It is an undeniable fact that many of the life’s problems we grapple with in the present are the result of what has happened to us in the past, whether as a result of our own deliberate choices or because of circumstances which were quite beyond our control.
The person we are today is a product of all our yesterdays. We can blame our genetic inheritance or environment for our problems. It is often easier for us to shift the blame for our problems on to others, but to put it solely on this is to ignore our own actions or inactions.
More important than the circumstance of the past are the ways in which we have decided to react to them. Such behavior often crystallizes into patterns, which harden into settled convictions, which in turn condition and dictate our present feelings.
In Ruth chapter 1, we see a tragic situation were Naomi is left, widowed and childless, without sons or grandsons to continue the family line, which is a situation of great deprivation and despair. All this has happened in a foreign land, far away from the support of those who speak her language or worship her God.
Today, many people will identify only too readily with Naomi’s experience. Some will have gone through similar traumatic times of bereavement. Others will have made life decisions they now feel very bitter about—the job move that led to being laid off, the marriage that broke up almost from the beginning, the disappointment of children who have overthrown their parents’ faith and are sowing wild oats. “Where did I go wrong?” is very often followed by “why did God let this happen to me?” (Jackman, David ; Ogilvie, Lloyd J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 7 : Judges, Ruth. Nashville, Tennessee : Thomas Nelson Inc, 1991 (The Preacher’s Commentary Series 7), S. 306).
In Ruth 1 1-5 we see the danger of trying to run away from our problems illustrated and it is a lesson that we must avoid as we deal with the problems and trials of life.
1) The time. Ruth 1:1a
Ruth 1:1a [1:1]In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. (ESV)
The author of Ruth is not identified by the text. Though there is no unanimity among ancient or modern scholars in dating the Book of Ruth, the first verse places the historical setting of the book during the period of the judges between the fourteenth and eleventh centuries B.C. (c. 1375–1050 B.C.). The genealogy in 4:18–22 suggests the latter part of that era. The book of Ruth is (most likely written) during the reign of David (1010–970 B.C.) (Believer’s Study Bible. electronic ed. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1995, S. Ru 1:1).
It must be remembered therefore, that even though the historical setting of the events described is that of the period of the judges (1:1), but this does not necessarily mean that the work was written at that time. In fact, it is much more probable that Ruth was composed in a later period, for two important reasons. First, the concluding genealogy (4:18–22) brings the narrative up to the time of David, who was obviously familiar to author and readers alike, and thus would require a date of composition in the early kingdom period at the very least. Second, the account contains some explanation of legal practices (4:1–12), required since they were already ancient. Thus it would seem that some time had elapsed between the events described and their appearance in written form. In English Bibles Ruth occurs between Judges and Samuel. This follows the order of the Septuagint and locates it correctly with the historical books. The ancient Jewish authorities attached great importance to the book by requiring it to be read at the Feast of Weeks, when the end of the grain harvest was celebrated. (Elwell, Walter A.: Evangelical Commentary on the Bible . electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Baker Book House, 1996, c1989, S. Ru 1:6).
Spiritually, during the period of the Judges:
Judges 17:6 [6]In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. (ESV) (cf. Jdg. 18:11; 19:1; 21:25).
In those days there was no governor armed with imperative authority, who could help and discipline the whole people. Everyone did what they wanted, and became their own yardstick of morality.
• Part of the tribe of Dan forsook the land in a body, because they were no longer pleased with it, and had no mind to overcome the remaining enemies
God had commanded the Israelites under Joshua’s leadership to purge the land of the Canaanites and their idols (Deut. 7:16; 12:2-3; 20:17). The failure of the Israelites to do so (Josh. 16:10; Jud. 1:27-33) left them open to the temptation to look to the idols rather than to God for agricultural blessing. Perhaps the cultic prostitution and sexual practices used in the worship of Baal also enticed the Hebrew people. Interestingly Gideon’s father had built an altar to Baal, but Gideon had destroyed it (Jud. 6:25-34). The Ruth narrative shows the wisdom of trusting in God and His providence rather than in Canaanite gods (Walvoord, John F. ; Zuck, Roy B. ; Dallas Theological Seminary: The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL : Victor Books, 1983-c1985, S. 1:418-419).
The Book of Judges is the story of Israel at one of its lowest points in history and is a record of division, cruelty, apostasy, civil war, and national disgrace. The period of the Judges was marked by weak faith and irresponsible conduct. Even Gideon, who exhibited great faith against overwhelming odds during the destruction of the invading Midianites, Amalekites, and eastern desert tribes (Jud. 7:12, 17-21), later failed to seek God’s advice in the everyday affairs of his judgeship (Jud. 8:16-17, 21, 27). (Walvoord, John F. ; Zuck, Roy B. ; Dallas Theological Seminary: The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL : Victor Books, 1983-c1985, S. 1:415).
• The book of Ruth is many ways is a picture of following God’s will in the everyday.
• We have many choices to make in our lives. Certain choices have long term effect. Other choices, although minor at the time, build up to major events.
o Jumping off a cliff is a choice that will have immediate results. Deciding to smoke, is a choice that builds upon itself to a likewise catastrophic result.
o We are to look at the story of the book of Ruth as the impact of the choices we make in light of God’s overall providential control of events.
2) The place. Ruth 1:1b
Ruth 1:1b [1:1]In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. (ESV)
A famine struck Canaan west of the Rift Valley. The weather was such that the rains did not drop on the lower elevations of Judah and Ephraim, but they did on the higher plateau of Moab farther to the east. As a result, Bethlehem was not able to feed its people (Lawrenz, John C.: Judges, Ruth. Milwaukee, Wis. : Northwestern Pub. House, 1997 (The People’s Bible), S. 220).
Although famines were common in the days of the Patriarchs some eight hundred years earlier (cf. Gen 12:10; 26:1; 43:1), this is the first recorded famine encountered by Israel since entering the land of Canaan (Smith, James E.: The Books of History. Joplin, Mo. : College Press, 1995, S. Ru 1:1-5).
Please turn to Deuteronomy 28
Famine had devastated southern Judah, compelling Elimelech and his family to cross the Jordan and live in the large grain-producing uplands (Heb. field) of Moab, visible to the east of the Dead Sea. It is ironic that Bethlehem (“house of bread”) has an empty granary. The locating of the town “in Judah” is done to distinguish it from another, more northerly Bethlehem (see Josh. 19:15) (Elwell, Walter A.: Evangelical Commentary on the Bible . electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Baker Book House, 1996, c1989, S. Ru 1:6).
• In scripture, a famine was often an evidence of God’s discipline because His people had sinned against Him (Lev. 26:18–20; Deut. 28:15, 23–24).
Deuteronomy 28:15, 23-24 [15]"But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. [23]And the heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you shall be iron. [24]The LORD will make the rain of your land powder. From heaven dust shall come down on you until you are destroyed. (ESV)
During the time of the Judges, Israel repeatedly turned from God and worshiped the idols of the heathen nations around them; and God had to discipline them (Jdg. 2:10–19). Many years later in Elijah’s day God sent another famine as judgment on Israel for worshiping Baal (1 Kings 16:30-17:1; 18:21, 37; 19:10).
• Don’t ever think that just because you may control your own actions that you will be immune from Judgment. The relatively innocent will suffer for the actions of the sinful. Children suffer for the sinfulness of their parents and even the godly of society will suffer when evil is unchecked.
In the life of a Christian, spiritual famine comes not by accident. When we are obedient to God, God rains His blessings upon us and we have spiritual abundance. When we are disobedient, God withholds His blessings and we experience spiritual famine. (That is the message the God portrays in John 15:1–11 about abiding in Him and bearing spiritual fruit.) (Gingrich, Roy E.: The Books of Judges & Ruth. Memphis, TN. : Riverside Printing, 2006, S. 33)
3) The decision. Ruth 1:1c
Ruth 1:1c [1:1]In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. (ESV)
When trouble comes to our lives, we can do one of three things: a) endure it, b) try to escape it, or c) enlist it. If we only endure our trials, then trials become our master, and we have a tendency to become hard and bitter. If we try to escape our trials, then we will probably miss the purposes God wants to achieve in our lives. But if we learn to enlist our trials, they will become our servants instead of our masters and we will learn from them; and God will work all things together for our good and His glory (Rom. 8:28).
When a man (Elimelech) of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he made the wrong decision when he decided to leave home. What made this decision so wrong?
a) He walked by sight and not by faith.
The text gives no evidence that God directed Elimelech to leave Bethlehem
Abraham made the same mistake when he encountered a famine in the land of promise (Gen. 12:10ff). Instead of waiting for God to tell him what to do next, he fled to Egypt and got into trouble.
In times of trouble:
Isaiah 40:30-31 [30]Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; [31]but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
• You can’t run away from your problems. They follow you.
How do you walk by faith? By trusting in the promises of God and obeying the Word of God, in spite of what you see, how you feel, or what may happen. It means committing yourself to the Lord and relying wholly on Him to meet the need. When we live by faith, it glorifies God, witnesses to a lost world, and builds Christian character into our lives. God has ordained that “the righteous will live by his faith” (Hab 2:4; Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38; 2 Cor. 5:7); and when we refuse to trust Him, we are calling God a liar and dishonoring Him.
Please turn to James 3
There is a wisdom of this world that leads to folly and sorrow, and there is a wisdom from God that seems folly to the world but that leads to blessing
James 3:13-18 [13]Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. [14]But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. [15]This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. [16]For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. [17]But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. [18]And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. (ESV) (1 Cor. 3:18–20).
Poem: Afraid?
Afraid?
Of what?
To feel the spirit’s glad release,
To pass from pain to perfect peace,
The strife and strain of life to cease.
Afraid of that?
Afraid?
Of what?
Afraid to see the Savior’s face,
To hear his welcome and to trace
The glory gleaned from wounds of grace
Afraid of that?
Afraid?
Of what?
A flash, a crash
A pierced heart
Darkness!
Light!
Oh, heaven’s art!
A wound of His,
A counterpart
Afraid of that?
Afraid?
Of what?
To do by death what life could not
Baptize with blood a stony plot
Till souls shall blossom from this spot
Afraid of that?(From John & Betty’s Stamm’s belongings after their death in China)
Elimelech a) Walked by sight and not by faith, but also:
b) He majored on the physical and not the spiritual.
It is a righteous for a husband and father to provide for his wife and family, but he must not attempt to do it at the expense of honoring God in the process.
Please turn to Matthew 4
When Satan met Jesus in the wilderness, his first temptation was to suggest that Christ satisfy His hunger rather than please His Father
Matthew 4:1-4 [4:1]Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. [2]And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. [3]And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." [4]But he answered, "It is written, "’Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’" (cf. John 4:34).
• One of the devil’s pet lies is: “You do have to live!” But it is in God that “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28, NIV); and God is able to take care of us.
David’s witness is worth considering:
Psalm 37:25 [25]I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.
• One of the very purposes that God has commanded a community of believers to congregate together is to ensure this. God uses all kinds of means to provide for His saints.
Illustration: 4142 Under Or Above Circumstances
There is a story of a lady who was severely depressed by a series of disheartening events. When asked how she was weathering the storm of adversity, she answered, “Quite well, under the circumstances.” “Sister,” he replied kindly yet firmly, “you’ll never make it that way. Get ABOVE the circumstances—that’s where Jesus waits to help and strengthen you.” She took his wise admonition as a word from heaven, and laying aside her sadness and self-pity, she began to praise the Lord. New confidence in God’s love and kindness was generated in her soul, and she soon gained the victory of faith. (Tan, Paul Lee: Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations : A Treasury of Illustrations, Anecdotes, Facts and Quotations for Pastors, Teachers and Christian Workers. Garland TX : Bible Communications, 1996, c1979)
Elimelech a) Walked by sight and not by faith, b) He majored on the physical and not the spiritual. and third:
c) He honored the enemy and not the Lord.
By going fifty miles to the neighboring land of Moab, Elimelech and his family abandoned God’s land, God’s people, and essentially, God Himself for the land and people of the enemy.
Moabites were cousins to the Hebrews through Lot, Abraham’s nephew (Lawrenz, John C.: Judges, Ruth. Milwaukee, Wis. : Northwestern Pub. House, 1997 (The People’s Bible), S. 221).
Please turn to Deuteronomy 23
The Moabites were descendants of Lot from his incestuous union with his firstborn daughter (Gen. 19:30–38), and they were the Jews’ enemies because of the way they had treated Israel during their pilgrim journey from Egypt to Canaan (Deut. 23:3–6; Num. 22–25). During the time of the Judges, Moab had invaded Israel and ruled over the people for eighteen years (Jdg. 3:12–14). They were a proud people (Isa. 16:6) whom God disdained. “Moab is My washpot,” said the Lord (Ps. 60:8, KJV), a picture of a humiliated nation washing the feet of the conquering soldiers. They were worshipers of the god Chemosh, a deity whose worship was similar to that of Baal (Walvoord, John F. ; Zuck, Roy B. ; Dallas Theological Seminary: The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL : Victor Books, 1983-c1985, S. 1:419).
In terms of assembly or financial relationship:
Deuteronomy 23:3-6 [3]"No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the LORD. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the LORD forever, [4]because they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way, when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. [5]But the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam; instead the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loved you. [6]You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days forever. (ESV)
Likewise, in terms of interpersonal relationship
Nehemiah 13:23-25 [23]In those days also I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. [24]And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but only the language of each people. [25]And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them take oath in the name of God, saying, "You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. (ESV) (Ezra 9:1,2; Neh. 13:23–25).
• At this time of history, God was protecting the covenantal purity of His people and forbade them to be bound with the Moabites in personal or financial matters.
• God gives us a New Covenant equivalent in 2 Cor. 6:14 about not being unequally yoked with an unbeliever. We can rationalize all we want, probably like Elimelech did, of possible evangelistic, or financial opportunities, but in binding relationships, where moral agreement is necessary, we are not to be bound with an unbeliever.
Ruth 1:2 [2]The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. (ESV)
4) The consequences.
Names sometimes carry significance. Elimelech means “God is king.” In view of the much-repeated phrase “in those days Israel had no king” in the book of Judges, the Lord was not king in Elimelech’s life, for he left God completely out of his decisions. He made a decision out of God’s will when he went to Moab, and this led to another bad decision when his two sons married women of Moab.
Naomi’s name minus the last letter means “pleasant.” The suffix i is either the possessive my or an old Hebrew ending that would render Naomi’s name as “she who is pleasant.”
The two sons, Mahlon and Kilion, have rhyming names. The likely Hebrew words behind both names suggest illness. While ancient names generally reflected circumstances of birth or what the parents imagined their offspring were, or would become, It may be that both names were nicknames, given by the family after the fact in place of the names given at birth. Mahlon means “sickly,” and Chilion “failing,” or “wasting away.” Each name has been found at Ugarit, so they fit the era of the Judges when Scripture says the events took place (Richards, Lawrence O.: The Bible Readers Companion. electronic ed. Wheaton : Victor Books, 1991; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996, S. 175).
Ruth 1:3-4 [3]But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. [4]These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, (ESV)
Elimelech probably died not long after his arrival in Moab. This appears not only from the connecting “and”: “they came to Moab, were there, and Elimelech died” (cf. the Com. on Judg. 1:1), but may also be inferred from the circumstance that the sons did not marry while he was yet living (Lange, John Peter ; Schaff, Philip ; Cassell, Paulus ; Steenstra, P. H.: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures : Book. Bellingham, WA : Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2008, S. 12).
Orpah and Ruth were Moabites. Orpah’s name means “stubborn.” Ruth’s name means “friendship.” (MacArthur, John Jr: The MacArthur Study Bible. electronic ed. Nashville : Word Pub., 1997, c1997, S. Ru 1:4)
Mahlon married Ruth (Ruth 4:10), and Chilion married Orpah. As previously alluded to, at this time Jews were forbidden to marry Gentile women, especially those from Ammon and Moab (Deut. 7:1–11; 23:3–6; Neh. 13:1–3; Ezra 9:1–4). It was the Moabite women in Moses’ day who seduced the Jewish men into immorality and idolatry; and as a result, 24,000 people died (Num. 25). Solomon’s experience later showed that the greatest problem in such a marriage is the temptation to serve the gods of one’s foreign wife (1 Kings 11:1-6; cf. Mal. 2:11).
• God’s directions for us are not to impede our joy, but to make our joy truly full. There are many hidden dangers that we are not aware of and God does not want us to suffer these things.
The Israelites generally viewed the Moabites with suspicion, even when they were under firm Israelite control during the kingdom period. After a decade of marriage both Mahlon and Kilion die without leaving offspring. This eventuality desolates Naomi, who is now without any real means of support. Life for widows was precarious at best in the ancient Near East unless they were attached to some family. It is significant that the first form of social work undertaken by the primitive Christian church in Jerusalem was among needy widows (see Acts 6:1–6).
Without a male provider a widow was vulnerable to exploitation of various kinds, and if she could not find a family in which to live and work she was reduced to begging, prostitution, and often death by starvation. Naomi’s sole relatives in Moab are her daughters-in-law, and the future of the family unit looks bleak (Elwell, Walter A.: Evangelical Commentary on the Bible . electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Baker Book House, 1996, c1989, S. Ru 1:6).
Illustration: No House Without Sorrow
Among the parables that Chinese teachers use is the story of a woman who lost an only son. She was grief-stricken out of all reason. She made her sorrow a wailing wall. Finally she went to a wise old philosopher. He said to her, “I will give you back your son if you will bring me some mustard seed. However, the seed must come from a home where there has never been any sorrow.” Eagerly she started her search, and went from house to house. In every case she learned that a loved one had been lost. “How selfish I have been in my grief,” she said, “sorrow is common to all.” (Tan, Paul Lee: Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations : A Treasury of Illustrations, Anecdotes, Facts and Quotations for Pastors, Teachers and Christian Workers. Garland TX : Bible Communications, 1996, c1979)
Elimelech and his family had fled Judah to escape death, but the three men met death just the same. The family had planned only to “sojourn” temporarily in Moab, but they remained for ten years (Ruth 1:4). At the end of that decade of disobedience, all that remained were three lonely widows and three Jewish graves in a heathen land. Everything else was gone (v. 21). Such is the sad consequence of unbelief.
• Sin has a way of compounding in our lives. Even when we plan to just take a small deviation from what we know is right, we have taken the first step in the path of disobedience. The next is either an attempt to cover the first up or progress on the path. The first sin accepted makes it easier for the second and following.
We can’t run away from our problems. We can’t avoid taking with us the basic cause of most of our problems, which is an unbelieving and disobedient heart.
Quote: Oswald Champers said: “The majority of us begin with the bigger problems outside and forget the one inside. A man has to learn ‘the plague of his own heart’ before his own problems can be solved . . .” (The Shadow of an Agony, p. 76).
(Format Note: Outline & some base commentary from: Wiersbe, Warren W.: Be Committed. Wheaton, Ill. : Victor Books, 1996, c1993 (An Old Testament Study. Ruth and Esther), S. Ru 1:1)
