Coming to God is every believer’s privilege. The presence of God can be a believer’s perpetual experience in life. However, it is all too common to hear about believers only drawing near to God because of a calamity in life. They only consider God because of some agonizing and heartrending experiences. This was precisely what happened to Naomi. It took three deaths in her family to drive her back to God. None of us need to wait for something tragic to happen in life before we return to God. We don’t have to wait till the pleasant and delightful experiences in life turn bitter than we begin to think, consider and search for God. Remember, her name Naomi means pleasant or delightful, but outside of God’s presence, it became Mara, meaning bitter.
For Naomi to be recognized tells us that she must have been well to do prior to her departure from Bethlehem. The decade of harsh experiences came about because of the decision her family chose to take. Heartbreakingly, she blamed it all on God. She said in verse 20 that “the Almighty had dealt with me bitterly.” How convenient! We need to know that while God knows everything before it happens to us, He, however, is not the one who engineers it. But He will take the experiences of our life, both the positive and negative, to perfect our walk with Him. God did not make us like robots but human beings, with the capacity to make moral choices freely. However, we need to know that while we have the right to choose any course of action in life, we cannot choose the outcome. The outcome is determined by the decision we make. The tragedy that Naomi and her family experienced was the outcome of the choices they had made. What we see in her life is a call for us to wisely choose our course of living.
Naomi and Ruth returned to Bethlehem of Judah at the beginning of the barley harvest. Bethlehem, the house of bread, by now had become a city of provision. It was situated in Judah, which means praise. It can be seen as the city of praise. Because of God’s visitation, we can also call it the city of His presence. This is the place you and I belong when we come to God. Our spiritual family, the church we belong to, should be a place of provision, praise, and God’s presence. This is the place where we experience God together as a family and a place we all rightly belong. This underscores for us the necessity to remain a steadfast member of the family we belong to. We must not migrate to Moab when God wants us to stay in Bethlehem.
Barley harvest speaks of two particular things. Firstly, it speaks of the time of harvest, a time of plenty. It happens during the Feast of the Firstfruit when the Israelites would offer the first harvest as a wave offering to God in gratitude. For us, we need to learn to be grateful to God for all His provision. Naomi’s return to Bethlehem coincided with the beginning of barley harvest. This speaks of a new beginning. She might have become bitter, but God had a pleasant and delightful plan to return her to former glorious experiences.
These four verses tell us to remain steadfast in our journey with God. The spiritual drought we may experience is not necessarily a problem with the church. It could well be our own personal dissatisfaction. Our connection with God is a personal responsibility. All growing believers must find their own replenishment strategies. We must personally cultivate spiritual disciplines that will connect us with God. Secondly, we must learn to make godly and wise decisions. Remember we have the right to choose what we want but we cannot dictate the outcome. It is dictated by the choices we make. Thirdly, we should not be afraid to return to God when we have made a mistake. Hear what Psalm 103:9-13 say about God, “He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him” Our God is magnanimous and will freely forgive. What He requires of us is our repentance. We must stay connected to Him all the time. Don’t drift away!
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