I began this artwork in prayer, asking the Lord to show me how to portray the verse:
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus “
The picture that came to mind was that of a wedding, the symbol of two becoming one.
This uniting of Jew & Gentile is also found in Ephesians 2: “for He himself is our peace, who has made both one…so as to create in himself one new man from the two, thus making peace…”
The marriage of Ruth & Boaz united a Jewish groom with a Gentile bride (the nations appearing on the hem of her dress). They are being united under the banner of Messiah.
The background is painted from a photo I have of the mountains of Israel in bloom. This is also a fulfillment of prophecy from Ezekiel about the restoration of Israel.
As I painted the main scene I prayed about what to add. The first thing I saw was the wheat harvest. This is where Ruth & Boaz met. It is also symbolic of the great harvest of both Jews & Gentiles in Messiah, and we see the fruit of this in Revelation 7:9.
The next thing was the threshing floor, where wheat and chaff are separated. This stands in contrast to the symbol of uniting in marriage. While Messiah brings unity, the enemy sows division. From Matthew 13 the judgement and separation at the end time will not be based on race or culture (neither Jew nor Greek), rather on who we follow – we are one in Messiah.
Then I saw a well and added it. This well symbolizes the living water that Messiah gives. “Therefor with joy you shall draw from the well of salvation” Isa 12:3. “Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst..it will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life” John 4:13.
The wedding table is also a reference to the marriage supper of the Lamb – where all nations united in Christ will feast. The symbols of his sacrifice -the wine and the bread -are there, along with the fruit of the vine, figs & pomegranates, all symbolic of the harvest.
Behind stands the olive tree – as Paul says in Romans 15 the Gentiles are grafted into the olive tree of Israel through Messiah. Behind rises the morning sun – a symbol of a new dawn – the two made one. A mystery revealed.
And lastly as I was praying about the finished work the Lord reminded me of a connecting theme – the Feast of Succoth. The celebration of the harvest, the ingathering, where feasting is held at the banquet table, where the living water was poured out in the Temple, which points to the return of the King, and the marriage banquet of the Lamb attended by people of every tribe and tongue united in Messiah.
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