Introduction: We saw in the previous two lessons several truths.  We saw in part one the arrival in Bethlehem.  They had arrived to city of God’s praise.  We saw the seven thoughts in regards to the power of positive praise life.  Time will not allow us to review those.  Then we saw that they arrived the city of God’s presence.  The name “LORD” was in capital letters.  This shows us that Jehovah God; the Lord God Almighty visited His people and was showing Himself strong on behalf of His people. 

      Then we saw that they arrived at the city of God’s provision.  Then name “Bethlehem” means the “house of bread”.  They also arrived of city of God’s people.  Naomi is back among the people she is meant to be.  These are God’s people.  In Moab she was different.  But she has made that long walk home.

      In part two, we saw the attitude exhibited at Bethlehem.  Naomi’s attitude was one of bitterness.  Bitterness is the only poison in the world that destroys its own container.  We saw what bitterness was and what it will do.  We spent the important time to see the stages and characteristics of bitterness.  Unforgiveness is the kissing cousin of bitterness.  But all this would have been in vain if I had not given the ways to prevent bitterness and what was my part.  Then we saw that Naomi tried to change her name to Mara that means bitter.  This is nothing less than exhibiting her bitterness against the Lord.  After all, she is trying to blame the Lord for her problems.  

      In this part of this passage we are going to look at some exciting thoughts that can thrill our souls. 

III. THE ANTICIPATION IN BETHLEHEM

                                                Vs. 22

“So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.”

      There are no coincidences with the Lord.  They came back at the time of the beginning of the barley harvest.  Time is a commodity that comes from the Lord.  God always works in His time.  This return shows three different times.

         A. It Was A Time Of Blood. The time of barley harvest was also the time of Passover. It is a time to shed the blood of the lamb and commemorate the deliverance of God's people from sin.  Exodus 12:1-5

               “And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats”

                           In Exodus chapter twelve, we see a progression involved with the lamb.  In verse three we see "a" lamb.  I see this as an abstract.  It could be any lamb.  But in verse four the wording is changed to "the" lamb.  I see this as an absolute.  In the book of John, John the Baptist introduced Jesus as the Lamb of God.  There is no doubt about it.  Jesus is the Lamb of God.  But in verse five we see the final progression.  The wording is changed to "your" lamb.  This is the assurance.  This lamb had to have several qualities.  It had to a spotless lamb.  In other words, it could not have any blemishes on it.  Let's see seven areas that will include His whole life as the spotless Lamb.

          1.  He was the master of every situation, taking exactly the right action to fit the circumstances.  Never having to seek advice before acting and never having to retract or apologizing after he acted.

          2.  He never had to ask for permission, since He always spoke with authority or forgiveness, since He never said or did anything amiss.

          3.  He had no consciousness of sins or shortcomings in His life yet never conveying any impression of pride or pretense of holiness in His manner.

          4.  He was never fearful of anything and could be overpowering bold when occasion required it and yet He was gentle and meek in the highest degree.

          5.  His words were always perfectly chosen to fit the need of absolute purity and wholesomeness, never trivial, always relevant and meaningful.

          6.  He never complained about His circumstances in spite of weariness, hunger, poverty, persecution and rejection but instead provided continual encouragement and comfort to others. 

          7.  He was equally confident and authoritative with friends and enemies; common people or leaders; never flustered or confused what to say or do regardless of the company or circumstances. 1^st Peter 1:19

               "But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot"

                           Before May 10, 1972, Jesus Christ was "a" lamb in my life.  I had heard about Him.  I knew He existed but He was just "a" lamb.  Then as the truths of God's word were preached, He became "the" lamb.  I knew that I would only go to Heaven by accepting the Lamb of God as my personal Saviour.  But on May 10, 1972, He became my lamb.  Jesus took my sins upon Him so that I could to Heaven.  He not only took my sins, He also took the sins of the whole world.

                           This was a picture of coming home through the blood

                                             1^st John 1:7-10

                     “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

                           Thank God, the blood of the Lamb is sufficient to take care of the sins of the wayward saint! It was not a coincidence that they returned at this time.  Naomi had not celebrated the Passover in all those years she was in Moab.  It would not been right to do so.  God had wanted His people to be in their place.

                           The barley harvest was at the time of the first fruits offering.  There would be a particular amount harvested and then offered to the Lord.  The harvest season was for gathering grain or fruit. On the 16th day of Abib (or April) a handful of ripe ears of corn was offered as a first-fruit before the Lord, and immediately after this the harvest commenced  Leviticus 23:9-14

               “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto the LORD. And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the LORD for a sweet savour: and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin. And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

                           It began with the feast of Passover and ended with Pentecost, thus lasting for seven weeks.  The Passover was a corporate celebration in that all Israel observed the meal, just as Moses had instructed them. On the other hand, the meal was a family matter. Each family was responsible for its own sacrificial animal, its own act of placing the blood on the doorframe, and its own celebration of the meal. There is no specific mention of any Egyptians celebrating the first Passover, although this is possible, even likely. This possibility is enhanced by the report that some Egyptians had taken heed of previous warnings.  Also, in the instructions God gave concerning the future observance of Passover, foreigners who placed themselves under the Abrahamic Covenant (as signified by circumcision) were allowed to participate, with no distinctions made between them and other Israelites.  Ruth is part of the family and thus is part of the Passover that year.  Ruth had signed up this so to speak.

                                             Ruth 1:16

               “And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God” 

                           Ruth is ready to partake of all of the life of a Jew.  This included the feasts.  The Passover was the name given to the chief of the three great historical annual festivals of the Jews. It was kept in remembrance of the Lord's passing over the houses of the Israelites when the first born of all the Egyptians were destroyed.

         B.  It Was A Time Of Bounty. This was also the time of the Feast of the Firstfruits.  A time when the first of the barley harvest was offered in a wave offering before the Lord as an offering of gratitude for the harvest that was about to be reaped. When the priest made the wave offering, he was saying, "This is just the first, there is more on the way!" 

                           Jesus is presented as the "Firstfruits from the dead" in the New Testament.

                                             1^st Corinthians 15:20; 23

                     “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.”  “But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.”

                           Jesus fulfills all the feasts and offerings that we see in the Old Testament.  By being the firstfruits and the great High Priest, He is basically waving His offering of Himself to the Father and saying, "This is just the first, there is more on the way!" 

                           It is always a time of harvest and bounty when a wandering child returns home! We see this in the account of the Prodigal Son in Luke chapter fifteen.

                                             Luke 15:20-27

               “And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.”

                           As I said earlier, it was no coincidence that they came home at this time.  It was the perfect time to get right with God.

         C.  It Was A Time Of Beginnings. Naomi wanted her name to be changed to "Mara." But, when the Holy Spirit mentions her in verse 22, He calls her "Naomi". As I said in the last time, she is never called Mara but Naomi every other time in the book.  She may have been "bitter" in heart, but the Lord had some "pleasant" blessings ahead for this woman.

                           "Is this Naomi?" The people of Bethlehem were amazed at her appearance and problems.  Sin brings along trouble but the Lord was about to give her blessings and glories that she could not have been imagined. While people may mourn over the troubles of the sinner, but there is joy in heaven over a repentant sinner.

                                             Luke 15:7

               “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.” 

Conclusion: I want to look at one additional item.  This was not just any crop.  It was the barley crop.  It was sown in Palestine in autumn, and reaped in the spring, that is, at the Passover.  The Hebrews frequently used barley bread.  John 6:9 

“There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?”

      Barley also was much used as food for cattle. The poorer people used barley bread.  Here is a truth that we need not to forget.  The common man received Jesus gladly.  One of the reasons was that He ate what they ate.  He understood about being poor.  He left the riches of heaven to dwell among poor people. 

      Barley will be sold in the time of the days of Tribulation.  More people will be eating it because it will be all that they can afford. Revelation 6:6

“And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.”

      A penny was a day’s wages in Bible times.  Even people who have plenty of money will probably eventually opt for barley.  If you had to choice from eating for one day or three days, you would most likely opt for the three days especially if you had a family.

      We mentioned that it was possible that Elimelech was a rich man.  But Naomi had come home to poverty.  She is reduced to eating the barley bread.  This is exactly what sin will do to a person.  Sin will take you further than you wanted to go, keep you longer than you wanted to stay and make you give more than you were willing to give.