““In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. 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. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.””
The book of Ruth is one of the best-loved books of the Bible. It's a book written from the perspective of women who were heartbroken and downcast, but remained faithful to the Lord and each other, and they watched the Lord dramatically turn their circumstances around. It's believed by many that the prophet Samuel wrote this book, while others believe it was compiled from oral traditions and penned in book form during the reign of King David, sometime after 1010 B.C.
When we take a deeper look at this book, we quickly see the redemptive hand of God at work throughout human history, even during the seasons when things seem darkest. This book illustrates God's compassionate care for His children. It illustrates His desire to bless Israel with a godly king. But most importantly, this book illustrates the detailed, long-term objective of God the Father to send His Son, Jesus Christ, into this world to rescue and redeem all who will trust in Him.
As we study the content of this book together, please notice God's hand in the immediate circumstances that are being described, but also keep asking the question, "How is this passage trying to point my eyes and my heart toward Jesus?", because that's the bigger objective this brief book is attempting to help us understand.
The book of Ruth begins with a troubling account of Elimelech, Naomi, and the trials and tragedies their family experienced. For starters, we're told that they lived in the time of the judges. This was a time during the history of Israel before it was ruled by kings. During that time, Spirit-empowered leaders that the Lord raised up and anointed for the task led the people for a total of 480 years.
To give you a picture of what it was like during that time period, look at what we're told in Judges 2:16-19...
““Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so. Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways.” ”
That doesn't sound like a very pleasant time to live. It was a time characterized by taking the Lord's blessings for granted. It was a time when people would gravitate toward the detestable practices of the false gods of their neighbors. And even though the Lord would raise up judges who would lead the people, fight on their behalf, and rescue them from the hands of their oppressors, the people kept embracing worldly corruption and hardening their hearts toward the Lord.
That's the culture Elimelech, Naomi and their family lived in. In addition to that, during their day, famine was ravaging the land, and Elimelech genuinely feared his family would starve, so they took a temporary sojourn from Bethlehem in Judah to the land of Moab in the hopes that they'd be able to find and produce food there. Moab was located across the Dead Sea from Judah, but it was also a country that had been an enemy of Israel. Certainly not the kind of place you'd want to move to unless you absolutely had to.
When you read the story of Elimelech's family in the early verses of this book, it seems like they just couldn't catch a break. Sometime after moving to Moab, Elimelech died. This left Naomi without a husband, but at least she still had their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion to care for her. As their sojourn in the land morphed into a long-term living arrangement, her sons got married to Moabite women, something I'm guessing wasn't part of her original desire for them when they were first born, but somehow they all made it work for about ten years.
Then tragedy struck again. We aren't told how, but both of Naomi's sons died. This left Naomi and her Moabite daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth, left to figure out what to do next and how to navigate this next season of their lives. This was a hard time for women to live without the provision and protection of a man. It was a violent time. It was also an era of history when women were often treated like property. I think it's fair to say that these women felt desperate and fearful, but as this story unfolds, we're going to be shown the merciful ways the Lord chose to provide for them and give them a better life than they had before.
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Are you feeling stuck in a spot you thought you were only visiting?
When Elimelech, Naomi and their family first left Bethlehem to go to Moab, I don't get the impression that they expected to be there a while. Their visit is first described as a "sojourn," but then we're told they "remained there," and finally we're told that Moab is where they "lived." Do you see the progression? Have you ever observed that same progression taking place in your life? Are there times when you've become stuck in a spot you thought you were only visiting?
That same kind of gradual progression is described in Psalm 1 regarding the way we tend to grow familiar with the presence of sin in our lives.
““Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” ”
I think it's fair to say that many followers of Christ would say they aim to follow the teaching of God's word, and their long-term goal is to learn to genuinely delight in the law of the Lord, but the presence of habitual sin seems to be robbing them of that delight. How does sin become habitual? How does it go from being a curiosity that we're dabbling with to a foothold in our lives?
The psalmist describes the pattern in Psalm 1. The pattern involves walking toward it, standing near it, and sitting in it. That's how dabbling becomes a habit and curiosities become addictions. But Jesus can set us free from it all.
Just the other day, I was speaking to Dylan Jarvis, a recording artist from Memphis, TN. The music he's creating is great, but his life story has had its ups and downs. For years, he battled with an addiction to heroin and that addiction led him to criminal activity and a 30-year prison sentence. In prison, he called out to Jesus and experienced a radical transformation. He now testifies that the Lord supernaturally delivered him from his addictions and his desire to live in rebellion toward God. When Dylan was blessed with an early release, he dedicated his time and his musical talent to singing about Jesus who set him free. I believe the power of Jesus is sufficient to set us free from our addictions and habitual sins as well.
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What would happen if you treated your entire earthly life as a sojourn?
I think sometimes we get so caught up in the things of this world because this is the only world our natural eyes have seen. We get so caught up in wanting the things of this world and believing that this world can satisfy the deepest desires of our souls that we stop looking toward the greater kingdom the Lord assures us we're part of and will live in forever.
What would happen if instead of treating this world like it's our final destination, we started treating our entire earthly life like a sojourn, a temporary living arrangement in a foreign land? What would we learn to value? How would we treat people? How would the affections of our hearts be impacted?
If we treated our time on this earth like a sojourn, I think we'd be more likely to stop looking to the things of this world to satisfy the deepest cravings of our souls. The oldest and wisest Christians can tell you that nothing in this world was capable of satisfying their hearts like Jesus. Just think about the list of things we crave because we're convinced we'll be satisfied by them. We seek inner peace from marriage, children, riches, possessions, cars, vacations, dream houses, sports, hobbies, sexual pleasures, food, alcohol, exercise, video games, our appearance, status, and retirement. Yet every one of those things can change, be taken away, or even hurt you.
But when you have Jesus, you have what you truly need. He won't leave you and you won't regret trusting Him with your life.
““The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.””
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Can you see beyond your trials and tragedies while you're still experiencing them?
When you read the opening verses of the book of Ruth, and really think about the fact that those verses are describing the actual hardships and heartbreaks of real people, you can't help but feel their pain like it's happening to you. Their story is one that could easily leave you asking, "Why would the Lord allow so much pain to impact a family in such a short period of time?"
Over the course of this weekend, I spent time at two very different events. One was joyful while the other provoked feelings of sorrow. And I couldn't help but feel impacted by the drastic difference between the two. On Friday evening, my wife and I attended a wedding for a family member. There was singing, dancing, and hours of celebration. Then, just a few hours later on Saturday morning, we attended the funeral of a good friend who roomed with me in college.
At that funeral, I heard his wife, daughter, and friends testify to the impact he had on their lives. We cried, but we also reminded each other that the Lord has bigger plans than we can often wrap our minds around in our moments of grief. But even though our hearts were heavy, we expressed our confidence in the Lord and in His redemptive plan for our friend and for all who trust in Jesus by faith.
The longer I walk with Jesus, the more He's been teaching me that I can trust Him to restore all things and bring all things together for our good. He's been teaching me that I don't have to wait for everything to resolve for me to have confidence in His plan. He's been teaching me that I can trust Him even while things look messy and unsettled. He's helping me to see beyond my trials and tragedies even while I'm still in the midst of experiencing them.
This was a lesson he was teaching Naomi and Ruth as well. It's a lesson that we're going to have the privilege to learn with them as we study the pages of this book together and read the unfolding story these pages contain.
It's also a lesson that the Lord will impress upon our hearts as we yield our plans, dreams, ambitions, and expectations at His feet. Earthly life rarely works out the way we thought it would, but it always works out the way it should in order to produce the greatest good. I hope our study of this book in the coming weeks will help you see that truth in a new and deeper way.
© John Stange, 2022
