Main principles to be learned from Ruth
- Principles of faithfulness
- Principles of hope and healing
- Principles of integrity
- Principles of God’s providence
- Principles to live by
Read Ruth 1: 1-4
Principle #1: Pagan influences
- Parents should do all they can to help
children make decisions based on biblical values- Elimelechappears to have decided to leave Bethlehem at some point during the 7-year period that the Midianites oppressed Israel and “Israel became poverty-stricken”
- Read Judges 6: 1-6
- Perhaps he was seeking greener pastures just as Abraham did when he traveled to Egypt
- Read: Genesis 12:10
- However, though he planned to live in Moab temporarily, when he suddenly died his family stayed in this pagan area, and his two sons married Moabite women
- Since the Moabites were descended for Lot, the Lord had not forbidden intermarriage with them
- Elimelechappears to have decided to leave Bethlehem at some point during the 7-year period that the Midianites oppressed Israel and “Israel became poverty-stricken”
Question: How are these people descended from Lot?
- But the Moabites were not to worship with the children of Israel “to the tenth generation” because they had failed to provide sustenance for God’s people when they left Egypt
- Later in the Old Testament, the Moabites hire Baalamto pronounce a curse on Israel
- Read Deuteronomy 23:3-4
- Worse, the Moabites worshiped a false god, Chemnosh, and at times, actually offered human sacrifice
- Read 2 Kings 3:27
- Although Elimelech’s motive for moving to Moab may have been noble, his untimely death set the family up for spiritual devastation.
- We must ask ourselves, how could his sons be loyal to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and yet married to women who worshiped Chemnosh?
- Paulwarned the Corinthians against associating with idolaters, even though they were just buying food from them.
- However, the food had been offered to the idols and became a stumbling block to weaker Christians
- Read 1 Corinthians 8:4-6
- This demonstrates the principle of: Using Knowledge Responsibly
- As we grow in biblical knowledge, we are to use this knowledge in a loving, responsible way.
- However, the food had been offered to the idols and became a stumbling block to weaker Christians
Read Ruth 1:5-9
Principle #2: Maintaining Hope
- When we face devastating tragedies, we are to focus on our glorious hope for the future
- In many ways Naomi lost hope when Mahlon and Chiliondied
- Though she loved her widowed daughters-in-law dearly, she saw no way she could care for them
- She was depressed, discouraged, and bitter, believing God had turned against her (v13, vv 20-21)
- As believer’s in Christ, we need to remind ourselves that we always have hope
- For example, to lose loved ones, especially prematurely, is always a terrible ordeal
- However, the good news is that those who die in Christ go into the peace of God
- As Paul wrote, “to be out of the body” is to be “at home with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:8)
- Those who are left behind certainly grieve. This is normal and essential if we are to maintain our spiritual and emotional health.
-
- However, as Paul reminds us, we need not grieve like those “who have no hope”
- Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13
- Because we believe in the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ, when He returns to receive us to Himself, we’ll all be reunited – those who have died and those who remain until He comes
- However, as Paul reminds us, we need not grieve like those “who have no hope”
- Consequently, we are to “encourage one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:18)
Read Ruth 1: 10-15
Principle #3: Subtle Idolatry
- We must be careful not to incorporate false gods into our belief system in order to compensate for serious losses in our lives
- In the midst of her personal crisis, Naomi blended faith in the one true God with a belief in false gods
- Rather than encouraging her daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah, to worship God and Him alone, she encouraged them to continue in their paganism
- This, of course indicates that she was in a state of doubt and confusion about her own faith
- Principle: Religious Syncretism
- We must be extremely cautious that we never combine pagan concepts with true biblical values
- Read Judges 17: 1-12
- In this story Micah has set up his own house of worship and hired his own priests
- Even though he was still worshiping the God who delivered Israel, he added a few others
- In this story Micah has set up his own house of worship and hired his own priests
- This is similar to what happened when Aaron molded the golden calf
- The children of Israel were not denying God’s existence.
- Rather, they wanted a representative of God- a god that they could see and touch
- This was a reversion, or a step backward, to the pagan idolatry they had learned in Egypt
- Read Exodus 32:1-4
- The children of Israel were not denying God’s existence.
- We can see this happening in various ways throughout the 350-year period of the judges.
- Eventually, the idols became more important to them than the God who led them out of Egypt.
- This was a blatant violation of the first two commandments
- Read Exodus 20:3-6
- Paul faced this problem in the Corinthianchurch.
- The Judaizers, who believed in Moses andthe Messiah, were at the same time encouraging the Corinthians to participate in fellowship meals with the pagans and to dabble in mysticism
- Read 2 Corinthians 6:15-16
- The Judaizers, who believed in Moses andthe Messiah, were at the same time encouraging the Corinthians to participate in fellowship meals with the pagans and to dabble in mysticism
- In some respects, the apostles faced the same choice as Naomi and her family.
- The crowd that followed Jesus had been miraculously fed when He multiplied the loaves and fish, but when Jesus quit giving them food and began teaching challenging doctrine, they “turned back and no longer accepted Him.”
- Their belief in Christ was superficial, so when they lost the free food, they went back to their old lives.
- Jesus then turned to the apostles and asked, “You don’t want to go away too, do you?”
- Read John 6:66-67
- Peter’sresponse speaks to all of us who claim to be followers, and not just fans of Christ
- Read John 6:68-69
- Principle: The one, true God
- When we are tempted to engage in idolatrous activities, we should carefully review who God is and what He has done for sinful humanity that false gods cannot
- What other gods are we likely to serve?
- Read 2 Timothy 3:1-5
Read Ruth 1: 16- 22
Principle #4: Strength in Weakness
- Even when we are weak spiritually and psychologically, we should remember that God can still use us to impact others
- When Naomi trudged into Bethlehem, the whole town welcomed her back, but her response reflected her feelings of sadness and emptiness (v 21)
- However, it is also clear from her confession that she had not completely turned her back on God
- In fact, her core beliefs seemed stronger, since she identified God as both “Lord” (Yahweh) and “the Almighty” ( transliterated, Shaddai) (vv 20-21)
- In spite of Naomi’s spiritual ambivalence and emotional weakness, she still had a spiritual impact on Ruth, who made it clear that at this moment in her life she
wanted her mother-in-law’s God to be her God (v 16) - Naomi’s failures certainly do not give us an excuse to leave the straight and narrow path in order to discover or to test God’s love and grace.
- However, her experience in Moab does teach us that no matter how spiritually confused and weak we are, God can still use us
- When the apostle Paul had to live with what he called “a thorn in the flesh,” he accepted it as an opportunity to demonstrate God’s grace in his life.
- “When I am weak,” he wrote, “then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10)
Question: Though our difficult experiences will vary greatly from Naomi’s and the apostle Paul’s, in what ways can God use our weaknesses to minister to Christians and non-Christians, alike?
A: Let us read 2 Corinthians 1: 1-7
Principle: Perspective on Suffering
- With God’s help, we should view our afflictions as opportunities to encourage and comfort others who are suffering
- Read 2 Corinthians 1:8- 11
Principle: Prayer and Protection
- When comforting others who are suffering, we should combine our concern with corporate prayer
End of chapter 1