Well, I should have told you to keep your finger in the book of Judges so that you could quickly get to the book that follows, the book of Ruth. We begin this day to consider this wonderful little book. It's a book of promise that is fulfilled immediately in the couple of Ruth and Boaz, as we'll see. It points to, or is a type of, Christ in the future. Ruth and Boaz, you know, are the great-great-grandparents of a king named David, who is over the line that Jesus Christ would come through as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. So before the prophecies are given, it's a promise of those prophecies. It's also a type of Christ as the kinsman redeemer for a people. Ruth is found without anyone to take the place of her husband. And yet in this great story, there's one, there's only one that would act as the true kinsman redeemer for her. Those are the things that we'll consider over the weeks ahead. This morning we'll consider a tragic story of unfaithfulness. There is a man who did not understand that all bread comes from heaven. We're just saying bread of heaven. Of means from heaven. God supplies. He's promised his people that he will care for them wherever their journeys may be as long as they are living by faith in him. Otherwise, the old covenant, when they disobeyed, was curse, judgment. along the way. And that's what we consider in the opening words of the book of Ruth this morning that we consider in looking at verses one through five. I invite you to read along with me. We consider again the tragic result of unfaithfulness. 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 Melon and Chileon. 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, not Oprah. Orpah, although Oprah might have been just as bad. And the name of the other, Ruth. And they lived there about 10 years. And both Malon and Chileon died so that the woman, Naomi, was left without her two sons and her husband. Let's pray. Father, this morning we come to you with the understanding that our decisions have consequences. Father, they are not always what we might think. Help us to be faithful in Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen. We find in the opening words of the book, the setting, in the days when the judges rule. That time, the time of the judges, when they ruled God's covenant people, would have happened between the years 1250 and 1050 BC, 200 years that we read span the Book of Judges along the way. It's the time between entering the promised land and the appointment of Saul as their first king. Borrowing from one of the lines of Charles Dickens' fameless novel, A Tale of Two Cities, These were both the best and the worst of times for the nation of Israel. God's covenant with Israel had consequences attached. It was the promise of God's blessing as they were faithful, as they obeyed, they could expect God to bless them. But by their own agreement, when they disobeyed, when they sinned, when they turned against God, They would be judged. Curse would come upon them. That's why the prophets weren't the most popular people in the nation of Israel, because more often than not, they were pronouncing curse, woes, thus saith the Lord, because of their unfaithfulness along the way. We have a microcosm of that nation in this story this morning. The Book of Judges, then, is summarized in the final words of that book. In those days, there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes, followed by the first words of the Book of Ruth in the days when the judges ruled. There was no king in Israel. Samuel's writing this looking back over the history, before the kings ever came to be. And he says, this was the status, this was the state of the nation. Everyone, everyone did what was right in his own eyes. And it's in the midst of that rebellion, in the midst of their idolatry, in the midst of their intermarrying between the nations as God had warned them in the covenant not to do, in the midst of all that we see God's mercy. We see his raising up judges for his people to guide them in the things of the Lord. And we see a cycle in judges that's repeated over and over again. The nation's sinfulness, God's judgment on the nation and their repentance or their return, God's restoration, and a provision of a judge. Then that judge's death, and once the judge died, right back to every man doing that which was right in his own eyes, over and over again. We see this in the book of Judges. And so what we have in the book of Ruth, particularly with these verses we consider this morning, is during one of those in-between times when there was no judge ruling. There is disagreement as to the exact time that this took place. I take it to be the time of Gideon that I read from Judges chapter 6 because we know when you include Rahab and the family tree that it seems to be that it would fall somewhere during that time. Some say it happens after the judges are over, some say it's even after the exile of the people, but I think the better way of looking at this, and I could be could change my mind, I'm not dogmatic here, is during this famine that I read about at the hands of the Midianites in the time of Gideon. And we read there in verses 1 through 10 that that too was a time everyone did what was right in his own eyes. And they found themselves oppressed by the Midianites in a terrible famine as a judgment from God. And when they cried out to the Lord, we read, his response was to remind them how he had delivered them from the bondage and slavery in Egypt and how he'd given them a land with laws that they were to abide and obey as they entered into the land in order to serve him faithfully and to guard their hearts from idols. And the agreement was as long as they did that, they would be blessed. When they didn't, judgment. And that's the stipulation of the old covenant between God and the nation of Israel. Now in such times of judgment, men typically respond in one of two ways. They either run in an attempt to escape the judgment and try to fix everything on their own, to try to make everything right themselves. or they recognize the discipline, they recognize the judgments of God and the reason that God gives them in the first place so that they would repent and return to Him. What we have in chapter one of Ruth is those who reject God's covenant promises. We also have those who accept God's covenant promises and we'll see and notice the results of those that turn back to God. We see in the lives of Ruth and Naomi later in the chapter that a repentant life is the only way to receive God's favor and abundance. But before we get to the blessings of Naomi, Ruth, and this man named Boaz, and all that we talked about in the promises that are given in this book, we must first see the tragic result of unfaithfulness in Naomi's husband, Elimelech. His unwise decision to try to escape famine in the land and go to Moab had its consequences. He left the famine. He traded a famine, if you will, for three funerals. It would happen even before we get to the end of verse five. And Elimelech serves to remind us that our decisions have consequences. Of course, Elimelech didn't foresee those consequences, or he probably never would have gone to Moab. But his problem was he didn't trust in the Lord in the land of promise. And rather than stay in the land of promise, as difficult as it was, and understand the need to repent, not just he, but the entire nation, he goes into the world to try to have his problem satisfied. And folks, listen. You will always fail miserably. when you go to the council of the world and seek to have the world satisfy your issues. Our trust must always be in the Lord. And so that's the tragic consequence that we consider this morning. We see what happens when this man, and I would say we too, don't trust God in the midst of a trial. The first chapter of Ruth is comprised of three different scenes. We'll look at the first this morning in verses 1-5 as this family moves from Bethlehem to Moab. In a few weeks, Lord willing, in 16-18, the second scene has Naomi and Ruth coming back to Bethlehem, but they're on the road in between. in verse 19 through the end of the chapter. In fact, the scene for the rest of the book is in Bethlehem. There's a lot in this book about Bethlehem. Lest we miss the significance of this story in Bethlehem, we need to understand again the promise of the kinsman redeemer in this book, immediately the man named Boaz. There's a picture or a type that points to the promise that the Redeemer himself, Jesus Christ, would come from the line of David and his life would in fact begin in this little town of Bethlehem. So this morning I want us to consider this tragic result of unfaithfulness that began with a choice that we consider first, a wrong choice, a bad decision by Limelech and then Mahlon and Chileon as well along the way. And then we'll consider the result of that bad choice or that wrong decision. So this first scene that we read about is described by Sinclair Ferguson this way. He says, it's switching on the amber warning light. In other words, this is the neon sign that's flashing, warning, warning, warning. Don't be like him. This is the result of unfaithfulness. The Book of Ruth is a narrative of one of those families, amongst all, that were affected by this famine. They were all going through the famine. It wasn't just Elimelech and his family. He and his wife, Naomi, along with their two sons, Malon and Chileon, whose names literally mean weakling and pining. Who would name their children such? Hebrew names had meanings behind them. We'll see Elimelech and Naomi, and all of them along the way, they had specific meanings. And yet, I guess when they were born, they were puny, and I don't know. Pining, weakling and pining. through God's judgment on the nation, he says to this family and to the entire nation through them, remember my covenant with you. Remember how I condescended. Remember how I came down to you and chose you as a people. Not because of anything I saw in you, but according to my good pleasure. Remember my covenant with you and remain in that covenant. And the remain in the covenant means to remain in community. Just like in the new covenant of the body of Christ, we come together as believers, we never leave the community, we stay there. If we leave the community, it's called apostasy. We've apostatized the faith. So he says, remember the covenant that I made with you and the community that I gave to you as a nation and return to me. I do not desire to do you harm. That's not my purpose. My purpose is that you would do good. But the only way that you can do good is to remain in faithfulness to me. And so his desire, God's desire, was for them to experience the blessings of the covenant that he had for them. But that could only happen if they would tshuv, the Hebrew word, return, repent, And if they did, everything would be restored, just as though it had never happened. God promised this in the renewal of the covenant with Israel in Deuteronomy chapter 30, verses one and following. There, before we even get to Ruth and the time of the judges, there was this covenant established, the old covenant, we call it. And there's the reiteration or the renewal of the covenant in Deuteronomy 30, just before they enter into the promised land. And if you haven't been with us in our men's study of Deuteronomy, all of Deuteronomy is given to prepare them to enter the land. Right? And we read, ironically, that reiteration is given in the land of Moab. Deuteronomy 30 verse 1 says, When all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I've set before you. In other words, that's all that he talks about in Deuteronomy 28 and 29. Then in 30 verse 1, when these things happen, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice, in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, in other words, you don't return half-heartedly, you don't return one foot in and one foot out. It's all in. obedience to him when you return in that way then the Lord in Deuteronomy 33 will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you and he will gather you again from all the people where the Lord your God has scattered you And then in Deuteronomy 30 verse 9, the Lord your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb, and in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your ground. For the Lord will again take delight in prospering you as he took delight in your fathers. When you obey the voice of the Lord your God and keep his commandments and his statutes that are written in this book of the law, when you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, what's the promise? You repent and you will receive all of the promised blessings that are yours. Notice the reverse of this then, of the curse that's given in Deuteronomy 28. And so he reminds them. In verse 11 of chapter 30, for this commandment, which I command you today, is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. That's a warning. It's not that hard. The only thing that makes it hard is you love your sin. The only thing that makes it hard is you love living away from me rather than in the blessings that could be so richly yours. And so we see God's judgment that demands repentance and turning from evil in their wicked ways. In other words, they needed to turn from doing what was right in their own eyes to what was truly right, to a God who loved them and led them and knew exactly their needs along the way. So here in the book of Ruth, A limeleck in the midst of a famine has a decision to make. He could stay in Bethlehem. Again, ironically, Bethlehem means the house of bread. The house of bread. He could stay there where there was no food, where there was no bread. Why? Because they had turned it into a place of sin. and it was being judged. He could stay in Bethlehem where there was no food, grieve over his sin, return to God, repent, and trust that God would provide for them. Or he could flee from God to the land where, in his mind, the grass was greener on the other side, where food was abundant in supply. Now don't make any mistake, the food was abundant in the land of Moab. The ways of the world often have much to tempt us with in our lust and our eyes and the flesh. There was food there. So how does Elimelech respond? We read in verses 1 and 2, a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to soldier in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. His initial intent was not to stay there. Much like we read when the sons of Jacob go into Egypt, when Joseph is ruling, and it's just a temporary journey to receive supplies in a time of famine, seven years, right? And how Joseph, in God's providence, is over the land of Egypt. And by the way, we may look at this and say, well, why did God so richly bless them, and he doesn't do so here? Well, because he'd not entered into covenant with Israel yet. There was no land of promise yet. And yet, just like that, there is the land of fullness. So the mindset of Elimelech was not to stay there. But then we read in verse two, they went into the country of Moab, and they stayed there. They remained there. Instead of turning back to God, this family, under a limolexed leadership, as head of the household, they turn their backs on God and they stay for 10 years. Not him, because the evidence, I think, in the text is he died rather early on in entering into the land of Moab. But they turn their back on God. They flee to a place that defied God and his people. It's a definite definition, if you will, of the world. Those who hate God and his people. These people called the Moabites. Hear how one writer describes Moab. For Israel, Moab was known for several things, none of them good. Now keep in mind, Israel kind of goes through a love-hate relationship with Moab all along. In fact, you remember, where was Moses when he gazed across the way to the promised land? Remember, he saw the promised land, but he could not enter it because of his sin. In Moab. And so Moab's close. Fifty clicks, if you will. And so Moab's known for several things, none of them good. The Moabites had originated out of an incestuous relationship between Lot and his older daughter. In other words, they came through the line of Lot, not through the line of Abraham. Their king, Balak, had hired Balaam to curse Israel when they came out of Egypt in Numbers 22 through 24. There were women who had become a stumbling block to Israel in the wilderness, seducing them to worship a false god, Numbers 25. God had warned them, don't intermarry. They're going to get you to follow idolatry, to follow false gods, and that's exactly what happened. They married people from Moab, and in Numbers 25, they begin to worship false gods. And they had recently been oppressed by the Israelites. We read in Judges 3 in the days of Eglon. It's one of my favorite stories of Judges. What a picture of the dagger going in and disappearing into his gut. Read it. It's a great story. All of these things are Moabites. Other than that, the Moabites were great folks. Elimelech should have known better. All of this had already happened. The Moabites were not friends of Israel. Elimelech's name, I mentioned we would get to, literally means God is king. And yet now he's acting not according to his name. He is acting as if he has no king. In fact, the entire nation of Israel is acting as if they have no king. The Limelech's life demonstrates going against God. No king. In fact, just like Moab had no king as God for their king. There's no king in the Limelech's life, so he seeks to take matters into his own hands. moves the family to Moab, which again, in his mind, provided the best prospects of supporting his family. Who could blame him? I mean, men, we're called to provide for our family. And that was where he could do it. But in doing so, he rejected God's covenant. He walked away from the promises of God. He chose the road to nowhere, a reality that wasn't immediately apparent, but then it rarely is when we make unwise decisions. However, we need to be careful that we're not too quick to judge a limeleck and miss the log that's perhaps in our own eye. Is it possible that you respond to life's famines in quite the same fashion? We all face defining moments in our lives where we can choose a course of action when things aren't going as we think they ought in our lives. And if we're honest with ourselves, and many times we aren't, we often choose the land of comfort, the place of security that the world has to offer. But that's only temporary. It cannot last. It will not last. And so rather than spiritually assessing our situation, why we are where we are, we flee from God rather than run to God. That doesn't mean that every instance of suffering is God's judgment for sin. It's not. And it also doesn't mean that there aren't times where God doesn't provide, through things of this earth, good things to help us through our suffering. I think of Benaiah, little Benaiah right now. I am grateful that he has one of the most well-known NICU surgeons in our area that's watching over him. So all of our sufferings, all of our times of difficulty aren't always necessarily God's judgment for sin. There are times where we should seek a course of action in praying in the spirit that he would deliver us from such unfavorable circumstances. I just prayed it for Mason. I just prayed it for Benaiah. I just prayed it for others who are going through times of difficulty that I don't think have anything to do with sin. God heal them, deliver them. It's wise to do that. But when it is God's judgment, when it is God's divine discipline, we need to understand something. We're right where God wants us to be, as children of God. Habakkuk struggled with this. He asked the question, God, why are the Chaldeans, why are the Babylonians, why them, why are they prospering and your people are withering on the vine? God answers him. And Habakkuk responds a second time, but how could you do it this way? At the end, God's answer was, because I'm God and you're not. Job did the same thing. Job started outright in chapters one and two. There was no sin on his lips, and then he speaks. And when he begins to speak, along the way, bad advice from friends and others, he begins to doubt God. He asks God questions. Why was I born? Oh, woe is me. Take me away. When we're in God's discipline, we're right where God wants us to be. Matthew Henry, I think it's the quote in your bulletin, he said this, by those who tarried at home, it appears that the famine was not so extreme, but that there was sufficient to keep life and soul together. In other words, Matthew Henry says, all of them were going through this famine. And we don't read about a bunch of them dying. Apparently, they were able to get by. At a much lesser level, it was a famine, but they were getting by. What made a limeleck think he was different than all of the rest? And so, Matthew Henry points out, he had much less to take care of than big Jewish family did along the way. His charge was but small, only two sons. But if he could not be content with the short allowance that his neighbors took up, in other words, he couldn't be content with what everyone was going through and what was being provided across the board, and in the day of famine could not be satisfied unless he kept as plentiful a table as he'd done formerly, if he could not live in hope that there would come years of plenty again in due time or could not with patience wait for those years. It was his fault. I think Matthew Henry hits the nail on the head. He was not patient. I don't know how long the famine had been going on at this point, but at some point, Limmelach made the decision, I don't think this is ever going to end. Oh, woe is me. My wife's complaining. My kids are complaining. We don't have as much bread as we used to. And it's crimping our lifestyle. And it's better over there. And I could take in. So what does he do? He dishonors God. The good land that he'd given them weakened the hands of his brethren with whom he should have been willing to take his lot and sets an ill example to others. If all should do as he did, Canaan would be dispeopled. If everybody did what he did, there'd be no more people in the land. God's divine discipline serves the same purpose in the life of the believer. Those who he's covenanted with as the famine did in the nation of Israel. It serves to drive us back to him. It serves to lead us to repentance and to trust and obey in the promises that he's given us and follow him by faith. In times of suffering and difficulty, then, we need to ask ourselves, how do we react? Do we heed that warning light, as Sinclair Ferguson puts it, that these verses so give to us? Many today take the name of Christian, but they act just like Elimelech did, that had the name God is King. And yet, there's really nothing Christ-like in their lives. And they demonstrate their actions when they go the way of the world. They seek the counsel of the wicked, that they're warned against in Psalm 1. So this morning, the question is, do you truly possess Christ? Or is it possible that you're merely giving lip service to God and Christ as long as everything's going well in your life? But then as soon as there's a bump in the road, where do you turn? Do you live independently of God or do you cry out to Him in dependence? If so, I would ask you to pay close attention to the result of a limelight's decision. Notice what happens in verses that follow. Again, his original intent was not to remain in Moab for a protracted length of time, but to simply sojourn there. Now, there's a lot there. To sojourn there means he was renouncing his rights as a citizen of Israel, and he was coming in under their laws. But it was just for a time. But he'd have to live by the laws of the sojourner. I'm sure that Elimelech, somewhere along the way, was lured into a false sense of security when he arrived with his family in Moab. Food was plentiful, probably more than they'd had when it was good in Israel. And when he examined the situation, it seemed to him as if he'd made the best decision. God was blessing them with more than they'd ever had. Isn't that what we do? Even in the midst of our stupidity, we can look at it and say, well, look at all that's going right for us, and yet it may truly be a curse from God himself. His decision, then, was to remain in Moab. We can see where he got to the point of not returning home. Why go back to poverty, where death and hunger may have been the norm, when it's apparent We've done the right thing. Again, the prodigal son probably thought the same thing. He lived the high life until the high of the life was gone. Until everything was taken from him. He wasted it all. And yet, he thought he was making the best decision for himself along the way. That might be true of you as well. You might be here this morning living quite comfortably on the things of this earth, and you may have security and peace, but are they the peace of Christ? Are they gospel securities? Are they comforts in him and through him alone? Again, I would remind you, just like a limeleck, just like the prodigal, those things can only last for a time. Don't be lulled into a false sense of security in things of this world. Notice the tragic result then of Elimelech's decision. Verse 3, but Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died. Didn't see that coming. Again, if he thought that he was going to die over there, Probably fairly quickly, probably never would have made the decision that he made. And yet when he dies, she's left with her two sons. The text seems to indicate, again, that Elimelech dies shortly after the entrance into Moab. Now the family, minus the husband and the father, now they had a decision to make. And here we see the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Your sins will find you out to the next generation. Now they've got a decision to make. Do they repent of their sins and return to God in the land of promise, or do they remain in the land of Moab, separated from God? Now again, let's give Malon and Chileon, weakling and pining, some credit here. It's more difficult for us than ever if we go back there. We've got what we need here. But they go a step further. They remain in the land, separated from God. Their choice was the same as their father's. They look at the circumstance, determine the prospect was still better in the far country, separated from God, living for themselves rather than to return to God in the promised land. But they take wives from Moab. And what were they warned not to do? Don't marry. Moabite women. But Weakling and Pining take their Moabite wives. The name of the one was Orpah. The other was Ruth. And they lived there about 10 years. Why only about 10 years? Because guess what happens to Mahlon and Chilean? They drop dead. They die in the land. They take for themselves Moabite wives, and here we see the spiraling effects of sin. As one writer put it, once entered upon, the road to continued and deepened disobedience is often smoothly paved and provides little resistance. We become numb to all of the wickedness that we are encountering. And we wake up one day, or we don't wake up one day, and we say, how did we get here? What happened? This is often the way it is. Again, rather than return to God and the difficulties associated with serving him, it seems easier and more comfortable to remain on the outside. Sin numbs our spiritual senses. The flesh takes over the spirit. There's a battle that's going on. We get lulled into this satisfaction with creaturely comforts and wisdom of the world without recognizing we're living for ourselves. and God's not even in our life, just like Elimelech and his sons. Now I'm sure in taking these women for their wives, Malan and Chilian looked at their situation and thought, who else is there to choose from? It's all we've got. Well, if they'd have gone home, they'd have had women there to choose from. They never recognized their decision was based on defying God's covenant any more than Elimelech, their father, had understood that. Again, it was easier to stay than return. It was easier to stay in the comforts of the world than repent and return to God. What did we read in Judges? This is not too hard for you. God is near. God is near. And so they stay in this world rather than return to emptiness and confess their sin. And they suffer the same fate. They die, and now Naomi is left without her two sons, without her husband, and with two Gentile daughters-in-law. that we'll pick up and consider next week. But the consequences of Elimelech's decision to reject God and go to the land of Moab continued to be evident. He's dead, his sons are dead. Much like their father, they continue to live in this land of sin, find it easier to live in sin than to repent and return. And Elimelech's tragedy falls even heavier on Naomi along the way. Naomi's entire world came crashing down around her. She found herself in a foreign land, grieving her husband and her sons. She now faces a decision. We'll return to that, Lord willing, in a few weeks. What or how would she respond? And I close this morning with a few questions. When you're in the midst of famine, how do you respond? How do you respond? Is your first reaction to try to take care of it yourself or is it to go to God who knows how to take care of it for you? I remind you this morning that it's not wrong to ask God questions. Why God is this happening? Why am I here? What happened? What is your purpose or purposes in this for me and not just for me but my family and my people? God loves for us to ask questions. The psalmist did it all the time. That's trusting him. It's not wrong to ask God questions. It's always wrong to question God. That's doubt. It's always wrong to question if God's got this right or not. That's what Habakkuk does at the beginning of Habakkuk. That's what others had done along the way. That's what Job began to do along the way. He began to doubt God and ask questions like, God, don't you see? Don't you understand? That's doubt. That's not trust. When you're in the midst of famine, how do you respond? I encourage you to look for God in the midst of the famine. Second, you men, you who are heads of your households, husbands, fathers, grandfathers, your decisions today have consequences tomorrow. How you decide to lead your family has consequences far after you're gone off this earth. Your decisions today in leading your wife and leading your children have consequences. It's been a tragic story about a well-known preacher that fell with a great fall over the past days. Your decisions today have consequences on family and friends well past your time. How will you lead your family? Amen. Don't be like a limeleck. Seek God and lead your family in the way that is right. And then third, if you have responded like a limeleck and his sons, You sit here this morning and you say, Pastor Todd, you got me. No, I didn't get you. I hope it's the Holy Spirit of God that got you through the preaching of the word. I've been satisfied with stuff and not Christ. I've been living as if I'm walking in fellowship with the Lord and I know that I'm not. And dear friends, all you have to do is repent. It's not too hard for you if you truly are a child of God. Return to him and live for him. as we sing in a moment, trust and obey. For there's no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey. Let's pray. Father, this morning we've seen the tragic result of unfaithfulness. Yet we see throughout the remainder of the book your great mercy and grace when your children turn against you. Yes, there were immediate consequences. The cancer, the sin had to be removed before there could be true restoration. Those are difficult lessons. Discipline is never easy. It's difficult for a season. And yet, Father, we see the beautiful picture of love, not just a man named Boaz for Ruth that we see, but more than that, Christ for his bride, the church. And so, Father, I pray today that where sin is known, we would repent, that we would know the importance of the community, the body of Christ, and know its head, and seek to live in accordance to what we call ourselves, Christians. It's in the name of Christ I pray.