Coming back to Bethlehem

So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning. Ruth 1:22

Recently, I had the privilege of reading an article by sister Goh Poh Gaik based on this verse from Ruth Chapter 1, which had some really good points.

The setting is the beginning of the story of Ruth, the daughter in law of an old Israelite lady called Naomi. In a time of famine, Naomi, her husband and two sons had left the promised land for Moab, a foreign place where they hoped to find food, security and success. However, in the distant land, they met only misfortune, for Naomi’s husband and two sons died, leaving only her behind, sad and sorrowful, with two widowed daughter-in-laws. One of them, Orpah, went back to her own family. But the other, Ruth, refused to leave her and returned home to Bethlehem with her, uttering those famous words “Your people will be my people. Your God will be my God.” From then on, most of us know how the story happily ended, with Ruth finding a wonderful and wealthy husband, and giving birth to a son who would be the grandfather of David, the future King of Israel.

However, coming back to the verse, we see the picture of Naomi leaving Moab, empty, and returning to Bethlehem, which means House of Bread, just at the start of a new year. Moab is representative of the world and its promises of security and success. Naomi’s emptiness is symbolic of the meaninglessness and sadness that we often find when we put our hope in the world. And Bethlehem, the House of Bread in the land of God, represents where our God is. For Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. No one who comes to me will never go hungry.” John 6:35

Henceforth, sister Poh Gaik’s three words of advice:-

(i)                 Leave the ways and desires of the world

(ii)               Acknowledge our emptiness

(iii)             Come back to Jesus

Some of us perhaps have drifted away, having for so long chased after the achievements and pleasures of the world. However, we now realize the emptiness and meaninglessness of it all, and how everything can so easily be taken away. Now is the time for us to come back to Jesus, the Bread of Life. May we find peace and rest and satisfaction in Him

God bless, Jason