Part 10

“I will give you treasures of darkness and hidden riches of the Secret Place, that you may know that I, the Lord, Who calls you by your name, am the God of Israel.”  Isaiah 45:3

It is one of the sweetest love stories ever told.  It is the stuff Hollywood longs to market to their audiences.  It is what every author craves to convey to their readers.  It is real life.  It is about lives lived thousands of years ago, and it is recorded and read by millions in the only Book that will never burn up.  It is the story of Ruth and Boaz, and we are about to discover how their lives line up so beautifully with ours when we seek to live in The Secret Place.

The setting for this story is grim, at best.  We have three key players:  Naomi, Ruth and Boaz.  The time is “in the day the judges ruled, and there was a great famine in the land…” (Ruth 1:1a).  It was dark for Israel, there was no king, and “everyone did as he saw fit” (Judges 17:6, 21:25).  Again, grim, at best.  Moab was a nation that oppressed Israel during this time, and there was hostility between the two nations.

“…a man from Bethlehem in Judah,…” Ruth 1:1b “The man’s name was Elimelech…” Ruth 1:2a

We have a man who plays such a small role that it would be easy to overlook his significance in the plot.  We know very little about the man called Elimelech, and although not a major player in the story, he is one of the most important.  He made some tough decisions for his family.  He made the decision to move his family (“…together with his wife and sons…his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion.” Ruth 1:1c, 2b) from their home in Bethlehem to foreign and hostile Moab (“…went to live for a while in the country of Moab.” Ruth 1:1d) so that they could survive the hunger pains that were gnawing in their bellies.  He sets the stage for us as we explore this story. 

I wonder what sacrifices they had to make as they prepared to leave their home.  I am sure it was a grueling decision Elimelech had to make on behalf of his family.  They left their families, their friends, their house, most of their belongings, their job, their land and the only things they had ever known.  They left the familiar and the known for the strange and the unknown. 

But God….He instructed the heart of His faithful one to follow His voice.  Elimelech was faithful to the call, being obedient to go where he was sent by God Almighty.  He was “passing through the shadow of death” (Psalm 23:4), trusting in the name of the Lord to protect his family (Proverbs 18:10) and believing that the God of Israel would give him treasures in the darkness (Isaiah 45:3).

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines the following for us:
Famine:  Hunger; starvation; a ravenous appetite.
Hunger:  A craving or urgent need for a specific nutrient; an uneasy sensation caused by the lack of food; a weakened condition brought about by prolonged lack of food; a strong desire:  craving.
Thirst:  A desire or need to drink; an ardent desire:  craving, longing; to crave vehemently and urgently.

Is there a famine in your life?
“Let us give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men, for He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.”  Psalm 107:8-9

Are you hungry? 
“Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied.” Luke 6:21 

Do you thirst?
“My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” Psalm 42:2a

Do you desire to desire Him?
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled.”  Matthew 5:6

“Father, all You ask from us is an invitation.  You so desire to enrich our poverty in spirit, to nourish us, to still the hunger pains, to fill us with Your living water, to quench all the dry places in our lives.  Help us to move from the comfort of the familiar - to the unknown where Your riches are stored. Thank-you, thank-you that You beckon us to the Secret Place, that the veil is torn away, and we can enjoy fellowship with You, never again experiencing a famine in our souls. ‘Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst.’ Revelation 7:16a   Thank-you, thank-you! Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!  Amen!”