How could any faithful Israelite encourage someone to return to their (false) god(s)? (2) There is no indication that other Israelites from Bethlehem (or elsewhere in Israel) accompanied Elimelech and his family to Moab. Call me Mara because the Sovereign One has treated me very harshly. The final chapters of the Book of Judges are certainly the worst of times, and yet the Book of Ruth describes the best of times. This suggests to me that godly character is not only evident in the good times, but even more dramatically in the bad times. DO YOU HAVE A MOAB THAT YOU NEED TO LEAVE? Elimelech was a faithless husband who led his family into the yawning jaws of death. There is a difference between fearing God, and being afraid of God; the Godly fear God as a child does his father, the wicked are afraid of God as the prisoner is of a judge. Lot and his family were spared, but his wife died (turned to salt) because she looked back. What is this you have done to me? WebElimelech, one of the notables of Judah, came to Moab, where he hoped to find food and an easier life. You must have JavaScript enabled to use this form. For instance, Samuel opens the story without naming Elimelech. This email address is being protected from spambots. and lifts up the needy from the garbage pile, 9 He makes the barren woman of the family. No, of course not, my daughters! Having started off on a rather negative note, let me hasten to say that the Book of Ruth is a breath of fresh air for those of us who have just come from the Book of Judges. Classis EastThis email address is being protected from spambots. Then you go and have sexual relations with him so we can preserve our family line through our father. 35 So they made their father drunk that night as well, and the younger one came and had sexual relations with him. Yet, you guessed it; Moab is the very place that Elimelech chose as his destination for bread. This, of course, is Naomis meaning. Mahlon, son of Naomi and Elimelech. ii. You will note from the first verse of chapter 1 that the setting for the story of Ruth is the times of the judges. Be honest with yourself and recognizethat staying there is not good for you. A sensitive reader would have learned in covenant history that there are certain places one should never go for bread. Orpah and Ruth were committed to returning to Israel with their mother-in-law. However, even if the date does not match exactly with the conclusion of Judges, the author is definitely pointing us back to Judges and to something that occurred in that time. Elimelech had a wife named Naomi and two sons, Mahlon and Kilion. 14 For those who speak in such a way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. Joseph's family were given the land of Goshen to live Ill attempt to support my conclusions as we proceed in our study of this book. Surely this poor fellow doesn't understand the covenant". The context of these texts explains further the wickedness of those times. The Moabites were known for their evil and for their false worship. married Boaz. Web1. Second, Naomis words are even more forceful here,14 issuing Ruth a command to leave her. He did not seek repentance, nor did he stay to witness the recovery of the land. The famine in the land informs us about more than the climate; it awakens us theologically to the unfaithfulness in the land. Im an Assyrian not a Syrian. As I was studying our text for this message, it occurred to me that the text which describes the origin of the Moabites in Genesis 19 is a key to understanding the story of Ruth, and especially Naomis role in this account. He was not a faithful husband. Start for FREE. This man, who is yet unnamed, left the land of promise. Do you have pictures of Gracie Thompson from the movie Gracie's choice. This takes risk, obedience, and movement in a totally different direction. He says this because the Hebrew that Samuel uses to describe Elimelech's action is the word for "sojourning!" Can I still give birth to other sons who could grow up to be your husbands? Many years later, the Israelites were camped on the plains of Moab, across the Jordan River from Jericho, poised to enter the Promised Land. I pray that you, like Ruth, have forsaken all confidence in yourself and have cast yourself upon the one true God for salvation. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. "Then," he might say, "we will return to the land of promise." 1In the days when the judges ruled in Israel, a severe famine came upon the land. On account of famine Elimelech and his family left Bethlehem-Judah for the land of Moab. Some years ago I had the pleasure of meeting a lovely Christian in a hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia. Naomi, seeking a husband for the young Ruth, sent her to Boaz's threshing-floor when he would be there, in the hope that he would want to marry her. 1100. No, my daughters, you must not return with me. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah left his home and went to The stage is set, and the setting is loaded with redemptive meaning. The Messianic seed was often put at risk in the Old Testament. var addy_text6abc068fa8d6d6e3ed55f5c6ed881e19 = 'Stated Clerk';document.getElementById('cloak6abc068fa8d6d6e3ed55f5c6ed881e19').innerHTML += ''+addy_text6abc068fa8d6d6e3ed55f5c6ed881e19+'<\/a>'; Classis WestThis email address is being protected from spambots. The contrast between Ruth and Naomi. Systems of Transliteration Citation of Proper Names. Bob is a pastor/teacher and elder at Community Bible Chapel in Richardson, Texas, and has contributed many of his Bible study series for use by the Foundation. This is not surprising since these verses are found in the Bible, which is an unashamedly religious book on knowing and serving the one, true and living God, revealed in Jesus Christ. 10 The rain and snow fall from the sky and do not return, but instead water the earth and make it produce and yield crops, and provide seed for the planter and food for those who must eat. has Naomi sold. They produced offspring for the Benjamites by orchestrating the kidnapping and rape of 200 virgins.26 The Israelites were like Moabs mother in that they were thinking and acting like Moabites. But sadly for his sons, then never comes, and they die in Moab. When they return, Ruth meets Boaz, and he fulfills the role of kinsman redeemer. 56:8)!Naomi had been through a lot in the last few years: famine, emigration, two weddings and three funerals. Or, Ruth was Naomi's daughter in document.getElementById('cloak6abc068fa8d6d6e3ed55f5c6ed881e19').innerHTML = ''; 12 For all who have sinned apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. All scripture [including the first five verses of Ruth] is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in0 righteousness (II Tim. 54-55). 14 For whenever the Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature the things required by the law, these who do not have the law are a law to themselves. He came alongside Eve as her friend, as someone who was doing her a favor. They were of the clan of Ephrath from Bethlehem in Judah.) The law had made this clear to God's people using the illustration of yoking of a donkey with an ox. To do it any other way was to disobey God. Not even death would separate them. Famine drove them to leave their homeland and travel to Moab to make a new life. 16But Ruth replied, Dont ask me to leave you and turn back. Rather it points to the common problem of the progression of sins. 5 Then Naomis two sons, Mahlon and Kilion, also died. They no longer have their old or former husbands because they have died. And he said unto the kinsman, Naomi, that is come again out of the country of Moab, selleth a parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech's: And he said to the kinsman, Naomi, who has returned from the land of Moab, has resolved to sell the portion of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech. The Cross And Separation From The World (1 Peter 4:1-6), 7. Word had reached Naomi in Moab that God had visited His people by ending the famine and providing abundant crops back in Israel. Wow, Pat! That is why some men and women will choose never to marry or to bear children. They attempted to destroy Israel by getting them to marry their daughters. There was a famine in the era of the Judges. WebThe 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. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them (Hebrews 11:13-16). 2 Then I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great, so that you will exemplify divine blessing. When famines strike the land, they are not the result of a bare meteorological phenomenon. A.Stewart, Pastorates: Covenant Protestant Reformed Church of Ballymena, Northern Ireland - 2001. She had to leave her family, her homeland, and her gods and go to the place of Gods blessing. From Ruth 4:13, one might infer that God prevented both Orpah and Ruth from bearing children to their husbands. 1, iv. The best thing for Orpah and Ruth to do was to return to their people and their gods, Naomi concluded. For I am too old to get married again. We already noted that irony occurs when something that usually means one thing is deliberately twisted or changed so that it transmutes into the opposite. For whatever the reason in God's sovereign purposes, famines provide the context for the test of faithfulness. Likewise, the foolish person who decides to live like this soon discovers the deadly character of such a decision. she was the wife of Elimelech and the mother of Mahlon and Chilion WebSee Page 1. 26 The way they acquired the 400 wives by wiping out Jabesh Gilead is no more noble. var prefix = 'ma' + 'il' + 'to'; var addy_texta1ecccfd0b401858a2877dcb45f7be68 = 'Classical Committee';document.getElementById('cloaka1ecccfd0b401858a2877dcb45f7be68').innerHTML += ''+addy_texta1ecccfd0b401858a2877dcb45f7be68+'<\/a>'; What a mighty, magnificent, merciful, awesome God we serve! We answer this question with a reminder that Israel was under God's command to remain in the land as part of their call to be faithful. The Moabites had resorted to more than one way to curse and to destroy the Israelites. Then we find that such ways become comfortable, and so we stand or linger in them. Thus, the reader of this narrative is forced to see the covenant connection between famine and the passages found in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. Ruth emphatically says No to Naomi, but with such wonderful words Naomi can hardly continue to stand in her way. The same is true for Naomi. Naomi also made it clear that this was because (in her mind) God had dealt harshly with her.16 Naomi measured Gods blessing only in terms of food and of family. You may not even notice this at first, but the very first man in the story remains unnamed. var addy6abc068fa8d6d6e3ed55f5c6ed881e19 = 'spronk' + '@'; Were Elimelech, Mahlon, and Chilion all Israelites? However, when that did not work, they turned to a different method. People of faith in God often stand out in times of crisis, so let us live by the principles of Scripture, rather than by pragmatism. No wonder Naomi finally ceased trying to convince her to turn back (verse 18). The crises of life are Gods pop quizzes, times when He puts our faith to the test, times when He gives us an opportunity to put our faith on display. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. God had just destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because of their great sin. Thankfully, she later confessed and returned to Israel.Elimelechs sin is condemned inBelgic Confession28: We believe, since this holy congregation is an assembly of those who are saved, and out of it there is no salvation, that no person, of whatsoever state or condition he may be, ought to withdraw himself to live in a separate state from it; but that all men are in duty bound to join and unite themselves with it, maintaining the unity of the church; submitting themselves to the doctrine and discipline thereof; bowing their necks under the yoke of Jesus Christ; and as mutual members of the same body, serving to the edification of the brethren, according to the talents God has given them. It led to a hopeless fatalism: It doesnt really matter what I say or do; God is against me, and there is nothing I can do about it.. The best thing for her to do was to return to Bethlehem and live out the rest of her days, dying empty (i.e., childless). The just God, of course, is right in so doing, for He is judging sin.We also have Ruths beautiful and moving words to Naomi: Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me (16-17).

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