A Sign of the Times

Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the land of Moab, for she had heard in the land of Moab that the Lord had visited His people in giving them food. Ruth 1:6 NASB

In giving them food – How do you know when God is working? What signs do you look for when you need physical evidence that God is showing favor? The answer just might be culturally determined. In the days of the chieftains, when Israel was all but at civil war, the sign of God’s favor or disfavor was rain. No rain equals no food. No food equals God’s punishment. So when the rains begin again, and the crops produce food, God must have relented of His anger.

Today we barely give any credence to this form of divine expression. We think that lack of rain is the result of El Niño or a movement of the jet stream or sunspots or something explained within the natural world. In other words, because we operate in a closed universe of cause and effect, we no longer see the handiwork of God in natural occurrences. So we look other places—healing, spiritual euphoria, a certain inner feeling, “miracles.” Our evidence of God’s handiwork has been pushed outside the world He created because we are now confident that we can “explain” the world without Him.

In the time of Ruth, this truncated epistemology would have been considered insane. No one would have imagined that God was not actively involved in nature. Therefore, every natural process exhibited something spiritual. In this instance in Ruth, the Hebrew phrase latet lahen lahem provides us with a nice alliteration of God’s reconciliation. “To give to them bread” is a declaration that God’s favor has fallen on the land as water from the sky. It is God who is responsible and it is to God that these people must turn. El Niño has very little to do with it.

But we don’t think like this. Especially in the West, we operate with an absent God. Oh, He’s still there—somewhere—but not here. Here the world is explained by a causal chain—an unbreakable causal chain. We are no longer those unsophisticated, superstitious ancient people. We are supremely rational. Our world is the world of understandable explanations. And for just this reason, we can’t see God in this world. When we adopted the Enlightenment view of the universe, we threw God out of creation. He occupies and is occupied by the spiritual realm, that place where rational explanation doesn’t apply—and therefore God’s territory really has nothing to do with our ordinary living. We might desire to visit the spiritual world, and we attempt to regularly (how odd) do so in worship and other religious activities, but God really isn’t part of the typical day-to-day life. We are the makers of the world of the everyday.

Without recognizing how truncated our world of rational explanation really is, we long for a sign from God, particularly when life is traumatic. But, of course, our metaphysics has already made such a sign impossible. In other words, we can’t see it even when it is right in front of us because the sign is just “natural.”

Let it rain.

Topical Index: sign, giving them food, causality, miracle, Ruth 1:6

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Brett Weiner B.B.( brother Brett)

God’s handiwork. As I Was preparing for Passover this year my wife bought some bread on sale did you put it in the oven. A few days later she was heating up the oven to prepare to cook on meal guess what? She forgot that the bread was put inside. The Lord did command there shall be no living in your house. There was nothing left to do, but throw out the bread. I do not think that the Lord was punishing her , but just a reminder of what commanded.

Brett Weiner B.B.( brother Brett)

I apologize for the misspellings and inaccurate words. Try these two phrases. First line of the post. She bought some bread sale and put it in the oven. The next-to-last line. The Lord did command there shall be no leaven your homes. I trust that this will clear up any mix up of what I was trying to convey . Thanks again

John Offutt

The truly difficult thing in living the Christian life is letting God micro manage our lives. We have no problem with major decisions, but at some point we push God out and tell Him we can take it from here. It really seems silly to us to pray about whether to mow the yard or vacuum the house or go grocery shopping.or surf the internet or what ever calls for a decision. The worst thing we do is make a decision and then ask God to bless the mess we are about to make.

Richard Stevens

Great perspective and I’ll continue chewing through God’s apparent attention to cultural differences. I’m wrestling through some of this today after reading and responding to a post on SalvationAndSurvival.com about healing… about why God heals some but not others and our misconceptions. It doesn’t appear Paul was healed of his “thorn.” I certainly haven’t been healed of mine, but there are plenty of instances where Yeshua supernaturally intervened and healed. Perhaps God does what is needed for individuals to meet their specific needs and His purposes. Perhaps he doesn’t heal some because a kairos time hasn’t presented itself. I don’t know.

He certainly uses the natural to teach the supernatural. He certainly intervenes supernaturally as well as expecting us to make the most of the natural (parable of the talents). He certainly commissions us to go and heal as He does. And certainly He deserves the recognition and gratitude as He provides, whether our daily bread comes from His miracle rain or an employer who pays us to buy it.

Indeed, let it rain!

Laurita Hayes

This TW is so good I am going to feel full all day!

I think the other half of rewriting YHVH out of His creation is that we do not see how obedience to ALL the interwoven processes of that creation is vital to being able to function in that creation.

We abuse all the laws of nature and then ask Him to “bless the mess we are about to make” (John Offutt, that line is just too good!). We eat junk and then ask Him to heal the resulting illness. We stress out about OUR agenda because we are not trusting Him first but then ask Him to heal us of the effects of that stress.

We don’t think it matters to know where our food or lumber comes from and so merrily continue to subsidize human slavery and misery, and because we can jet in food from regions that are getting that rain we no longer pray for rain for the farmer down the street.

We wonder why this society, as a whole, is so sick on all levels, but we cannot draw the line between disobedience to the command to steward the planet and why we are not well. Messing with nature is going on at an unprecedented level but we call it “progress” and line up to fill the prescriptions for the resulting problems.

You are right, we have lost the plumb line.

Pam

Acts 2:41-42 then those, indeed, who did gladly receive his word were baptized, and there were added on that day, as it were, three thousand souls, and they were continuing steadfastly in the teaching of the apostles, and the fellowship in the breaking of the bread, and THE PRAYERS.

Could it be that we don’t recognize the blessing because we don’t pray THE PRAYERS that the first century disciples prayed? Shema Israel

Rich Pease

THE SOURCE
Paul knew. He referred to this world as the present evil age.
And he thanked God for delivering us (believers) from the power of darkness.
He emphatically said God was the Source of all we need. And he clearly acknowledged
that his knowledge was not from or taught by any man. Rather he received it by direct revelation
from Yeshua. Thus, he said he had no need to consult or confer with men and their “views”.
Today, man still blindly goes straight to the “news”.
While sitting on some shelf collecting dust is that Book . . . the one known as the Good News.

Tricia Herren

In an effort to destress from the pressures of my job and the city I live in, I often take a drive in the country to reconnect with God and enjoy quite nature. One such day when I was extremely frustrated with my job I drove out of town and called a friend for prayer as I left the city. I was wandering the back roads when a band of cardinals (at least 20 or 30) flew in front of me looking like a red ribbon had been draped across the road. It was amazingly beautiful and immediately lifted my heart to the presence of God. Unfortunately, my second thought was that probably wasn’t God specifically just a chance bird encounter. I was driving slowly because I was on a gravel road and to my surprise they flew across the road in front of me again – it took my breath away with the beauty and possible significance. I continued to drive, sadly with no resolve in me that God might be encouraging me or reminding me of His love, attention and awareness of my circumstances. Then, it happened again. I stopped my car and wept. The Lord was near.

John Adam

But He uses El Nino! It’s not either/or its both/and!

John Adam

I try to seek the both/and as a scientist and a believer; nevertheless I agree that this is not a widespread approach in the West. Sounds like another book needs to be written!

Tom Walter

They say Calif. has been in a drought for 21 years, now more rain than they need. Gods mercy? Did they repent? Not sure how to apply this.

btw

See, i was so going to get into this but…seriously? YHVH hasn’t had much to do with the weather for decades.

Google:

“UN declaration against weather modification” (which states that countries can’t use the technology against OTHER countries, but fails to stipulate against one’s own country). #justsayin

“Malaysia orders typhoon to clear smog” (they had a big international event coming up, think housekeeping on steroids).

“Snowflakes not as unique as we thought” (NOTE: when YHVH creates snowflakes, they ARE originals, each and every one of them, when the enemy steps in he has no ability to create, only imitate, and w/in that arena, limited. Window dressing of the original design).

YHVH gets a bad rap all the way when he had nothing to do with most of what is being presented as ‘evildence’. (evidence).

People think they are going to pull up stakes and go live off the grid when the SHTF, but seriously, they haven’t a clue.

Sorry for the double post, i used an email that has been shut down. THANKS MARK!!!!

btw

Should read: I was so NOT going to get into this…