
Bethel Baptist Church
Worship Service @ Home
29 September 2024
Welcome
“You are chosen by the Lord to follow and serve Him and He will pour out His grace, love and blessings on you, as you trust and obey Him.”
Stella
Worship
Word
… the barley harvest was beginning.
Ruth 1:22
God is big on timing, His timing. Significant spiritual matters in the Scripture are all of God’s timing, the ultimate, Jesus first and second coming,
But when the set time had fully come, God sent His Son.
Gal. 4:4
The appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in His own time …
1 Tim. 6:14-15
What about the smaller matters? The barley harvest, an annual occurrence, although the famine had disrupted it. When we have taken something for granted and then don’t have it, be it the annual harvest, good health, or whatever, we can realise that we did take things for granted and there was even a lack of gratitude for these things. When they are restored maybe we are more thankful for them.
We could make a list of coincidences here,
- Naomi and Ruth returned at the time of the harvest (Ruth 1:22)
- Ruth just happened to glean in Boaz’s field (Ruth 2:3); As it turned out Boaz was of the clan of Elimelech (Ruth 2:3)
- Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem (Ruth 2:4)
Or we could see God’s hand at work. To those who attributed certain events to coincidences, William Temple’s witty reply was, “Okay, when I pray coincidences happen. When I don’t they don’t.” We can see such things as “ordinary” or start to see the “extraordinary” behind them. Thus the barley harvest was a BIG DEAL in more ways than one.
I attended the rehearsals of Open The Book (OTB) last week and one of the Bible stories they were acting out was from Ruth. I loved the way they acted out the part when Naomi saw Ruth returning with a great bundle of barley, she blurted out, “He wants to marry you!” Talk about getting straight to the point! Did Elimelech walk in disobedience, that resulted in all the sadness and hopelessness that followed.
It’s a totally different thing to go through hard times, even famines, when walking closely with God, for He will undertake for you. But to walk in disobedience, things become very difficult and we can start to feel totally abandoned by God, although He never totally abandons us. Boaz and all the people who remained in Judah got through it. And now there is that sense that Naomi is back in the place she should always have been, and we can start to see the hand of the Almighty working for her and Ruth.
God will always achieve His purposes and bring about His plans despite all human inadequacies, it’s why we call them God-incidences rather than coincidences! One question: Do we still give thanks to God every time we eat?
Quote of the week
“We serve a gracious Master who knows how to overrule even our mistakes to His glory and our advantage.”
John Newton
Verse of the week
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28
Let’s Pray
Heavenly Father, we confess our weaknesses, our mistakes, our sins, in the confidence that You forgive us, cleanse us, and work all for Your glory and our good. Come fill us anew with Your Holy Spirit, in and through our Lord, Saviour, and Friend, Jesus Christ, Amen.