…Boaz commanded his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. Also let grain from the bundles fall purposely for her; leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.” Ruth 2:15-16 REFERENCE Ruth 2:1-16 The greatest temptation in times of famine/economic downturn is to become tight-fisted and to hold back from giving to God and to others. The need for self-preservation becomes very strong, and the fear of not having enough if you share what you have tends to take center-stage in your heart. Considering what transpired in this story...
So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. Now they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest. - Ruth 1:22 REFERENCE Ruth 1:22 & 2:1-8 Naomi and Ruth returned to Bethlehem from Moab at the beginning of the barley harvest; so, it was barley that Ruth went out to glean at Boaz’s field. It has been discovered that barley is cheaper than wheat and easier to cook, so it was actually the food for poor people in the days of famine because they couldn’t afford wheat which was...
Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you!” And they answered him, “The Lord bless you!” Ruth 2:4 REFERENCE Ruth 2:1-4 Stephen covey, an American author, told a fable about a struggling farmer who had a goose that laid golden eggs. This farmer soon became rich by selling the goose’s golden eggs. He was too fascinated with the eggs that he seldom feed the goose. One day, in his eager quest for more golden eggs, he decided to ‘cut open’ the goose. To his surprise, there were no eggs inside the goose;...
There was a relative of Naomi’s husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech. His name was Boaz. Ruth 2:1 REFERENCE Ruth 1:19-22 & 2:1-9 The book of Ruth begins with a famine in Bethlehem that pushed Elimelech and his entire family to leave the city for Moab in search of greener pastures. However, our text reveals that Boaz, who stayed back in Bethlehem, was a man of great wealth – he had prospered through the famine. On the other hand, Elimelech’s widow, Naomi, and widowed daughter-in-law, Ruth, returned to Bethlehem empty-handed How did Boaz and his business survive the...
So it was, whenever Israel had sown, Midianites would come up; also Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. Judges 6:3 REFERENCE Judges 6:1-6 It is frustrating to labor and not see the reward of your labor. This was Israel’s unfortunate reality in today’s text. They planted and watered their seed, but that was where it all ended; getting to reap their harvest was impossible because their enemies would destroy what they had planted before it got to harvest season. This pattern continued until the Israelites became impoverished. Our text clearly states that ‘whenever Israel...
Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours. Genesis 37:3 (KJV) REFERENCE Genesis 37:1-11, 23-28 (KJV) Joseph had a coat of many colors given to him by his father; a symbol of his love for him as well as to show him his significance and uniqueness in life. Unlike an earthly father, God doesn’t have favorites amongst his children; He loves us equally and has given each of us a unique coat of colors which differentiates us from others. Your coat of...
The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ,… - Romans 8:16-17 REFERENCE Romans 8:14-17 An heir is a Legal inheritor who holds the right to receive property, position, or title of somebody else when that person dies. As believers, this passage reveals our status as joint or co-heirs with Christ Jesus; this connotes that we can partake freely of our Father’s goods. The significance of this is that firstly, we have equal position with Christ: – The new birth puts us in the...
Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. Matthew 8:3 REFERENCE Matthew 8:1-4 One battle we all often have to fight is to overcome that voice that says, “You are not good enough; you don’t qualify.” It is the voice that speaks from a deep place in our past; childhood memories. Voices that have come to turn you into a timid, afraid and pessimistic person. It’s the voice of the teacher that termed your inquisitive mind a nuisance, it is the voices of parents who...
Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” Says your God. “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned… Isaiah 40:1-2 REFERENCE Isaiah 40:1-5 Comfort is a state of physical ease, well-being and freedom from pain or limitation. It is synonymous with consolation, compensation, succor and encouragement. Comfort depicts the easing or alleviation of a person’s feelings of grief or distress. It could also mean a person or thing that helps to alleviate a difficult situation. For example, Genesis 24:67 records that Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death, when he took...
And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent. I Samuel 17:54 REFERENCE I Samuel 17:33-54 “Every worthwhile accomplishment has a price tag attached to it. The question is always whether you are willing to pay the price to attain it – in hard work, sacrifice, patience, faith and endurance.” – John C. Maxwell. If you have been in the world for a while you would have noticed that life doesn’t always give you what you deserve but what you demand of it…and a way to demand is...