Ruth 4:11 – Then the elders and those at the gate (of Bethlehem) said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem”. The infamous Bethlehem which went through a famine has blossomed again. The Lord sent a visitation to Bethlehem and its weeping has now become joy because of the plentiful harvest granted by the Lord. Ruth the gentile is now starting a new life in Bethlehem as the bride of the richest man in Bethlehem. She is now becoming the possessor of all the wealth of Boaz. When God revisited Bethlehem, it got a complete face lift. Its people are happy and even outsiders like Ruth are received into the grace Bethlehem has obtained in the sight of the Lord. Bethlehem is no more a place of weeping or groping in the unknown and dark future without hope. A great wedding is going to take place there. Boaz as the kinsman redeemer of Bethlehem is a beautiful picture of Jesus who became our Kinsman Redeemer who came to Bethlehem to grip with the reality of famine, weeping and waiting. He came to transform the pain and misery of Bethlehem into a banquet house of the richest man getting married to a gentile and outcast woman. Ruth was in the field of Boaz in fortunately so that the tears and separation of her widowhood is transformed into making her a bride and the great grandmother of Jesus Christ. Just as Boaz transformed the weeping Ruth into his joyful bride at the great wedding, Jesus was born as the Savior in Bethlehem to transform our sinful lives into one of jubilation as we become the members of His Church, His bride. The little town of Bethlehem shows us the Savior who changed our destiny and makes our lives a joyful celebration of the Savior’s love for us.
Dear friend, is your life one of spiritual famine and weeping because of your utter depravity and hopelessness? Are you under the grips of defeat, loss, loneliness and rejection because of the painful situations you are in today? Perhaps you are frustrated because of the dark clouds over the horizon of your life and without any hope. But there is no need for you to loose hope because Jesus came to Bethlehem to grip with the reality of spiritual famine, weeping, depravity, failure, rejection and hatred which we experience today. The poor and insignificant Bethlehem has become the focal point of hope for the world because the Savior was born there. Jesus came to Bethlehem to usher in a new era of hope, acceptance, love, gain, fellowship and camaraderie. This was why the Heavenly Choir started singing and praising God in Bethlehem. When you accept Jesus as your personal savior by repenting of your sins and confessing Him as your Lord and Savior, you become part of the Church and thus part of the bride of Christ. Just as there was a wedding between Boaz and Ruth and its jubilation in Bethlehem, there will soon be a wedding of the Church and Jesus, her Heavenly Bridegroom. Today Bethlehem reminds us of our Heavenly Bridegroom who will soon come back from Heaven to take us, His bride, to be with Him forever and ever. All our toils, tears and tensions will be removed from us forever. Today we might be experiencing depravity, but when our Bridegroom comes, we will receive all His riches in glory, just as Ruth experienced in Bethlehem. Bethlehem thus gives us hope, joy and peace in a world which is under the dark clouds of uncertainty and confusion.
Luke 2:11 – Today in the town of David (Bethlehem) a Saviour has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord. Thought for Today When God so loved the world, He sent Christ our Redeemer to Bethlehem to transform our weeping into a wedding.
