Unbelief: Trying to Run From our Problems PT-1 (Ruth 1:1-5)

3/10/2010 8:48 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time           Focus:  Unbelief: trying to run from our problems

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  Ruth 1:1-5

 

            Message of the verses:  “1 ¶  Now it came about in the days when the judges governed, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the land of Moab with his wife and his two sons. 2  The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife, Naomi; and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem in Judah. Now they entered the land of Moab and remained there. 3  Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left with her two sons. 4  They took for themselves Moabite women as wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. And they lived there about ten years. 5  Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was bereft of her two children and her husband.”

            This is the first lesson in the wonderful little book of Ruth, which is the seventh book in the OT.  Warren Wiersbe writes his commentary on both Ruth and Ester and entitles it “Be Committed.”  I will only be looking at the Ruth portion of this commentary at this time. 

            I want to say first as I begin to look at this book of Ruth that one of the things that I see in the life of Ruth is Romans 8:28 in action, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”  Why would I say that about this book?  Well if you look at where Ruth came from and how she ended up being where she ended up it was all because of sin in another person’s life.  Lot and one of his daughters were the parents of the nation of Moab Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father. 37  The firstborn bore a son, and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. 38  As for the younger, she also bore a son, and called his name Ben-ammi; he is the father of the sons of Ammon to this day.” 

            The second sin that was committed that caused Ruth to end up where she did was her marriage to one of the son’s of Naomi as this was against the Law of God.  The children of Israel were forbidden by the Law to marry Gentile women, and especially the children of Moab and Ammon.  “It was the Moabite women in Moses’ day who seduced the Jewish men into immorality and idolatry; and as a result, 24,000 people died. (Numbers 25)”  1 ¶  “On that day they read aloud from the book of Moses in the hearing of the people; and there was found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God, 2  because they did not meet the sons of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them. However, our God turned the curse into a blessing. 3  So when they heard the law, they excluded all foreigners from Israel.”  (Neh. 13:1-3)

            So one can see God working in the book of Ruth, for Ruth is one of two women who are in the bloodline of Jesus Christ the Messiah, and as I look at that I see Romans 8:28 in action.

            Warren Wiersbe divides these first five verses into six different sub-titles of his first main point of the first chapter of Ruth.  As I have written before he usually gives a clue as to how the chapters are going to be seen and it is no difference with this chapter as he entitles it “YOU CAN’T RUN AWAY,” and at the end of his preliminary writing he writes the following:  “We see in this chapter three mistakes that we must avoid as we deal with the problems and trials of life.”  There is one more thing that I want to quote from Dr. Wiersbe’s book and that is what he writes at the very beginning of this chapter and each of the following chapters of this book.  “(In which a family makes a bad decision and exchanges one famine for three funerals).”

            With all of this that has been said I will conclude this SD tomorrow.