The Barley Harvest
The barley harvest commences just at the start of the Passover in ancient Israel. Ruth had left Moab, her country of birth alongside her mother in law, Naomi.
They both returned to Bethlehem, on the event that God had visited Bethlehem with good tidings after a famine that lasted 10 years.
Ruth refused to stay back at her homeland despite persuasions from Naomi, predicating on the death of Ruth’s husband, Mahlon.
Naomi insisted Ruth stayed back at Moab, as Mahlon had died and she didn’t have chances of providing her another husband.
Ruth turned down the offer to stay at Moab,” where you I will go, your God will be my God” she said to Naomi. Naomi and Ruth returned to Bethlehem without hope for survival. Their husbands were dead and didn’t have any one to provide their needs.
The barley harvest implies that farm owners will require extra hands to help pick up grains and glean. Ruth exploited this opportunity so she could provide for she and her mother in law. She got into the field of Boaz, who unknown to her was a kinsman of her late Husband.
Ruth’s wandering to work on Boaz’s field was providence. It was God’s divine guidance. God was steadily designing her path towards greatness and historical relevance. Ruth didn’t have the right skill to even harvest the grains from the weed properly. She therefore was given the task of gleaning.
This implies she was going to eat crumbs that fell off the table of the maid servants and other skilled workers.
Ruth amidst this was diligent in her doings, she went about her job with commitment and moral excellence.
The barley harvest is the start of our redemptive pathway into God’s plan for our destiny. It is not discriminatory, having a place for all; irrespective of gender, social strata or religious provenance.
Moab’s history does not qualify Ruth for a place amidst God’s people. Moabites always did detestable things before the Lord and were constant menace to God’s people.
Our cultural provenance or religious background does not matter over God’s redemptive works in shaping our destiny. It is in our willingness to come out of our ungodly ways and surrender totally to God.
The barley harvest is where God finally evaluates our readiness and reliability for the place of destiny. God choses the qualified from those he called. He separates the grain from the chaff and uproots the weeds.
The harvest is the point of gathering and dissemination. It is the point where we are presented to the world. Harvest precedes the different usage of farm products as food or raw materials for new products.
The barley harvest precedes our apostolic presentation, to manifest God’s agenda to the world. The barley harvest is God’s quality check on our Personality.
There is an assurance check on our mind in relation to the mind of Christ. We must be carriers of the mind of Christ to put on the new self body, created to be like God and carefully search out the world.
This was obvious in the way Ruth approached the foreman(Ruth2:6–7). We are evaluated if we are possessors of the power and presence of the holy spirit.
It is the presence of the Holy Ghost that creates a pathway to providence (Ruth2:3). Our body is assessed to verify its death to sin and life in Christ.
The significance of the quality check is to ensure we meet God’s standard of righteousness as we go out to represent Jesus in different capacity.
Ruth had agreed to submit her totality to the God of Israel. She was unsure of what Bethlehem holds for her, but she had confidence in the God of Israel.
Moab had their multitude of gods , Ruth had an assurance the God of Israel was of better and perfect standing. Ruth went out to represent God in the Labor market.
She was without a degree or required skill, but she exuded diligence in the fast committed to her. The barley harvest requires talent and skills, more importantly diligence.
Paul told Timothy to teach the scriptures to Reliable and able men (2Tim2:2). Reliability is diligence, ability is skill and capacity. This alludes that the harvest is for men who will get the Job done at the appropriate time over unreliable skilled men.
The foreman spoke of Ruth as “she had worked steadily since morning”. Ruth approached him in the most polite of ways (Ruth2:6-7). Godly Character is a component of diligence and it must be easily perceived by men.
Our mental capacity or expectations at the beginning of the barley harvest does not correspond God’s plan for us.
God in his benevolence will guide us to destiny helpers and profitable relationships. This depends on the destiny end point. Esther started as an orphan in a gentile land, she turned out a queen.
David got ahead as a shepherd boy, his barley harvest was the contest against Goliath. He ended up King of Israel.
Ruth was a poor widow, who gleaned cereals. She has reference in the Messiah’s lineage.
Barley harvest is God’s quality control test. It is why production companies, take the final product to the quality Laboratory. The products are checked if they can adequately meet the consumers’ needs without costing the manufacturer.
God checks if we will meet the evangelical need of the world without costing his spiritual Investment .
Ruth was thus evaluated at the barley harvest, on her veracity to have a place in the lineage of Jesus.
The barley harvest demands us to have a relationship with God and be diligent at what the Lord expects of us. It is the revolutionary point of our destiny. God puts it there to test our readiness for his purpose.
To access the life of a Victor. You must have a relationship with Jesus. Confess Jesus as your Lord and savior today, believing he died for your sins and resurrected for your justification.
