When It’s Time To Walk Away

Ruth 1 KJV 1900

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 Beth-lehem-judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons. 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 Beth-lehem-judah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there. And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died; and she was left, and her two sons. 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. And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband. 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. 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. 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. 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. And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people. 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? 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; 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. And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her. 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. 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: 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. When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her. So they two went until they came to Beth-lehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Beth-lehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi? And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me? So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Beth-lehem in the beginning of barley harvest.

How many of you would say beyond a shadow of a doubt, action movies are the best. Action movies are the best. All right, I agree. Just so you know. How many of you would say no, not action, but we're gonna go with comedies. The world is complicated and people are mean. You gotta laugh sometimes. How many would say, not comedies, but oh my gosh, of course, it's superhero movies. Life is not right without some "Spider-Man", some "Superman", some "Ant-Man". How many of you would say thrillers. Thrillers. You guys need some thriller in your life is what you need. I see dead people. That's like the worst and best moment of my entire life. If you don't know what I'm talking about, that's why you didn't cheer for thrillers. Alright, I've got action, I've got comedy, I've got superhero, I've got thrillers. Anybody in here a fan of Romcom? Some “Pride and Prejudice”.

Well, if this book of the Bible that we're going to study were a movie, it would be a chick flick. Just you need you to know. We're not talking no Sylvester Stallone, no Liam Neeson. We're all Jennifer Aniston and Drew Barrymore. That's who's in this movie. No shootouts, no explosions, no car chases in this story. It is basically a couple of women doing a lot of talking. Out of the 85 verses, 55 of them are dialogue. That is why it is a chick flick. This is a powerful, intimate, life-changing book of the Bible that will speak to those of you that are hurting right now or are discouraged right now. Or maybe you're losing hope and you believe that God has something better for you. If you feel stuck in a place that you know you shouldn't be, this book will speak to you.

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 Beth-lehem-judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.” The very beginning of the book says this, "In the days when the judges ruled," gotta stop there. "In the days when the judges ruled." In other words, in the days when there were no kings.

The book of Judges, the book before this one, tells us in Judges 21:25 “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” Just wanna show you the connection. "In the days when the judges rules, there was a famine in the land."And so, we're gonna see a family that is going to be afraid they're not gonna be able to eat and so they're gonna make a move.

Ruth 1:2 “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 Beth-lehem-judah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.”

Elimelech - My God is King

Naomi - Sweet or Pleasant

Mahlon - Sick or Sickly

Kilion - Frail or Tired

Not going to lie, if I was Mahlon or Kilion and my parents had named me sick and tired, I would be pretty ticked.

Elimelek is worried about his family, because of the famine. So, he moves his family from Bethlehem to Moab. Give you an example of what this would look like. Bethlehem, he would've had to go around the Dead Sea to Moab. It's about a 50-mile journey. So, if you walk three miles an hour, it might take you 16 or 17 hours, maybe a long day or a couple days journey to get to Bethlehem. He leaves Bethlehem and he takes his family to Moab, which ended up being a horrible mistake. He moves his family to Moab where God had strictly forbidden His people from living in Moab. God would say in Psalm 60:8 “Moab is my washpot;”. Essentially this is the place where I wash my dirty feet.

Elimelech takes his family from Bethlehem, which means house of bread, to Moab, a place that God has forbidden them. Elimelek means my God is King, but he wasn't living like God was his King. Instead, he was doing what was right in his own eyes, just like so many people today.

So, things are a little tough in Bethlehem. So, he leaves and he goes to Moab, the sinful land of Moab, because times got tough in Bethlehem. So, what do you do when times get tough? When times get tough, do you continue to trust and obey God in Bethlehem? Or do you leave and go to Moab? What do you do when times get tough? Because most of you would say, I'm a Christian. Or you would say, my God is the King of my life. And so, I wanna trust and obey His word.

1. Peer Pressure and Fitting In

You know what God says about your identity—you’re fearfully and wonderfully made. You’ve been called to live differently, not just blend in.

But then you walk into school, or scroll through social media, and everyone seems to be doing that thing—talking a certain way, posting certain content, laughing at certain jokes, acting in ways that you know aren’t right.

You want to fit in. You don’t want to feel left out.

Do you trust and obey God, or do you move to Moab—just to feel accepted?

2. Academic Pressure and Integrity

School gets tough. The pressure to succeed is real—GPA, scholarships, sports eligibility, college apps.

Then the temptation comes: cheat just a little, copy someone’s homework, or “get help” on that test.

Everyone else is doing it. And you’re already overwhelmed.

Do you trust and obey God, or do you move to Moab—just to keep your grades up?

3. Stress, Anxiety, and Escaping

Life can feel heavy. You’re dealing with stress from school, friendships, family, and even your own expectations.

Sometimes, it feels easier to just check out—binge something inappropriate, scroll for hours, isolate, or vent in anger.

You don’t want to deal with what’s going on in your heart.

Do you trust and obey God, or do you move to Moab—just to feel like you have some control?

4. Social Media and Self-Worth

God says your worth is found in Him, not in likes, comments, or followers.

But when the pressure hits to post that picture, follow that trend, or get validation from people online, it’s easy to forget.

Do you trust and obey God, or do you move to Moab—just to feel seen?

5. Drama and Relationships

You know you’re called to love people, even when they’re hard to love. You know gossip and bitterness don’t honor God.

But someone hurts you, and it feels good to talk about them. To get even. To fire back with a passive-aggressive post.

Do you trust and obey God, or do you move to Moab—just to protect your pride?

Part 2

It doesn’t actually work out for them in Moab. Sick and Tired marry Moabite women. They live there for 10 years and then sick and tired become sick and die. So first Elimelech and now her two sons die. They left so they wouldn't die. And what happened when they did what was right in their own eyes, three of them actually died. And this is how this chick flick begins. You now have three widows with no homes, no money, no hope, and finally, Naomi, the mother, decides to return to Bethlehem.

They have this conversation and Naomi tells her daughtersin- law, "Go back to your home, marry your own people, have babies." And Orpah does that. And then, she starts this TV show that blows up and it goes crazy and all that kind of stuff. And that's not true, but it's too good of a joke to not say. And so, Orpah goes back, but Ruth decides to stay. And she speaks for the first time in the story in verse 16. And here's what she says. She says, "Don't urge me, Naomi, to leave you or turn back from you." And here's the big wedding cake verse. "Where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay." She declares this fierce loyalty to her mother-in-law. Then, and the most important part of the verse is not loyalty to a person, but a declaration of dependence on God. And she says this. "And your people will be my people, and your God will be my God." I'll no longer worship Chemosh. Now, I will worship the God of Israel. And she makes this dedication that this is her salvation. What did she do? What happened? Ruth and Naomi, essentially they did this. They left Moab and they returned to Bethlehem. This is a picture of what the Bible calls in the New Testament, repentance. Re means to turn, pent is the highest, is to return from the lower place of Moab to the higher calling of Bethlehem. It's to turn away from where you were and to go back. Now, what's interesting, in order to turn to Bethlehem, you have to turn your back to Moab. To go to where God wants you to be, you have to leave where you are. This highlights one of the most important truths, and that is this. To get to the right place, you have to leave the wrong one.

To get to where God wants you to be, you have to walk away from a place that is not His will. I could say it this way. If you're dating someone who is not honoring you or honoring God, to marry the right person, you gotta dump the wrong one. To get to the right place, you have to leave the wrong one. And what's amazing is she made one decision to turn her back on Moab and to go to the God of Bethlehem. And this one decision, this one act of repentance, this one choice changed her life and it changed he legacy. And it even changed the course of the entire world. It did. It means the house of bread, the house of bread.