Studies in the Book of Ruth
“The Story Behind The Story.”
Ruth 1:1-7
Only two books of the Bible bear the names of women; they are Ruth and Esther. Ruth was a Gentile who married a Jew and Esther was a Jew who married a Gentile. Only three women appear in the genealogy of Jesus and she was one of them.
The book of Ruth is a great story but perhaps not a universally known story. “When Benjamin Franklin was abroad as our representative in Europe, he would sometimes gather together a fashionable company, and telling them that he had come upon a most remarkable piece of Oriental literature, read to them the Book of Ruth. When he finished, all would express their great delight and ask him how he came upon such a gem of litera-ture. Then he would tell them it was in the Bible.” [Clarence Edward Macartney. “Great Women of the Bible.” (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1974) p. 10]
“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 (ma-lone) and Chilion (chil-e-un) 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. 6 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 that the LORD had visited His people by giving them bread. 7 Therefore she went out from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.
In these first seven verses of Ruth we are introduced to the family of a man named Elimelech who lived during the days of the judges (v. 1). It is the sad tale of a man who chooses to walk out on the Lord and on God's plan for his life. As a result of his decision, he and his family pay a terribly high price.
First, It Is Easy to Turn From God During A Time of General Wickedness. (1:1a)
“Now it came to pass, in the days when the judges ruled,…” (v. 1a)
The historical setting of this story is important. The Bible says, “…in the days when the judges ruled” (1:1) The period of the Judges was one of the most wicked in Israel’s history. Joshua and Caleb were dead, so the Israelites didn’t have any spirit-ual leaders. The people turned to idolatry and immorality. This entire period can be summarized by the last verse in Judges: “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 21:25)
That was written over 3000 years ago, but I think it is a perfect description of the American culture in our day. There was a time when our society was founded on the bedrock of Biblical truth. We didn’t have to argue over what cons-titutes a marriage because the Bible says that marriage is a union between a man and woman. We did have to argue over the ethics of abortion because the Bible taught that life was sacred from the moment of conception. We did have to argue over whether a cross or the Ten Commandments could be displayed in a public place. But America changed when we no longer got our standards from the Bible. We live in an age of moral relativity where we are told there is no such thing as absolute standards. It is up to every individual to decide what is right or wrong for themselves. It is exactly the problem described in Judges, “And every man did what was right in his own eyes.”
It Is Easy to Turn From God During A Time of General Wickedness and…
Second, You Start To Turn From God When You Stop Trusting Him! (1:1b)
“there was a famine in the land.
There was famine in the “land” and although it is not further described for the Hebrew there was only one “land” – the land given to Israel by God “The Promised Land.”
When the famine came Elimelech faced the same choice that we have. Do I stay here and pray and seek God’s direction and then trust Him to provide for us? Or will I go take things into my own hands. His choice was to go back across the Jordan River, back among the pagan Moabites because he heard they have some food? It seems the Elimelech devised his own solution instead of calling on God for mercy and repenting of the sins that had caused the withdrawal of God’s favor.
There was a famine in the land and Elimelech decided to leave Judea to a land where he hoped the suffering for his family would be less. His motives were legitimate; his intentions sincere. But in spite of his good intentions he made a bad decision. The suffering he hoped to escape in Bethlehem his family endured in Moab. He feared death through starvation in Bethlehem and yet in Moab he died and both of his sons as well.
But it seems that in fact Elimelech may well have made his decision before his family had really been affected by the famine for when Naomi decides to return ten years later she confesses, “we went out full and have returned empty.” (Ruth 1:21) We should consider that it is later revealed to us that Elimelech had a close relative named Boaz, who not only stayed in Bethlehem but seemed to do quite well in spite of the famine (Ruth 2:1).
Two wrongs are involved here; he aban-doned God’s Promise Land and he went to the land of God’s enemies.
• Abandoned God’s Promised Land.
God promised that there would be plenty in
the Promised Land as long as Israel was obedient (Deut. 28:1-14). The children of Israel had wonder-ed in the wilderness for 40 years traveling towards the Promised Land and fought to gradually claim the land the God had promised. Now only a gen-eration later Elimelech left the Promise Land headed in the opposite direction. The journey to Moab was downhill all the way, both physically and morally.
In a way Elimelech’s move to Moab was equivalent to denying faith in Jehovah. Because by moving to Moab he separated himself and his family from the things of God. They could not worship in the Temple. They could not bring their offerings or keep the feasts. They were isolated from everything that God stood for. And in making this move Elimelech exposed his family to evils they would have avoided had they stayed in Israel.
So when Elimelech turned back and traveled to Moab, he became a sad but powerful metaphor of a child of God who turns away from God’s promises and lives in the land of misery. It is the picture of a term we do not hear much in our day – backsliding. Elimelech is a picture of a backslidden believer. Backsliding happens when a Christian stopping advancing in their walk with God; instead they are sliding back into their old habits and behaviors. The Bible says, “The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, but a good man will be satisfied from above.” (Proverbs 14:14)
Elimelech’s name means “God is King” – but he certainly did not live as if God was his king.
• Went to the Land of God’s Enemies - Backtracking to Moab. (1:1b)
“And a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.”
The text says that Elimelech went to “dwell in in the country of Moab.” The word “dwell” is a Hebrew word that means “to sojourn” which indicates that they did not intend for it to be permanent.
But to arrive at the land of Moab Elimelech’s family had to go through the desolate Jericho pass, through the Judean wilderness near the Dead Sea, cross the Jordan River into the land of Moab. This a definitive departure from the Promised Land a return towards the Wilderness from which God had delivered Israel earlier. These are clearly steps in the wrong direction.
We are told that Elimelech takes his family to
a place called Moab. Moab was located just across the Jordan River, east of the Promised Land. It was inhabited by people who worshiped pagan gods. The Moabites were the descendants of a man named Moab who was the son of an incestuous relationship between Lot and his eldest daughter (Gen. 19:30-38). They attacked and opposed Israel, seeking to destroy the people of God, during Israel's wilderness wanderings (Num. 23-25; Deut. 23:3-6).
This was a people opposed to God and His ways. In Psalm 60:8, God says this, "Moab is my washpot (or footpan)..." This phrase means that they were a despised thing, compared to a vessel containing water to be used by slaves to wash the feet of a conquering hero. God says that they are nothing and that they will be reduced to the lowest form of slavery! Yet, they were a people who could have been saved had they repented of their sins as Ruth did.
John MacArthur states, “The Moabites worshiped a god whom they called Chemosh… worship of this idol was grotesque and at times even involving human sacrifices (2 Kings 3:26-27). …Moabite worship was also filled with erotic imagery and lewd conduct. Moabite paganism typified everything abominable about idolatry. The Moabite culture practically epitomized everything faithful Israelites were supposed to shun.”[John MacArthur. “Twelve Extraordinary Women.” (Nashville: Nelson Books, 2005) p.71]
It is to this despised and wicked nation that Elimelech moves his family. Here we see a picture of that person who willingly turns his back on the things of God and pays an awful price. If this sec-tion of Scripture teaches us anything, it teaches us that living in a backslidden condition carries with it devastating consequences, but repentance and restoration are always a possibility.
You Start To Turn From God When You Stop Trusting Him and…
Third, Turning From God Always Brings Heartache and Bitterness. (1:3-5, 20)
They may have intended for their stay in Moab to be temporary but verse two says, “And they went to the country of Moab and remained there.” They may have convinced themselves that they would only stay for a short time, but days turned to weeks and weeks into months and before they knew what happened ten tragedy filled years had passed.
There is an old saying about sin; “Sin will take you further than you wanted to go. It will keep you longer than you want to stay, and it will cost you more than you want to pay!”
• Heartache. (1:3, 5)
The sad result of their lives in Moab is report-ed, “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.”
Tragedy quickly ensued, first Elimelech dies leaving Naomi a widow. And over the course of time the two sons, Mahlon and Chilion “they took wives of the women of Moab” (v. 4) from among the Moabite women they took two wives, named Orpah and Ruth. Although marriage to women of Moab was not directly forbidden, Israelites were forbidden to marry Canaanite women, lest they be tempted to worship other gods (Deut. 7:3-4) and common sense would make marriage to a Moabite inappropriate for the same reasons. And then the two sons die with having any children.
Naomi’s husband and both her sons have died and now she is left as the head of the household. She is alone in a strange land and worse she now has the responsibility of caring for the wives of her two sons. So now there were three widows, Naomi and her two daughters-in-law. To be a childless widow was one of the most vulnerable classes in the ancient world. There was no one to support them and they had to live on the generosity of strangers. Naomi had no family left in Moab and the three widows were in a desperate situation.
• Bitterness. (1:20-21)
In verse 20 Naomi describes her bitterness. She says “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went out full, and the LORD has brought me home again empty…” Naomi whose name means “pleasant” is now says she is so full of pain that she said, “Don’t call Pleasant, call me Bitter.”
Turning From God Always Brings Heartache and Bitterness and….
Fourth, No Matter How Far You Roam, God Invites You To Come Home. (1:6-7)
“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 that the LORD had visited His people by giving them bread. 7 There-fore she went out from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.”
The fact that “the LORD had visited His people by giving them bread” “The narrator’s eyes of faith undoubtedly recognized in this gift of food the grace of God. The Author (He) does not explicitly speak of divine grace but the absence of any hint or repentance on the part of Israel as a whole or Naomi in particular suggests that the motivation behind the lifting of the famine and the provision of food lies elsewhere.” [Daniel I. Block, The New American Commentary. “Judges, Ruth. (Nashville: Broadman and Holman Pub., 1999) p. 631]
These last two verses help us to leave this story with a glimmer of hope. Somehow Naomi heard that the Lord was again blessing Israel. But in truth the LORD had ever stopped loving Israel, even His discipline is a sign of His love. This news sparked a desire in her heart to go home. Maybe she remembered what was like to be near the things of God and the people of God. Maybe she missed the opportunity to worship and present sacrifices to the LORD.
“Then she arose … she might return from the country of Moab,.. 7 Therefore she went out from the place where she was,.. went on the way to return to the land of Judah.” Naomi rose up and left Moab behind. She experienced a change of heart that resulted in a change of action.
This reminds me of the story of The Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32. It is a story of son who left God’s place and God’s people and went out into the world to live. The result was that found himself; homeless, hungry and willing to eat what he fed to the hogs (15:16). But suddenly he “came to himself” (15:17) remembered there was plenty in his Father’s house “so he arose and came to his father” (11:20).
Naomi rose up and went on her way to return to that land of Judah. She was headed back to the land of “Praise.” She was going back to where she should have all along! She was going home.
She discovered a great truth about the will and work of God. If you find yourself separated from God, if you have with good intentions but poor decisions, wandered far from God, It is always the will of God that you should return. Just as we see in the story of The Prodigal Son the Father is always ready and willing with open arms to receive the wonderer home (Lk. 15:20). When Naomi reached Bethlehem, the entire village welcomed her. (1:19). When Naomi returned she did not return alone, her Moabite daughter-in-law came with her. This Moabite daughter would later become the great grandmother of King David and ultimately was listed in the lineage of Jesus. Even when we do not see God at work His plan and His will is always moving forward!
Conclusion
I want to close with three lessons draw from this text.
There is a lesson about following the LORD.
Sometimes even God’s children suffer.
There is a lesson about directing our Life’s.
Good intentions do not always produce good
results.
Any direction that takes you away form God is
always the wrong direction.
There is a lesson about Discerning God’s. will.
It always God’s will for us to come home.
God is working even when we do not realize
it.
The Story Behind The Story
Ruth 1:1-7
First, It Is Easy to Turn From God During A Time of General Wickedness. (1:1a)
The Bible says, “…in the days when the judges ruled” (1:1) and this entire period can be “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 21:25)
Second, You Start To Turn From God When You Stop Trusting Him! (1:1b)“there was a famine in the land.
• Abandoned God’s Promised Land – Backsliding. (Proverbs 14:14)
• Went to the Land of God’s Enemies - Backtracking to Moab. (1:1b)
Third, Turning From God Always Brings Heartache and Bitterness. (1:3, 5, 20)
• Heartache. (1:3-5)
The boys married two Moabite women, in direct violation of God’s law (Deut. 7:3-4).
• Bitterness. (1:20)
Naomi whose name means “pleasant” is so full of pain that she said, “Don’t call Pleasant, call me Bitter.”
Fourth, No Matter How Far You Roam, God Invites You To Come Home. (1:6-7)
The Story Behind The Story
Ruth 1:1-7
First, It Is Easy to Turn From God During A Time of General ______________. (1:1a)
The Bible says, “…in the days when the judges ruled” (1:1) and this entire period can be “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did what was ______ in his own eyes.” (Judges 21:25)
Second, You Start To Turn From God When You Stop ______ Him! (1:1b)“there was a famine in the land.
• __________ God’s Promised Land – Backsliding. (Proverbs 14:14)
• Went to the Land of God’s ______ - Backtracking to Moab. (1:1b)
Third, ______ From God Always Brings Heartache and Bitterness. (1:3, 5, 20)
• Heartache. (1:3-5)
The boys married two Moabite women, in direct violation of God’s law (Deut. 7:3-4).
• Bitterness. (1:20)
Naomi whose name means “pleasant” is no so full of pain that said, “Don’t call Pleasant, call me ____.”
Fourth, No Matter How Far You ______, God Invites You To Come _______. (1:6-7)
