There are two books in Scripture named for women —
Ruth
and
Esther
— and no one knows who wrote either book. But both books
form major keys to a correct understanding of the
whole of Scripture.
These books, from a typical perspective, cover a complete
panorama of the triune Godhead’s dealings with both the
Church and Israel.
Ruth
deals with Christ and the Church, and
Esther
deals with God and Israel. And the two books
together reflect upon and relate the complete story of
Scripture, from
Genesis
to
Revelation.
The information provided in these two books is
indispensable to a correct understanding of numerous
parts of Scripture. And this would be particularly true
relative to a correct understanding of the book of
Revelation,
for both
Ruth
and
Esther
deal heavily with the same subject matter that is seen in
this book.
Thus, any proper exposition of the book of
Revelation
will, of necessity, have to draw heavily from both
Ruth
and
Esther
— along with other Old Testament books such as
Exodus
and
Daniel
— or miss the mark on vital points of interpretation. In
this respect, God has provided His own built-in
interpretation of His Word; and that which God has provided
is the only completely correct interpretation in
existence.
Ruth
and
Esther
form integral parts of the complete Old Testament word
picture that God has provided, revealing His plans and
purposes as they relate to man and the earth. And this word
picture, designed by God Himself, allows the spiritual man,
under the leadership of the Spirit (who gave this Word [2
Peter 1:21]),
to come into a full and complete understanding of that which
has been revealed.
God has provided different parts and facets of the picture
in different places throughout Scripture, and the
complete picture can be seen only through viewing all of
the different parts together, as a unit. Scripture must
be compared with Scripture. Only through this means,
under the leadership of the Spirit, can man see all
of the various “things that God hath prepared for them
that love Him” (1
Corinthians 2:9-13;
cf. John 16:7-15).