The Book Of Ruth (1 Of 4)

You might be saying, “So what!” people move from one city to another all the time! That is correct, but anytime we find something in the Word of God, it is there for a reason.

WHAT IS THE REASON GOD PUT THIS FAMILY IN THE SCRIPTURES? God placed them in the holy scriptures that we might learn from their mistake.

WHAT WAS THEIR MISTAKE?

They were a family with a problem, that looked in the wrong places for the solution to their problem.

This family makes us think of the psalmist in Psalm 121. In this Psalm he tells us about the heathen of that day.

They would erect their idols on the top of the mountains. When they had problems, they would head to the mountains to pray to these idols for the help they needed.

In Psalm 121, the psalmist makes a sarcastic reference to their going there.

Look at verse 1, we read, “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.” But actually this is not a statement, it is a question.

David is saying, “When I have problems shall I also lift up my eyes unto the hills for the solution to my problems?” Of course, the answer to that questions is absolutely not!

Look at verse 2, he says, “My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.” In other words, “No, I will not turn to the idols of this world for the help I need,” He says that his help, “…Cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.”

Notice, after saying His help, “…cometh from the Lord…”, he also said of the Lord, “…which made heaven and earth.”

In other words, David is saying that he did not make the God he served. God made David. In fact, He made everything in the heavens and earth.

Then, in the remaining verses, he tells us WHY HE TURNED TO THE LIVING GOD FOR HIS HELP.

Look at Psalm 121:3-8, he says, “He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.”

David did not make the mistake that many are making today, nor did he make the mistake this family made in the Old Testament. THIS FAMILY WENT TO THE WRONG PLACE TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS THEY FACED!

Look again at Ruth 1:1, “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 Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.”

Did you get that? When there was a famine, this family moved from the land of God, to live in the land of the wicked Moabites.

WHO WERE THE MOABITES? Remember Lot who dwelt in Sodom and Gomorrah? The Moabites were his descendants.

WHY DID THEY MAKE THIS MOVE? Rather than trust the Lord to take care of them during this famine, they decided it would be better if they turned to the wicked Moabites.

THIS IS WHAT PEOPLE DO WHEN THEY START TO BACKSLIDE, THEY TURN TO THE WRONG PLACES FOR THE SOLUTIONS TO THEIR PROBLEMS. Such as:

• When a person backslides, they begin to turn to the world for COMPANIONSHIP.

• When a person backslides, they begin to turn to the world for the CONTENTMENT they seek.

• When a person backslides, they begin to turn to the world for the HAPPINESS they seek.

This family was facing a famine in the land of Bethlehemjudah, and rather than trust God, they put their trust in the wicked Moabites.

As we look at this family today, notice the attention that is placed on two women.

• NAOMI - she is the perfect picture of backslider

• RUTH - she is the perfect picture of a new convert

But in chapter 1, Naomi is the star attraction. Let’s look at-

I. NAOMI’S NEW HOME

Look at Ruth 1:2 "...And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there."

We see so many of the people of God today, living among the modern day Moabites.

When the people of God drift from God, we find them in places we should not find them.

• You will find some in front of their television sets, watching the same things that the heathen watch

• You will find some in the movie theaters, watching the same things that the heathen watch