Ruth 1v6-22

The Journey (Part Five) 

 (Click here to listen to the second Ruth teaching.)

Verse of the Week:

“THE STEPS OF A MAN ARE ESTABLISHED BY THE LORD, AND HE DELIGHTS IN HIS WAY. WHEN HE FALLS, HE SHALL NOT BE HURLED HEADLONG.” Psalm 37:23, 24 NASB

More Words from the Father:

Psalm 37

Matthew 11:28-30

From my Heart:

Pages from the past: May 1991

Discouraged

I am discouraged.

Weak.

Weary.

Wanting to run away from loneliness.

It doesn’t happen to me very often.

Usually I am the strong one.

Not now.

Right now I am the weak one.

I am tired of battling.

Tired of giving.

Tired of loneliness.

No martyr’s cross has gotten me to the scarred place.

Just myriads of little crosses

all lined up back to back

like so many dominoes

precariously placed

threatening to wipe me out.

In this place of weariness

no one knows but You.

The great façade hides

well the tears…

the doubts…

the fears…

“Come to Me,” You gently say,

“Come take My rest.”

You take me as I am

wanting nothing in return.

You know the way it is

down here,

You know the way I hurt.

Fill up the empty places, Lord,

the aching places of my heart.

Hold tightly to my weakened hand.

This weary child needs help.

From my heart,

Diane

ETC.

The Journey

The journey the two widows took from the land of Moab to the town of Bethlehem in Israel was a long and arduous trek. Their way would have started out on a high plateau about 3,000 feet above sea level, bordered on the east by the Arabian dessert and west by the Dead Sea. They would have had to cross the River Arnon (in present day Jordan), then travel north along the King’s Highway, through the multitude of wadis (steep ravines) which characterized the area. Their path would have led them alongside Mount Nebo, the mountain Moses climbed to meet God before his death. They would have crossed into Israel by the fords of the Jordan River near Jericho, following the Jericho Road 15 miles west to Jerusalem. From there, the rough dirt roads would have taken them five more miles into the town of Bethlehem. Depending on where they were settled in Moab, the trip would have been 70 to 100 miles in length, most likely entirely on foot.