"The Rest of Faith"> Ruth 1

May 20, 2007
by C.W. Powell

Ruth 1:1, 2:
I. The Removal to Moab:

“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. 2 And the name of the man [was] Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehemjudah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there."

A. There is more to history than the movement of armies and the clash of arms. Although the actions of kings and nations occupies much of the history of the Old Testament, yet much of great importance takes place away from courts and governments and government bureaucracies. This little book, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, has preserved a very important history of a couple of women: one from the tiny town of Bethlehem in Judah; the other a heathen woman from the accursed nation of Moab.

B. It is wisdom to see the hand of God in the affairs of men, but this is the wisdom of faith, not of sight. The words are common ones for that old world: there was a famine in the land of Israel during the days that the Judges ruled. Most famines are man-made and this one might very well have been the result of the invasion of the Philistines or other oppressors and destruction of crops and the reign of terror described so often in the book of Judges. God had promised Israel a land of milk and honey and when they followed the Lord and put away their idols their land was blessed of God and they prospered. This tiny bit of common history was probably during the time of Samson and Eli, during the time of Samuel’s youth in the home of Eli.

C. It seemed to the man Elimelech, who was from the tiny town of Bethlehem, which formerly was known as Ephratah, that was a man of some means, for Naomi said she "went out full..." But it seemed to him, perhaps that he could preserve something by transferring his family to Moab. Times of economic hardship are times of hard testing, and it was out of desperation that Elimelech made the difficult journey around the north shore of the Dead Sea, east and then south into Moab. The Moabites were the accursed descendants of the incestuous relationship between Lot and the older of his two daughters who had escaped from Sodom because of the intercession of Abraham. You remember that Lot, the nephew of Abraham, had lived in Sodom. His two married daughters, their families and friends all perished in the brimstone and fire that fell upon the cities of the plains. Only Lot and this two unmarried daughters had escaped; even his wife perished because she looked back and was turned to a pillar of salt. She became a warning to those who do not flee from the wrath of God, as Jesus said, "Remember Lot's wife." After escaping from the city, Lot and his daughters lived in a cave, and worried lest they not have children the girls made Lot drunk and conceived children by them, from which came the nations of Ammon and Moab.

D. Behold the patience of God. God does not always bring judgment immediately upon the ungodly. God had his plans for the descendants of Lot. Might it not be true that Lot’s family was preserved through this horrible event because of the decree of God concerning the events described in this little book, events that would affect the whole world in a most profound way.

E. Do not ever say that you way is hidden from God and your sufferings have no meaning. Just as the day would come when a descendant of this Naomi and this Ruth, with her husband would make a long and wearisome journey to Bethlehem, under the direct care and direction of God so that the prophecies would be fulfilled that the Savior of the would be born there. In no less a degree did God ordain and move the mind of this distressed man Elimelech to take his wife and two sons away from Bethlehem, down to the land of Moab—not so that Naomi could have children in Moab, but so that one particular Moabite would in the course of time be also brought to Bethlehem. The house of Lot and the house of Abraham would be united again after all these many years, to the immense benefit of the world. But several generations would pass and be forgotten before the purposes of God in raising up David would begin to be fulfilled.

F. Was Lot preserved and his daughter because Ruth was in his loins; and David; and Jesus Himself? Faith would answer that question, “Without a single doubt.” It is grace that rules the lives of the elect of God.

G. Bethlehem means “house of bread.” Elimelech means “My God is King” Naomi means “the Pleasant.” Elimelech was a man of enough substance that he could move his family, and with enough initiative not to sit around a wait for the Ammonites or others to kill him and his family. But he also, perhaps, was not strong in faith, not trusting in the promises of God as perhaps he should. He exposed his family to the heathenism of the Moabites. In order to save their bodies he put their souls in jeopardy. But he could not save either his own life nor the lives of his sons.

II. The Horror in Moab. Ruth 1:3-5:

"And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died; and she was left, and her two sons. 4 And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one [was] Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years. 5 And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband."

A. The deaths of Elimelech and his sons. How naked is this history! So often in the Bible we are left with bare facts that we are left to interpret the best we can, by study and meditation on the rest of Scripture and on the nature of God. What a horrible ten years for Naomi! How different their history than what they had planned. Elimelech had gone to Moab to try to stay alive and escape the trouble in Israel, but instead he finds death in Moab. His two sons also die, and his name seems to be ended. He lost everything he tried to save. He and his sons are buried in a strange land and all that is left are the two daughters-in-law of Naomi, Ruth and Orpah.

B. The meaning of Naomi's life, and ours. It looks as if this history is going to have a strange ending indeed. In fact, Naomi, Ruth, Orpah, and that whole generation and the generation that follows and the generation that followed it will pass away before there are even the tiniest hint that these events are destined by God to have the most profound effect upon the world. God is not obligated to explain to us the meaning of our lives—we walk by faith and not be sight. It is sufficient for us to know that “the steps of a good man are ordered of the Lord.”

III. Naomi's determination to Return to Bethlehem.

A. Her decision to return. Ruth 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 how that the LORD had visited his people in giving them bread. 7 Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters in law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah.

After the death of her sons, Naomi decides that she will go back home to Bethlehem. It would be a most difficult and dangerous journey for a woman by herself, although she could probably join herself to a caravan, and there may have been some small wealth left to her from her husband, although we see from the history of the judges that it was a lawless and desperate time. Her two daughters in law follow her. Even in her sorrow and misery, Naomi was a good witness to the true God of Israel and was respected by Orpah and Ruth.

B. The decision of Orpah. Ruth 1:8-14:
"And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to her mother’s house: the LORD deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me. 9 The LORD grant you that ye may find rest, each [of you] in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept. 10 And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people. 11 And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? [are] there yet [any more] sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? 12 Turn again, my daughters, go [your way]; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, [if] I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons; 13 Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD is gone out against me. 14 And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her."

1. Naomi has nothing she could promise Orpah and Ruth. The reference was to the Levirate marriage practice of the ancient world and included in the Law of Moses, that brothers should take as wives the widows of the deceased brothers in order to raise up children to their brothers. But there were no brothers. Naomi was widowed herself, and should they wait until she was married, had sons, and they would grow up. The situation was hopeless indeed. But no worse than the situation of Abraham when he was 100 years old and Sarah was 90.

2. The soul desires rest, and the best that Naomi could wish for Oprah and Ruth was that they find rest in good second marriages. They had been good to Naomi’s sons. But she considered herself to be vexed of the Lord, with God’s hand against her, and it seemed good advice to the daughters in law for them to abandon this sinking ship and look to themselves.

3. This also emphasizes that it is not our faith that brings the blessings. Naomi’s faith is very weak. She does not abandon God or the hope of Israel, for she desires to return to her home and her people, but she is not able to appropriate the blessing to herself, and there is not rest in her soul. “it grieveth me much for your sakes.” Every parent hopes that they will leave good things to their children and grandchildren, and this is a sad cry from the heart of Naomi, for it appears that Orpah and Ruth are being caught in the general destruction of Elimelech’s household.

4. Orpah did the sensible and the practical thing. She went back to her people, to the security and customs and religion of the4 Moabites. She looked out for herself and did what would be good for her, not even recognizing the callousness and hardness of her own heart.

C. The Decision of Ruth. Ruth 1:15-19: "And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law. 16 And Ruth said, 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: 17 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. 18 When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her. 19 So they two went until they came to Bethlehem.

As I said, Orpah did the sensible and the practical thing, but what moved Ruth to a different path? I would suggest several things:

A. The basic answer is this: the decree of God. God had a purpose in these events that goes far beyond anything that Naomi or Ruth could understand. What a wonderful confession and tender answer that Ruth gives to her mother in law.

B. Ruth loved her mother-in-law. This says more about Ruth than it does Naomi. It is better to love than to be loved. As she had loved and been kind to her husband, so she is kind to Naomi. How could she let her go off by herself in that long journey over the desert, across the barren waste north of the Dead Sea and south again to Bethlehem? Love suffers long and is kind. Love seeketh not her own. Ruth loved her mother-in law.

C. She would follow the God of Israel, the God of Naomi. What a wonderful thing this is, and shows that the true witness for the true God does not depend upon the outward trappings of that religion, but in the faithful lives and witness of the people of God. Here is Naomi, in Moab away from the prophets, the priests, the tabernacle, the sacrifices, going through trials and tribulations, convinced that the hand of God is against her. She even tries to talk the convert out of conversion. Yet she makes a convert “Your people shall be my people and your God my God.” God has a people and those who trust the true God want to be united with His people.

D. This is the victory that overcomes the world: even our faith. This faith was the faith that Ruth had. It transformed her and prepared her for the work of God that would change the world through Ruth .

II. The return to Bethlehem. [How sparse the account it: nothing about the rigorous journey over the desert!] Ruth 1:20-22: "And it came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, [Is] this Naomi? 20 And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why [then] call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me? 22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.”

A. How melancholy are these events! More than ten years she had left Bethlehem, “full” as she puts it. Elimelech and Naomi had left Bethlehem to go to Moab, hoping to save what was left of their wealth and the lives of their family. Naomi had lost everything. She had come “home again empty.” She is so depressed that she even wants to change her name to “Bitter” and not be called “Pleasant” anymore. She is a bitter woman.

But look around, Naomi. Who is that with you? How can you be empty when you have Ruth? Naomi, you have not come home empty, but your faith is too weak to see it. How can you be empty, Naomi? Let us take inventory.

1. You have your life.
2. You have your God.
3. You have the inheritance of your husband Elimelech, which could never be alienated from you.
4. You have Ruth, your daughter in law, and how precious is her love and kindness to you, and her faith.
5. You have friends and relatives in Bethlehem.
6. You have the promise of God to Israel—Oh, I know that seems remote and abstract, but it is closer to you than you think, Naomi.
7. The very hand of God that you think is so heavy against you, Naomi, is the very hand that even now is prepared the world for the salvation that is to come. Yes, it is still many years ahead, and you will be taken from this life long before these things begin to come to pass. But your life is important Naomi, and in the young woman who followed you from Moab, seeking your God and your people, is the seed of the great king David, in whom is the seed of the savior of the world. Naomi, Naomi, how dare you say that you are empty.

B. And don’t any of you dare to say or think anything like this either. You do not know what the purpose of your life is. Only God know, and he will not dance to your tune or march to your drum. But faith will teach you that His tune is a much better one and His drum beats to the rhythm of reality and holiness.

May God bless you.

Amen and Amen.