Ruth 1:6  Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the LORD had visited his people in giving them bread.
7  Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters in law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah.
8  And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to her mother’s house: the LORD deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.
9  The LORD grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept.
10  And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people.
11  And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?
12  Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons;
13  Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD is gone out against me.
14  And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.
15  And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law.
16  And Ruth said, 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:
17  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.
18  When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.

Naomi faced some difficult times. She followed her husband to a foreign land in search of a better life. There is no better life than a life lived for God. There was a famine in Bethlehemjudah and Elimelech chose to take his family away from the place of blessing and into a foreign land where God was not blessing. Elimelech was not a prophet. He was not sent to Moab to warn them of the need to turn to the Lord. He went there with the hope of making a better life for his family. As we noted there is no better life when a person tries to avoid God.
Some might argue that maybe Elimelech was led to Moab by God. God gave us the facts here. There is nothing in this account that suggests that Elimelech was led by God to go to sojourn in Moab. God took Elimelech’s plans and he used them to accomplish His purposes. Moab did not benefit from Elimelech’s time there. His wife wanted their daughters in law to remain in that ungodly nation. Naomi knew the name LORD (Jehovah), but she did not know the LORD, Jehovah.
Elimelech died in Moab. His sons took foreign wives and in the course of the next ten years, the sons both died. Naomi was left with no husband and no sons in a foreign, ungodly land. What was she to do now?
In verse 6 we read that Naomi decided to go back home. She had heard that the LORD had visited His people back in Bethlehemjudah. The famine was over and they had bread to eat now. As we noted, others had stayed in that land and survived.
Of course we know that God had a plan in all of this. Even though some people needed to be eliminated to fulfil God’s plan, His plan would move forward. In verse 7 we read that Naomi’s two daughters in law went with her for a short distance.
In verse 8 Naomi told her two daughters in law to go back to their own land. She told them to go back to their mother’s house. We are not told where the fathers were but the mothers were there. Naomi wanted the LORD to deal kindly with them back in their homeland. Naomi acknowledged that these two women had been good for her sons. They had also looked after Naomi after the death of her husband. She did not want them to leave their homeland. She did not see the importance of them being in the company of godly people. She did not understand the importance of being taught the truth. It seems she was of the opinion that a person should remain with the religion they were born into.
Many people today claim to be Catholics or United, not because they attend faithfully, or even know what their religion believes. They are just comfortable remaining in that supposed security blanket. After all, the Catholic priest or the United church minister will usher them into “heaven” when they die. They might need to spend some time in “purgatory” but that will be ok because their relatives will pay the priest enough money to get them through that time quicker.
Naomi told them to go back home and she kissed them and expected them to leave her. We see that these two women had some attachment to her. They had become part of her family. In verse 10 we read that they wanted to follow her back to her homeland. In verse 11 Naomi tried further to convince them to go back to their families. She could not provide husbands for them. She had no husband and she had no more sons. How could she provide husbands for them. She failed to understand there was something these women needed more than husbands. They needed to know this LORD that she talked of. They were not discouraged by the fact they had lost their husbands, who were supposed to know the LORD.
In verses 12-13 Naomi continued to encourage them to go back home. She knew the Jewish law. If a husband died, then his brother should marry his wife and raise up seed unto the dead man and then his own family. Naomi had no other sons and if she were to marry that day, and have more sons, it would be many years before her sons would be of age to marry.
Naomi was grieved that the hand of the LORD had been against her. She did not understand the reason why things turned out as they did. God was working things out for His glory, but she did not see the bigger picture.
In verse 14 we read that Orpah decided to accept Naomi’s counsel. She wept and kissed her mother in law and left for her mother’s house. She would abide in a pagan country away from any godly influence. Naomi had wished them both well, but there was no one in Moab that could help these women to know the truth.
Ruth chose to remain with Naomi. She was not going to leave her. In verse 15 Naomi continued to encourage Ruth to follow her sister in law. Naomi did not see the importance of knowing the true LORD and serving Him. She had a faulty view of God due to her circumstances. She would learn some important lessons yet.
In verse 16 Ruth asked her mother in law to stop trying to encourage her to leave and go back home. Ruth had no intention of leaving Naomi. She was content to follow Naomi wherever she would go. No doubt her husband had talked of Bethlehemjudah during their brief marriage. However, she had never been to that land. He may not have had much good to say about that land because they left there during a famine.
Ruth wanted to become more of a family with Naomi. She obviously knew she was lacking something in her homeland. In spite of Naomi’s weak faith, God was working in Ruth’s life to bring her to see her need to know Him in a real way. Ruth wanted to remain with Naomi as long as she lived. In verse 17 Ruth stated that she was putting herself under the LORD’s authority. She would answer to Him one day, but she wanted to be submissive to Him now. This is a good start for any person. This is what repentance is all about.
Repentance is an acknowledgment of the true God and a willingness to surrender to His will.
In verse 18 we see that Naomi could see that it was pointless to try to persuade Ruth to go back to her past paganism. Ruth had more sense than Orpah and even than Naomi. Ruth wanted to go to the “house of bread” with Naomi. She would find more than just material bread there. She would find the real blessing of God in that land.
It is important for a person to be in the company of godly people. The true local church is such a place. A true local church has a godly pastor who walks in the fear of the Lord. He does not misuse the Word of God just to get people to come. He honours the Lord and teaches the truth. He understands that the truth will be offensive to many, but he also understands that the reception of truth alone will set people free.
A true local church will also have opportunities for the saved to serve the Lord. There is a blessing in being a true child of God and being able to serve the Lord. We have often spoken of the importance of a true local church. I know there are people that do not have the ability to attend a true local church. Their health is not good and they cannot get around very well. A ministry like ours is there to help those people.
Today we have the internet. It has been a great help in getting the Gospel into areas that do not have a good Gospel-preaching church. We thank the Lord that we are able to reach into many countries with our broadcasts. We have many more people we reach with our internet service than we do in our local church. We would like to reach more locally, but so far not many are interested in the truth. We do not offer gimmicks to try to lure people in. Gimmicks do not save. They may bring some short term excitement, but they offer nothing worth holding on to. We want to help people to know the truth and not be weak and unable to face the real challenges of life.
Ruth was a woman who was not afraid to step out in faith and go to where she could know the true LORD in a greater way. This is a mark of an honourable person. This is what every person should desire, but most have shut the LORD out of their lives. Many have a god of their own making. They choose a social club that will talk about a god, but they do not talk of the true Holy God. Thus people can attend there and keep their sins intact. They just add Jesus to the mix and keep on going.
Ruth was not interested in that. She left her pagan homeland and she wanted to know the true God. She made a wise choice to follow her mother in law back to her homeland. She would be blessed for her humility.
It is important to know more than the name of the LORD. It is important to actually know the LORD. That starts with true salvation and then there is a growth process that continues throughout the Christian life. That growth brings the recipient into a closer walk with the LORD. Does that describe you?
Pastor Bartel