“So they two went until they came to Beth–lehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Beth–lehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi?”
The arrival of Naomi and Ruth in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest marks the crucial turning point from descent to restoration, from emptiness to provisional fullness. The town's recognition of Naomi suggests her former prominence and makes the contrast of her current reduced circumstances all the more poignant. The timing of their arrival at harvest season proves providential, as it will create the opportunity for Ruth to engage in the very means of provision that the Mosaic law had established for the vulnerable.
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
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