Dover Assembly of God
Turn with me to Ruth chapter 1.
Before we start, let’s look at the history of this book.
Why was it written, to whom and what was happening when it was being written.
Some of those questions are answered in the very first sentence.
Ruth 1:1 NIV
So we know that these events take place during the timeline of the book of Judges.
It’s no coincidence that Ruth is right after Judges in our Bible. That doesn’t happen all the time, but it is setting the stage for what we see in Ruth.
If you are familiar with that book, you’ll know that this period in Israel’s life was very dark and difficult.
One commentary says it was a period of lawlessness and chaos.
Another says it is the story of Israel at it’s lowest point. Full of cruelty, apostasy, civil war and national disgrace.
Why was that?
Judges 21:25 NIV
In other words, no regard for God’s authority. That’s close to the definition of anarchy.
The judges functioned as military leaders in times of crisis, they also served as local rulers, administering political and legal justice.
They were the government.
Judges 4:4-5 NIV
They were also the law.
The reason that I thought this would be an encouraging time is because isn’t that what we are seeing now to a degree in our society?
Everyone doing whatever they want from the top on down, with no regard to God’s authority.
Know why is this encouraging? Sounds kind of discouraging, right?
It shows that even when the government, the law and society is in shambles, God still is able to work in each life.
There can still be pockets of miracles and blessings in a world that is in chaos. God can still work in your life, in this church’s life even when the world around us isn’t following God.
In fact, the next part of that verse tells us what else is happening at the time. Not only a kind of anarchy, but idolatry as well and that God was kind of punishing Israel.
Ruth 1:1 NIV
Famines were generally seen as God’s punishment for Israel’s disobedience.
Leviticus 26:18-20 NIV
Deuteronomy 28:23-24 NIV
Israel in Ruth’s time was in a bad place and God was getting their attention.
In spite of all this, the book of Ruth is a love story and God is bringing people to himself and it’s that is happening in the middle of this national chaos.
The nation of Israel may have been decaying, but Ruth focuses on one family.
We may think that all of God’s attention is on our national political and social scene, but Ruth tells us that he cares about you as an individual.
And even in the middle of what is going on around us, the virus, the lockdowns, the politics of everything, God can get into your situation and change it and He is wanting to bless and care for each of us.
He focuses one whole book on one family and how he provides for them even though the country is sinful.
Just when you think that God’s got more important things to do other than helping you, then Ruth is for you.
One thing that we all know is true is that sometimes good people suffer because of other peoples’ sins. And that is what was happening with Ruth’s future family. No Ruth yet, but Elimelech, Naomi and the kids
God was punishing Israel and they got caught up in it. The problem in this story is that rather than trusting God thru this famine, Elimelech and the family left.
Just like Abraham did twice, they didn’t trust God to provide for them.
No matter how difficult our circumstances may be it is always better place to be is where God called you to be.
And God called them to be in Israel. God gave them this land and they were to occupy it and trust him while there.
Ruth 1:1-2 NIV
Not only did they not trust God to meet their needs, they went to the enemy for help.
The Moabites were descended from Lot and were enemies of the Jews.
Deuteronomy 23:3-4 NIV
Judges 3:12-14 NIV
Why would a Jew ask the Moabites for help?
It’s kind of like defecting. Imagine going to Russia or China and asking them for freedom and help because you say your own government isn’t giving you enough freedom.
How ironic that sounds, right? 2 countries that hate us and have no freedom at all and you go there for help? That’s what happened here.
Ask yourself, do you think that God is sovereign? That God rules and overrules people and situations?
That maybe God could have provided food for them in a drought.
Do you think that God could meet their need if they stayed where God called them to be? Do you trust God to meet your needs without you going to the world systems for help?
We come to these next 2 verses.
Ruth 1:3-4 NIV
They went there hoping for a better life and this is what they got.
How often does the world entice us into wanting a better life, if only we give up these ridiculous beliefs and lifestyles that we have?
That never seems to work out the way it’s advertised.
Notice what is happening. Elimelech and his wife who we may assume were semi-good Jews when they left. His name means “God is my King”.
But he starts down a slippery slope. He first leaves for something that sounds good, a land with no famine.
Even though they were the enemy and God said don’t have anything to do with them, they do it anyways because it looked good in the natural.
The world will offer you many things that look better than what you may have right now. Things that will probably involve you giving up your convictions and not obeying what we know God’s word says.
Because “God will just have to understand."
Elimelech basically told God, “Hey there’s a famine here, you gotta understand why I’m going to the enemy”
But to get it will always involve a little sacrifice on your part.
The next slide down the slope is that his 2 sons marry Moabite women.
And we all know that wasn’t allowed. And so did Elimelech.
Deuteronomy 7:3-4 NIV
Ezra 9:1-2 NIV
So first Elimelech dies.
Then his 2 sons.
Ruth 1:4-5 NIV
Remember verse 2 says they went to Moab for a while. Doesn’t say how long a while is, but now it’s been 10 years.
When we say God has to understand and it’s only going to be for a short time, it always winds up being a longer time that you thought.
Why? Because they got comfortable where they were. It was easy.
Think of COVID. Just close down for 2 weeks and it will be better. It’s now over a year and some churches still aren’t open. Some folks have not returned to those churches that opened.
I understand some are worried, but I’ll bet some have gotten comfortable and now it’s just easy to stay home. How ironic.
They left the famine to escape death and met death anyways.
We can’t run away from our problems. Because most of our problems (which are all heart issue problems) follow us.
Elimelech’s main problem wasn’t the famine, it was his lack of trust in God and thinking that he didn’t need God to help him.
Every divorce is following this pattern.
Because one of you says: “There is a “famine” in our marriage. I need to go to a land (person) that there is no famine so I can live”.
And what happens? Your heart issue problems follow you and in many cases, (not all because I know there are some serious situations) your 2nd marriage ends in divorce as well.
You didn’t solve the heart problem, you took it with you.
Ruth 1:6 NIV
If she would have just hung in there and trusted God, maybe all this tragedy wouldn’t have happened.
People make snap decisions every day, be it work, marriage, divorce, a purchase, or a radical change, that if they would have only waited and trusted God to solve, there wouldn’t be as much tragedy.
Is anyone surprised that these arrangements don’t usually work? And yet, how often do we make snap decisions like those without waiting on God?
Or maybe, like Naomi, you miss God’s blessings because you are not in a place to receive them? He was blessing Israel, but not where Naomi was.
Instead of saying: “Lord, bless me”, how about if we pray, “Lord, make me blessable”
Let me be in a position to be blessed. So they start coming back to God.
Ruth 1:7 NIV
But here is an odd thing that happens . . .
Ruth 1:8-9 NIV
How many, when you read that, thought she was being compassionate?
Here’s another take on that. If she now believed in the one true God and that God was blessing Judah and she needed to go where God was, why would she not take her 2 daughters in law with her?
Why would she let them go home to what was probably an idolatrous household and let them worship those false gods?
It never tells us why and there are many theories about why, but since the bible doesn’t say, I’m not going to just guess at it.
But I will draw an analogy. If we as believers, have really experienced God in our lives and believe that God blesses and takes care of his children, then why are we reluctant to tell others about it?
Are we reluctant to invite others to church? If so, why?
Ruth 1:9-14 NIV
So instead of sticking up for God, she begins to mis-represent him to the women. She is saying that God is to blame for all she suffered.
“It’s my fault that God is punishing me, so you probably don’t want to be around me when he punishes me again.”
There’s a testimony. God is beating me up and if you’re not careful, you might get beat up too. “Come to my church”.
If she was walking in faith, she could have brought both women back and 2 more souls into the kingdom.
That’s why it’s important to have faith when going thru difficult situations.
Not only does God help you go thru it, you now become a light and a safety line for others who may be going thru it too.
Nobody is going to want what you have if we constantly complain and blame God for it.
Ruth 1:15-18 NIV
People are naturally curious about spiritual things. If God was blessing Israel, Ruth wanted to be a part of that. Even if she didn’t understand what was happening, she wanted to be there.
If we have testimonies of how God is working in our lives or our church, people may not understand it, but they’ll want to be there.
Whenever we present the gospel, people have a choice to make.
One choice is this: That person may love you and want to let God change them, but in the end, they go back to what is comfortable.
That’s Orpah.
We all know people like that. Whenever life gets hard, they come to the altar, cry and promise God, then when things get better, they go back to what was comfortable.
There’s a New Testament example of this:
Mark 12:28-34 NIV
In other words, you’re not far, but you also aren’t there yet. The knowledge didn’t change him. He still stayed where it was comfortable.
The other choice is this: Following God may not be the easiest, leaving all I know and am familiar with may be tough, but in the end, I know it is the right choice.
That was Ruth. She left her family, her life and all she knew and was comfortable with to be where God was.
We may not have to leave everything we know, but we will be required to leave behind somethings that are comfortable to us.
In order to receive even more blessings that God has in store.
And we’ll see as we go thru this book, how Ruth’s life is blessed because she stepped out in faith to trust God without knowing what would happen.
She was willing to let go of the comfortable and trust God with the rest.