katie rose writes

So, I don't know if you remember, but last semester, a big theme in my life and some close friends that I have Bible study with every week was the Barley Harvest. This stems from the story of Ruth. You can read more about these here and here . Good stuff. I just read those again for the first time since I wrote them. It's so good to journey back into the previous steps you've taken and realize just how far God has brought you since then. "He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake." Psalm 23:3. So, it just keeps coming up in my life. In fact, one of those wonderful ladies from Bible study emailed me the other day with some very cool information. The Barley Harvest always happens the Sunday after Passover, during the feast of First Fruits. What happens the Sunday after Passover? EASTER!! Wow. Easter celebrates that Jesus had risen from the dead, that our redemption had been bought with the blood of the Lamb, and it

1 Samuel 22:5--Then the prophet Gad said to David, "Do not remain in the stronghold; depart and go into the land of Judah." David is in hiding, running from Saul, the de-anointed king of Israel. David has already been anointed, but is being prevented to be crowned because of Saul's jealousy. As we reach this verse in Samuel, we see that David is in Moab (Hmmm...Wow...think of where Naomi & Ruth were during the famine...that was for Anita & Bethanne!), hiding in a stronghold. I like definitions, so here's the definition of a stronghold: -a place that has been fortified so as to protect it from attack -a place where a cause or belief is strongly defended or upheld. Let those sink in for now. Continuing with the story, David is told to go back to Judah, the very place where Saul is seeking to kill him. And in this instance he does, but in other instances, he remains in the stronghold. I read the prophet's words this morning and they've stuck with me e