Ruth chapter one and verse one. This is the word of the Lord.
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 sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife
and his two sons. And the name of the man was Elimelech,
and the name of his wife, Naomi, and the name of his two sons,
Marlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem Judah. And he came
into the country of Moab and continued there. And Elimelech,
Naomi's husband, died, and she was left, and her two sons, And
they took them wives of the women of Moab. 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 dwelt there about 10
years. And Malan and Chilean died also,
both of them. And the woman was left of her
two sons and her husband. 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. 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. And Naomi said unto her two daughters-in-law,
Go, return each to her mother's house. The Lord dealt deal kindly
with you, as ye have dealt with the dead and with me. 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. And they said unto her, Surely
we will return with thee unto thy people. 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? 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 tonight, and should also bear
sons, 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.' They lifted up their voice and wept again, and Orpah
kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clave unto her. 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. And Ruth said, Entreat me not
to leave thee, or to return from following after thee. For whither
thou goest, I will go, and whither 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. And when she
saw that she was steadfastly minded to go with her, then she
left speaking unto her. So they too went until they came
to Bethlehem. 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? And she said unto them, Call
me not Naomi, call me Mara, for the Almighty hath dealt very
bitterly with me. 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? 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. Amen. May the Lord bless to us
this reading from his word. The story of Ruth is, I think,
very interesting to modern readers, and for a good number of reasons. We glimpse in this passage, in
these four chapters, this short account of this lady, Ruth, something
of climate difficulties and economic problems that forced people to
migrate to different regions and different countries. This is something that we talk
about a lot today. But what this tells us is that
these things are not new and you have migrants at this time
also in the Bible. We also learn some details about
how this ancient society was structured and managed itself,
how rights of property were viewed, how the agricultural system was
organised and the good relationships that existed between landowners
and those who worked on the land. We learn about the application
of the Law of Moses for gleaning rights for poor families in the
community. And these things are all incidental
to the beautiful, personal, and intimate story of this young
Gentile woman whose husband dies. but whose love and commitment
and trust for her mother-in-law endures and how from the distressing
circumstances, this young woman obtains a second chance for happiness
and fulfilment. And yet at another level altogether,
Above all these things, the history of Ruth is also a clear spiritual
lesson for us. Because it teaches us about the
Lord Jesus Christ, as all the scriptures do. It teaches us
about the work of Christ. It teaches us about redemption. And it teaches us about the Lord
redeeming his church. in the sense that as Ruth was
lost, as Ruth was distressed, as Ruth was close to death and
impoverished, so the Lord's people are poor and distressed and lost. And as Ruth was redeemed, so
the Lord's people have been redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ. It speaks of the love of Christ,
of the love that Christ has for his people and how that he obtains
our salvation and makes us his bride. And it also gives us a
little surprise at the end, which we will talk about on another
occasion. But it is such a beautiful little
story, so compact and yet so full of blessed truths. So I hope, as the Lord enables,
we might be able to learn some things from this little passage
over the coming weeks. And we'll turn to some of these
themes that I've mentioned, no doubt we'll return to them. But
today I want us to notice a few points from this opening chapter,
from the beginning of this account of the history of Ruth. And we learn right from the very
beginning that these events occurred during the time of the judges. Now, we've been spending some
time reading about the judges, the various men and one woman
that was there. And we read about the judges
and the times of the judges, which probably extended over
several hundred years. maybe three, 350 years, but this
was a time of uncertainty, a time of instability, a time of the
movements of people. And it was a time which was something
like three and, not quite, but almost three and a half thousand
years ago. So it's a story from a long,
long time ago. And I want us to notice that
the Bible gives us information about the names of the people
involved in this story. And names in scripture are important. When the scripture gives us a
name and we think back and learn about what that name means from
the words that are involved in the translation of that name,
we very often discover that the Lord is pointing us to a particular
thing to do with that person and that person's life. And indeed
sometimes we find that names are changed in scripture in order
to convey some special meaning. Here we encounter a man called
Elimelech, and his name means, my God, a king. Now that may
suggest that Elimelech was indeed a believer in God, but that's
not entirely certain, so we will just mention at this moment that
that's what his name means. and we also meet his wife who
is called Naomi and she certainly seems to have been a believer
and her name means my delight and they lived in Bethlehem Judah
and Bethlehem means the house of bread But here we discover
that there was a time of famine and this house of bread didn't
have much bread in it. There was a famine and people
were hungry and people were poor. There were hard times in Judah
during the times of the judges. And we also discover that Elimelech
and Naomi decide to leave the land of Canaan, leave this area
in Judah, and go to Moab with their two boys. The boys are
Malon and Chilian, and these names mean sickness and starvation. which perhaps implies to us that
these were already feeble children when they were born as a result
of the famine that there was in the land of Judah at this
time. Elimelech and Naomi decide to
move their family out of the region to try and make a better
life for them all and this I've sometimes heard this severely
criticised. I'm not so sure that I want to
be too severe in my criticism of Elimelech and Naomi on this
account. I don't think it's a mistake
in itself and I believe that in some respects we might be
able to say that they acted responsibly in doing so. And yet there is
an element of doubt because they left a place where God had promised
to bless his people for a place that was foreign to them, that
was opposed to their faith, and where idols were worshipped. And so they were putting themselves,
although they thought they were doing themselves good and they
were helping themselves, they were putting themselves nevertheless
in a place of danger and vulnerability. And here was a question perhaps
that they had to weigh up in their own minds. We could spend
time assessing that decision but we don't know all that was
involved in it. Let it be enough to say that
there ought to be a very pressing reason for a believer to leave
his spiritual home. Here in Moab, where Elimelech
travelled to, it seemed at first that there was an element of
prosperity. The young boys grew and they
took wives, they married local girls, so they endeavoured to
establish themselves in the society. It wasn't as if they immediately
came back and said, oh, we can't stay here, this is all wrong. They became part of that society. We're told that they lived there
in excess of 10 years. They married some girls, a lady
called Orpa and a lady called Ruth. And no doubt, there were
times of joy and there were times of pleasure in this land. However, In a short space of
time, there was also a lot of change, and the family was devastated
by death. The death, in fact, of all three
men. First Elimelech, and then Naomi's
two sons died, leaving her in Moab with her two young daughters-in-law. This reminds us that we all can
make plans and do what seems best for us. and yet ultimately
our times are in the hands of God and none of us know what
a day or a year will bring. To that extent all of our decisions
should be made humbly and with an eye to the Lord's will. We can make our plans, we can
decide what we're going to do, but let us always bring the Lord
into our thoughts and into our decisions. While we cannot tell
what the future holds, we should plan and act under the direction
of the Lord, trusting him to provide for our needs. In that
place, far away in Moab, Naomi heard that the famine in Judah
had lifted. And now there was food back in
her old home, in her old region. So she decided to return back
to Judah, back to Bethlehem. And at first it seemed that the
three women would travel together. But Naomi realised the great
implication that this would have for these young girls. And she
wrestled with questions about where their greater good was
likely to be found. And she advised them to return
to their mothers and she prayed for the Lord's blessing upon
them. This is one of the reasons I
think that we can say that Naomi was indeed a believer because
despite losing her three men, the three men in her life, she
still looked for the Lord's blessing. She still had faith in the Lord. And despite initially refusing,
Orpah succumbed to Naomi's request and she agreed to return to her
old home in Moab. Ruth, however, would not go back
and she delivers one of the most famous pledges of commitment
ever spoken. It's a delightful, statement
and testimony that she makes. She says in verse 16 and 17,
it's worth reading again. 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. What a very mature
and what a very deep and thoughtful statement of allegiance that
is. Here was a girl who was so dedicated,
who so loved Naomi that she said, wherever you go Naomi, there
I will be. And Naomi realised from this
that Ruth was not going to be swayed. So she stopped urging
her to return and the two of them made their way back to the
land of Judah together. And the first chapter then ends
with a lament. After more than 10 years, Naomi
is back in her hometown, but she was poorer, she was sadder,
and she was full of regret. And we saw there how she said,
don't call me Naomi, call me Mara, because the Lord, the Almighty,
dealt very bitterly with me. Here are a couple of lessons
that perhaps we can take from this story today. As I said,
I don't know exactly whether or not Elimelech can be said
to be a believer. Perhaps his name is suggestive
that he was, that he did truly trust in the Lord. But Naomi,
I suggest, certainly did. I don't think there's any doubt
that Elimelech did what he thought was best for his family by making
the move from Judah to Moab. However, time and testing brought
Naomi back home with the testimony that the Lord had afflicted her. And this opens a question which
a lot of people, a lot of believers have We want to know what is
the will of the Lord for us when we make decisions. And I think
that there's something admirable. It's not just that we are uncertain
or we lack confidence or we don't know what to do out of a sense
of ignorance, but there is in the desire of the Lord's people
to find the Lord's will a willingness to follow what he would have
us do, to not step outside of his will for us and do something
which we think perhaps is inappropriate. How do we make decisions about
what to do for the best? And it's not an easy question.
What I would say is this. God has a revealed will. And that is the Bible, the Word
of God that we read and study together. The scriptures with
their books and their chapters and their verses and the wisdom
that that contains. And these scriptures are an authority
to us and they teach us how we are to live. So that we can take
the principles, we can take the lessons, we can see the values
that the Lord gives and we can see the examples of the Lord's
people and we make decisions based upon our understanding
of these things. The Bible and also past providences,
the way that the Lord has led us, the things that the Lord
has taught us, the people that the Lord has made us to be, the
values that we have and the affections that we have, all work together,
all come together in order to help us and direct us in our
decision making. So the Lord has a revealed will,
but he also has a secret will, which is by definition secret. and we don't know that until
that will unfolds. That's what the future holds.
Now we do get glimpses of that secret will that is true because
the Lord has made promises in the scriptures about what he
is going to do and he has given us prophecies in the scriptures.
However, All we can do is try to make the best decisions we
can in the light of the revealed will of God and trust him to
take care of us and for us as his secret will unfolds, as the
future becomes clearer. But let us always remember that
we don't do this in a vacuum. We do it with the promise that
the Lord loves us and he will be with us through every experience,
whether that is good or whether it is bad, whether it is joyful
or whether it is sorrowful. So that's the first thing that
I want us just to think about. And here's another little application
that we can make from this passage. While the Lord loves his people
and has promised he will do us good, we all nevertheless learn
that sometimes our experiences in this life are rocky and hard. I have no doubt that the Lord
loved Naomi. but I equally have no doubt that
she endured his hand of affliction. And I'm not going to say that
this was retribution for sin because I don't believe that
it was. There is a discipline that comes
into the life of believers but Naomi's experience of adversity
was to draw her closer to the Lord and cause her to lean upon
him more. She learned to be comforted by
the Lord even in that adversity and in the affliction that she
experienced. None of us know what our future
holds, what our personal future contains. It may be that there
is trial, it may be that there is loss, it may be that there
is sadness, even such sadness as Naomi endured. And yet through
it all, Naomi trusted the Lord. And she is a picture here of
what true faith is. She asked for God to help her
daughters-in-law. She continued to lean upon the
Lord despite all the affliction she experienced. And this shows
that her faith was real. It persevered. It outlasted the
hard times. Trouble and testing come to us
all. But the evidence of true faith
is that it endures to the end. There would be better times ahead
for Naomi. but she could not see them now. Therefore, she had to trust the
Lord. For now she could only acknowledge
what had happened and humbly commit her future into the Lord's
care, trusting Him to be merciful and to help her in time of need. And that's all we can do as well,
trust in the Lord. And Ruth, too, had known hardship. Moving a little bit away from
Naomi and thinking about Ruth's own experience. She lost her
young husband, and she was in poverty as well. But she learned
to trust the Lord through the witness of Naomi. You know, sometimes
we think, oh, we all ought to have a good testimony, we always
ought to bear a good witness and we always ought to make it
look as if we're succeeding and we're overcoming and we're coping
and we're accomplishing. Naomi didn't. Naomi succumbed
under the adversity of the Lord's hand. And yet even in that, her
witness to her daughter-in-law, her witness to Ruth, was a witness
which caused Ruth to trust in the Lord that Naomi depended
upon. And Ruth's profession of faith
was simple, but it was sincere. She had learned about the Lord
from Naomi, and she trusted him. as did her mother-in-law. You know, it's a blessing if
we as young people have been introduced to the Lord by our
parents or by those family members who surround us. It is a very
great blessing. I don't know whether you appreciate
that. I hope you do in years to come if you don't entirely
do so now. It is a very great blessing to
have been introduced to the things of the Lord in our early years. This knowledge came from Naomi,
but it also came from God, the Holy Spirit. He had given Ruth
a view of the promise of salvation and help that caused her to leave
her old life, her old gods, and to go forward with Christ. The truth is, the fact of the
matter is, if we are truly the Lord's, we will be kept by him,
no matter what hardship we have to endure. We may stumble and
fall, but the Lord is faithful, and having once saved us, he
will not let us go. May the Lord bless these thoughts
to us today. Amen.