Throughout history there has been a fascination with the possibility of knowing the future, of being able to predict what might happen to an individual, in human affairs or for terrestrial events. If you search on the internet, you will find pages of information and resources that will give you a huge variety of ideas and possibilities that people use in order to know more about what is coming and when these things might happen. The skill of “divination”, which means the art or practice that seeks to foresee or foretell the future is widespread. Astrology, meditation, tarot readings, dreams, quizzes, tests, horoscopes and all sorts of magical objects are just a few of the more common methods that people use. Psychics, crystal gazers, futurists, and various religious practitioners are some of the people that claim to be able to see into the unknown and make a variety of predictions. While studying the arrangement and movement of celestial objects may give astrologists insight into some things, making realistic and timely predictions seems to be mostly unreliable.
When Ruth and Naomi left Moab to return to Naomi’s homeland in Bethlehem, they did not need to have anyone tell them what the future would be for either of them. They had heard that the famine had ended and no doubt each of them felt strongly that God would provide for them. Apparently Ruth, unlike her sister, Orpha, had come to realize that the God whom her mother-in-law worshipped was the One she wanted to follow. That commitment along with her love for Naomi was enough for her. Little did either of them realize what God would do for them in the years to come nor did they know that one day the Messiah would be one of their descendants. God surely did turn their grief and loss into joy and delight.
If Naomi had known the old hymn, “Simply Trusting every day. Trusting through life’s stormy way. Even when my faith is small, Trusting Jesus that is all”, she no doubt would have taught it to Ruth. They might have sung it together as they traveled and wondered what God had planned for them in the future.
