From Hunger to Harvest

Well, it is an exciting time of year as we have now come through the Passover in the Days of Unleavened Bread, and we look now forward to the Day of Pentecost. We're going to turn our focus a little bit on that today, perhaps in an unusual way, but certainly relevant, our study today. With the title of our study today, From Hunger to Harvest. From Hunger to Harvest. And I invite you to take your Bibles there at home, and those of us here.

And let's turn together to the book of Ruth. The book of Ruth in chapter 1. Ruth chapter 1, as we are going to take the next few Sabbaths here to take a look at this book. Today, our spotlight is not going to be turned directly onto Ruth, but actually today, it'll be turned upon her mother-in-law, Naomi. This is a very important book at this time of year. As some of you may know, this book was actually read in the synagogues, particularly during the Feast of Weeks, during Pentecost. Why? Well, the whole story of Ruth, we will see, revolves around harvest time, the harvest time of this year. And her story, as recorded here, it was read to the New Testament Church because of its prophetic symbolism, a symbolism which actually and ultimately points us to Jesus Christ and the harvest in which He and God the Father are in the midst of with God's people, a spiritual harvest.

And that fact will slowly be revealed to us as we turn the pages of this wonderful little story here. We'll only be getting through the first chapter today, and we'll pray as always that God guide us as we're introduced to these individuals from a long time ago, from geographically a long ways away. We'll pray that we might discover the way in which this has application to us today as we sit with our Bibles open.

So let's begin Ruth chapter 1, and we're going to begin reading verses 1 through 7 to establish our study. Ruth 1, beginning in verse 1. Now I came to pass in the days when the judges ruled that there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab. He and his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife was Naomi. The names of his two sons were Malon and Killian, Ephratites of Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to the country of Moab and remained there.

Then Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died. And she was left and her two sons. Now they, the two sons, took wives of the women of Moab. The name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other was Ruth. And they dwelt there about ten years. Then both Malon and Killian also died. So the woman survived, Naomi survived, her two sons and her husband. Verse 6, Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab. For she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had visited his people by giving them bread.

Therefore, she went out from the place where she was, and her two daughters in law went with her. And they went on their way to return to the land of Judah. I'll stop there. Well, quite a disastrous beginning here. Beginning Naomi's story. At this point in their preparation to return to Judah, it had been some time. It had been over a decade since Naomi and her now late husband, Elimelech, and her two sons had headed out to escape the famine.

They went to this land of the Moabites. There's nothing in the record here to indicate or that tells us that they were able to maintain contact with those to whom they left. In fact, it would seem from the response of those people at Naomi's return that they hadn't been in contact. Because if you go down to verse 19, they were trying to figure out if it was Naomi when she returned.

You can see that they asked just that there in verse 19. Is this Naomi? And so they were trying to determine if this woman that they now saw so many years later was in fact her.

And of course, Naomi's appearance logically would have bore the effects of age over the years. And perhaps her face would have even at this point taken on the additional impact of all of the sadness which had now come upon her. So that was the question. Is this her? Can this be Naomi back now in Bethlehem? You know, Bethlehem was a city among the hills of Judah. Same location, of course. We'll remind ourselves later that David would, as a shepherd boy, be wandering the hills and the fields caring for his sheep.

Of course, this is the same location, Bethlehem, where later other shepherds would hear the announcement of the arrival of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Of course, this is a very significant period in biblical history. Same location now that these events now emerge. So it's within that context. This story comes to us. Verse 1, it was in the days of when the judges ruled.

Those days were most certainly dark days. Dark days in Israel, ruled by the judges. In those days, there was no king of Israel. Everyone did what was right in their own eyes. Judges 21-25 tells us that for your notes. Judges 21-25. So it was a time of moral and political corruption in Israel. The people were turning away from God. God warned that if the Israelites had forgotten his covenant, that he would allow persecution, allow starvation, allow deprivations to occur and come into their experience. Therefore, we know that this famine did not come upon the land by chance. And again, it's within this very dark and dramatic era that this wonderful story comes. It's a record of God's dealings with his called-out men and women. We begin a story like this and we're reminded that in every generation, no matter the darkness, no matter the drama of the events of life and how they appear to be, God is still working. God is still calling men and women to himself. God is still working with those called to do his work. God is still holding those men and women in his loving and capable hands. He's still working out his purposes. Again, even in the midst of darkness.

I speak about this often. We know he often chooses to do so with men and women in places that society would regard as very unlikely. So again, in the middle of this religious and political chaos, we see here that God gives to us this story. Seemingly insignificant, ordinary people facing the everyday routines and struggles of life. It's a very easy story to connect with. This story to which we come. We're dealing with men and women dealing with financial struggle.

We're dealing with the necessity to upend their family, to find the basic needs, the experience of loss, death, even the experience of dealing with your mother-in-law. My mother-in-law is watching today.

It is a story of faithfulness, loyalty, and sticking together. It's all within the context of this providential hand of God. God who intimately is involved in the lives of those whom he's chosen. He knows them, cares for them, sustains them, and walks with them daily.

We ought to be immediately encouraged by this. If you find yourself saying, where am I in all of this? I feel so small in my circumstances. I don't even know if God knows me or even knows where I am. Why would he have any interest in me? Well, the book of Ruth comes to answer those questions. It serves as a necessary correction to our assumptions that God would not be interested in you. Feeling ordinary, feeling discouraged, lost in the scheme of things. This book is for you. Now, we're told in verse 1, there was a famine in the land. The response of this man, Elemunuk, to the circumstances of that time, was to determine that he would go and search for food elsewhere. We can put ourselves at this moment when the famine hit. It would have affected many people, many of God's people. In our circumstances today, I was thinking about this. We can now much easier see how quickly things can change. How these events can unfold. They must have been saying to themselves, Will the store be open today? I wonder if we'll have any wheat today. I wonder if the barley or the olive shelves will be stocked. Certainly, Elemunuk and Naomi would have been hearing perhaps their sons saying, Dad, I'm hungry. Mom, I'm hungry. Can we get some food? You can imagine what would have been going through their minds and their hearts. The response to that uncertainty is for Elemunuk to take his wife and his sons, and they went to dwell on the country. Moab, he would have told his friends, his neighbors, It's important for me to provide for my wife and my kids, and we need to take this action. So off they went, and they would travel from Bethlehem to Moab. It was a mountainous strip of land there in Jordan, rugged and steep, harsh terrain. Some say they would have estimated it would have taken about 7 to 10 days on foot to make this trek. Let's try to get our minds as best into this as we can. Here's a small community, and these are families, these are moms and dads and grandparents and children. In some cases, likely, they were able to isolate themselves from much of the chaos that was happening around them. But they would have been families trying to preserve and maintain their relationship with God, to adhere to God's word there in Bethlehem. Out of that community, now this family goes, leaving this town behind Bethlehem. Incidentally, the word Bethlehem means house of bread. There's a little irony here. They're leaving the house of bread because there's an absence of bread.

If you think about this, the fact that this man would head out from here is quite astonishing, really. Because the presence of God would have been with them in the land of Israel. If there was ever a place where God would provide for them, it surely would have been this land that he gave to them. So this man, a limalek, whose name, by the way, means, the Lord is my king, for this man to head out to a foreign country, it raises the question, at the very least, whether or not he was trusting fully in God to provide the providential care for he and his family. Or, perhaps, was he tempted to go off and take matters into his own hands? Another reason this is so striking is because God had instructed his people very clearly about the Moabites. He had told them they are corrupt people, and he encouraged them to avoid the Moabites at all costs. You can find this throughout the Old Testament. One place in particular is Deuteronomy 23. You can turn there later. Several other places as well. Deuteronomy 23, where God gave them instructions. Don't be involved with these people. Now, I always like to place myself in these situations. Before we get too judgmental on a limalek, we've got to recognize the pressure as a husband, as a father. I certainly understand the pressure to provide for my wife and our kids. A particular responsibility would have raised in him, no doubt. Therefore, he must have said we can only last here a short time longer before we run out of food. I think the best thing we can do here is to search for bread somewhere else. We see him heading out there at the end of verse 2. They went out to the country of Moab and remained there. While they may have had different intentions initially at the beginning, as far as how long they were to remain there, they would spend there. Verse 2, it even gives an indication that they settled down for some time. Moab would have been a good place to go as far as sustenance is concerned. It was a mountainous region on the east side of the Dead Sea. It had a particular fertile plateau. It ran for many miles to over 20 miles. Though, they'd have been thousands of feet above the sea's eastern shore. They had been left in lush lands. They'd been tempted to go there. I certainly understand that. So, that's the hunger. That's the famine that the book opens up. As we read, it quickly turns to tragedy. Suddenly, verse 3, now, Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died and she was left with her two sons. Very tragic circumstances. Almost a trial on a trial. I wonder if you've experienced that. The trial of famine and the risk of starvation. Now, the trial of death and loss. So, the security, the protection that Elimelech would have provided. Now gone. He leaves his wife a widow. Fortunately, she had her two sons. The loss of her husband would have been eased, we could say, by the prospect of now weddings of her two sons. There, in verse 4, we see that both sons took themselves wives. There's joy in weddings. Naomi would have looked forward to this with great anticipation. One is married, then another. And again, many of us have experienced this. The joy that would have provided some relief, even though temporary, from the grief. You attend a joyous occasion like that. And it's always a little bit bittersweet where you had wished the loved one would have been there, of course. At the same time, there's great joy as the marriage unfolds. Naomi would have lived through all of those emotions. Perhaps she would have been encouraged by the prospect of grandchildren at this time. You know, you think about how things will get better, and you switch your mind to those things.

But she could have never imagined the tragedy which would now unfold. Verse 5, as both Milan and Killian also died. So she's left without her two sons and her husband. So an incredibly sad scene that's unfolding here. A lonely widow living in a foreign country, without the protection and provision of her husband.

Without the provision of her sons in a male-dominated society. Frankly, a hopeless situation for Naomi. She must have been saying to herself, I don't know what I'm going to do. I don't know where I'm going to go. She's facing the declining years of her life. No husband, no children, no one to care for her.

So would bitterness come into her experience? Would bitterness come into her experience as she now thinks back on all the decisions that led to these circumstances? Absolutely. That's a natural thing. Of course, bitterness would come.

We don't know whether she thought it was a good idea to go to Moab or not. We don't know if discussions took place. Was it a family decision? Perhaps she said to Alemelech, I don't know if we should go. And Alemelech said we'll have to, honey. We need to go. We've got to provide food for you and the kids.

Or was she the instigator of it? Did she lead the charge? Alemelech, I think we should go. Look, the kids don't have enough to eat. All this would have been going through her mind. If it was the former, she would have said, you know, I wish he had listened to me. If it's the latter, she would have said, I wish he hadn't listened to me. You know, all these things. We've been there.

But the scene now moves quickly. It's kind of a punchy beginning here. We just see her punched in. And all these different aspects come to us very quickly. But the scene now does change to her return home. Verse 6 again. Verse 6, Then she arose with her daughters in law, and that she might return from the country of Moab.

For she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had visited his people by giving them bread. Notice again, was the land of bread. Somehow or another, the message did get back to her. And with that news, it would have been a little bit of a ray of sunshine into her darkness. The word comes that God is providing for his people with food. Notice again, verse 6, The Lord has visited. The Lord has come and provided for his people.

And given them bread. Given them food. You know, I think that might be lost in our society, but has come to the forefront now in the times in which we live in this pandemic. You know, the fact that we need to remind ourselves that it's God who provides the food, who comes to the aid of his people.

He did then. He does today. So who ultimately stocks the grocery shelves? I wonder if you've thought about that. That's God, of course. It's a reminder to us. As you walk up and down the aisles, especially as you see the aisles and the shells sparse, more sparse than they've ever been, it's a word. It's a reminder to when you take that last carton, let's say, of milk, thank God for it.

Say, thank you, Father, for the provision today. Thank you. Ultimately, we know there would be no milk. There would be no bread. There would be no butter. There would be none of these things except for God's provision to us. So the word comes to Naomi. God has intervened. He's done this. She says, I'm going home. Verse 7, we read that the daughter-in-laws prepare to return with her.

It was customary in a context like this for the daughter-in-laws to at least go out of town with her, make that journey, if not all the way, but partially. And then there would be the question, are the daughter-in-laws going the whole way down to Bethlehem or not? So they get down the road a little bit and there in verse 8 and 9, she now says, she turns to him and says, go back now, verse 8 and 9, and Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, go return each of you to your mother's house. The Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me.

The Lord grant that you may find rest, that each in the house of her husband. So go back, she says. Listen, you don't want to come down this road with me. There's no prospect, she says, for you girls. Turn back now, go back to your mother's home. In a sense, she's freeing them, releasing them to begin their lives, a second chapter of their lives.

You've shown kindness to me, but you need to go on with your lives. Look at the end of verse 9 and 10. So she kissed them. They're at the end of verse 9. They lifted up their voices and wept. She says to, as they say to her, surely we will return with you to your people. There's just so much emotion here. Their lives have been connected in a way like no other. If you go through a traumatic experience with a family member, you're connected.

It's a bond. We understand the emotion here. Continuing verse 11 through 13. Verse 11 through 13, But Naomi said, Turn back, my daughters. Why will you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb that they may be your husbands? Turn back, my daughters. Go! For I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, If I should have a husband tonight and should also bear sons, Would you wait for them till they're grown? Would you restrain yourselves from having husbands? No, my daughters. For it grieves me very much for your sakes That the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.

Let's stop there.

You know, a little bit humorous, But there's an exaggeration here, And there's a flood of emotions. You can just feel, and you can almost just see this scene as an unfold. If I had a husband tonight, Are you going to wait nine months? Are you going to wait 18 years? No. No, there's no prospect here with me.

Be sensible.

Understand my daughters. It's better, bitterness for me. The hand of the Lord has gone out against me.

That's an impactful statement. And it's an interesting statement here. The hand of the Lord has gone out against me, Naomi says. In fact, if you go a little bit further down, If you allow your eyes just to go down to verse 20, When she gets back to the village, We see that she says, Do not call me Naomi. Call me Mara. We'll get to that in just a moment. But she says, Because the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. So here's the bitter. The bitterness. Let's stop and think for a moment with this. These expressions of Naomi. You know, these expressions, And you're going to see it more and more throughout this story line. The Lord's hand has been heavy upon me.

These expressions are far from the notion That somehow or another, this is all happenstance. God doesn't know who I am. This is all just life and chance, you know. Or this is far from the notion that God is even being surprised by these events that are unfolding here. No, she says, God's in it all. He's providentially overruling the things in my life. The famine, the moving out, the loss of my husband, the loss of my two sons. God's hand is in it all. That's the declarations he's making here.

How do we explain this? Well, if you'd like to turn, or if you'd like to just listen, it's found, the explanation is found in Romans 828, Romans 828, and Romans 829. Very familiar verse here. Let me just read it to you.

But the notion here can be summarized in these two verses. So if you need a couple of verses to go to, if you're feeling these emotions like Naomi, here it is. Romans 828.

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. All things.

Verse 29, hear this.

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that they might be firstborn among many brethren.

That's the Word of God. And I want to direct your thoughts at this moment to this phrase. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.

You know, if we have to be conformed to the image of His Son, that presupposes that we're not already in that form. You see, we're not already in the image of His Son. So how does that happen? Well, we have to be conformed. God has to conform us. We have to be pulled and pushed together and molded and conformed into the image of His Son.

So, the question, are you prepared, like Naomi, to trust God as He directs your steps in the purpose of conforming you to the image of His Son?

Think about conforming. There's tension, isn't there? There's molding. There's conflict in that movement.

Are you willing to surrender yourself to the conforming process of God? It's that simple. That's that simple. It's obvious Naomi knew that she was in this conforming process of God, and she was in it in a dramatic way. And I know there's several of you listening out there right now that you're in the conforming process in a very dramatic way. You're right in the midst of God purposely and intentionally and intimately conforming you into the image of His Son.

I wonder if you'll acknowledge that.

It doesn't make it any easier, that knowledge, but that knowledge and that acceptance and that acknowledgement, it'll change you inside. We heard a little bit of that hope in the sermonette. It'll change you inside. If you acknowledge that today, it'll revolutionize your perspective when these trials come into your life, one after another sometimes. It will change, it'll direct the way you respond.

Start off with acknowledging I'm in the conforming process of God. When these things hit, and He's molding me, and He's pulling me, because what it will do is far from moving you away from the hand that's conforming you. What it will cause you to do is move toward those hands and to take these things to Him. It changes your perspective, because then your prayer is, Father, help me get there. Help me get to the image of your Son. Be merciful to me while we get there. Know how much I can handle.

Give me extra strength. So it changes your prayer, and it changes your perspective, and it changes your response. If you get to this place, this acknowledgement of Naomi, and she didn't have all the answers at this point, she just kept, you'll see, she just kept repeating what she does know. The hand of God has been heavy on me. She just keeps repeating it. That's what she knows at this moment. But she still acknowledges God, she still has faith in God, she's still reaching out to God while she waits for more understanding.

Very important concept for us to get today.

So you see, that's the question to the child of God. Recognizing your life, you're not at the mercy of some arbitrary, impersonal force. You're not somehow bobbing around the sea of chance, you know, held in the grip of some blind, deterministic, impersonal power. No! You're in the... A child of God is in the capable hands of God. And all these things come into our experience only by the authority and the permission of the hand of the Almighty. I hope you'll acknowledge that today. Perhaps for the first time, or maybe in a greater way.

Remarkably, Naomi is acknowledging this is her belief.

And she says to the girls, and you know what, I don't know what's further in store for me. It might not be over with. You don't want to come with me. The Lord's hand has gone out against me at this moment. Girls, I am in the... I am in the process of God conforming me right now. In a great way. I'm not sure if you want to come with me. And they wept. Verse 14, Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth, verse 14, clung to her mother-in-law. So in a way, Orpah, she did kind of the expected thing. Perhaps from a humanistic point of view, the most sensible thing, she kisses her mother-in-law goodbye. Ruth looks at the whole situation, and she clings to her mother-in-law. And look at these words. Look at this expression here. Something was changing in Ruth. There was a calling. God was reaching out to Ruth in a very intentional way through her mother-in-law, Naomi. Verse 16 through 18. Just outpouring here. But Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave you or to turn back from following after you. For wherever you go, I will go, she says. And wherever you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people. And your God, dear mother-in-law, shall be my God. Where you die, I will die. And there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me. Verse 18. When she, Naomi, saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her. Let's stop there. That's a powerful testimony there by Ruth. She's looking at this whole scene and the prospect of her mother-in-law leaving. It's a moment that God grips her. Her response is a sacrifice of herself. She puts everything of her own loggings, perhaps she had thought by going with her mother-in-law, there goes the prospect of marriage. She's going to cling to her bereaved mother-in-law because there's just something here. This is a crossroads moment for Ruth. And after this chapter, as we begin to turn to Ruth, you're going to see that this is the moment that sets the stage for Ruth for the rest of her story. It's not about the geography. It's not about even the emotion. This is ultimately about her destiny. This hits Ruth, her faith, her belief. And no doubt she believed, as Naomi did, that God's hand is happening here. We don't know what. We don't understand it. It doesn't make sense from a physical point of view. But Ruth could see what Naomi saw. God's hand is here. And so Ruth wants to cling to that. And she's willing to take whatever comes with it. No doubt believed that God was dealing intimately in these circumstances. And she knew then at this moment that going back to the Moabite society, after all that she understood now, it would have been turning back on this discovery of truth. So she says, Your people shall be my people. And your God, my God. So she wants to know more about Naomi's God. And doesn't want to go back to this Moabite society, her old life. And in the same way, today, Jesus Christ stands on the stage of human history. He stands at the crossroads of our decisions. And he says to his called out men and women, Do you want to be my disciple? Or do you want to return to the old way, to the eight-year-old gods? Who is here, Christ would come later and say, Who is here to forsake even their father, even their mother? Everything that represents security in your life. Which woman? Which man is here who will stand up and follow me?

Well, this might be a time today, if you're listening to this, My Words and the Words of the Bible is what it is. It's not my words. The words of Ruth. These could be your words, a new commitment, a renewed commitment today. That's the overarching message of the book of Ruth, revealed today.

No matter where life takes you, will you commit to the hand of God, even if you don't have all the answers quite. But you're going to acknowledge that His hand is in this. Because you know it is. If you've been called out, God's with you. He will not forsake you.

I have decided to follow you, Naomi. Your God will be my God. So, that brings us to the arrival.

The arrival back in Bethlehem. Isn't this a great story so far, by the way? I'm very connected to this story. It's my favorite at the moment.

So, here's the return, verses 19 through 22. Let's read this together, verse 19 through 22. Now, verse 19, The two of them went until they came to Bethlehem.

And it happened when they came to Bethlehem that all the city was excited because of them. And the women said, Is this Naomi? And she said to them, Do not call me Naomi. Call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi? Since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me. Verse 22, So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabites, her daughter-in-law with her, who returned to the country of Moab, and they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.

So any hope that Naomi had of kind of coming back into town and quietly and kind of slipping in, any hope she had about that was immediately dashed. We're told upon the arrival back in Bethlehem, the whole town immediately knew it. Those who have spent their time in cities growing up, like myself, this doesn't make too much sense. How could the arrival of two widow women into the town immediately cause a buzz like this through the whole community? Then I started thinking about it.

If you have lived in any length of time in a small setting, a small country, like my wife, you will understand how this happens. Anyone who comes into town almost immediately, everyone in the town knows about it. Whose car is that? Immediately the buzz and it gets around the town. The word gets around almost immediately. The word spreads in a tiny community, such as Bethlehem.

So everything's a buzz. I believe Naomi's back. Is that who it is? I don't know. It looks like her. I wonder where her husband is. Where's her sons? What is she doing back here? Who's that with her? I hear she's a widow, too. Eventually someone comes up. Is that you, Naomi? No. Don't call me Naomi. Call me Mara.

Naomi means pleasant. Mara means bitter. And she says, I've got to be honest with you. As you call out pleasant, that doesn't fit my life in the way it's turned. Bitter. Only bitterness is in my experience right now. How difficult this must have been. Old, familiar faces. Familiar places. The flood of memories. Perhaps she went around and telling Ruth, this is the place where Alemolech asked me to marry him.

This is where I used to play, have the boys play. It had been very difficult. So, no, don't call me pleasant. Call me bitter. It's a better name for me right now. The Almighty has made my life very bitter. There's a level of honesty here. She's in a way, she's confirming her belief. She's confirming her theology and where she was at this moment.

I find myself very drawn to Naomi here. Often I have a tendency, maybe you do, to hide pain. This is an extra conviction for me to share it. You don't know exactly all that's happening right now. You don't understand it. But what you do know is that God's hand is in it. That's where the hope comes. Acknowledge that. That's the hope we heard earlier. Coming to this closing scene, as we look to conclude our study today, here in verse 22, it's just the slightest change in the breeze.

I wonder if you felt it when we were reading there, verse 22. Just ever so slightly, the breeze picks up. It's a cool breeze. They came back, verse 22, and they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest. The barley harvest is beginning. Right as their return occurs. Do you feel it?

A change? Naomi is faithful. She's waiting on God. Maybe this is the moment in which change will begin to occur. Uplifting and encouragement. If you keep your faith in God in the midst of hopelessness, on the strength of Scripture, I'm here to tell you new mercies will come. New beginnings, fresh starts. Wait for them. Wait for them. Anticipate them. Pray for them. You can almost see this little shine of light, this little ray of light that comes out of the clouds.

There's been a lot of clouds here in the first chapter. A lot of dark clouds. The clouds break a little bit and you have this ray of light come down. It shines on this barley, this golden barley, you know, the color. It's kind of the new breeze that's causing the barley to wave in the wind, perhaps.

A new dawn. Something is about to break for these two widows. Naomi, who's still trusting God, even in the bitterness. I wonder what's going to happen to her. Oh, and I wonder what's in store for Ruth. Will she get married again? I don't know. To be continued. Because we're out of time. Well, I will leave this to you in closing. As the story unfolds, Naomi will begin to see, in a very real way, God has not forgotten her. In the story of Naomi and Ruth, it's one that holds incredible and exciting promise.

And although Naomi and Ruth, at this moment, couldn't know it, there is a future blessing, which now would come and spring forth in this new harvest. Well, it's been enjoyable to see you at this first webcast. I look forward to seeing you next time.