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1. The year 1945 saw the emergence of three great evangelist: Billy Graham; Chuck Templeton, and Bron Clifford. All three of them packed auditoriums to capacity. Chuck Tempelton was called "the most gifted and talented young man in America today for preaching."
Clifford preached to an auditorium of thousands in Miami Florida. Graham, Tempeton, and Clifford were shooting stars for Christ in 1945.
And yet today who has even heard of Templeton or Clifford. What happened? They both failed to finish strong. Just five years later, Templeton left the ministry to pursue a career as a radio and television commentator and newspaper columnist. He said he no longer was a believer in Christ in the orthodox sense of the term.
Clifford? By 1945, he had lost his family, his ministry, his health, and then his life. Alchohol and financial irresponsibility had done him in.
It is not how we start thats important but how we finish.
2. Elimelech's name means "God is my king" started out good but he didnt finish that way.
3. Elimelech: the tragedy of finishing Wrong instead of Strong.
Ruth 1:1-5 (NKJV)
1 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 Bethlehem, Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.
2 The name of the man was Elimelech, the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion--Ephrathites of Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to the country of Moab and remained there.
3 Then Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died; and she was left, and her two sons.
4 Now they took wives of the women of Moab: the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth. And they dwelt there about ten years.
5 Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died; so the woman survived her two sons and her husband.
I. First, the Days. 1:1a
The days of Judges were days when people did whatever they wanted to do.
Judges 17:6 (NKJV)
6 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Judges 18:1 (NKJV)
1 In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking an inheritance for itself to dwell in; for until that day their inheritance among the tribes of Israel had not fallen to them.
Judges 21:25 (NKJV)
25 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Elwood McQuaid, "In many respects events taking place in America paralle the condition of ancient Israel during the period of the judges. Moral and spiritual standards here deteriorated at an alarming rate over the past few decades...Being reared in America a generation ago meant experiencing life in which lines for conduct, ethics, and morals were clearly drawn...America's break with the past came with the change in attitudes about moral absolutes and the determination to make attitudes about moral absolutes the determination to make man, rather than God, the center of the universe.
Ultimately God was virtually banned from America's public institutions. Particularlly devasting has been the banishment of God from the classrooms of our public schools...The entertainment industry and media radicals began pummeling the public by flaunting the First Amendment in pursuing their "right" to debauch the nation in the interest of personal enrichment.."
The change hit in the 1960, William Bennett notes, "During this same 30 year period (60s-90s) there has been a 560% increase in violent crime; more than a 400% increase in illegitimate births, a quadrupling in divorce rates; a tripling of the percentage of children living in single-parent homes; more than a 200% increase in teenage suicide rate, and a drop of almost 80 points in the S.A.T scores."
"Here's the bottom line: There is no absolute truth, therefore everything is permitted. Moral relativism took off in this country in the sixties. But those students of sixties are no longer students. They are professors, members of Congress, judges, school board members, and presidents of the United States.
What they believe is that there is no absolute truth, therefore, everything is permitted. In the sixties, it was called "doing your own thing." In 30 years moral relativism has swept through our culture with blinding speed and pervasiveness. It's everywhere.Newspapers, magazines, on TV, on CD's, Cassettes, and taught in the majority of our public schools.
Our kids are growing up in a culture where someone will say, "Well, that may be wrong for you, but that doesnt mean it's wrong for me." That is moral relativism. We have now completely lost our moral compass in this country. In modern America, bad is good and good is bad." [Steve Farrar]
We are living in the days of Judges again, but the book of Ruth is proof positive that we can live godly in an ungodly soceity. Look at Boaz! Look at Ruth! Infact, we could look at people like Noah, Elijah, and a host of others who lived for God in a godless age. Dare to be a Daniel! How about Antipas at Pergamos? Rev. 2:12-13
II. Next, the Discipline. 1:1b
a famine in the land - This causes us to date the book of Ruth back to the time of Gideon? (Jud.6:3-4); A famine spoke of divine discipline (Lev. 26:18-20/Deut.28:1-14) speaks of blessings and 28:15-, speaks of curses, 23-24/
I Ki. 16:30-17:1/ Lu.15:14); Our sin effects others. There is no way to live in a Nation under Gods divine judgment without feeling the effect. Boaz was a godly man but he still experienced the famine.
Principle: Who the Lord loves He chastens! (Heb. 12)
"During the period of the judges, worship of the Canaanite god Baal was common among the Isralites. Baal was believed to be owner of the land and to control its fertility. Baal's female counterpart was Ashtoreth. Sexual relationships between those two gods was believed to regulate fertility of the earth and its creatures."
So a famine was a direct affront against Baal, another example would be the Ten Plagues God sent on Egypt. If we worship money, God has a way of showing us how worthless money is; worship health and see it you; etc.
III. Thirdly. the Disobedience. 1:1c
A. The Problem - It was God's will for Israel to occupy the land that God has given to them. Bethlehem - means "house of bread", it was the birthplace of both David and Jesus. It was used to be called Ephrath (Gen. 35:19; 48:7).
B. The Plan - to dwell - it means to live as an alien, to live in a place temporarily.
How easy to disobey God's Word with, "I'll only do it just once." Disobeying God only once is one time too often...
C. The Place - Moab.
"According to Gen. 19:37, Moab was the son of Lot by an incestuous union with his elder daughter. The Moabites were later the chief source of Israel's agony. For 18 years under the leadership of Eglon they oppressed Israel
(Jud.3)." [Davis]
They were in fact one of Israel's bitter enemies...
Barber, "It seems probably that as Elimelech sees the sheep dying in the parched valleys and hears the mournful lowing of the now gaunt cattle, he feels a sense of desparation grip him.
For months he has hoped for some token that the famine will soon be over, but none has appeared. He has scanned the Jordan valley, but it, too, lies barren beneath the baking rays of the sun. But there, in the distance, he can see that the hills of Moab are tinged with green."
And so he disobeys God - but waht should he have done? Stayed in God's will like Boaz did! We have no right to stop doing God's will just because the going gets tough.
Our Lord Jesus was hungry in the wilderness, because God had led Him into the wilderness. (Mt.4:1-4)
Our responsibliltity is to seek His will and stay there! Mt. 6:33
An old story about a man who put his house up for sale. A poor man wanted to buy it but only had half of the money. The owner offered to sell the house for half price with the stipulation that a large nail protruding from the front door remain there.
Several years went by and the original owner decided he wanted his house back. So he took the carcass of a dead dog and hung it from the nail he still owner. Soon the stench was so bad that the man had to move out!
The lesson is that just one known sin will effect your life...
IV. Fourth, a Description. 2, 4
A. The Family.
Elimeleck - means "My God is King." What a wonderful name. Unfortunately he is not living up to his name. Are we? We are called Christians - those who claim to be Christlike should live Christlike.
Naomi - "pleasant" she makes to protest but passively goes along with the move.
Mahlon - "weak, sickly"
Chilion - "pinning, wasting away."
B. The Folly. 2b, 4
remained there - speaks of a definite change in plans! Infact the family is going to stay there for some 10 years.
Sin is like that - once you sin its hard to stop!
Gary Richmond who worked in a zoo, tells of a King Cobra who had a scar over his eye. Snakes shedd their skin, but this one needed help because of the scar.
He was called in to help the doctor hold the huge snake while the skin was surgically removed. The snake was stubdued, one would grab the head, and two grabbed the body while the doctor did his work.
Gary said he was more then a little afraid knowing that the snakes venom glads contain enough poison to kill 1,000 adults. Several elephants die every year from King cobra bites.
He says, "My hands were sweaty and my fingers were cramping. When I let him go, it may not be quick enough. More people are bitten trying to let go of snakes than when they grab them...They are easy to grap, hard to let go."
Sin is like that, its easy to grap a hold of, but remember it's hard to let go of!
Easier to leave it alone.
took wives of women of Moab - this was a violation of God's Word. (Deut.7:1-11; 23:3-6/Neh.13:1-3/Ezra 9:1-4).
V. Finally, the Deceased. [Three funerals]
Is this related to God's chastening hand? Yes!
A. Jewish Tradition records that these deaths were to God's disciplining hand.
B. Elimelech's sin is clear - persisting in living outside of God's will; his sons marrying pagan woman.
C. Old Testament is filled with people sho experienced physical death because they disobeyed God [children of Israel dying out in the wilderness, etc.]
D. Even in the N.T. there is such a response (Acts 5/ I Cor. 11:29-30/Ja.5:19-20/I Jn. 5:16-17).
I read about a family that took shelter in the basement as a severe storm passed by. The radio said a tornado had been spotted. When the storm passed they left the shelter to see the damages.
A downed power line was whipping dangerously in front of their house. His
5 year old daughter shot out the door and was heading for the sparkling wire.
Her father yelled, "Laurie stop!" She just kept going. Again, "Laurie, Stop!" But she just ignored him and reached down and picked up the power line and was killed instantly!
Sometimes its dangerous to ignore instructions. When our heaven Father says, "No, Stop!" We would be wise to comply.
Con:
1. Elimelech ended Wrong - how about us? We all have a choice - we can finish Wrong or Strong by God's enabling grace through Christ.
2. Steve Farrar, "You may be thinking that its too late for you to finish strong. You've made some mistakes. Some big mistakes. You may think you could never finish strong because: you've made some very serious choices that have caused you to lose credibility with your family, friends, and associates.
Listen, my friend, its never too late to begin doing what's right. As long as you're breathing, its never too late to begin to confess your sin...Thanks to the grace of God, you've got time to make up a lot of ground. Just because you've fallen down doesnt mean that you can't get up and finish strong."
Ever hear of the race?
It's about a young boy competing in a race he wants to win, every time he falls his dad urges him to get us and win the race.
"Defeat! He lay there silently, a tear dropped from his eye.
There's no sense running anymore, three strikes, I'm out - why try?
The will to rise had disappeared, all hope had fled away,
So far behind, so error prone, loser all the way.
"I've lost, so what's the use" he thought, "I'll live with my disgrace."
But then he thought about his dad, who soon he'd have to face.
"Get up" an echo sounded low, "Get up and take your place.
You were not meant for failure here, so get up, and win the race.
With borrowed will, "Get up" It said, "You havent lost at all."
For winning is not more than this - to rise each time you fall.
So up he rose to win once more, and with a new commit,
He resolved that win or lose, at least he wouldnt quit.
So far behind the others now, the most he'd ever been.
Still he gave it all he had and ran as though to win.
Three times he'd fallen, stumbling, three times he rose again,
Too far behind to hope to win, he still ran to the end.
They cheered the winning runner, as he crossed, first place,
Head high and proud and happy; no falling, no disgrace.
But when the fallen youngster crossed the line, last place,
The crowd gave him the greater cheer, for finishing the race.
And even though he came in last, wiht head bowed low, uproud;
You would have thought he won the race, to listen to the crowd.
And to his dad he sadly said, "I didnt do so well."
"To me, you won" his father said, "You rose each time you fell."
And now when things seem dark and hard and difficult to face,
The memory of that little boy helps me in my race.
For all of life is like that race, with ups and downs and all,
And all you have to do to win - is rise each time you fall.
Quit! Give up, your beaten," they still shout in my face.
But another voice within me says, "Get up and win that race."
That voice is our heavenly Father...
Johnny Palmer Jr.
www.strugglingthruscriptures.ning.com
www.blogtalkradio.com/strugglingthruscriptues
