🎙 So What: The Biblical Barley Harvest and its Profound Significance
Ever found yourself wondering why on earth the Bible thought it important to let us know that Ruth and Naomi returned home during barley harvest? Buckle up, because we're about to unveil the significance of this seemingly irrelevant detail, as we journey through the beautiful story of Ruth in the context of Jewish and Christian traditions. We'll immerse ourselves in the rich tapestry of history, culture, and geography that shapes this narrative, revealing a fresh perspective that intertwines with our understanding of redemption in Christ.
Turns out, the barley harvest season is not some blooper from the Bible, but a key that unlocks profound connections to Passover, Shavat, and even the Christian celebration of Pentecost. As we follow Ruth's interactions with Boaz, we'll shine a light on the laws of Leviticus and their relevance to the rights of foreigners and widows – a theme that echoes forcefully in our world today. Even more captivating, we’ll explore how the Ruth-Boaz romance, a love story between a Jew and a Gentile, becomes a powerful metaphor for the unification of Jews and Gentiles through Christ. So come on, let's get our hands dirty with some ancient grains and uncover the magic of our shared ancient future story.
Speaker 1:
Welcome to our ancient future story, navigating Scripture through the Eyes of Family, where I share with you biblical stories, like a family member would share a story around a dinner table. As children of God, we are a part of God's family and His family story has a lot of history. Each week, we will take one story and talk about it the cultural, historical, geographical and sociological impacts. We will be looking at these stories from the perspective of our ancestors, through the lens of ancient times, in hopes of learning more about our family. This is our ancient future story. Welcome back to our ancient future story. I'm Vic and I am so excited to share with you another. So what Today? So our question for today is so what? It was the barley season when Ruth and Naomi returned to Bethlehem. We are told that it's the beginning of the barley harvest. But why does that matter to us? Why do we care what season it is when they returned? Let's find out together, grab your cup of coffee or something to drink and let's dive into. So what? The barley harvest started in the Jewish month of Nisan because it was coincided with Passover. Typically, the barley harvest would be around March of our modern calendar. The wheat harvest would start around May. So Ruth worked in Boaz's fields for about three months. It's after those three month period that Naomi asked Ruth are you going to wait forever? Boaz is our family redeemer. The wheat harvest ended on Shavat. This was the festival of weeks celebrated 50 days or seven weeks after Passover. This was the day intended to celebrate the harvest according to Leviticus 23, 15 through 16. Today, however, jewish people celebrate the Law of Shavat, where they remember the Torah being given to Moses 50 days after Passover in Exodus 19.1. This holiday, however, is important to the story of Ruth because of Leviticus 23, 22, which talks about creating space in the harvest for gleaning and allowing foreigners and widows to glean around the field to survive. The book of Ruth is read on Shavat each year. Now there is some debate over why it is read. Some scholars say it's because of Ruth's loyalty to Naomi. Others remind all of Israel about their loyalty to the Torah, but others say it was read because of the celebration of the grain harvest, and this is the backdrop of the story of Ruth. However, still others say that Ruth was a love story between a Jew and a Gentile, a theme that becomes even more clear when we look through the lens of the New Testament when we realize that Shavat is translated in Greek to Pentecost, and on Pentecost we celebrate the Holy Spirit coming down on the disciples and opening the gates for both Jew and Gentile to come to Jesus. The word Pentecost comes from the root word for 50 because of the 50 days after Passover, and 50 in the Bible is significant for the means freedom. The year of Jubilee was the 50th year when all the depths were forgiven and everyone got a chance to start over. This was a practice starting with Moses the idea that everyone got a chance in their life to start over if they needed it. When we look at Pentecost with this in mind, we see the freedom we haven't given in Christ. Through Christ's death and resurrection, we have been forgiven of our sins and, with the work of the Holy Spirit, we have become a new creation. We are given our Jubilee, our chance at a new life. So why do we care that it was the barley harvest? The timing is important. It's important because of what is remembered on this day and it's important for our own freedom. On Pentecost, jews look back and remember God giving the Torah to Moses, but we, as Christians, look back at Pentecost and remember the Holy Spirit given to us. Both Jew and Gentile gained full access to God on this day, and that was so what it was the barley harvest. I hope this helps illuminate the backdrop of the story of Ruth for you. The timing is mentioned because the timing is important. To Moses, god gave the law of how to live righteously and how to be holy amidst an unholy world. But on Pentecost, hundreds of years later, god sent the Holy Spirit on his people and gave them the ability to live righteously. It was no longer about following rules, but about a relationship with Almighty God. Join us next time as we dive into our last. So what of our series? See you then.
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