February 16, 2018

Famine in the Land

"Now it 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" (which in Hebrew means "HOUSE OF BREAD"), "went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife, and his two sons.”  Ruth 1:1

We find some interesting facts concerning the Book of Ruth.  Ruth is the 8th Book of the Bible.  In Hebrew the number 8 means "new beginnings".  Now even more awesome, the Book of Ruth is only 85 verses long.  Again, 8 meaning "new beginnings and the number 5 in the original Hebrew text means "GRACE".  New beginnings with grace, and yes in the days of Judges when everything seemed to some that God had just forgotten them. 

In this verse, it tells us a certain man went to sojourn the country of Moab with his wife and two sons.  This man's name is Elimelech.  His name has a significant meaning:  Eli, meaning my God and Melech meaning "is King."  He lived in Bethlehem, meaning House of Bread and Judah meaning "place of praise."  In the New Testament we find this is the very city  where Jesus, The Bread of Life, would be born centuries later. 

However, out of fear that his family would starve, he thought it right to bring them to Moab.  Psalm 108 refers to Moab as "His washpot."  The modern translation would be "His toilet bowl."  They also worshipped pagan gods in this land.

How many of us run to a strange place in times of trouble?  After all, it seemed to make so much sense in the natural.  It made sense to Elimelech to bring his family out of famine and into a strange land with food.   He was not going to let his family starve.  As we read on, we know the lesson will be that we should always diligently seek the Lord before we make a move. We can trust that God had a plan for HIS people and would give back anything the locusts had stolen. In this Book we will see that there would be a time when the famine in that land was over.  His Word and His promises are food.