Meat for the Hungry

sarahbmartin.wordpress.com “Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you?” (Ruth 3:1) The barley harvest was over and now only winnowing remained. The evening breeze was perfect for winnowing and Boaz along with his reapers and workers headed to the threshing floor. For days, they reaped the harvest in the hot sun, but tonight, the cool wind gusts would drive away the chaff and lighten the mood. Throughout the grueling days of harvest, everyone looked forward to this night. There would be laughter, merriment, and the satisfaction of a job well done. Naomi’s friends had shared stories from the threshing floor, so she was familiar with the evening’s activity. Tonight, they may have to work until midnight, since the Lord had blessed with such an abundance of grain. The exhausted men would just sleep among the piles of grain, but not only because it was late and they were tired. Their presence o

Today we are pausing for review, in order to gain a deeper understanding of God's leading. The book of Ruth tells the story of one family living in the time of the Judges of Israel, approximately 1100 BC. This period spanned from about 1380 to 1050 BC – from the death of Joshua until the crowning of Saul as Israel’s first king. It was a tumultuous time of obedience to disobedience, faith to unfaithfulness, provision to punishment and back again. During one interlude when God was calling Judah to repentance, He stopped the rain. The blazing hot sun caused drought and famine quickly followed. In its wake, Elimelech, his wife Naomi and two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, ran away to the gentile nation of Moab.

I’m sure by now you’ve heard 2014 is the Chinese “Year of the Horse”. Well, February (at least in the United States) is the “Month of the Heart ”. From the first day of February almost to the last, hearts in hues of reds and pinks saturate our senses. Love is truly in the air. Did you ever wonder why we associate love with the heart? I mean, our heart muscle really has nothing to do with falling in love and it only vaguely resembles the Valentine “ heart ” image used since the Middle Ages.

sarahbmartin.wordpress.com Ruth 2:17-23 As the evening light settled in, a fiery-orange hue streaked across the horizon. The sun waned while the reapers stacked the last of the day’s bundles and made their way to the threshing floor. The gleaners rubbed their aching backs and clutched their meager harvest as they followed. Only the gleaners needed to thresh grain tonight. Ruth watched, learned, and then proceeded to “beat out what she had gleaned” . As she pounded the stalks of barley, the grain berries seemed to easily separate from the chaff, but she heard wheat was much more difficult.

Sarahbmartin.wordpress.com “Now Boaz said to her at mealtime, "Come here, and eat of the bread…she ate and was satisfied, and kept some back.” (Ruth 2:14) In the coolness of the shelter, Boaz prepared a table and food was abundant. As she rested, Ruth’s hunger was satisfied and she arose refreshed. However, this “time of refreshing” would never have come if Ruth had not turned away from Moab and chosen The Lord God of Israel. Through the entire meal, Boaz kept his eye on Ruth. He witnessed her kind interaction with his workers and couldn’t help being captivated by her sparkling, raven-colored eyes, her timid giggle and blushing smile. This was a young woman of quality and integrity, a rare find indeed. Before she left the table, Ruth tucked some of her leftovers away for later, and then quickly returned to gleaning.