Our journey through the Bible this month has taken us through Judges and Ruth. I have to say that when I got through Judges and moved on to Ruth, I did breathe a sigh of relief. I was ready for a little lighter reading than that of Judges. I was ready to read into the familiar territory of Ruth.
As I read through her story, my attention perked at the portion where Naomi tells Ruth to go to Boaz while he is at the threshing floor. She instructs her to put on something pretty, get her hair done, her nails did, put on something smelling good and then go and lay at Boaz’ feet– at the threshing floor. Naomi tells her that then Boaz will advise her on what to do next to about marriage (Ruth 3:1-4). I can only imagine how delightful Boaz’ feet must have smelled after threshing grain all day. But, Ruth does it and we all know how things end- happily ever after. Naomi and Ruth would have had no hope for a future if Ruth had not met Boaz- at the threshing floor.
My mind flashed back to a previous reference of the threshing floor, in Judges 5- when Gideon was there, threshing some wheat and hiding from the big, bad Midianites. The angel of the Lord appears to him and calls him out: “God is with you, oh mighty warrior!” . God does have a sense of humor– Gideon was hiding- not exactly the tactical prowess that a mighty warrior might use. Gideon starts to dispute this title, but verse 14 tells us something incredible: “But God faced him directly: “Go in this strength that is yours. Save Israel from Midian. Haven’t I just sent you?”
Woah! God faced him directly and gave him his charge. God told him that he already had all the strength that he needed to win this battle. At the threshing floor.
Some of you may feel like you are stuck in the threshing floor. A place of hard labor. A place of no rest. A place of discomfort. You are being broken and beaten and just worn down. You look around you and see nothing but brokenness. You see no hope. You want to run and hide. Don’t be discouraged- just hold on. God will meet you at the threshing floor. God can change your life at the threshing floor.
~Shiney
