Couples Class

21 Fellowship

March 21, 2010

Ruth 1

 

1  There is a lot in this first verse.  To begin with it tells us the story took place when the ______________ ruled in the land of Israel.  This was a terrible time in Israel’s history.  It was a period when there was no strong spiritual leadership and every Jewish family did as they pleased.  This family is no different.  Because there was a _____________ in the land, was no reason to move to the land of _________.  In fact, their home town of ________________ means “House of Bread” or plenty.  God had promised to meet every need that they had in the land of Canaan.  He told them that He would only withhold the rain if they turned away from Him and followed other gods.  Elimelech and Naomi knew why there was a famine in the land of Israel.  Their hearts had turned away from their God.  The proof of this is that they moved to a pagan land that worshipped other gods and they let their two boys marry daughters of Moab, which had been strickly forbidden by the Lord.  We need to read Deut. 23:3.  The question naturally arises, how did Ruth end up in the geneology of our Lord, or the line of Christ.  The answer is really quite simple.  She became a believer in Jehovah, the God of Israel, turning away from the pagan gods of Moab.  2-3  The first act of God’s discipline on them was that Elimelech _______.  5  Soon the boys disobey the Lord and marry pagan wives, then they _________.  This is all in a span of ________  years.  6-7  Naomi hears that it has rained in Israel and they have had a harvest of ________________.  So, she decides to go back to Judah with her daughters-in-law.  But as they are leaving the land of Moab together, she tries to ________ them to return to their own people and their own _________.  She tries her best to convince both Orpah and Ruth that there is not one good reason for them to return with her to the Land of Judah.  What she is really saying to these young widows was that they were a lot better off staying in their land worshipping their pagan idols than returning to Judah with her.  In other words, her God was not as good as their gods. Talk about a carnal believer, Naomi is one of the best examples the O.T. has to offer.  __________ takes her advice and turns around and goes home, back to Moab.  But, ________ hangs on to her like a tick on a hound dog.  She comes up with a different math than Naomi does.  In her heart of hearts she believes it is much better to stay with Naomi and Naomi’s God, even though Naomi tries to persuade her not to.  Here we see the sovereignty of God and the will of man working together.  God had chosen Ruth, centuries before in Heaven to be one of His children.  But, when the right time came, Ruth also decided that she wanted our God to be her God.  Amen.  And, she tells Naomi that where she goes, she will_____________ and where she ______________ she will _________. And where she is buried she will be ___________. And Naomi’s God will be her God.  Wow. What a profession of faith.  This oath that Ruth makes to Naomi is very famous and has been used in many Christian Wedding Ceremonies over the years as to the kind of commitment a Christian wife should have toward her husband and he toward her. 

 

There are always those who accept the Lord and those who reject the Lord.

 

When they get back to the Land of Judah, Naomi whose name means “Pleasant one”  wants everyone to call her Mora, which means _____________.  She is ______________ at God and feels He has let her down.  No, He never lets anyone down.  She was a disobedient child as well as her husband. They experienced the discipline of God as did their two sons.  Once she is back in the land where she should have been all the time, God begins to meet her needs.  They arrive at a very precise time.  22  It is the time of the ____________ ________________.  This means that food is going to be available for two very poor women.  Next week we will see how they obtain this food. And there is one more big positive that is going to happen. A special person is going to meet Ruth. He will be a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ.