Just a brief observation on Ruth that came out of a study day shared with some good guys the other day…
- V1- Naomi’s husband’s name is Elimelech meaning ‘God is king’. He has 2 children who are called Mahlon and Kilion, which mean famine and destruction.
- Bethlehem means ‘house of bread’, but verse 1 tells us there is ironically no bread. There is famine in the land. So the family leave.
- Eventually v6 Naomi hears that the Lord has provided food for his people back in Bethlehem, Judah.
- Her daughter in law Ruth is shown favour though she is a foreigner by the kinsman redeemer 2:10. He offers her bread and wine 2:14. As we know in the story he becomes her kinsman redeemer.
- So in the time of famine the one who proclaims God is King leads away destuction and famine and hearing of the Lord’s loving kindness, Ruth is sustained by the redeemer despite her poverty.
John 6:35 ‘Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.’
John 14:22-24: While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying “Take it; this is my body.” Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it. “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many”
There is so much in Ruth. Anyone got any ideas about the significance of events taking place during Barley Harvest? Suggestions have been made about Passover associations. How awesome it is that these are the scriptures that testify about Christ…
I’ve been given some books recently by a pastor who has been in the ministry for twenty or so years. He wanted to pass on some gems I can only assume. Among them were books written by spiritual greats. Take one title ‘Christ in all the scriptures’ by a bloke called Hodgkin. It nearly blew my mind. But I wanted to share an awesome quote from a Banner of Truth journal article from the 70’s on revival.
‘Many of us have come to see the revivals of which our fathers spoke, and which they were experienced were not something they promoted but were essentially [so we believe] times when God made his people accutely aware of the reality of the Christian gospel. And it has become part of the accepted wisdom among us that if the same truths are preached now as were preached at the Reformation [one of the greatest revivals] or during the great awakening then revival must come, and come pretty quickly.’
So often we just ‘know’ about the gospel, but we don’t give it any power in our lives. Imagine a world where churches were springing up everywhere . Where people were actually aware of the gospel and its reality. Where they ordered their whole lives by gospel priorities so that Jesus looked their greatest treasure. Where Christianity wasn’t just about going to church on Sunday, or being a professional Christian (like some of us run the risk of becoming) but where Christianity was about living for Jesus. Where we didn’t need to have the debate about whether Christian mission was actually just about recycling and social action, because large numbers in churches were accutely aware of the desperate need of perishing people and of their own need. They were convicted of the gospel’s reality as much as they were of the need to inhale air.
I can only assume that is revival. I know how often I can be hard hearted and luke warm, but we must pray for this! We need to pray for this power of God for the salvation of all who believe (Rm 1:16) to actually take ahold of us by the Spirit of Christ. And we need confidence in the same truths of revival days.
Not because we’re ‘Bible believing’ Christians and ‘that’s just what we do’. That’s not the reality of the gospel- that’s religion. But because the truths of the Bible mean something. The Bible is reality to us because it is the word of Christ who is reality itself and when the minister proclaims the Word of God, his voice is heard. Spiritually dead men and women, get up and walk. How can we believe that revival would not come quickly if this were the case?
