Ruth. Choices & Consequences. Chapter 1:1-7

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1 Ruth Choices & Consequences Chapter 1:1-7 I was watching the Dr. Laura show the other night. She posed the following question: If the only way a mother could provide food for her children was to become a prostitute, would that necessity make it an acceptable choice? This of course is a pragmatic question. The school classroom equivalent is: if there are six people in a life boat and only enough food for four I don t remember what the people on the street answered. But what Dr. Laura correctly pointed out is we don t have to accept the basic premise of these questions. The question that starts with the premise that a woman either has to let her children starve or become a prostitute should not be allowed to stand. There are always alternatives. And in a world where God loves us, is in control and never makes mistakes there are always choices. Running from one s problems isn t the answer. The answer to the struggles of life is turning to God. While He may not remove them, He will get us through them. As we examine the opening verses of Ruth we see an example of the contemporary decision - making process. Decisions are based on pragmatism rather than what God expects. We will see how this is demonstrated in the life of Elimelech. We will consider how we may act similarly in our own life and be reminded that to do so is actually a demonstration of lack of faith in God. And with this behavior comes consequences. I DOING YOUR OWN THING Verses 1-2 II LOSSES IN LIFE Verses 3-5 III DOING YOUR OWN THING PART 2 Verses 6-7 Verses 1-2: We have already discussed the implications of verse 1 in our introduction. But just as a reminder, the author is setting the groundwork for the environment in which the story takes place. Israel is in a state of moral chaos. Decisions are based on self-centeredness and pragmatism. In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit (Judges 21:25). This really represents a society in anarchy. So one shouldn t be too surprised that we find Elimelech, whose name means God is King or My God is King, making the decision to move his family to Moab. His decision-making process certainly is not determined by his trust in God. If you asked had him, he would certainly give you plenty of legitimate reasons

2 for going. Clearly, he was caring for his family, striving to preserve them. Actually, preservation of the family line is a subtext of the entire story. But in reality Elimelech was demonstrating situational ethics. His decisions were pragmatic, based not on obedience to God, but on what was expedient. But, there is a cost to expediency. Who is this Elimelech? Well, we know a few things. First, he was of the tribe of Judah. He lived in Bethlehem. He had a wife and two sons. The Hebrew word specifically used for man in this verse probably signifies someone of prominence. This would seem consistent with the fact that Boaz was this man s relative, and Boaz had property and position. So, do we know anything else? No, for that is all the author has to say. Of course Jewish tradition goes way beyond the teachings of scripture, presenting certain assumptions as factual. Consider the following. Elimelech was very wealthy and the provider of that generation, who left Eretz Yisrael because he was selfish and was afraid that all the impoverished people would come and knock at his door for help. For this he was punished (Rashi). He was punished because he struck despair into the hearts of Israel. When the famine came, he arose and fled (Midrash). Elimelech may have rationalized his departure by claiming that he could not bear to witness the corruption of the judges while powerless to correct the situation, or that he was not required to dispense more than a fifth of his resources to charity hardly enough to feed all of the hungry (Kol Yehuda). 1 Bethlehem, which means house of bread, had become a place of hunger. Judah, which means praise, had become a place of complaint. The famine appears to have covered an area much larger than the town of Bethlehem. So, why a famine? We don t know. There are three possibilities. First, it could be the hand of the Lord judging the people for their behaviors. It could be the result of the acts of an enemy. Finally, it could be the natural order of life. Keep in mind though, God did promise prosperity with obedience and suffering with disobedience so it s not unreasonable to believe God was behind this famine. However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron. The LORD will turn the rain of your country into dust and powder; it will come down from the skies until you are destroyed. You will sow much seed in the field but you will harvest little, because locusts will devour it. You will plant vineyards and cultivate them but you will not drink the wine or gather the grapes, because worms will eat them. You will have olive trees throughout your country but you will not use the oil, because the olives will drop off (Deuteronomy 28:15, 23-24, 38-40). In any case there was famine in the land and so off goes the family, Elimelech, Naomi, whose name means pleasant and two sons, go to the fertile land of Moab. They have left the place of bread and praise for the land of God s washpot. The two sons are named Mahlon and Kilion which mean respectively sick and pining, so the fact we find them dying later shouldn t come as a surprise. 1 Zlotowitz, Rabbi Meir, Translator and compiler, The Book of Ruth, Mesorah Publications, Ltd., Brooklyn, NY, 1994, p. 61. ) 8 (

3 Verses 3-5: We are not told how much time has passed, but first Elimelech dies and Naomi is left a widow. Scripture tells us nothing more, but as we have already seen, Jewish tradition says he died either because of his greed or because he fled his homeland. Elimelech reminds me of the individual who lived in constant fear of the potential earthquakes in California. So he decided it was time to leave. And where did he go? Nicaragua, just in time to experience a major earthquake. Elimelech left home to escape death and to what did he bring himself and his family? death. But at least it appeared Naomi still had her two sickly sons left to carry on the family name. Of course the way they had chosen to do so was by marrying two Moabite women. Great choice! But, understandable under the circumstances. Jewish tradition states that the prominence of these two men was such that they ended up marrying the daughters of Eglon, the king of Moab, so these women were princesses. And how do they come to this conclusion? Ruth and Orpah were the daughters of Eglon, as it is written [Judges 3:19; (when Ehud came to Eglon to deliver God s message)] and Ehud said: I have a message from God to you. And [Eglon] arose from his throne. The Holy One, blessed be He, said of him: You stood up from your throne in My honor, I will cause to emerge from you a descendent who will sit upon my throne (Midrash.) 2 Of course the problem if you go to the Judges passage is what actually happened was as Eglon stood up, Ehud stabbed him to death in obedience to God. How the Midrash comes to its conclusion doesn t matter. It isn t supported by scripture. As we noted last time, while marrying a Moabite wasn t specifically forbidden under the Law, they were not allowed to enter the congregation of Israel, which would pretty much be a practical prohibition. Maybe these men never intended to return home, even though their father s original intent was for a temporary stay. The fact we are talking about a 10 year stay would seem to confirm this. If this was the case, then marrying Moabites wouldn t be a problem, or would it? And so what was the result? The two men die. Why? It may be because they were both sickly, but then again it may have been the hand of God working in both a punishing and in an providential way. Jewish tradition has regarded the death of these three males (Elimelech, Mahlon, and Kilion) as God s punishment for their leaving Bethlehem. Though that is possible, the text does not indicate it. 3 And so, Elimelech s line has come to an end. Naomi has lost everything, her husband, her sons and finally her hope. Verses 6-7: Naomi has lost everything. We don t know what her feelings were about having gone to Moab in the first place. She wouldn t have had any say in the decision. Apparently 2 Ibid, p Reed, John W., The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Volume 1, Ruth, Victor Books, Wheaton, IL., 1986, p ) 9 (

4 she didn t have any say in her sons decisions to remain or to marry Moabites. She had left her home and now she has lost everything. The only thing she does have is the ability to make decisions for herself. Word has come to Moab. The famine was over, although one could argue it had just started for Naomi. She certainly had nothing to keep her in Moab and so she made the only decision she knew how to. It was time to return home. If she had to end her days empty and lost,at least she could end them at home. But, as we will see next time, Naomi lost something else, her trust in the Lord. She felt His hand was against her. The problem was if His hand was against anyone, it was her husband and sons who acted against His will. I remember my cousin. She and her husband were nominal Jews, that is they did not follow the faith of their fathers, much less have any kind of relationship with God. They had build a beautiful home in the Oakland hills. As you may remember there was a major fire storm in the Oakland hills a number of years ago. Their home was one of the ones that burned down. And what was my cousins response? Why has God done this to me? It is amazing how those who have nothing to do with God are always ready to blame Him for the losses of their life. Hey even the insurance companies do this. And so, with her daughters-in-law she prepares to leave and return to Judah. At least she wouldn t starve. It appeard she would have some company with her two daughters-in-law. But they still could do nothing to fill Naomi s emptiness. They could do nothing to restore the lost family line. Or at least so it appears for now. As the NIV Study Bible notes state: The LORD had come to the aid of his people. At several points in the account, God s sovereign control of events is acknowledged (here; vv. 13, 21; 2:20; 4:12-15). food. Bethlehem ( house of food ) again has food. prepared to return home. Empty Naomi returns to the newly filled land of promise. 4 Conclusion: Most of us have probably made pragmatic decisions at one point or another. Hopefully they haven t led us to move to Moab and face the serious consequences that Naomi was living with. Can you identify any pragmatic decisions you have seen or made and what resulted from them? I have seen people destroy marriages and damage children because they where unwilling to be obedient to God. Their choices, as they perceived them, were either to remain in a painful situation or get else out of the marriage. They were unwilling to consider the truth that neither was an acceptable choice and that God was in control and could make the changes for them. The result was the loss of blessings and always, the suffering of children. As Jackman notes: In any congregation today, many people will identify only too readily with Namoi s experience. Some will have gone through similar traumatic times of bereavement. Others will have made life decisions they now feel very bitter about the job move that led to being laid off, the marriage that broke up almost from the beginning, the disappointment of children who have overthrown their parents faith and are sowing wild oats. Where did I go wrong? is very often followed by why did God let this happen to me? 5 4 NIV Study Bible Notes, Zondervan I nteractive Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, Jackman, David, The Communicator s Commentary, Vol. 7, Judges, Ruth, Word Books, Dallas, TX, 1997, p ) 10 (

5 But I have seen something else as well. In fact it is one of the real messages of Ruth. God is loving and merciful. He can take the failures of His children and turn them into blessings. He works in our life even when we don t see it. And even when we have gone to Moab, we can always turn around and return to Judah. The story of Ruth is the story of God working sometimes in spite of and sometimes through us. Neither Ruth or Naomi knew what was coming, but God did. Zlotowitz notes: Naomi had many times asked herself by what merit she had survived. Had she not sinned as much as they? Perhaps her sin was a greater one, and therefore her punishment, too was greater It was she of the whole family who was left, desolate, to bear the burden of sorrow of the entire family. Naomi could not possibly have known, much less have dared to believe at the time, that she had been preserved through the kindness and compassion of HASHEM, who had allowed the spark of life of Elimelech s family to remain glowing in her leading to the birth of King David. 6 To which I would add and the coming of the Messiah! 6 Zlotowitz, p. 69. ) 11 (

6 Ruth Choices & Consequences Chapter 1:1-7 I DOING YOUR OWN THING Verses 1-2 II LOSSES IN LIFE Verses 3-5 III DOING YOUR OWN THING PART 2 Verses 6-7 A. The Dangers of Pragmatism: B. The Prodigal Family: (Judges 21:25; Deuteronomy 28:15, 23-24, 38-40)

7 C. Consequences From Choices: D. Who s In Charge?: Personal Application: How do I go about making the hard choices in my life? Is there some way they can be made more effectively? Prayer for the Week: Lord, this week let me focus on dependency on You in making any necessary decisions. Let my focus be on what You want from me rather that what would make me most comfortable.