You Can’t Run Away
Ruth 1:1-5
I. Intro:
A. On his book “The Conduct of Life”, the American novelist Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “The efforts which we make to escape from our destiny only serve to lead us into it.”
B. If you think about it that is just as true today as it was when the book was published in 1860
1. The reason I think it’s as valid today is because God of choice.
2. We can ignore the will of God, argue with it, disobey it, and even fight against it. But in the end God’s will, shall prevail.
3. Psalm 33:11 The counsel of the LORD stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations.
C. Job even asked Job 9:4
1. Job 9:4 God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered?
2. But Job knew the answer and so do we: nobody.
3. If we obey the will of God, everything in life holds together, but if we disobey, everything starts to fall apart.
4. Nowhere in the bible is this principle better illustrated than in the story of Ruth and Naomi.
5. And here in this Chapter we can find 3 mistakes that you and I must avoid when we deal with the problems and trails of life.
D. Tonight let’s identify the first mistake.
1. Read Ruth 1:1-5
E. First let me bring you up to speed with our story.
II. The Time
A. Life was not is the days of Naomi.
1. It was 1100 BC, it was the time of the Judges, there was no Kings on the throne of Israel.
B. The book of Judges, tells us that it is one the lowest point in Jewish history.
1. It’s a record of the division, apostasy, civil war and national disgrace.
C. Like the Israel of the past there are many of Gods people today that are living in unbelief and disobedience and they are not enjoying the blessings that God offers.
1. So it seems incredible that in the mist of all the chaos of the world that we find this love story.
2. But isn’t that how God works. Where ever we see chaos we can find Gods love and peace.
D. Today our world is in the mist of one the lowest points in history, spiritually speaking.
1. But the one thing that we can rest assured in, is that God still loves the world and wants to save lost folks.
2. And when you know Jesus, Christ as Lord and Savior, no matter how tough times may get, we are part of a beautiful love story.
E. The book of Ruth is also a harvest story.
1. During this dark time in Israel’s history, God was seeking a bride and reaping a harvest.
2. Israel was also reaping a harvest but it was a harvest from their disobedience.
a. Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
3. Today the Lord is seeking laborers for the field because the harvest is ready but as we know the laborers are few.
III. The Place
A. When we think of Bethlehem, we think of a time when the world was still, the darkness of the night was shattered by the light of a star and the silence was broken with the choir of angels. All because a baby was born.
1. But at this time Bethlehem which means “house of bread” was in the middle of a famine.
2. A famine in the Old Testament was often evidence of God’s discipline, because His people had sinned against Him.
3. Israel has repeatedly turned from God and worshiped Idols of all kinds.
B. Now the thing that you and I struggle with is the same thing that those faithful few struggled with in those days.
1. Why do those that are faithful to and obedient to God have to suffer because of the ungodly?
C. And that’s where we find the first mistake.
IV. The Decision
A. When trouble comes to our lives, we can do one of 3 things, endure it, escape it, or enlist it.
1. If we only endure our trials, then they become our master.
2. If we try to escape our trials, then we will probably miss the purpose that God wanted us to achieve in us.
3. But if we will enlist our trials then they will work for us not against us.
B. Elimelech made the wrong decision when he decided to leave home, look at verse 1.
C. But why was this decision wrong?
V. He Walked By Sight And Not By Faith.
A. Instead of waiting for God to tell him what to do next he fled.
B. Abraham did the very same thing.
1. Genesis 12:10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land.
2. He fled to Egypt and got in trouble.
C. Folks no matter how difficult our circumstances are, its better to wait upon the Lord, than to face our problems alone.
1. You can’t run away from your problems.
D. So how do you walk by faith?
1. By claiming the promises of God, and obeying His word, regardless of what we feel, in spite of what we see, or what may happen.
2. It means committing yourself to the Lord, wholly, completely, and relying totally on Him to meet your needs.
3. Now tell me that’s not hard to do!
4. But when we live by faith, it glorifies God, witness to the lost, and builds our trust in Jesus.
a. Romans 1:17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."
b. Habakkuk 2:4 "Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith.
E. Would you ever call God a liar?
1. I don’t know if you realize this or not. when we refuse to trust Him that’s exactly what we are doing.
a. Its saying God’s promise to provide is not true.
b. Its saying that God doesn’t care about you or your problems.
2. James 3:13-18 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
3. Isaiah 5:21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight!
VI. He Majored On The Physical And Not The Spiritual.
A. What is the one thing that the man of the house wants.
1. No not a man cave.
2. He wants to be able to provide for his wife and kids.
B. But as followers of Christ we must not do it at the expense of losing the blessings of God.
1. When Satan met Jesus in the wilderness his first temptation was to his hunger.
2. That is probably Satan’s pet lies, “You do have to live.
C. According to Acts 17:28 its in God that we move and have our being.
1. And He is able to take care of every need, every problem, and every situation you and I will ever encounter.
2. Listen to Ps. 37:25 I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread.
D. Paul also encountered similar situations.
1. Acts 20:24 But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
E. Friends in times of difficulty if we will die to self and put Gods will first, then we can be sure that He will take us out of our troubles or bring us through them.
VII. He Honored The Enemy Not The Lord.
A. By going 50 miles to the neighboring land of Moab, Elimelech and his family abandoned God’s promise land, and God’s people.
1. The Moabites were descendants of Lot from his incestuous relationship with his first born daughter and they were the enemies of the Jews. Because of the way they had treated Israel during their trip to the promise land.
2. During the time of the Judges, Moab had invaded Israel and ruled Israel for 18 years.
3. So it’s easy to see why God was so upset with Elimelech for running to the His enemy for help.
B. So what is the result of Elimelech trying to run from his problems?
VIII. The Consequences
A. The Name Elimelech means , “my God is King”
1. But that is not who was King of his life.
a. He left God completely out of his life.
b. He made decisions out of the will of God and this lead to other bad decisions.
B. Folks anytime you leave God out of your decisions making process you are setting yourself up for failure.
1. It lead to his 2 sons marrying 2 Moabite women.
a. Enemies of God, talk about unequally yoked.
2. Jews were forbidden to marry gentile women, especially form the land of Moab.
3. It was Moabite women who seduced the Jewish men in Moses’ day into idolatry, and immorality, and as a result 24,000 people died.
C. When Elimelech ran from his problems back at home he ran head on into a bigger one that wound up cost his life and the life off both of his sons.
1. Friends whenever we try to run from our problems it always affect those around us.
2. We can’t run firm our problems and except anything good to come out of it.
3. It certainly want fix them.
a. The reason is that because the problem is not the famine is the unbelieving and disobedient heart that is the problem.
D. The majority of us begin with the bigger problems outside and forget the one inside we must learn that the problem is a heart problem not a physical one.
