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The main thing I knew about barley before beginning this study--it's a grain. The end. I really like it, but rarely think of making it. I probably make beef and barley soup (Mike's favorite) once a year, and only if he reminds me.
The ancient Egyptians, who saw their crops destroyed in the 7th plague in Exodus 9:31, mostly used barley for cheap bread and beer. It was also used as a cheaper option for feeding livestock, especially horses. Today, it's still brewed as beer and baked in bread; it's also used as cereal, in soup and stew, is a good replacement for rice in recipes, and is making a comeback as a caffeine-free coffee substitute!! 😕 It has many health benefits--it is a good source of fiber, it aids in digestion, it can help control appetite and blood sugar.
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Barley is mentioned 37 times in the Bible (more or less, depending on your translation.) It was used as a bartering or purchasing tool; it was used as a grain offering for the feast of firstfruits, kicking off the harvest season. When the Israelites are in their final days of wandering in the wilderness, God recalls how He led, loved, and provided for them all of the 40 years they wandered. He reminds them to keep the commands of the LORD, walking in His ways and fearing Him. Then He reveals the land they are going in to, the Promised Land-- a "good land, a land with streams, springs, and deep water sources, flowing in both valleys and hills; a land of wheat, barley, vines, figs, and pomegranates; a land of olive oil and honey; a land where you will eat food without shortage, where you will lack nothing; a land whose rocks are iron and from whose hills you will mine copper. When you eat and are full, you will bless the LORD your God for the good land He has given you." Deuteronomy 8:7-10
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There are some strange narratives involving barley in the Bible--
The first one is headlined as a "jealousy ritual". If a husband suspects his wife is unfaithful, although he has no actual proof, he is to bring His wife to the priest, along with two quarts of barley flour. He is not to pour olive oil or frankinscence over it, since it's a jealous offering, meant to draw attention to guilt. (This is found in Numbers 5. I could go on, but I'm afraid it would be me chasing a squirrel again. If you want to know what I think about it, I'll be glad to tell you in another platform.)
The second strange situation involved Ezekiel in chapter 4. I was on my third reading through the Bible when this story really hit me, and I haven't been able to get over it. Ezekiel is commanded by God to play-act all that's happening or will happen in Israel. He's supposed to draw the city of Jerusalem on a brick, then attack it. Then he is to lie down on his left side and place the sins of the house of Israel on the platform. He will lay down on his left side for 390 days, corresponding to the years of their sin. Then he will switch to his right side for 40 days, a day for each year of the sin of Judah. (Israel at this time is divided into the northern kingdom, still called Israel, and the southern kingdom, called Judah.) "Take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt. Put them in a single container and make them into bread for yourself. You are to eat it during the number of days you lie on your side."
{See Below} The loaf he will make is about the size of his fist, and he will drink approximately a 20 oz bottle of water a day. God tells him to bake the bread over HUMAN EXCREMENT (capitalization mine, because obviously it needs to be screamed....) Ezekiel pleads his case to God, this is too much to ask. God relents and says he can bake the bread over cow dung instead. (Thanks??) I cannot get over it. Old Testament prophets put in the work to get God's word to the people. Thankful for their faithfulness.
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But my favorite, and arguably the most famous account in the Bible involving barley is the story of Ruth, a Moabite woman. The Good News about the Moabites---they descend from Lot, the nephew of Abraham. The Bad News about the Moabites---they were born to Lot's daughter who got pregnant by her own father after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The Moabites quickly became known for their worship of false gods and their sexual immorality. ("Attitude reflects leadership.") The Israelite men started prostituting themselves with the women of Moab, and eating offerings given to a Moabite god, Baal of Peor. This sin infuriated God and became part of the lore that Israelites would tell as a standard for the "worst" sin. Psalm 106:28-31
Yet, here we find Ruth, a Moabite woman married to an Israelite man, the son of Naomi. Naomi, her husband Elimelech, and their two sons have taken refuge in Moab from a famine in Bethlehem. Elimelech died, the sons married Moabite women, and then both sons died within 10 years of their planned "for a while" time in Moab. Naomi, with her men gone, started longing for home. (A woman alone then is different than a woman alone now.) Her daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth, started on the journey home with Naomi, but Orpah turned around and went back home
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[side note--did you know Oprah Winfrey was originally named Orpah after this story, but it was mispronounced so often that Oprah finally stuck?]
But Ruth clung to her mother-in-law, begging that Naomi not ask her to return home. I doubt Ruth knew when she said this to Naomi that it would become a pledge through the ages, given most often between a bride and groom...
Wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD punish me, and do so severely, if anything but death separates you and me." (Ruth 1:16-17) Naomi allowed Ruth to continue with her to Bethelehem, and they arrived at the barley harvest.
The whole town was excited to see Naomi! But I wonder how they felt about Ruth, a stranger from a strange land? Ruth feels responsible to provide support for herself and Naomi, and finds a lowly job as a gleaner. It's a job for the vulnerable, and one God Himself provided...
"When you reap the harvest of your land, you are not to reap to the very edge of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not strip your vineyard bare or gather its fallen grapes. Leave them for the poor and the resident alien; I am the LORD your God." Leviticus 19:9-10
While Ruth works, Boaz--the owner of the field and a well-respected relative of Ruth's former father-in-law, Elimelech--notices her and gives her special harvesting privileges and protection. Ruth asks "Why would you care about me, a foreigner?" Ruth's reputation for loyalty to her mother-in-law and her willingness to become "one of them" has been reported to Boaz and he is impressed. Boaz invites her to share his lunch and instructs the bosses to let her harvest deeper in the field.
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This is where the story gets a little saucy. Naomi increases her match-making efforts, telling Ruth to put on perfume and get dressed in her best clothes. As was the custom, during the feast of firstfruits, the harvesters would process all day, celebrate all evening, and then sleep on the threshing floor for all 7 days of the harvest. Naomi tells Ruth to make note of where Boaz is, then when he lies down, Ruth is to uncover his feet and lie down.
Boaz was shocked to find Ruth at his feet in the night. She explains that he is her kinsman-redeemer, the close relative in charge of providing for the widows in their tribe. Since he was believed to be the closest, Boaz might even be required to marry Ruth and provide a son in her deceased husband's name. There are some loose ends to tie up before they can marry, and Boaz quickly takes care of it all.
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Ruth and Boaz on the threshing floor. During the winnowing of the barley. Romantic, right?
Yes, I think so. Ruth comes from a questionable background, from a land that worships and sacrifices to foreign gods. All around them, the leftover chaff would be swirling on the threshing floor, the parts of the barley plant that were useless blowing away with the wind. We are brought to this stage to see the beautiful picture of Ruth's salvation and sanctification. The process of becoming holy, set apart, used by God. From leaving her home behind, to proclaiming that she would follow Naomi and her God, to trusting her life in the hands of this noble man, God has been blowing the chaff out of Ruth's life. The useless, the debris, the discard taken away with the wind. And the gift from her kinsman-redeemer? Six measures of barley, freshly harvested, a generous gift of promise from the one who will purchase her life and make her his own. 💖
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