Ruth 1:1-5
The story begins in the time of the
judges; there was a famine in the land. In the United States we have a
hard time comprehending hunger, but if we looked back at our history,
especially in the South, we could get a good picture of what a famine is.
In the 1930’s the South experienced what is referred to as a dust bowl, locus
ate the crops and yet it was not a famine of Biblical proportion. But it
relocated people to all parts of the nation in search of food and work.
But sin, the sins of God’s people
have brought about this famine and even though Elimelech took his family out of
the promised land into a land of foreigners, that seemed right in his
eyes. Please recall this was a time like today when people did as they
wished with no regard for God.
Elimelech and his family moved to a
pagan land where economics seemed bright, and the temporary move turned into a
permanent stay. They came from the area of Bethlehem, and it is referred
to as the “house of bread.”
The name Elimelech in Hebrew meaning
is “My God is king,” and yet that is not what his life expressed, that was not
his action, not before God or man. Many call themselves Christian but
live like Elimelech, doing as they please, and in their own eyes believing they
are followers of Christ. As one of those people who have the title of
Christian I often find I miss the mark, but when I do I know the Holy Spirit
will bring conviction, and usually discipline.
Now let us not leave out the two
sons; Mahlon and Chilion, shall we continue the account in verses 3-5, “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.”
Scripture does not tell us what
happened, what they died from, or how soon they died, but this we do know Naomi
is in a predicament with no sons to care for her!
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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