1. A story of love : Of a woman for her Mother-in-law, Of a man and woman, And of love and faith in the True and Living God. September 5, 2010

2. 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 Bethlehem-Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab , he, and his wife, and his two sons. Origin of the Moabites? Abraham's nephew Lot and Lot's oldest daughter . She and her sister got him drunk and seduced him. Moab was the son born to Lot and the older sister. Ammon was born to Lot and the younger sister.

3. Elimelech left the Promised Land of blessing to go to a sinful and idolatrous land. Why was there famine in Israel? God's judgment for their sin. In the time of the Judges, each person was doing what was right in his own eyes , Not what God said was right. Rather than run, he should have repented.

4. So often in times of trouble , people make every change but the one they need to make. They will move, change jobs, change churches; Men will change wives, wives change husbands, They need to change their minds ; Quit going their own way , and Go with God .

5. 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 Bethlehem-judah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.

6. 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. He went there to live , but soon died. Never leave the place where God has set you. There is no blessing when we are out of God's Place; God's Will . Physical place Spiritual place

7. The two sons, Mahlon and Chilion married Moabite women: Ruth and Orpah They were distant cousins , but not from the lineage of Abraham . They were not God's chosen people, but Gentiles . They were worshippers of false gods . God's children should never marry or even have close relationships with unbelievers .

8. After ten years, Mahlon and Chilion died. God had not blessed their marriages with children. Naomi is alone in a strange land with her Moabite daughters-in-law.

9. 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. Elimelech had chosen to leave the Land of Promise and go to a strange land. He did what was right in his own eyes . God did not visit him in that strange land. God visited His people in the Promised Land .

10. Naomi rose up "that she might return from the country of Moab." Return is a key word in Ruth. Hebrew forms of this word are used several times in this first chapter. Here is an apt illustration of repentance . Naomi reversed the direction she and her husband had taken. She turned away from Moab and the errors of the past. She turned her back on the tragic graves of her loved ones and headed back to Judah, her homeland. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty.

11. 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. Repentance requires change . A total change of life. Love what you once hated. Hate what you once loved . Break old habits and form new habits.

12. People get in places that they need to get out of . Like Elimelech, they go their own way , and end up dead . Worship is boring They won't hear the Word of God. No longer capable of love, they end up lonely and unhappy.

13. They need to get up and get out of that place of death . Elimelech thought that he could better his situation by leaving the Promised Land, And going to Moab , land of idolatry. He and his sons died there . Deuteronomy 30 (TLB) 19 "I (God) call Heaven and earth to witness against you that today I have set before you life or death, blessing or curse. Oh, that you would choose life ; that you and your children might live!

14. Better to have stayed where God had set His people, and draw nigh to Him in repentance . God would have blessed and supplied there . God would never bless Elimelech and his family in Moab. It was the wrong place with the wrong people . He needed to return to the Land of Promise, Dwelling with the people of God .

15. When we go our own way , we will always end up in the wrong place with the wrong people . Will not be upon us.

16. We must return , with all haste , to the place of blessing . Romans 12 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, Will of God. God's Will is good, and acceptable, and perfect. Why do we try to improve upon it?

17. 1 Thessalonians 5 16 Rejoice evermore. 17 Pray without ceasing. 18 In everything give thanks: for this is the Will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 19 Quench not the Spirit. 20 Despise not prophesyings. 21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. 22 Abstain from all appearance of evil. Live in the center of God's Will; It is the place of blessing.

18. This world , with its pleasures and its stuff, is not the place of God's blessing. Proverbs 14 12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Elimelech thought he was doing what was best for his family, in going to Moab. He and his sons died there , without God's blessings .