In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. The man’s name was Elimelech, his wife’s name, Naomi … Ruth 1:1,2
The Bible gives us two descriptions of marriage when it teaches of the marriage of God to His Bride, Israel, (Hosea) and Christ to His Bride, the Church (Ruth).
Think of our marriage to the world, before we know Christ. Then we are married to earthly pleasures, - child of Adam in our sinful nature. We are born into the world, and live according to our earthly wisdom and knowledge. Hopes and dreams center around our self will. Sin is predominant with the “I” in the middle of a sea of delusions sent by satan into the neighbourhood of our natural egotism.
In the Book of Ruth we see how Elimelech tried to solve problems himself by moving away from Bethlehem, the “House of Bread” to a land where he could supposedly find better things - the land of milk and honey in his own mind. But whenever we try to solve problems our way by moving away from the House of Bread, which is God’s Living Word to us, we will only take the problems with us, though perhaps in another guise. Only the Living Bread can feed us with the Truth we need. Only the Living Bread can feed us with solutions to our problems and assuage our hunger for help.
Elimelech felt that the Lord was blessing his move, for he was being provided for in various ways. During his 10 to 20 year sojourn in Moab, he was well fed physically, and had two sons who married well, giving two lovely daughters-in-law. We don’t know whether Elimelech knew the extent of these provisions, but certainly he would have felt secure in the knowledge of his wife’s needs being met.
We are so often “blessed” in our lives because we look at our circumstances and ourselves from a human and self focused perspective, even persuading ourselves that we are doing God’s will. We live on the physical plane, and see things from our physical standpoint. Only when we recognize the need of a spiritual side to our life can we start to glean real sustenance as we seek new meaning to our existence.
Physical life as we know it starts at birth, and is followed by the most intense learning process that sets our course for the future. In the first 7 years of our lives we learn to speak, walk, feed, think, relate, reason, excuse, procrastinate, argue, desire, fight, cry, sulk, demand --- and so the list goes. Blessed in a true way is the child who is taught in those early years of his need for a Spiritual side to his existence. Blessed is the child who hears and understands, and accepts Christ as His Saviour. Then, as his physical learning increases, it will be fed by his Spiritual knowledge also, and the gleanings from God’s Word will nourish his heart into eternity. Sadly, few are so blessed! Like Elimelech, we see only the needs of our physical being, and seek our own versions of the land flowing with milk and honey. We recognize only the draught that affects our natural character, so often failing to recognize our need for Living Water to feed our souls.
No crop grows without water. There will be no harvest without good growing conditions. Our hearts and minds need to be receptive to the provisions available to us as children of God.
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