Ruth 1:1  Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
2  And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehemjudah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.
3  And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died; and she was left, and her two sons.
4  And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years.
5  And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband.

Yesterday we looked at the brief record of a man named Jabez. God said that Jabez was more honourable than his brethren. We want to spend the next few days looking at what an honourable person looks like.
In our world, we use that word “honourable” in a very flippant manner. Our P.M. is referred to as “the right honourable”. Judges are often addressed as “your honour”. When we look at our P.M. there is nothing honourable about him.
Websters 1828 dictionary states that honourable means: “Holding a distinguished rank in society; illustrious or noble”. It is true that our P.M. is holding a distinguished rank in society. He is the Prime Minister. Canada only has one Prime Minister at a time. It is the highest office in our political system. The second part of that definition is that of being illustrious or noble. The word “illustrious” means “respected”. Our P.M. is not respected at home nor abroad. He is played as a fool by men like Klaus Schwab. Mr. Trump does not have respect for the man. I do not believe he knows how to tell the truth.
When we look at our judges we see that most of them do not exemplify honourable character traits either. Judges are supposed to uphold the law fairly. They are to examine laws that are passed to see if they are just. Over the past several years we have seen that many judges do the bidding of the government whether it is just or not. The way they have conducted themselves with regard to dealing with corrupt politicians is a prime example. Then there is the way they have dealt with those brought before them due to the Wuhan virus debacle. We cannot look at them as being honourable individuals.
If we want to see what an honourable person looks like, we need to look at God’s Word. We need to let God show us what an honourable person looks like.
In our study of the book of Ruth, we will see two people that demonstrate what an honourable person looks like. We see that in Ruth and in Boaz. These two people did not know each other at the beginning of the book. They were not from the same area either. They were not raised with the same spiritual ideals. However, they both demonstrate the character of an honourable person. We will see what makes the difference and what made it possible for these two people to be honourable.
We begin this study with some background details. Verse 1 tells us there was a famine in the land in the days of the judges. We are also told that a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab. Interestingly, Bethlehem means “house of bread”. This man left the place that means house of bread and chose to leave Israel and go to a foreign land to find food for his family. He was not going to help the Moabites know the true God. He was leaving the land of blessing for a land that would prove to be very hard on him and his family. As we will see, others chose to stay back but this man took his family into a foreign land.
We know from the time of the judges, that there was much apostasy in Israel at that time. It could well be that God was judging the land for their rebellion against Him. The solution to God’s judgment is never to run from Him. There is no place to run from God. The solution is to repent and draw nigh to God.
In verse 2 we are given the names of this certain man, his wife and their two sons. The name Elimelech means “my God is king”. He did not live as though this were true, but that is what his name meant. Naomi means “my delight”. I suppose Elimelech delighted in Naomi. As we will see, she did not delight in God much, for a time. Mahlon means “sick”, and Chilion means “pining”. This family moved to Moab to find food during the famine back home. They intended to “sojourn” in the land of Moab. The word “sojourn” means to remain temporarily. They did not intend to move to Moab, just to be there long enough to ride out the famine that was back home.
Verse 3 tells us that Elimelech died while they were in Moab. This left Noami with her two sons in a strange land. Her sons chose to marry Moabite women during their stay there. The sons’ wives’ names were Orpah and Ruth. The name Orpah means “gazelle”. I am not sure if this is in reference to the graceful nature of the animal or its agility? She was raised in a Moabite home, and the names may not have had the same importance there as they often did in Israel. The name Ruth means “friendship”. Obviously parents do not know how their children will turn out, but the name Ruth certainly suited the character of that woman.
We also learn here that they stayed in Moab for ten years. That is enough time to get established in a new land. However, we learn here that both Mahlon and Chilion died in that land. Those ten years were not good to them. Thus we find that Naomi was now left without her husband and her two sons. She is left with two daughters-in-law. In Bible times it was important to have a son who could look after his parents when they got older and more feeble. This was not the case for Naomi. She could not rely on any man at this time. She was in a strange land and she had no immediate family with her. Now some people can adjust to a new land and they make it their home.
Canada is made up of people from different countries. Most of the early immigrants came here to make a life for themselves. Many kept their own language and customs, but they also learned the language of the land, English, in order to do commerce in this land. In recent times, there have been many immigrants coming into this land who have no intention to learn the language or to try to fit in with the general society of this country. They have come here to change this country into what they believe. The main group has consisted of East Indians and Muslims. Among the East Indians has been a faction that has escaped from India because they wanted to split up that nation and form their own nation. They are trouble makers and they were welcomed into this country by our dishonourable government. They have been able to earn money and establish themselves in certain parts of the country. They have also been working to continue their desire to cause trouble back home. They have been involved in terrorist activity here as well.
The Muslims have come here to convert this country to Islam. They have some patience. They get into school boards and run for municipal office and get into businesses. Once they have enough people in government positions, they begin to push their agenda. They want sharia law. We are now at a place where they are starting to exert more pressure on the society in places like Toronto and Montreal. However, they are also pushing their way into smaller places like Winkler and Morden. They are slipping into places of influence under the radar. Most people cannot see the danger of having these people establish themselves in our land. They say this is a free country and we have to allow others to come and practice their religion here as well. We will discover too late, just like Britain and other parts of Europe have, that these people will do whatever they need to do to get control over society.
Naomi’s family did not move into Moab to try to upset the society of Moab. As we will see, none of her family were very strong in the Lord. They certainly had no intention of teaching the Moabites about the true God. True, God-fearing individuals will seek to help others to see the importance of knowing the true God and serving Him. True saints are an asset to any society. They are not a drain on the society. They are not trouble makers. They show people how they can truly live at peace.
We will see further how God worked through the situation that Naomi found herself in, for His glory. God is always at work. He is always seeking to show people the importance of knowing Him.
God is still doing that today. In the New Testament, Jesus commanded born again Christians to be witnesses unto Him wherever we are. We see in the book of Acts that this involves establishing true churches wherever possible and of choosing employment that honours God.
Today is the Lord’s Day. We have the opportunity to set aside our regular schedule and go to a good local church where we can fellowship with the true God and with the Lord Jesus Christ as with fellow saints. Lost people can go to hear the truth and be given a further opportunity to turn to the living God in salvation. It is wise to find a good local church where you can receive a blessing and where you can also be a blessing to others. We need honourable people today and there is only one way to be an honourable person. We will see this further as we study this book.
Pastor Bartel