Are you in Bethlehem this Christmas season?

I have been studying the book of Ruth this past week. Ruth is an atypical choice to seek out an Advent devotional, and yet this Old Testament story has blessed me as I reflect on the birth of Christ. To rewind a bit, the events of Ruth occur during the era of the Judges–after the Exodus, and after the people of Israel have entered the Promised Land.  

In the midst of famine, a woman named Naomi and her husband Elimelech leave Bethlehem with their two sons.  This is more problematic than it first seems. This departure is not like leaving Mclean, Virginia -- they leave the Promised Land, the land at the center of the covenant between God and Israel, the land God had promised them and that was one of the central reasons for the Exodus. God had set up a theocracy for His people, which meant He would be their God and their King. He had provided the land as the place of His presence and protection. The Promised Land was also meant to be a “type” or foreshadowing of a future place where God would dwell in the hearts of His followers. Therefore, it is not a stretch to say that Elimelech voluntarily left the realm of God with his family. 

But even more troubling about this choice, they leave to go to Moab, a nation that was an enemy of Israel and a place of great evil. As it turns out, Moab becomes a place of suffering for Naomi. Elimelich dies early on, leaving Naomi alone as a widow to raise two sons. When the sons grow up, they both marry outside the covenant, to Moabite women: one to Ruth and the other to Orpah. Then, both sons die before either woman has children. 

Understandably, Naomi is distraught, and becomes bitter towards God.  She feels that she has lost everything that matters in her world. To abridge the story, Naomi ultimately learns that the famine in Bethlehem has ended, and she decides to leave Moab to return to her homeland. Ruth decides to follow her mother-in-law. 

Ruth becomes the hero of the story. Her declaration of faith is one of my favorite verses in all of Scripture. She was not a Jew, not a child of the promise, and yet, she declares, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.” 

In contrast, Naomi is often given a bad rap due to the bitterness she displays against God. And yet, I have often thought that this is a bit unfounded. First of all, we don’t know if she had any say in the decision to first go to Moab. Second, she had suffered great loss–her husband and two sons. I can only imagine the pain she must have felt! But more importantly, Ruth must have seen something in Naomi that led her to follow. She certainly knew that Naomi worshiped and believed in a different God. Um… where might she have learned that?

More lessons are evident in the story of Ruth than I can mention right now, but I would like to hone in on one point of this story for this Advent season. In the midst of terrible personal tragedy, Naomi knew to do one important thing– to return to Bethlehem! A call to Bethlehem, the land of Judah, stirred her, reminding her that she could again come into the presence of God. She knew to return to God despite, and, in the midst of her anger. 

Incredibly, Naomi’s decision of obedience  plays a part in the Christmas story. Her decision was sovereignly used by God to fulfill His promise to bless the world! 

For it is in Bethlehem, that Ruth marries Boaz, who becomes the father of Obed, Obed becomes the father of Jesse, Jesse the father of David, the king, and the lineage continues until we arrive at Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus, the Son of God, is born (Matthew 1). 

Old Testament prophets declared that the promised Savior would come from Bethlehem and from the line of Judah. 

“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.” Micah 5:2

Naomi’s sojourn from Moab, a place of darkness, to Bethlehem sets in motion the fulfillment of the prophecy. Jesus, we know, was born in Bethlehem. There, God first came to us. There, God manifested Himself in human form. There, the angels declared the good news that a Savior had been born. There, the shepherds first saw the Son of God! 

We see through the story of Naomi how God uses human events to fulfill His purposes. Furthermore,  a practical lesson for us remains. Centuries before Jesus was born, Naomi, in her suffering, went to  Bethlehem to be in the presence of God. Perhaps this Advent, we should make a similar trip of obedience. Despite our own wanderings away from God, despite the sufferings God allows in our lives, He continues to invite us on our own Bethlehem journey to enter  His presence. Have we turned away from God recently? Have we forgotten Him during the midst of the pandemic, or the busyness of the season? The good news is we don't actually have to travel to Bethlehem. We merely need to believe– believe that the baby born in Bethlehem is the Son of God; and just like Naomi we can experience a blessing. He brings Bethlehem to us. By believing, we can come into His presence at any time, and have full life in His Name. That is our own Bethlehem. 

“In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,

    and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.” Luke 2