why did elimelech and his family go to moab

I want you to think about Moab. That is why some men and women will choose never to marry or to bear children. They entered the region of Moab and settled there. Moses reiterates to the people of God that they must not only remain in the land He gives them, but they must occupy this land in spite of dreadful obstacles. It was completed by more than twenty biblical scholars who worked directly from the best currently available Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. 15 In fact, if they had been thinking of the land that they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Then grief befell them in Moab! The benchmark by which we need to compare Ruth and Naomi is the Abrahamic Covenant: 1 Now the LORD said to Abram, Go out from your country, your relatives, and your father's household to the land that I will show you. 2 These women invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods; then the people ate and bowed down to their gods. Wouldnt it be better for the two of them to travel together? She had had a long stretch of time during which she observed Naomi's righteousness, and she (Ruth) became convinced that she must serve the One God and abandon her former idolatry. He lived in Bethlehem during the time of the judges. Abraham had been faced with similar choices and God had used a famine to challenge him. As the years have gone by, I may have mellowed in the terms I would use to portray Naomi, but my opinion of her has not really changed. Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Following the death of her husband, Elimelech, and her two sons, Naomi decided to leave Moab, where her family had fled to escape famine. Where will he turn to find food for his family? One may rightly ask why we would criticize this poor fellow for trying to get his family some food. Save 15% on BibleGateway+ with code SPRINGSTUDY15. Ruths words are her covenant with Naomi, with Israel, and with God, patterned after Gods covenant with Abraham and his descendants: Only death will be able to separate me from you! (Ruth 1:16-17). The lot of widows was especially hard in those days, but for a widow in a foreign land, like Naomi, it was even more difficult.We are not altogether unfamiliar with stories like this. Such people are in misery, and honestly, they make those around them miserable as well. 1100. than the children of the married woman, says the Lord. Naomi was preoccupied with the here and now, rather than trusting in Gods covenant promises by faith. He and his sons die in Moab leaving his wife and eventually his daughter in law, Ruth, to return to Bethlehem. And in good covenant form, she pronounced a curse upon herself if she did otherwise. And there is another difficult part of leaving Moab. What was the reason that Elimelech moved his family to Moab in the first chapter of Ruth? Who even remembers her name? Not only is Naomi unable to provide these women with husbands (and thus with children), God is also dealing harshly with her. As well as the five indicators in Ruth 1, we should think about other, relevant, biblical teaching. And so this older daughter persuaded her younger sister that both of them needed to get their father drunk, and then each should lie with him, so that they might produce offspring for their father. Sign up by filling out the form below, and you will receive weekly blog posts, monthly newsletters, free faith resources, and more! Her boys ended up choosing Moabite women to marry and these women became part of Naomis family. Naomi was now left without a husband, without sons, and without grandchildren. By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from Bible Gateway, a division of The Zondervan Corporation, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 USA, including commercial communications and messages from partners of Bible Gateway. This is leaving Almighty God out of a big issue, whether or not to stay in the church!Third, the very first verse of Ruth states, Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled Certainly, this is a temporal indicator, telling us when these events took place. The final chapters of the Book of Judges are certainly the worst of times, and yet the Book of Ruth describes the best of times. This suggests to me that godly character is not only evident in the good times, but even more dramatically in the bad times. Tragedy Strikes the Family of Ruth Moabs hostility and opposition to Israel continued on into the period of the Judges. As Elimelech searched for bread, he went to the worst place in the world for bread. var addy79beab5da96ef5c7e556d8524343f19c = 'jdengelsma' + '@'; Naomi, seeking a husband for the young Ruth, sent her to Boaz's threshing-floor when he would be there, in the hope that he would want to marry her. In fact, my study for this sermon has caused me to think of Naomi in even less flattering terms. This means that we can find redemptive theology or theological concepts not only taught explicitly, but also reinforced as the theology is embedded in the very structure of the text. Now that Orpah has decided to turn back, Naomi appears to have more leverage. And what communion has light with darkness? Now I should stop to say that I firmly believe in the sovereignty of God, that God is in absolute control of everything that takes place on this earth. Samuel immediately requires the reader to wrestle with the dire need of a faithful husband. The Promised Land, which was supposed to be characterized as a fruitful land, is now described as dry. It is not only Ruth and Naomi who benefit from Gods work in the Book of Ruth, for everyone who has been saved by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ has been saved by the offspring of Ruth and Boaz. Many years later, the Israelites were camped on the plains of Moab, across the Jordan River from Jericho, poised to enter the Promised Land. Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament. We see how heedless it was for Elimelech to seek refuge in this land for the reasons that he did. This was the place that was characterized as the place of famine for Israel; Moab was known for withholding bread from Israel. It had been at least ten years since Naomi and her family had left them. & A. Why was Moab the worst place to look for bread? Naomi was Ruth's mother in law. In our text, Naomis conversation with her daughters-in-law is couched in language that gives the appearance that she is encouraging them to return to their families and their land because this would be in their best interest. How could Naomi encourage Ruth (and, by inference, Orpah) to return to their god(s), when doing so would condemn them eternally? No wonder Naomi finally ceased trying to convince her to turn back (verse 18). WebScarcity of food compelled him to emigrate with his family to Moab, where he died, and where one of his sons married Ruth ( ib. The just God, of course, is right in so doing, for He is judging sin.We also have Ruths beautiful and moving words to Naomi: Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me (16-17). addy4e942a4423f495800f38cd74f5bbd140 = addy4e942a4423f495800f38cd74f5bbd140 + 'prca' + '.' + 'org'; (Ruth 1:1+2). The Tragedy of Elimelech - Knowing God in the Word Surely you would not remain unmarried all that time! Samuel does this, not just once or twice, but he layers the whole story with irony. 14 For whenever the Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature the things required by the law, these who do not have the law are a law to themselves. Obviously, Naomi had changed. Leaving the people of God is leaving the God of His people. What a delight it becomes to experience the layers of irony unfolding into a beautiful story that breathes with love, life, and hope. How does one today keep the Lords Day holy when he or she has no faithful church to attend? In her third attempt, she orders Ruth to follow her sister-in-law back home. Anyone anywhere in the world with an Internet connection will be able to use and print out the NET Bible without cost for personal study. Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I teach you to observe, that you may live and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers is giving you. Hence, should a sensitive reader become surprised to read now that the result of Elimelech's decision is death to his sons? No, it is realized as I desire and is fulfilled as I intend (Isaiah 55:8-11). When I realized this, I blurted out, What a witch!, much to the surprise of the rest of the class. ELIMELECH - JewishEncyclopedia.com Leaving Bethlehem for Moab (Ruth # 2) - prca.org

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