“So she prepared to return with her daughters-in-law from the plain of Mo’av; for in the plain of Mo’av she had heard how Adonai had paid attention to his people by giving them food.”-Ruth 1:6
So the now widowed Naomi receives word that the famine in Israel has ended.
Connected to this situation, there are 3 key Hebrew words I want to explore for a sec.
They are…
יהוה (YEHOVAH)
ארץ (ERETZ)
לָ֫חֶם (LECHEM).
If you’ve been following along with me for any length of time, you should know the above Hebrew words like the back of your hand.
YEHOVAH is the Lord’s formal name.
ERETZ means “the land” and only refers to the Promised Land of Israel.
LECHEM means “bread” but it can also be a general term for “food”.
Now I find it interesting that Naomi’s perspective is that YEHOVAH visited the ERETZ and gave the people LECHEM.
I want you to note the divine connection between those three words.
It is the Lord Himself who withdrew bread from the land…
And in due time, it was the Lord Himself who intervened to end the famine by supplying bread to His people in the land.
In other words, there is a divine and inseparable connection between the Lord, the Land and the food needed to keep His people alive.
There’s also historical evidence for this.
Whenever any other people group but Israel inhabited the Land, the Land refused to produce LECHEM.
But whenever Israel dwelled in ERETZ ISRAEL, the land produced LECHEM in abundance…
To the point where it was considered the food basket of the whole Middle East.
I want you to grasp this point because it demonstrates that Israel does not live on bread alone.
The nourishing bread they need to not only survive but THRIVE is linked to their relationship with G-d.
Naomi rightfully acknowledged that it was the Lord who took away and then provided.
After the news that the famine had ended, we’re told that Naomi “arose” with her two daughters in law.
This means she was about to begin the journey to return back home to BEIT-LECHEM.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“The Tempter came and said to him,
“If you are the Son of God,
order these stones to become bread.”
But he answered, “The Tanakh says,
‘Man does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes
from the mouth of Adonai’”
-Matthew 4:3-4
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.”
-Matthew 6:9-13
“So do not worry, saying,
‘What shall we eat?’ or
‘What shall we drink?’
or ‘What shall we wear?’
For the gentiles run after
all these things,
and your heavenly Father
knows that you need them.
But seek first his kingdom
and his righteousness,
and all these things
will be given to you as well.“
-Matthew 6:31-33
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