Look at verse 1 again, we read, “Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.”
Look at the words “Bethlehemjudah” and “Moab.”
• Bethlehem means “House of bread”.
• Judah means “Praise the Lord.”
• The word “Moab” means “Washbasin”.
So this family is leaving the land of BREAD and PRAISE, to live in a “WASHBASIN”. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?
Verse 1 might shed some light on why they made the foolish decision to move to Moab. Notice in verse 1, the Bible makes a point of telling us that the bad decision they made took place during the days when the JUDGES RULED over Israel.
Why does God’s word tell us that it was during THE DAYS OF THE JUDGES when they made this decision? Because during the DAYS OF THE JUDGES, it was a time of SIN and DEBAUCHERY in the land.
It is a dangerous thing to live an evil society. WHY? BECAUSE IT CAN AFFECT US!
Today, America is known world wide for many things. One of the things that America is known for is the SIN and the DEBAUCHERY IN THE LAND.
And make no mistake about it, when people live in a country that is surrounded by evil, it will affect the people who live there.
• We see adults doing things in America that shock us. Why? Because they are affected by the evils of this land.
• We see young people doing things that shock us. Why? Because they are affected by the evils of this land.
• We see children going to grammar school with guns, shooting their classmates. Why? Because they are affected by the evils of this land, where they see killings on the television every day of their lives.
I want to say again, it is a dangerous thing to live in an evil society like Moab, or America. Both the young and the old are affected by the evil that surrounds them.
One of the concerns we all should have is about the evils of our land. But that is something that is very seldom even addressed!
• It certainly is not being addressed by the average citizen. All they seem to want to talk about is sports and entertainment.
• We do not hear many of the politicians addressing this problem. All they are concerned about is getting re-elected.
• We do not even hear preachers address this problem from the pulpits across America. All they seem to care about is drawing a crowd, whatever it takes!
People are concerned about a lot of other things.
Illus: For example, we have people in our society that are classified as environmentalists. They are constantly making the news because of their protest for CLEAN WATER, and CLEAN AIR TO BREATHE.
But there are very few today that are concerned about the sin pollution in which we live. It is a dangerous thing to live in a society that is sinful. If we do not live close to the Lord, we are going to get contaminated with the filth of this world.
Naomi lived during the evil days of the judges, and no doubt the evil in the land in which she lived affected her, moving her to make the decision that she and her family made to leave Bethlehem and go and live in wicked Moab.
Let’s get a better look at this family.
• The Dad was Elimelech, his name meant “My God is my king.”
• The Wife was Naomi, her name meant “Pleasantness”
What wonderful names for a couple.
But notice the name of the two children:
• Mahlon’s name meant “Unhealthy”.
• Chilion’s name meant “Puny”
What we have here is a couple with beautiful names, who had two children, one is SICKLY and the other one is PUNY!
How the Jewish ladies must have talked when they saw Naomi coming down the street.
Illus: They probably said, “Here comes Mrs. Sunshine now, and can you believe that she and her husband are going to move to Moab with those puny children of theirs?”
Evidently Naomi felt justified leaving the land of Bethlehem because of the famine that came to Israel.
But what they should have done was to look to God, and try to find out why God allowed the famine to come.
Generally, when you had a famine among God’s people, it was due to their disobedience to God. God would send a famine, and they would repent, and God would allow the blessings to flow again.
But there were times when God sent the famines and the people of God still did not repent of their sins.
WHAT DID THEY DO? Instead of repenting, they would try to circumvent the situation by turning to other sources for help.
Listen, if you are a child of God, and you think you can rebel against God and there will be no repercussions, you are sadly mistaken!
Notice, because of sin:
• A FAMINE CAME
• DEATH CAME
• SORROW CAME
This was a lesson that Naomi had to learn the hard way.
Look at Ruth 1:21, she said, "I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty:..."
In other words, she was saying, “When I left Israel, I thought things were bad, but now I know what bad times really are!”
Illus: We see all kinds of problems in families today, and we say, “That family is certainly having a lot of bad luck!”
Listen, what is happening to them has nothing to do with bad luck, it has to do with the price of sin.
What a vivid example Naomi’s sin is to us as individuals, or even a family!
As we continue in the Book of Ruth, we see the leading of the LORD in how He brought Naomi back home. Notice, Ruth 1:22 “...and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.”
The word “they”, represents Naomi and Ruth.
We looked at NAOMI’S NEW HOME in the first sermon. Let’s also look at-
II. NAOMI’S HOMECOMING
SHE IS BACK IN BETHLEHEM, BUT WHAT BROUGHT HER BACK? There were two things:
A. THE CHASTISEMENT OF GOD
Look at verses 3-5, we read, “And Elimelech Naomi's husband died; and she was left, and her two sons. And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years. And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband.”
When a person chooses to sin, they can depend on a cost that is coming afterwards.
Illus: In this age of computer scanning codes on merchandise, you can pick something up to purchase it, and you have no idea how much it is going to cost you. But when you get to the cash register, and the cashier takes the piece of merchandise you want to purchase, and runs it through the scanner, it will reveal what the cost is.
And life is like that. We can choose to sin, but we don’t have the slightest idea of what it is going to cost us, but we can rest assured there will be a PAYDAY SOME DAY!
Illus: Dr. Jack Hyles, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana, told a group of pastors how he sent a crew out to wreck a building they had recently purchased so they could enlarge their church facilities. He got a telephone call later that day. The wrecking crew wasted no time destroying the building, but they had one problem, they wrecked the wrong building.
He said with some humor in his voice, “We bought that building also, we just do not yet know how much we are going to have to pay for it!”
• When a sinner sins, he never knows how much that sin may cost him
• When a backslider drifts from God into sin, they never know how much that sin is going to cost them
If Naomi knew that the price of going to Moab would be the lives of her husband and her two sons, she never would have gone. It wasn’t until later that she found out what it would cost her.
Illus: Dr. E.J. Daniels, tells how he was preaching a revival meeting and a man came to him after one of the services, and told him who he was and where he worked. He told him he worked at one of the prisons where they were preparing to execute one of the men on death row. He asked him if he would like to attend the execution. His first thoughts was no, he would not want to see a man be put to death! But as he thought about it, he thought since he is a minister of the gospel, that perhaps it might be good if he was to attend! He told the fellow that he had changed his mind, and the man made the proper arrangements.
When he arrived, he and some others were brought to a small room where they could see the execution take place. Everyone sat there in silence, knowing that in a few minutes a man would be electrocuted before their very eyes. They could hear a voice from down the hallway, screaming, “Somebody help me, somebody make them stop, somebody help me!” Soon the door was opened and a young man entered, surrounded by guards. His legs and arms were chained. They were pushing him closer and closer to the spot where he would be strapped down to die. His eyes frantically searched the room trying to find someone that could help him. He continued to yell and scream for help. Dr. Daniels said that as he saw this young man preparing to die for the horrendous crime he had committed, he stood up and yelled out, “My God son, what a price you are paying for your sins.”
Listen, when we sin as a SINNER or a SAINT, we pay the price of sin. Naomi lost HER HUSBAND, TWO SONS AND HER TESTIMONY. My what a price she paid!
WHAT BROUGHT HER BACK? No doubt the price of sin had taken a toll on her. Remember she said, Ruth 1:21, "I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty:..."
God’s chastisement had a lot to do with her coming back. But also see-
B. THE PROVISION OF GOD
Look at verse 6, we read, “Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had HEARD in the country of Moab how that the Lord had visited his people in giving them bread.”
God had provided food for His people. Many each day are led by food. Notice, the Bible says that Ruth had HEARD how that the Lord had visited the people. One of the things that was motivating her was food.
Illus: Today men don't ask their wives, "What's cooking?" They ask, "What's thawing?"
Illus: One woman told her neighbor, "I have a marvelous meat loaf recipe. All I do is mention it to my husband and he says, 'Let's eat out.'"
Naomi left because of the famine (Lack of food), but now God uses food to bring her back to the land of plenty.
Look what the Word of God said she heard as she dwelt in the land of Moab, we read, “…For she had heard in the country of Moab how that the Lord had visited his people in giving them bread.”
Notice when she arrived, God provides two things:
(1) GOD PROVIDES PHYSICAL FOOD
Ruth 1:6 “...for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the Lord had visited his people IN GIVING THEM BREAD.”
She heard that in the land of Israel, God has blessed His people again, and sent them food to enjoy and eat.
Her coming back for food is not the purest of motives for returning to Bethlehem, but sometimes God will take a wrong motive and turn it into something good.
Many young men have gone to church because a certain young lady was attending. As these young men sat listening to the preaching of God’s Word, God touched many of their hearts. God has a way of taking things that people might do with a wrong motive, and bringing something good out of it.
And in this case, Naomi came back because of the food she heard about.
Illus: We older Christians can remember how things were when children did not have all the toys to play with, and sweets to eat that we have today.
Dr. Odell Belger stated, “When we were growing up and we had Vacation Bible School, they would give us a cup of Kool-aid and some cookies, and we would come every night to hear about the Lord. Now honesty compels many of us to admit that the reason we went was not to hear about the Lord, and how He died for our sins, but we went for that free Kool-aid and the few cookies that were given to us.”
Many have ridden a church bus because of a bus driver who said, “If you will ride my bus tomorrow, I will give you ------------------.”
Some have a problem with this method of doing things. But listen, if it is done only for the purpose of increasing the numbers, we all should have a problem with this method. But sometimes the only way you can get people to do something is to entice them to come for the wrong motive.
But we are instructed in the Word of God to use whatever scriptural tools we have to use, to compel them to come to the house of God, where they can hear His Word taught and preached.
Look what the Lord said about this in Luke 14:23, we read, “And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.”
Look at the word “compel”, this is the word anagkazo, (Pronounced an-ang-kad'-zo) which means TO CONSTRAIN.
Illus: Sometimes when we invite someone that is not saved to come to church and:
• They might say to us, “I can’t come to church with you because I do not have any clothes to wear.” Perhaps you ought to say, “Listen, I am so concerned about you, that I will personally buy you some clothes to wear to church.”
• They might say to us, “I can’t come to church because I do not have a way to get there.” Perhaps you ought to say, “Listen, I am so burdened for you that I will come by your house and bring you to church with me.”
We ought to compel men and women to come to Church by using every enticement we can use, as long as it is scriptural.
They might not come because they love the Lord, but if we can get them under the preaching of God’s Word, it might be that while they are here, God will get a hold of them, and save them, and make them new creatures in Christ Jesus.
Illus: There is a song we used to sing about people who came for the wrong reasons, but while they were there, the song said, “Something got a hold of me.”
Remember that on several occasions during His earthly ministry, Jesus provided food for those who followed Him.
• ON ONE OCCASION JESUS FED A MULTITUDE OF 4000 PEOPLE
• ON ANOTHER OCCASION HE FED OVER 5000
More than likely, some of those who followed Christ followed Him because of what He could do for them.
Naomi, the backslider, is coming back to Bethlehem. She is not coming for the right reasons, but at least she is heading in the right direction again.
GOD PROVIDES PHYSICAL FOOD, but also-
B. GOD PROVIDES SPIRITUAL FOOD
Remember, as Naomi returns home, her daughter-in-law goes back with her.
• NAOMI IS THE PERFECT PICTURE OF THE BACKSLIDER WHO HAS DRIFTED FROM THE LORD
• RUTH IS THE PERFECT PICTURE OF THE NEW CONVERT THAT IS LITERALLY STARVING FOR SPIRITUAL FOOD
Remember when Naomi tried to discourage her from following her back to Bethlehem, Ruth replied with determination.
Look at Ruth 1:16, “And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:”
When Ruth came back to Bethlehem with Naomi, she was in a place of spiritual food and strength. This was all new to Ruth. The gods she had served in Moab were nothing like the God of Israel.
Look at 1 Peter 2:2,3 “As newborn babes, DESIRE THE SINCERE MILK OF THE WORD, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.”
If you are a new convert, DESIRE THE SINCERE MILK OF THE WORD. Why? Because the Bible says, “That ye may grow thereby.”
Illus: Many people today are stuffing themselves with the physical food of this world, but are starving their souls in a world that rejects the Lord.
Conclusion:
I. NAOMI’S NEW HOME (Sermon # 1)
II. NAOMI’S HOME-COMING (Sermon # 2)
