The Book of Ruth
Chapter One
Today we will be studying Chapter 1 of the Book of Ruth.
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 Bethlehem-Judah 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 Bethlehem-Judah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.
3 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
They left their land of rest and peace.
Elimilech‘s family leaves the land of peace.
1. The time and reason of their departure. v. lb. Famine was often a disciplinary testing of God's people in the land.
Gen. 12:10, And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine [was] grievous in the land.
2. The place of their departure. v. 1c. Bethlehem-judah means "the house of bread and praise". This is what they departed from.
3. The place they traveled to. v. 1d. This is a sad case where separation was abandoned. Moab: a land and people under God's judgment.
a. They were descendants of Lot and his daughter.
Gen. 19:35-37 And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.
And the first born bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day.
b. Moabites hired Balaam to curse Israel. Num. 22:1-8
c. Chemosh was the god of Moab, and was called the "abomination of Moab.:
I Kings 11:7, Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon.
Moab is where Elimelech — an Israelite — took his family to live! Can you imagine an Israelite in the land that cursed Israel?
4. The people that departed.
a. Elimelech means "my God is King." It is a shame that he did not live up to his name.
b. Naomi means "pleasant." I’m sure living in the land of Moab was not pleasant!
c. Mahlon means "sick", and Chilion means "pining."
These two names reveal the spiritual famine in the life of Elimelech and Naomi before they left Judah. God could have preserved them in Judah. To me this means that their Spiritual condition was weak, their faith obviously wasting away, thus bringing on spiritual sickness. I guess to put it in simple terms I would say backslidden.
The Ephrathites were a specific family within the tribe of Judah.
Ironically Abraham too had made this same mistake when he went to Egypt Genesis 12:10
Moving away from Bethlehem is symbolic of moving away from the Father's house, God's place of provision and protection.
Not only did Elimelech and his family go away from Bethlehem; they made their situation worse because they remained there. The family became absorbed and they set up residence (living in a particular place for a considerable length of time) in Moab.
They found the land of no peace.
1. Elimelech dies out of the heaven blessed land. Leaving the will of God never brings peace and prosperity.
I John 5:16, If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.
2. Naomi and her two sons lived in an unblessed land.
3. Naomi allows her sons to marry unblessed wives.
After Elimelech died, time passed and then the two sons married girls from Moab.
a. Orpah means "double-minded” or some say "stiff-necked."
b. Ruth means "satisfied."
4. She stayed 10-years too long in the land of Moab.
5. Death strikes once again in the land of no peace. This shows the cost of departing from God. Now there are three sad heartbroken widows.
We can see a spiritual application from this. When we get away from God’s blessings if not only effects us spiritually and our decisions as Christian, but it effects our children spiritually and their decisions. Oh how I pray that God will help us make the right decisions so that our boys will learn to make wise decisions and trust God for answers.
Recently we chose to go to another church, to help out with the youth there. We prayed diligently about this decision and believe it is God’s will. Elimelech obviously did not pray about his decision and probably felt that he was doing the right thing by his family. However, if he had prayed God may have showed him that He would take care of them!
Let’s always remember to pray about the decisions we make before taking that step! AMEN?!?
Study Questions:
Yes, you can use your Bibles or look back at the study...
1. Of what nationality was Ruth? (Ruth 1:4)
2. Name each member of the Jewish family and the meaning of their names.
3. How many books of the Bible are named after women?
4. Why did Naomi and her family leave their homeland?
5. What is the meaning of Bethlehem-Judah?
6. How do the names of her children reflect the spiritual condition of Naomi and her family?
7. What was wrong with the marriages of her two sons?
8. What spiritual application can we draw from this part of the first chapter of Ruth?
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