We are starting a new series this evening, and that is we're going to work our way through the book of Ruth. So if you have your Bibles, turn to the book of Ruth. Joshua judges Ruth. Joshua judges Ruth. What we're going to look at this evening is the opening section of this book. Ruth chapter 1 verses 1 through 5. So let's read God's word. 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 Mahlon and Kylion. 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. and the name of the other, Ruth. They lived there about 10 years, and both Mahlon and Kylion died. So that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband. Lord, as we consider this passage, consider this book over the next few months, that you would be with us. And you would open our eyes, open our hearts, give us understanding that we would glorify Christ in our study of the Bible. And it's in Jesus name we pray. Amen. The first part of this book is about trust. It's about trusting God no matter our circumstances. It sounds a little bit like this morning when we were talking about trusting in the sovereignty of God, no matter if they're sweet circumstances or sour circumstances. This part of the book is about trust. Early in his days of ministry, John Wesley, left from England and traveled to Georgia in the New World. There he hoped to minister among the Indians and the settlers, and he desired to see many conversions among the Indians. If any of you have read the biography of Wesley, you know that it did not go well. As Arnold Dalimore remarks, he was in bitter dejection, for his whole person was shaken by the realization The salvation was not to be gained by any program of human effort. Wesley returned to England and on the way he wrote this, that I who went to America to convert others was never myself converted to God. And on the ship on the way back, Wesley was taught this truth by a group of Moravians, a German evangelical group. At sea, his ship was hit by this violent storm that, and he says, a terrible screaming began among all the English who were on the ship. The Moravians, however, men, women, and children, calmly sang a hymn of trust and praise. Wesley was startled because he realized that these Christians possessed something he did not have. And he admitted during the storm, I was afraid to die. Later, the Moravians went to Wesley with such questions as this. Do you know Jesus Christ? Do you trust in Jesus? Do you know if he has saved your soul? Here's the man who had gone to Georgia as a missionary, but he did not know or trust in Christ. These people showed Wesley what trust really was. John Newton, in a letter dated October 12th, 1776, wrote to a friend of his, he said the following, I long to have a more entire submission to God's will and a more steadfast confidence in his word, to trust in him and wait on him, to see his hand and praise his name in every circumstance of life, great and small." At the outset of the book of Ruth, we are confronted with an Israelite family that is in dire economic straits. The question is, how will this family respond to these difficult times? And what will they put their trust? Let's look at our text, chapter 1, verse 1. In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the lands. And a man of Bethlehem and Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons." The book begins with a statement, in the days when the judges ruled, or literally in the days when the judges judged. That's really important background for what's going on in this story. The story occurs during the period of the judges. And what do we know about that time period? The last verse in the book of Judges is a summary statement that capsulates the whole period. In those days, there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. That theme statement, there's a lack of central political authority in Israel. There's a lack of spiritual centrality in Israel. There's a dominant relativism. that's going on in Israel. People are not acting according to God's Word or by any other standard. They're doing what is best in their own eyes. People are trusting in themselves. Now, sometime during this period of the Judges, the text tells us, there occurs a famine in the land. Some type of Economic, agricultural adversity strikes the land of Israel, strikes the people of promise. And we see throughout biblical history a lot of famines. Abraham flees to Egypt during a period of famine. Jacob brings the Hebrew people to Egypt from Canaan during a severe famine and so forth and so on. Famine is understood by the people of biblical times as a sign of God's displeasure with His people. Leviticus 26 says the following, and if in spite of this you will not listen to me, God says, then I will discipline you again sevenfold for your sins. I will break the pride of your power and I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze. And your strength shall be spent in vain, for your land shall not yield its increase, and the trees of the land shall not yield their fruit." Now, we're in the period of the Judges. A time of great ungodliness, of relativism, of idolatry in the land of Israel. These are difficult times for the people of God. There's moral collapse, there's great apostasy, there's physical hardship. How will the people of Israel respond to such adversity? In whom will they put their trust? Well, the book of Ruth talks about a family in the midst of these trying times. And the text describes this person. In verse one, in the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. And a man of Bethlehem and Judah. went to sojourn in the country of Moab. That text says a man from Bethlehem in Judah. That's very important for our story. First, the name of the man's town underscores a bitter irony. Bethlehem literally means house of bread. But there's a famine in the land. Second, the town is identified with the tribe of Judah. Now, you know right away what that means. And so do the readers of the day, because Bethlehem, Judah, is the hometown of David, the great king of Israel. Irony again plays into this. Remember, this is the time of the judges when what? There is no king in Israel. But the Book of Ruth is set in the village in which the greatest king in Israel's history is born, or perhaps not. Perhaps there's a greater king than that who comes from Bethlehem and Judah. So you see how the setting, how important this is, what's going on. Now, this man from Bethlehem in Judah takes his immediate family, leaves the land of promise to sojourn in the land of Moab. Verse 1 again, to sojourn in the country of Moab. Now sojourning is an interesting concept. It's a technical term that speaks of a person who is living as an alien or a foreigner in another land. It describes the social standing of a person who has few of the rights and privileges of the people of the land. The one who sojourns does not own land, but is generally in the service of a native who is his master and protector. Thus, this man from Bethlehem of Judah leaves the lands of his tribal home. He leaves his clan in Israel to put himself in a position paramount to servitude in a foreign land. Now, what do we know about Moab? What do we know about Moab at this time? Well, we know a lot. The Moabites are descendants of Lot. The person named Moab, who is the son of Lot, was born as a result of incest. Their habitation is on the east side of the Jordan River. The Moabites are pagan. Their main god is Chemosh. They also worship the notorious god Baal Peor. And during the time of the Judges, in which the book of Ruth takes place, the Moabites are an arch enemy of Israel. All you have to do is look at Judges chapter 3. Eglon was a very fat man. He was also a Moabite. He was also an enemy of Israel. So this is getting interesting, isn't it? One wonders whether this Israelite man is doing the right thing by abandoning his ancestral holdings and going to Moab to serve under pagan authority. Now, I think we can understand famine in the land, he's under dire economic circumstances, and so he's going to take care of his family, he's concerned for their economic well-being. On the other hand, as the story unfolds, it appears that the man actually is putting his family in harm's way by going to Moab, rather than trusting in God's provision for them, rather than trusting in God's provision for them in Bethlehem, Judah. Because the reality is, not all Israel responded like this man. Many, like Boaz, remained in Bethlehem of Judah, and God blessed them. I think right away we see troubling things. I think we see perhaps some sin here, lack of trust in God that he would provide for his people. And here's this man, he leaves Israel for Moab, takes his wife and his two sons with him. At this point, his sons are not married. OK, now in verse two, We get the names of the people of the family. The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kylion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem and Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. Now, we've talked about this before, but naming people in the Old Testament can be an integral part to the storyline. The naming of a child may reflect an important event in the life of the nation or the life of the family. So, for example, the name Isaac means laughter. And that reflects the fact when Abraham heard he was going to have a child in his old age, he laughed. We later hear Sarah laughs too. Abel, his name means something that is fleeting or quickly gone. And indeed, that describes his character. Sometimes naming can be prophetic. So Isaiah names his son, Maher Shalalahashvaz. Swift is the booty, speedy is the prey. Call me speedy for short. His naming is a prophecy of the coming Assyrian army's invasion of Israel. Now this is the case in the book of Ruth. The names are here given at the beginning to try and bulk up the storyline. The name of the man for Bethlehem and Judah is Elimelech, who ironically, his name means, God is my king. But wait a minute. That's a problem because we're in the period of judges. When there was no king in Israel, everyone did what was right in his own eyes. So this guy actually lives not up to his name. but against his name. He's his own king. He's doing what is right in his own eyes by leaving Israel and becoming a soldier in the land of Moab. Now, the name of the man's wife is Naomi, which in Hebrew derives from a word that means sweet or pleasant or delightful. Later in the chapter, she will change her name to a word that will reflect the opposite of the name given to her, like sourpuss or something like that. Rather than sweet, she becomes sour. And so you'll see that the names have really important concepts along with them. The name of the eldest son is Mahlon. This name means in Hebrew, one who is sickly or weak or ill. The second son is Kalion, which comes from a term that means one who is failing or pining away. Now, although we cannot be certain, it may be that these two names anticipate what's going to happen to the two sons as they later die in the story. So at the close of the verse, the family from Bethlehem, Judah. The great city of the kings. They leave, go to Moab, become resident aliens in that foreign land. But does that solve their hardships? Does that take away their adversity? Indeed not, look at verse three. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died and she was left with her two sons. Family is under great hardship. There's a famine in Israel, so they go to sojourn in Moab and there to live under the authority of the pagan Moabites. And then tragedy strikes. Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, dies. And thus, matters are moving from bad to worse. Naomi is now a widow. Yet, it's not all bleak, because she still has her two sons to care for her. She's not yet destitute. Now, one can imagine, imagine this today, but to imagine it back in the antiquity, how difficult, heartbreaking this spousal death would have been for Naomi. And numerous psychological studies tell us that one of the most trying and difficult periods in a person's life is the loss of a spouse. Many of these studies rank it as the second most difficult event that many people face. What is ranked as the greater hardship than that? Look at verse 4. These took Moabite wives. The name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about 10 years, and both Malone and Cailleon died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband. I talked about it this morning. I want us to look at something here theologically. When God's people go through trials and tribulations, they often glean comfort from the doctrine of the providence of God or the sovereignty of God. In other words, if one of God's people is enduring hardship, it is because it fits into God's overall plan for that person's life. And as we, excuse me, read Romans 8.28 this morning, we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose. However, we need to be careful with that. We need to be careful not to conclude that when hard things happen to us, that we are mere victims of providence or mere victims of circumstance. The reality is that adversity often comes because of the way we act, because of the things that we do and the things that we think and how we behave. So we see, for example, in Exodus chapter 2 that Moses murders an Egyptian. Bad thing to do. Don't murder people. There are going to be consequences for that act. He's forced to flee Egypt for his life, endures hardship in the desert for 40 years. And so Moses reaps these temporal consequences for his sinful activity. On the other hand, the Lord uses his shameful activity to bring about his good purposes. In that desert, God prepares Moses to shepherd his people through that very barren land. Remember what Joseph said to his brothers after they had sinfully sold them into Egypt. As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good. to bring it about that many people should be kept alive as they are today. And so we need to grasp the truth here that God will use his people despite their sin. Now that of course does not give us license to sin, but it underscores the reality that God employs frail and weak vessels to proclaim his truth. God uses his people despite their sin. despite their feebleness, despite their transgressions. And he does that for his own glory and honor. This is an important thing we're getting at, because this is what happens in the book of Ruth. This is exactly what happens in the book of Ruth. I would suggest that the act of Elimelech to move his family to Moab because of a famine in Israel is not the right response to adversity. He trusted in the wrong things. He should have trusted in the Lord's provision and remained steadfast in the land of His inheritance. Now, in verse 4, we're going to see confirming evidence of that. Naomi's two Hebrew sons marry Moabite women. how often biblical law demands that the Israelites not intermarry with pagan peoples. Deuteronomy chapter 7, you shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons, or taking their daughters for your sons, for they would turn away your sons from following me to serve other gods. Yet, as we shall see, The sovereign God will take such sinful activity and redeem it for his own glory and honor. The characters in the story do suffer. They will suffer temporal hardships throughout this story, yet all will end up to the glory of God. Now, the names of the two Moabite wives are provided, and they're interesting, of course. The first daughter-in-law is Orpah. Most argue that her name means stubborn or stiff-necked. The second daughter is Ruth. Her name derives from a root that signifies friendship and companionship. Stiff-necked friend. Which one do you marry? Orpah was married to the oldest son. Now note what the text tells us at the end of verse 4. They become settled in the land of Moab. They become entrenched there, having lived there for 10 years. Now as you read that, warning bells ought to be ringing. Because certainly over this extended period of time, acculturation, assimilation to Moabite culture would have been a constant danger, constant threat to these Israelite sojourners in the land. It's kind of like when you read Genesis 13 through 19 and when Lot moves to Sodom, he begins to build a house in the city. He begins to live with them. He gives his daughters to the Sodomites and so forth and so on. All of that led to disaster. And so when you're reading this, it should be pounding on your head that this is not good. This is not good. And then we read verse five, and both Malone and Cailleon died so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband. Perhaps the greatest hardship people face is the loss of a child. Naomi loses both of her sons after the loss of her husband. This is heart-wrenching. But perhaps it's more severe than we even realize. Because Naomi's situation now is grave. She is a widow with no sons to care for her, no husband to care for her. The Moabites certainly would take no responsibility for a widow of a sojourner. Naomi's an Israelite. She has no rights and privileges in that culture. So on top of her grief, here she is facing destitution, poverty, and perhaps even enslavement. What will she do? What is her response in this situation? And whom do you trust? And whom do you trust? Let me finish with an illustration here that I've actually used before in this church. I think it's been four or five years. I'm sure no one here remembers it, but you never know. The children often remember my illustrations. But it kind of gets at the heart of what I'm trying to get at here, is in the middle of the 18th century in America, a certain young man was attending Yale University as a full-time divinity student. His desire was to be trained for the pastoral ministry. He was an excellent student, and after a few years of hard study, he was close to completing his work. However, one day an unfortunate incident occurred. The student was talking to some friends and made the unguarded remark about one of his professors. That man is about as spiritual as this chair I'm sitting in. The student was expelled from Yale. It was a simple thing he had said. He later repented and asked the professor for forgiveness. However, he was never readmitted to the divinity school at the university. Thus began what was perhaps the lowest, most depressing and most discouraging period in the life of David Brainerd. But the scriptures call us to understand that God even uses our most despicable acts to bring about his good purposes. And so God worked his good pleasure in the life of David Brainerd. After his expulsion from Yale, Brainerd agonized over his calling. But God opened up a service for him on the mission field to the Indians. That had not been Brainerd's desire. But God gave him that desire. And of course, God blessed his ministry with great revivals among the Indians. God can even use the sin of man to bring about his good purposes for the world. He's simply sovereign and nothing happens in heaven or on earth apart from his decrees. And as I look at this story, I see the sin of man, but I also see the end of the story, what God did in the midst of this situation. That should really encourage us in our walk. It doesn't give us license to sin, but God uses sinners to bring about his own glory. Amen and amen. Please pray with me. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this story of the Book of Ruth, and pray that we would mine its riches to the glory of Christ. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.