‘Bethlehem.’
(The Meaning of Bethlehem is House Of Bread)
a) Ruth 1:22. A place where relationships could be built.
b) Judges 17:7-9. It was a place where Jewish priests set out on their journeys from.
c) Ruth 1:1-2. It was a place that people emigrated from.
d) Ruth 1:19. It was a place of welcome.
e) Ruth 2:4. It was a business centre.
f) Ruth 4:19. It was a dwelling place for famous people.
g) 1 Samuel 16:1. Jesse the father of David came from there.
h) 1 Samuel 16:4. It was a place where the Elders of the City had the Fear of the Lord and great respect for the man of God.
i) 1 Samuel 17:15; 20:6. It was David’s home and he sometimes went back there.
j) 2 Samuel 23:14-16. The Philistines occupied it and made their garrison there.
k) Micah 5:2. Was the subject of Old Testament Prophecy.
l) John 7:42. Jesus Christ was born there.
(This QT creates a hunger in my heart to know more about Bethlehem – the House of Bread)
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‘Ruth’s Real Refuge.’
Ruth 2:11-12.
a) All that Ruth had done for her mother-in-law since the death of her husband was known.
b) She had left her own father and mother and the land of her birth.
c) She came to a people whom she did not know before, Naomi’s people.
d) The Lord would repay what she had done.
e) The Lord God of Israel would give her a full reward.
f) She had come to the Lord for refuge.
(This Second one shows me Ruth’s Real Refuge)
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Chris.
Emigration is very common today but it is not a modern phenomenon. People were emigrating frequently in Bible Days. To emigrate is really to start a new chapter of one’s life and one’s family life. Emigration is sometimes something that God calls people to do. If God is calling us to emigrate, let us not be afraid but Trust and Obey God.
