At The End of Your Rope
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A Bad Decision
A Bad Decision
In the days when the judges ruled in Israel, a severe famine came upon the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah left his home and went to live in the country of Moab, taking his wife and two sons with him.
Everything is falling apart.
In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab.
Ruth 1:
We’ve all been there. Everything, and I mean everything is falling apart. One of those days when nothing seems to go right and you go to bed thinking it has to be better tomorrow and you go to bed just knowing it will be only to wake up, stub your toe on the night stand, stumble to the bathroom, step in a cat hair ball and trip over your own two feet. You think to yourself yesterday was bad, today isn’t starting off so well but it can only get better right? Then the toilet won’t flush so you have to fix that and in the amount of time it takes to fix the broken toilet you’ve forgotten about the hairball, step in it again and now you’re so mad that you can’t possibly go back to sleep so downstairs you go to make coffee and there isn’t a lick of coffee creamer to be had because you forgot to pick some up the night before.
Now I had a string of days like this not too long ago and it was aggravating. Very aggravating.
But it wasn’t a famine.
I didn’t have to wonder if Tricia was going to starve.
I didn’t need to wonder if my children were going to survive.
Elimelek was facing such a problem. There was a famine in the land and famine of course means no food but it also almost always means no water.
Elimelek, whose name means “God is King” had a faith crisis and made a bad decision.
What made the decision bad?
He lived by sight rather than faith
For we live by faith, not by sight.
Elimelech was not only suffering from a famine of food, but a famine of faith. He doubted God's power and ability to provide in this crisis. He looked at Moab and saw a land of plenty, bounty, prosperity, and quantity. He falls into the same trap that Lot fell into when he gazed at the plains of Sodom (, ).
Moab was on a high fertile plateau south of the Arnon River. It was a pleasant plateau which enjoyed cotton puff clouds and cool, refreshing rains that showered the sands of the parched nearby desert. Moab was a heathen land. They offered their children as human sacrifice to the false god they served.
Elimelech would have been aware of this, but he chose to go and stay for a while in the land of Moab.
The pressures of this life can be overwhelming.
Our faith is tested
So can the temptations. Satan does everything he can to shake our faith. He will stop at nothing and he will use everything at his disposal to break us.
How did he get to Elimelek? He played with his heart and he played with his mind.
Going to Moab was the only rationale thing to do, it just made good sense.
What about your poor wife and your children? Surely God would not want them to starve to death!
I wonder how many bad decisions have been made throughout human history by professing Christians out of a lack of faith and the pressures of life?
Too judgmental sounding?
I wonder how many bad decisions I’ve made that way.
More than my fair share is my guess.
Satan attacks me the same way he attacked Elimelek
My head and my heart.
May God continue to strengthen me so that I can reverse the trend and walk by faith rather than by sight. Because it is hard when you’re at the end of your rope.
2.) He Decided To Stay
In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab.
Ever find yourself in a position when you ask yourself, “What am I still doing here?”
Or “Why am I still doing this?”
You can see in our passage that Elimelech intended to live in Moab for a while. The wording is interesting because it suggests that he might not have considered this a permanent residence. His initial intentions were likely to leave long enough to wait out the famine and then to go back home once it was over. He probably thought things like
“God will understand, its only temporary.”
“I just need to do this for me and my family right now”
“I’ll be back when the time is right.”
But he wasn’t.
He stayed.
This is the problem we face anytime we deviate from God’s word, His plan, and His purpose.
Life in Moab wasn’t so bad. Nice climate, abundant food, things were easier.
It was easy to stay in Moab and before he knew it, years had passed.
Death By Famine
Death By Famine
Elimelech left his hometown of Bethlehem to save his family from death by famine only to die by famine. Not a physical famine, but a spiritual famine. His insistence to stay with his bad decision brought about his demise. He rejected God’s provision and embraced the provision of the wicked Moabites.
His decision impacted his whole family
His decision impacted his whole family
They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years,
Poor faith led to bad decisions and bad decisions led to death. Not to be outdone, his children took on the example of their father and married Moabite women, something that was strictly forbidden by scripture.
They too died.
One of the most deceitful messages the enemy ever put into someone’s mind is this:
“I’m not hurting anyone else”
Both of his sons embraced the same principle their father had modeled for them
Our lack of faith in Christ
They rejected the provision of God and also stayed committed to their bad decision.
It cost them the same thing it cost their father.
What bad decisions have we become committed to ?
My mother almost broke free. She had spent years being bitter, abusive, manipulative and self righteous. She knew the word and believed she never did anything wrong.
When she was still alive I would try to talk with her about her relationship with God, her spiritual heart etc… each time she’d reject any kind of conversation that required a change of direction in life.
But there was one time...
She asked me about a friend she had that was having a hard time letting go of her anger, bitterness, and pride. She wondered if I knew of any scripture verses that could be helpful or any teachings I’d received from Officer Training School that might be helpful
So we talked and at the end of our conversation I asked her if we could pray and she stopped me. “This is for a friend” she said and I could see the defiance coming back on her face.
So close to letting it go
So close to breaking free
But she rejected the sweet provision of God and instead continued to embrace the bitterness and the sourness that inevitably comes when God is rejected.
The End of Her Rope
The End of Her Rope
both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.
When Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, she and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.
With nothing left, Naomi prepared to return home and leave the land of Moab.
I admire Naomi a great deal, always thought she and Job would have made a great couple.
What I admire about her is
She didn’t spend the rest of her life preparing
People often get stuck in an endless cycle of preparing
I’m working on it
I’m putting things in order
I’m trying to get my life straight
She left
She knew the way back
she had direction
she hadn’t forgotten the road
She hadn’t forgotten the Lord
She trusted God’s grace