this field is that it is a place of lordship. Guided by divine providence, Ruth found her way to a part of the field that was different from any other because it belonged to Boaz (Ruth 2.3). And because it belonged to him, he had authority over it. When he instructed the reapers, their response was not dispute or delay, but obedience. And what was true of Boaz' field is still true of God's husbandry. The assembly is not mine and it is not ours. It belongs to God, and is under the Lordship of Christ. As such, the clear commands of His Word are not to be debated or denied, but demand our absolute and unequivocal obedience. But we should notice that there was nothing grudging or constrained about the obedience of the reapers to Boaz. They obeyed him not because they had to, but because they wanted to. Their respect and affection for their master are evident from the moment that we encounter Boaz. Our obedience to the Word of God should have a similar character. Our love for Christ should produce a willing submission that is as far removed from a costive and rigid legalism as it is from a casual and laissez-faire lack of conviction.
Boaz' field was also marked by leadership. The unnamed "servant that was set over the reapers" (2.6) provides us with a most precious picture of the Spirit's ministry in a local assembly. Boaz' field was not a place of haphazard activity, where each individual decided whether, and when, and how to work. Each reaper had their allotted duty. The assembly, too, should be marked by orderly activity under the direction and energy of the Holy Spirit. He equips believers for service, providing gifts "to every [one] severally as he will" (1 Cor 12.11). And, as He furnishes the gift, He provides the direction and guidance for the exercise of that gift.
The leadership of the servant was essential because the field was a place of labour. Ruth and the other reapers were not in the field to picnic – they were there to work. And the work of reaping must have been hard, back-breaking toil, under the heat of the Bethlehem sun. But the harvest had to be gathered, and there was no time to stand idle. Ruth epitomised this – it is not hard to hear the respect in the servant's voice as he described her consistent, committed efforts to Boaz: "she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house" (2.7). God's field, too, is a place for labourers, for hard work and unrelenting effort. All too often, the number of spectators – and commentators – far exceeds the number who are prepared to bend their backs to the work of the assembly.
Notice too that Ruth found in Boaz' field a place of lavish provision. It is precious to notice Boaz' care that her needs were met. When she was thirsty, she could freely drink of the water that the young men had drawn (2.9). At mealtime, she was invited to "come...hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar". And, as if that were not enough, she received a portion from Boaz' own hand, for "he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed" (v.14). And even that did not exhaust the provision for after she gathered up the "handfuls of purpose" (v.16) left for her by Boaz' instruction, she made her way back home to Naomi with her back bowed by the abundance of what she had gleaned. And this was no once-off bestowal of blessing, but the beginning of many days of bounty, as Ruth gleaned "unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest" (2.23).
The assembly should be a place of provision, where the spiritual needs of the child of God are abundantly met. There should be variety in that provision – something of the refreshment of the water, the sustenance of the parched corn, the nourishment of the bread, and the piquancy of the vinegar. We ought to enjoy what is drawn out for us by the effort of others, what has been prepared at home, and presented to us in the assembly. We should go home with a portion to thresh out, to feed our soul to meet the challenges of each day. We should enjoy those blessed moments when the Lord Himself reaches to us just what we need to be sufficed in our need. Sadly, the ideal is not always the reality. But before we conclude that the assembly has failed us, and long before we start to think of looking elsewhere for spiritual food, let us remember that Ruth would have starved had she not been prepared to labour. Her return was proportional to her effort. The more we put into the assembly – the more we attend, the more we pray, the more we prepare – the more we will get out, and the more our souls will be nourished by the baffling bounty of God's Word.
When Ruth returned home with her ephah of barley, Naomi was quick to realise that she had found somewhere exceptional to glean. And as she learned more of the remarkable way in which divine providence had guided Ruth, she was quick to stress that the field of Boaz was to be a place of loyalty: "It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, that they meet thee not in any other field" (2.22). We still need Naomi's warning. The fields of denominational, interdenominational, and para-church service sometimes look very green. At times, they may offer us opportunities for service that the assembly does not. But we need to learn the lesson that Ruth did – loyalty to Boaz meant loyalty to His field, where his lordship was owned, and his commands obeyed. And if the invitations are hard to decline, the opportunities appealing, and the decisions difficult, let us think what it would mean if not just the other reapers, but our returning Lord found us investing our efforts and our energy in something or some place contrary to the pattern of God's Word.
Above all, perhaps, the field of Boaz was a place of learning and of love. Before Ruth's story comes to an end, we will find her at Boaz' feet in private communion. We will find her at his side as his bride. And it was in his field that her knowledge of him increased, and her love correspondingly grew. How eagerly she must have set out for the field each morning, knowing that the one she loved would be there. How quickly the day must have passed, for all the exertion it involved. How she must have loved the place where she enjoyed the presence, the provision, and the person of her redeemer.
The New Testament assembly is God's husbandry, God's building. It is the house of God, the pillar and ground of truth. It is divine in its origin and its character, a light-bearing golden lampstand in a nighttime scene, the place on earth where, in this dispensation, the adminsitration of heaven is seen. Nowhere and nothing else can claim this character, these titles, or this status. But nothing could make it more precious than the truth that Christ is present there. May we love it and prize it as He does, and labour there steadfastly until He comes.
Concluded.
