why did elimelech and his family go to moab

The law was there to remind them that they couldn't join together the clean with the unclean. His occupation is not known; the Bible never says. If you have time this week, my suggestion is to go to the book of Ruth and read it. document.getElementById('cloak4e942a4423f495800f38cd74f5bbd140').innerHTML = ''; No wonder they didnt have a great reputation. Not only were they renowned for their immorality in general, but they had an infamous place in redemptive history. If Elimelech, Naomi, Mahlon, and Kilion suffered because of their sins, they deserved it. Both the Benjamites sin and their judgment are similar to what happened in Genesis 19. We are not told how wide-spread it was, but we do know that it affected Bethlehem (which ironically means house of bread). Boaz informed her that there was another relative who, according to custom, had prerogative to redeem Elimelech's field and marry her. This should not come as news to us, but it is a truth that has not come easily to Jews, even some Jewish Christians.33 It is Naomi who fails to live up to the faith of her fathers, while Ruth is an example for all to follow, Jew or Gentile. Subscribe today for access to my Free Faith Resource Library! Ruth opens with a startling statement of famine. The Cross And Christs Suffering For Sins (1 Peter 3:18-22), 6. Famine drove them to leave their homeland and travel to Moab to make a new life. A sensitive reader would have learned in covenant history that there are certain places one should never go for bread. But is this really all that the first five verses of Ruth contain? My problem with the text in Romans 2 was that I couldnt think of an example of what Paul was saying. Depending on where they settled, the trip would have been about one hundred miles and would have taken about a week. Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, moved to Moab during a famine. And he said unto the kinsman, Naomi, that is come again out of the country of Moab, selleth a parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech's: And he said to the kinsman, Naomi, who has returned from the land of Moab, has resolved to sell the portion of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech. One may rightly ask why we would criticize this poor fellow for trying to get his family some food. When we read the Bible, we should expect to be taught the way of the covenant. And it happened or came to pass when the judges judged "famine" was in the land. But, like Naomi, God started taking things away from me one by one, so I was left standingat the crossroadsall by myself. Elimelech died (of what, we are not told), leaving Naomi a widow, and Mahlon and Chilion orphans, in a foreign land (3). For those of you unfamiliar with the story, here is a brief summary of just the first chapter: The book of Ruth opens with an Israelite, Elimelech, leaving Bethlehem with his wife Naomi and two sons, Mahlon, and Chilion. What a difference it makes to believe in a God who is in absolute control and who is also merciful and gracious, causing all things to work together for our good and for His glory, if we believe in Him. Would he trust in God's promise to provide food for his family in the land or would he leave in fear? So he lived in a cave with his two daughters. We find Ruth contrasted with Orpah, and then with Naomi. The faithful believer was never to be "unequally yoked together". Ruth is very significant as regards church membership, departing from the church and joining the church. 1 In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. moved to Bethlehem with her mother in law, Naomi, she met and var addy_text4e942a4423f495800f38cd74f5bbd140 = 'Classical Committee';document.getElementById('cloak4e942a4423f495800f38cd74f5bbd140').innerHTML += ''+addy_text4e942a4423f495800f38cd74f5bbd140+'<\/a>'; This is not surprising since these verses are found in the Bible, which is an unashamedly religious book on knowing and serving the one, true and living God, revealed in Jesus Christ. For you are the temple of the living God. Is it also a suggestion that the emigration of Elimelech and his family from Bethlehem to Moab is of a piece with the disobedience of that period? Without a doubt, this is the most amazing and distressing thing Naomi has said so far. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. addy79beab5da96ef5c7e556d8524343f19c = addy79beab5da96ef5c7e556d8524343f19c + 'gmail' + '.' + 'com'; In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. When Abraham responded in fear rather than in faith, his choices were so bad that even an Egyptian king rebuked him in Genesis 12:18 saying. Access 50+ premium resources. Keep Shining for Jesus Friend. As the years have gone by, I may have mellowed in the terms I would use to portray Naomi, but my opinion of her has not really changed. Covenant Evangelical Reformed Church of Singapore, Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Australia, Missions, Sister Churches, Christian Schools. In Numbers 25:1-3 we read. has Naomi sold. Of course, Moab is just such a place. Naomi advised Ruth to glean in the field of Boaz, since he was a relative of Elimelech. And what communion has light with darkness? (One was named Orpah and the other Ruth.) 20 Yet the children born during your time of bereavement will say within your hearing. Leaving the people of God is leaving the God of His people. The word of God required him to hold fast to the promises and thus to seek the restoration of the land. Ruth does not cling to Naomi as a kindred spirit, but as a very needy person. Therefore all those who separate themselves from the same, or do not join themselves to it, act contrary to the ordinance of God.Rev. Web1. It is not Naomis belief in the sovereignty of God that troubles me as much as how she applies it. Naomi counseled Orpah and Ruth to do what seemed right in their eyes. But here is where the similarity ends. The place known for refusing Israel bread is the very place Elimelech chooses to move his family for bread. var addya1ecccfd0b401858a2877dcb45f7be68 = 'billlangerak' + '@'; Pay attention to do everything I have told you, and do not even mention the names of other gods do not let them be heard on your lips (Exodus 23:13). As Elimelech searched for bread, he went to the worst place in the world for bread. Lots older daughter neatly avoided the moral implications of what she proposed. 12 May the LORD reward your efforts! Your Moab. Jacob & Esau Pharez & Zarah It is also true (as God Himself says above) that God also punishes the guilty, but that is not the totality of who God is. There are those who attempt to guild the lily as they read the Book of Ruth, desperately seeking some basis for making a pious Israelite of Naomi. There do not appear to be many generations between Boaz and David, but biblical genealogies dont always include every genealogical link in such cases. var prefix = 'ma' + 'il' + 'to'; moved to Bethlehem with her mother in law, Naomi, she met and 3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your children will conquer nations and will resettle desolate cities (Isaiah 54:1-3). All rights reserved. Disagreement with his town leaders Famine in his home town Distant relatives invited him Earthquake in his home town Sara Rachel Mara Elizabeth 2: What were the names of Elimelech's two sons? That is to say, the setting has redemptive or covenantal significance. Another label for pragmatism is doing what seems right in our own eyes. That was the spirit of the age during the days of the judges. If God has it in for Naomi, what woman in her right mind would want to be closely associated with her? She has been convinced and turns back to her own country. What is wrong with reporter Susan Raff's arm on WFSB news? And then, within 10 years, both Naomis sons died. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Lines and paragraphs break automatically. 1, iv. They attempted to destroy Israel by getting them to marry their daughters. That strongly suggests that she was still a Moabite at heart, still an idolater at heart. Ruth 1:1b. And may the Lord reward you for your kindness to your husbands and to me. We, too, live in very pragmatic times, and those who live by principle especially the principles of Gods Word are few and far between. 3), he was of the family of the Hezronites. How could any faithful Israelite encourage someone to return to their (false) god(s)? But Ruth refuses to abandon Naomi and clings to her tightly. God had given the Israelite a way of understanding the world and life in the land. We can be sure from this word that Elimelech had every intention of staying in Moab temporarily. Ruth 1:2b. There was a shortage of bread in Bethlehem, which towns name means house of bread. So what did Elimelech and his family do? A Christian wife is having difficulties in her relationship with her husband, and she shares this with a Christian friend. WebScarcity of food compelled him to emigrate with his family to Moab, where he died, and where one of his sons married Ruth ( ib. 10No, they said. This is exactly what Boaz commended Ruth for doing: 10 Ruth knelt before him with her forehead to the ground and said to him, Why are you so kind and so attentive to me, even though I am a foreigner? 11 Boaz replied to her, I have been given a full report of all that you have done for your mother-in-law following the death of your husband how you left your father and your mother, as well as your homeland, and came to live among people you did not know previously. In her third attempt, she orders Ruth to follow her sister-in-law back home. Who would want Naomi for a mother-in-law? Learn more about our. Follow your sister-in-law back home! (Ruth 1:15). Is God judging here? 2 The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion; they were He was clearly a faithless husband who led his family directly into death. Is this merely a sad story of a family fleeing famine in Israel, only for most of them to end up in a graveyard in Moab? As well as the five indicators in Ruth 1, we should think about other, relevant, biblical teaching. In Esther, the people of God were supposed to return to the Promised Land, but they chose instead to dwell in the apparent peace and safety of Persia. WebElimelech Moves His Family to Moab 1 In the days when the judges ruled in Israel, a severe famine came upon the land. And they will do this because they believe they are doing their friend a favor. 7 Now as she and her two daughters-in-law began to leave the place where she had been living to return to the land of Judah, 8 Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, Listen to me! This would have been Systems of Transliteration Citation of Proper Names. 1In the days when the judges ruled in Israel, a severe famine came upon the land. that Elimelech was one of the chiefs of Israel, andthat his premature death was his punishment for having left the Holy Land and having settled in the land of Moab. 16 But as it is, they aspire to a better land, that is, a heavenly one. 1100. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished, responding to the transgression of fathers by dealing with children and childrens children, to the third and fourth generation (Exodus 34:6-7, emphasis mine). Now she had no husband and no children. Beware of well-meaning advice that is not rooted in Scripture and that is supportive of what you would really like to do, rather than what God commands us to do. Elimelech was a faithless husband who led his family into the yawning jaws of death. You must have JavaScript enabled to use this form. 13Would you wait for them to grow up and refuse to marry someone else? Return to Bethlehem (Ruth 1) 1 During the time of the judges there was a famine in the land of Judah. When I realized this, I blurted out, What a witch!, much to the surprise of the rest of the class. And so this older daughter persuaded her younger sister that both of them needed to get their father drunk, and then each should lie with him, so that they might produce offspring for their father. You will note from the first verse of chapter 1 that the setting for the story of Ruth is the times of the judges. I would be very reluctant to conclude that Ruths husband or his parents taught her the law. But in Old Testament redemptive narrative, famines often come to the land as God curses his people or tests them regarding their faithfulness. Dispensationalism misses this because it denies that Israel is the Old Testament form of Gods church (and the church is the New Testament form of Israel). He sought wives for his sons from the worst place in the world that a faithful Israelite could imagine, from Moab. Ill attempt to support my conclusions as we proceed in our study of this book. For example, the opening lines point us back to the book of Judges and one of the recurring themes in that book. And she was honored to be a part of the messianic line.34. It would do us well to review where the Moabites came from and how they related to Israel in the past. We are connected theologically with the last verse of Judges as it unfolds in Ruth, but with curses that will be reversed by a faithful husband rather than a judge. The next day, the other man refused to take Ruth, and she and Boaz were married. First, departing from Israel for Moab is to leave Gods land, the land He gave His people, the land in which Jehovah dwelt. 1 Shout for joy, O barren one who has not given birth! WebAnalyzes how ruth opens with a man leaving bethlehem of judah, along with his wife and two sons, for the land of moab during the time of the judges. The author uses the literary setting to highlight for us that matters for this man are about to go from bad to worse. Ruth was born in Moab about B.C. 2 Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the NET Bible. People who want to stay in Moab. Then Elimelech, Naomis husband, died; and she was left, and her two sons. var path = 'hr' + 'ef' + '='; Ruth rejected Naomis appeal to leave her and go back to Moab, choosing instead to believe and behave like a true Israelite. The sin of leaving Israel?Second, Ruth 1:1-5 is the only scene in the book in which the name of God is not mentioned. the portion of land, which belonged to our brother Elimelech. Was it at Naomis initiative that her sons took Moabite women for wives? How will this family survive without a faithful husband? They arrived in Bethlehem in late spring, at the beginning of the barley harvest. God bless you! While they were there, Naomis husband died, and her two sons married women from Moab, one of whom was named Ruth. One married a woman named Orpah, and the other a woman named Ruth. 36 In this way both of Lots daughters became pregnant by their father. [] Source: WHEN YOU NEED TO GET OUT OF MOAB [], Your email address will not be published. 11 The thought occurred to me that Naomis journey back to her homeland traced the steps of the Israelites when they first entered the Promised Land. BEST VALUE in digital Bible study. . When a famine came to the area around Bethlehem, Elimelech and Naomi moved to Moab (Moab was the name of Lot's elder daughter's son and the people and land 2The mans name was Elimelech, and his wife was Naomi. Lot and his two daughters are now living in a cave. i. Can I still give birth to other sons who could grow up to be your husbands? May the Lord punish me severely if I do not keep my promise!
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