Therefore Wash Yourself and Anoint Yourself, and Put on Your Garment

When a soul has been beaten and threshed, he is pure from every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Then he must wash off the filth that is the result of such treatment, anoint himself, and put on his best garments. Now he is ready to present himself as a pure virgin to the Bridegroom of his soul. Naomi’s advice to Ruth in small and great things was by the finger of God—by the Holy Spirit. That is why it never failed. Ruth was always like an obedient child. What a blessed state!

Paul worked similarly with the Corinthians, but unfortunately, they were not always as obedient and willing as Ruth was. He writes in 2 Corinthians 11, verses 2-3: “For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simple faithfulness to Christ.”

Observe Ruth, how simple she was in her faithfulness! Her mind was not corrupted.

When the serpent corrupts minds, he turns them toward the soul itself and says: You are very pious; you are holy and pure; why should you let Naomi guide you and give you advice? Aren’t you just as holy and good as she is? You have to grow up sometime, don’t you? You have to be able to manage on your own. Num. 16:3.

If a soul listens to this voice and receives this spirit of Korah, a Ruth will always attack a Naomi. For it is important for Satan to separate a Ruth from a Naomi.

Can you recognize yourself, you who have been deceived by the serpent? The Corinthians were deceived, for Paul told them that they had become lords without him.

Naomi had Ruth’s best in mind. She did not think of herself; she sought only to secure a place of rest for Ruth. The spirit of Korah, on the other hand, seeks to exalt itself to be great; it wants to be independent, and it desires to perform great deeds. Nevertheless, this spirit is doomed, and those who cling to it will go with it.

How difficult it is for God to preserve the soul in the first love, in the first faithfulness, and in the first simplicity. You cannot see a more beautiful sight than a soul that is washed, anointed, and dressed in these festive garments. Such a soul is prepared to meet his Bridegroom.