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When Ruth returns home and tells Naomi about her day, Naomi rejoices because she knows that Boaz is a relative who can make their situation better. But he doesn’t make their situation better right away. Instead, Ruth continues to work in his field through the barley and wheat harvest.
An ancient agrarian would notice a detail to Ruth’s story that we are likely to miss. She arrives at the beginning of the barley harvest (1:22), which is also the time for the Festival of Unleavened Bread (Passover), and she works until the end of the wheat harvest (2:23), which is the time for the Festival of Weeks (Pentecost). The New Testament mirrors this exact waiting season between Jesus’ resurrection and the arrival of the Holy Spirit. We see in both cases that God had a plan in the waiting. When the hope of something better hangs in the air, we can trust that God’s plan is still unfolding on schedule.
What are you waiting for, and how will you continue to work faithfully in the waiting?
Scripture
About this Plan
Ruth is the story of a brave and humble woman. It is also the story of death, immigration, poverty, bitterness, and loneliness. Through it all the sovereignty of God brings about His purposes as He moves the narrative from death to life, barrenness to fruitfulness, cursing to blessing, bitterness to worship, loneliness to community, and frustration to answered prayer. In the end, Ruth and her story point us to Jesus.
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