Shabbat shalom everyone. Well, I would like you to open your Bibles, please, to the book of Ruth. We turn into the scripture to the book of Ruth. And today we are going to deal with the first 18 verses of Ruth. In Hebrew it's Ruth. It's a wonderful book that helps us to understand the grace of God, the love of God, the kindness of God towards mankind at large. And also towards his people. And so we read. I'm going to begin again to read from verse 1, even though we talked about the first two verses already in our last meeting. Let me just begin anyway from verse 1. Now it came to pass in the day when the judges judged that there was a famine in the land.

And a certain man of Beit Lechem Yehuda went to surgen in the country of Moab. And 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, Machlon and Kilion, Ephratites of Beit Lechem, Yehuda. 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, Rut. And they dwelt there about ten years.

And Machlon and Kilion died also, both of them. And a woman was left of her two sons and her husband. And 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 Yehudah. 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 one of you, in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voice and wept. They said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people. And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters. Why will you 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 a husband. If I should say I have hope, if I should have a husband also tonight, 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 grieves me much for your sakes and 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 would clave unto her and she said behold thy sister-in-law is gone back unto her people and unto her gods returned thou after thy sister-in-law and Ruth said entreat 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 I will 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 steadfastly minded to go with hell, then she left speaking unto hell. And I'm going to stop here with verse 18 for the ministry today. And trust that the Lord will help us in the study of this portion today. Very beautiful reading. You can just see how it's so precious to read the text and to see how it's filled with information to help us to see the ways in which life happened in the life of this family.

In fact, brothers and sisters, you remember many times we talk about the prodigal son in Luke chapter 15. What we have here in Ruth, we have a prodigal family. The whole family left the house of bread, namely Beit Lechem. in the land of Canaan, the land of Israel. And they left this wonderful place that God had promised to our forefathers, to the Jewish people, to the people of Israel, and have gone all the way to the land, the country called Moab, a prodigal family. It reminds us of how important it is for us to realize that there is always a danger among the people of God to become prodigals.

Just like the prodigal son of Luke 15, the prodigal families in root 1, we also are in danger to become prodigals. The word prodigal has to do with wasteful. To waste the blessing that God has intended to give His people and to leave it and go away and waste all the things that once we have enjoyed when we were close to the Lord. This is an amazing lesson for us as believers in Yeshua the Messiah to give us a warning not to be a prodigal people and not to turn away from the Lord Yeshua, Jesus, our Messiah. And so here we see in the first five verses a Hebrew family departure from the land of Israel to the land of Moab.

We spoke already about the first two verses and I just want you to highlight this once again. It says, in the days when the judges judged. That's how it began. In the days when the judges judged. What happened in those days? Well, we read in the last verse of the last chapter of the book of Judges. In those days there was no king in Israel, and every man did that which was right in his own eyes. There was no king in Israel. And since there was no king in Israel, there was no one to destroy idolatry. There was no one to improve proper worship. There was no one to conquer the enemies of Israel.

there was no one that was setting law and order in those days of the judges because there was no king in Israel there was no one to order in the life of the tribe of Israel there was no one to punish those the wicked cities that have disobeyed the Lord and there was no one to enforce a right way to deal with problems you know it's like a local assembly a local church when there is no leadership and there is no counsel from a godly men and women then everybody does that which was right in their own eyes and so what do you think going to happen when everyone does that which is right in

his own eyes God come in judgment and so we find out the first verse not only that it was in the day of judges but there was a famine in the land in Hebrew ra'av lirav mean to be hungry there was no food well God in Deuteronomy chapter 28 and Leviticus 26 says to Israel if you will disobey me I will send the famine in the land there will be no food growing there will be no rain and there was a judgment of God upon his beloved people Israel by application about the body of Messiah the believers when we go astray and away from the Lord everyone does that which is right in his or

her own life then we will see God will discipline his people whom the Lord loves he chastens and he scourges every son or every daughter whom he receives Hebrews teaches us this it's a quotation from the book of Proverbs and so we find out that the family left we read here in verse 1 there were certain men from Bethlehem house of bread Yehuda praised he went to a surgeon in a country called Moab and he and his wife and his two sons look at the influence that a man can have upon all his family and all the people around him sometimes we can have a good influence but sometimes when we are not right with

the Lord we can have a bad influence and so he didn't only take himself but he took his wife he took his two sons and all together have gone to an enemy land across the Jordan River into the land that is called Moab and then you find out that we have a description you might say presenting before us the names and the meaning of the name of every member of this family notice this interesting because Hebrew language is a wonderful language and every name that we give to our own family our own people are meaningful everything every name that was given in biblical time has a meaning and it reflects the condition of the family

for example it says the name of the man was Eli Melech it's very clear Eli my God Melech a king now his parents must have said when this baby was born he said my God is king you remember Yeshua the Messiah on the cross says Eli, Eli, my God my God and Eli Melech what a wonderful name that's supposed to describe the life of this person, my God is king, he's the king over my life he's the king over my heart he's the king over my nation he's a king my god and what about his wife's name her name was naomi naomi come from the hebrew naim in pleasant you know sometimes we sing behold

how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity what a beautiful name Naomi my pleasantness in fact Naomi I'm sure her parents probably said you know what Jehovah is my pleasantness and I would like to see it characterized in my own daughter Naomi but then you look at the next name and you find out how contradicting this to the names of the father and mother the two sons can you imagine their name is machlon and kilion machlon come from the hebrew word chole to be sick and kilion come from the hebrew word to be Wasteful Wasted And destroyed And consumed Lechalot mean To consume To end To waste So can

you imagine Two parents with such a Godly name Elimelech Naomi Giving their two sons names such as Sickly And consumption or wasteful imagine that perhaps beloved brothers and sisters present before us the condition of the heart of the family to name their children with such a name when we call our children by name we like to give them those great names you know shalom peace and not always peaceful and then to have another nice name to our whole david david beloved oh such a great name not always beloved right but the point is to call your sons hey sick hey wasteful come home for dinner can you imagine and yet beloved brothers and sisters it

really presents before us the fact that there must be a reason to call them with such a name well maybe the first one was actually really a sick boy it's very possible but you still don't want to give him such a name And yet it just shows us the condition that existed here And you notice that it says in verse 2 And the name of the man was Elimelech The name of his wife was Naomi And the name of the two signs Machlon and Kilion Ephratites of Bethlehem Yehuda And they came into the country of Moab And continued there Here we find out that they didn't only leave Bethlehem Yehuda, the house of bread But

they went all the way to Moab and it says they continued there.

The word for sojourn there that is mentioned here in verse 1. The sojourn in the country of Moab, the word for sojourn means lagu, to live there. To dwell there at least for a time. And so here we see the family, the prodigal family, left Bethlehem and went to the land of Moab. to the field of Moab let me ask you a question how is it in our lives are we staying close to the Lord close to the house of bread where we can be fed spiritually how is our own spiritual life are we sometimes inclined to get away from the place that God intends to bless his own people even if there is a famine it's better to be in the place among the people of God even if there is famine than to go to the world and its system 1 John chapter 2 tells us love not the world nor the things that are in the world for all that is in the world is the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes and the pride of life it's not of the father and it's better to stay close to the house of bread to Bethlehem to where God ministered to his people than to go to the world.

And so in the next verses, in verse 3, 4, and 5, we find the consequences of departing from the house of bread. It says in verse 3, And Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died. And she was left and her two sons. Now we do not read why did he die, what was the reason that he died, but he died away from the Lord. he should have been in the land of Israel in Bethlehem but he find himself dying where in the land of Moab and he died and he left his wife and his sons alone in Jewish writings many of the rabbis says that Elimelech had been a wealthy man I do not know how they have this information but they say he must have been a wealthy man and by not being responsible able to take charge in the land and going away God have disciplined him and remove him from this sin and he went away and he died in the land of Moab and look what it says here in verse 3 he left his wife she was left alone she's a widow now and she needs to be dependent upon her two sons who will take care of a widow woman.

Can you imagine to be a widow in those days away from your country, away from your people? Well, look, it doesn't get any better because in the next verse, in verse 4, it says, they took them wives of the women of Moab. The name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other was Ruth, and they dwelt there about 10 years. So now what happened here, that when the father died, and Naomi was left with Machlon and Kilion, they ended up now getting married with the Moabitish women. Now if you please turn with me to Deuteronomy chapter 7. Deuteronomy chapter 7, God gave warning to the people of Israel.

He says to them in chapter 7, in the first few verses there, He said those words to Israel of all. When the Lord thy God bring thee into the land. This is Deuteronomy 7 verse 1. Whither you go is to possess it. And has cast out many nations before thee. The Chittite and the Gergeshites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Chivites and the Jebusites. Seven nations, greater and mightier than thou, and when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee, thou shalt smite them and utterly destroy them, but thou make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them. And notice verse 3, Neither shalt thou make marriage with them.

Thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, No, his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. Why, God may be asked by the nation of Israel. Look what it says in verse 4. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods. So will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you and destroy thee suddenly. Now, while God is gracious and he knows the need of his own people, yet he gave this warning for a reason. Look what it says in Deuteronomy chapter 23, verse 3. And Ammonites, or Moabites, shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord. Even to their 10th generation, they shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord forever.

And so here we can see the warning that God gave. And you know, like Israel, our people of all, we too get these warnings. And at times we just don't listen. We fail the Lord. We know that. And then when the Lord has to discipline us, we don't like to receive this discipline. But God does it because he cared for his own people. But he gave them warning. And so we find out in this case that they took wives from the Moabite. And God is definitely not happy with not only the decision that they have had, but also look how it's gone to be. The husband is dying now.

The sons married two Moabitish women in verse 4. And they dwell there for about 10 years in the land of Moab. Now it is interesting and I think in the introduction we have already talked about it. The name of Orpah and Ruth also describe a beautiful meaning. The name Orpah, it's really the back part of the neck. Oref, it simply means that which is giving you the back, the back side of a person. In verse 4, Orpah simply means back of the neck. And Rut means friendship, Reut, Rea, Chavere, a friend. And it's described here as a friend and described Orpah as the one that will turn her back on a person.

And so in verse 5, even her own sons were no longer alive. God had had to discipline them. It says here in verse 5, And Machlon and Kilion died also, both of them. And the woman was left of her two sons and her husband. Now things did not necessarily get better because it sounds like, You know, okay, so my husband died. Well, my children and I are going to continue on. Well, they ended up marrying Moabitish women. And ultimately, even the sons died. Young men, we do not know the age, but they died in the land of Moab. And she was left a widow indeed. And you know what the Bible tells us about a widow?

God does care about the widows. The scripture that is filled in the book of Deuteronomy, in the book of Psalms, even the New Testament, we find in the book of James that God cared for the widows. He cared for them, but imagine in those days to be a widow away from your land, away from your family, and your husband gone, your children are gone. You have two daughters-in-law, which are Moabitish women. Naomi must have been in such a condition that the Lord had to deal with her in order to restore her back to the promised land, to the land of Judah, Bethlehem, the city that she left some ten years earlier.

And so in the first five verses we see a prodigal Hebrew family leaving, departing from Bethlehem and living for ten years in the land of Moab. no husband left no sons left they must have been destitute those days and that brought about the beginning of the restoration of Naomi back to the land and so in the next verses that we have read verses 6 to 18 we see the return back to the city of Bethlehem in the land of Judah in the land of Judah in the land of Israel but I wanted to notice beloved brothers and sisters that in this beginning, you might say, a work of restoration, you see how the Lord is working in the lives of all these three women.

First of all, Naomi, second Ruth, thirdly Orpah. Each one of these women represent before us a condition of our own hearts as well. First of all, notice that in verses six and seven, Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah depart Moab. They began on the journey to go back to the promised land it says in verse 6 and then she this is Naomi arose verse 6 with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the country of Moab for she had heard in that country of Moab how that the Lord had visited his people giving them bread now beautiful to see you know the thought of she have heard. And that word that God visited his people.

You see, the Hebrew word visited is the Hebrew word pakad. Pakad is a command with an action. God commended that he will provide for his people bread in the land of Israel. God gave a command, you might say.

he spoke and an action came about he provided for his people food in the land of israel now so naomi heard about that somehow rumors go so far that she heard it in the land of moab how did the lord have visited his people now that word visited is found many times in the bible Sometimes the Lord visits with encouragement and restoration But sometimes he visits to discipline In a case here in verse 6 The visit was a blessing of restoration He's now returning you might say to the people of Israel All what he had taken from them The fact that there was a famine there for such a long time Now he visited them

for blessing you remember we read in Genesis chapter 21 how the Lord visited Sarah same word he visited Sarah and he gave her the ability to bear a child at such an old age sometimes the word pakad is in a positive sometimes it is in a negative in this case it was a positive He is now visiting his people Israel And he gives them bread Lechem The house of bread now finally is going to have bread Lechem in the house of bread So Naomi heard about that And then it says here in this verse 6 That she arose She made a decision I'm going to leave Moab now My husband has died My sons have

died I'm going to begin to go return to my homeland because I heard that God visited his people.

You know how the Lord is working this out in the life of Naomi. You know, God's sometimes visiting his people, working out and stirring them up and working things out in order to bring them closer to himself. It's the same thing with the gospel message. We can preach the message of the gospel, but we are not the one who is leading people to the Lord. But it is the Lord himself who visits the heart and the conscience of an individual. And speaking to him or her and saying, listen, you need the Lord Jesus, the Messiah in your life. Turn ye, turn ye from your wicked way.

God is saying. He's visiting hearts and consciences. Here he visits the people of Israel in restoration. So Naomi now began to say, hey, listen, God now gave bread to our people Israel. I'm getting up. Notice that she arose. She took even her daughters-in-law, and she began to move towards the land of Israel. It says in verse 7, Beautiful sight. You can see that in some small way, these two daughters, Orpah and Ruth, somehow follow their mother-in-law towards the promised land, towards the land of Israel, the city of Bethlehem. At first, beloved brothers and sisters, it's the whole three ladies were walking together in order to return to the land of Judah.

Of course for Orpah and Ruth it's not a return It is the first time they are going But for Naomi she is now turning and began to go back The word here in Hebrew to return Come from the Hebrew word Lashuv It comes from the word Teshuvah You sometimes hear some of our Jewish people saying We need to produce to do a Teshuvah To return back to God It's really repentance. The word tshuva means repentance. The Apostle Paul said when he was preaching the message of the gospel, he says repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Yeshua HaMashiach. One, if he or she are going to be saved, we must repent before God, confess our sin, and faith in our Lord Yeshua the Messiah who paid for the sin of this world.

And so here we see she's turning. She's not only doing it physically, but it seems to be that God is working in the heart of Naomi. At least the beginning of a work in the heart of Naomi. And so as we continue on, as we read this passage, we find now three times That Naomi is challenging her daughters-in-law To return back to their own land The first two times she speaks to both of her daughters The third time she speaks to Ruth alone But that is kind of showing here to us in this verse That even though Naomi was returning back to the land of Israel She has a problem And the problem was this She understood in some small way her Bible, the Hebrew scripture And she understood two things Number one, she understood from Deuteronomy chapter 23 That the Moabites and the Ammonites can never enter into the congregation of the people of Israel We just read that in Deuteronomy chapter 23 and secondly she also understood that she will never be able to have children because she is up in age and that her daughters-in-law could have never now married even if it was a possibility for her to have children her daughters-in-law will be too old to marry her next children-to-be if it would be possible so what does she do?

She's three times, you might say, discouraging them from coming with her back to the land of Israel. So she began here in verse 8 and 9. And this is the first request from her daughters-in-law, Opa and Ruth, to return back to their people and their land. Look what she's saying to them. In verse 8 and 9, let me read those two verses. And Naomi said unto her 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 her house of her husband. Then she kissed them and they lifted up their voice and they wept.

Now here you can just see the scene. You're in the Middle East.

you are leaving Moab at that time it was a long journey a very treacherous journey for them to return from Moab the field of Moab to Bethlehem and here you see three women walking on their journey and they got to you might say a crossroad and here Naomi is saying to both of her daughters-in-law go return go back each one of you to her mother's house go back to your land don't come with me because she know in the back of her mind knowing the word of God and also not perhaps trusting that the Lord is able to do much more than she asked or think she was saying to them you go back to

your own land go to your mother's house and notice that she still used the name of Jehovah Jehovah she says in verse 8b Jehovah Dilkanli she's speaking about the God of Israel not the God of Moloch the God of the Moabites but she's talking about the God of Israel Jehovah will deal kindly with you as he have dealt with the dead and with me apparently they were pretty decent daughter-in-law they were kind ladies they treated well the dead meaning their husbands who die and they also treated her well but at the crossroad on the way back to the land of Bethlehem she tell them go and return back notice each one to your own mother's

house.

Secondly if you notice that not only that in verse 9 she wishes them now to have rest in a new marriage you see what she is saying to them in verse 9 the Lord grant you that ye may find rest the word for rest here menucha in Hebrew resting in marriage each of you in the house of her husband in other words what she is really doing here she know the laws of the land the law that God had given to the people of Israel and she know that the Moabites cannot enter into the congregation of Israel unto the 10th generation and forever she know that she will not be able to get married again and have children, and even if she could, she's going to talk about it, she would not be able to have children, and even if she could, she knew that they would not be able to wait for them so many years to marry them.

So she wishes them to go back to their own land. In order she used the word go, lechu, and then return, shuvu, double go, go and return, go back and get married in your land to someone else And then the Lord will deal kindly with you as you have dealt kindly with me. The word for kindly is the Hebrew word chesed, in a gracious way. The Lord will be gracious to you. He will give you chesed. He will provide for you grace to be able to stay where you are and then marry, establish a new home. And then you notice she kissed them. And then all three women are weeping there on that crossroad.

imagine this side remember that after all at least for 10 years they knew each other they were the wives of her sons she must have told them and the ladies must have heard about the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob the God of Israel and yet you see she's telling them you go back to your own people go back to your own mother's house get married there she knows that a Moabite and Ammonite cannot enter into the congregation of Israel until the 10th generation and forever. Deuteronomy 23 the passage we read and so that was the first time and you notice they're all weeping there now here you can see that they must have loved each other they had a relationship with each other and all of them are weeping the separation may happen at any time and the tears are being poured out while she's telling them to go away and you notice it says that she kissed them often times in scripture you have the kiss of shalom you find it in other passages in the history of Israel when they used to give a kiss it simply means a kiss of goodbye, a separation in Hebrew we say neshika to kiss Lenashek but all three of these women stood in that crossword and all of them are weeping imagine how it must have been difficult for all of them together but Naomi first have given them, requested from them to return to their own land and to their mother's house and you notice that in verse 10 the response of both of these ladies both says in verse 10 they said unto her surely we will return with thee and to thy people.

Both of them at this point of time said no, no, no, no, no. We are not staying in our homeland. We are going to go with you to your own, not as it says, to your own people. The word surely, key, key for sure we are going to do that. We are going to go with you. Now imagine these two ladies, both of them must have heard about the God of Israel. Both of them must have heard about this wonderful, true and living God while they live in a land of idolatry. They heard about this wonderful God of Israel and they had to make a decision.

At this point of time, both of them making a decision. He says, no, no, we are not going back. Surely we will return with thee unto thy people. And so that sounds beautiful because it's a commitment. They say, no, we are going to be with you. We are not going to go to our own mother's house. We are not going to go to our idols and worship of false gods back in Moab. No, no, we are going to your people because they have heard about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Naomi herself says, Jehovah will deal kindly with you in verse 8. Well, that was the first request of Naomi from her daughter-in-law.

But it didn't stop. And Naomi continued here in verses 11 to 13. Naomi gave a second request from her daughters-in-law to return to the land of Moab. And so this time, listen to this, beloved brothers and sisters, in verse 11, 12, and 13. I want to read these verses. And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters. Why will you go with me? Are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? Verse 12, turn again, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, if I should have a husband also tonight, And should also bear sons, verse 13 said, Would ye tarry for them till they were grown?

Would ye stay for them from having a husband? Nay, my daughters, for it grieves me much for your sake that the hand of Jehovah, the hand of the Lord, is gone out against me. now you notice that she knows her bible she know the scripture pretty well even though she have disobeyed the lord have gone down to moab but one thing for sure it's clear from what she's saying to her daughters-in-law that she really understood what it means for the possibility for her to have children again now if you will for a moment i want you to turn with me to chapter 25 of the book of Deuteronomy please Deuteronomy chapter 25 and verses 5 and 6 listen to the law that God has given to our people of all the people of Israel If brethren dwell together and one of them die and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger.

Her husband's brother shall go in unto her and take her to him to wife. and perform the duty of an husband's brother unto her. Verse 6 And it shall be that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead that his name be not put out of Israel. you know God had been so gracious in dealing with his own people Israel that should an Israeli individual will marry a woman and then something happened and he died and he has no children to carry on the family name there was an obligation of his own brother to take care of the name of the brother who died and to marry the wife that remained alive and to produce a seed that the family name will not be erased.

This is the provision of God. And Naomi understood these beloved brothers and sisters when she's now returning in the crossroad on the way to the promised land, to the land of Canaan. Now she's bringing with her two Moabitish women. they were the wives of her own sons but her sons died so now she's going to bring them back she had two problems problem number one they are Moabitish they cannot enter into the congregation of Israel problem number two she's not going to get married and have other sons and those sons are still going to grow up and then they will marry those two daughters in order to produce a seed for Makhlon and Kilion.

So she has those two problems in her mind. And that's why you can see that she's again and again discouraged these two women from following her to the land of Israel because, number one, Deuteronomy 23, a Moabitish cannot enter into the congregation of the children of Israel, ten generations and forever. Number two, if a brother dwell together and one of them die, The other brother is responsible to fulfill what is known to be as the husband's brother's law. He must produce a seed to raise for his own brother who died. That, as it says here, that the name of this brother will not be put out of the people of Israel.

And so now, look what she is saying to them. Three things she is pointing to them in verses 11, 12, and 13. Turn again, my daughters, verse 11. Why will ye go with me? Are there yet any more sons in my womb? That they may be your husbands? Well, she understood she's getting up in age. And her husband died. In order to have a son in her womb, a child in her womb, she needs to be remarried. So the answer, of course, is no. There is no children in my womb. I cannot provide for your husband. Secondly in verse 12 she says, turn again my daughters, go your way for I am too old to have a husband.

And even if I will have a husband, which I am too old, it's not possible. Even then, she said, if I should have a husband also tonight, she said, do you think that I will also be able to bear children? The answer is no, not possible, humanly speaking. Of course, we know that Sarah bore Isaac when she was 90 years of age. You know, God is in a business of miracles. But humanly speaking, it's not the normal thing. And thirdly, in verse 13, would ye tarry for them till they were grown? Would ye stay for them from having a husband? That's the third question. Even if I will get married, and then I will have children, and now they need to grow up.

Are you going to stay and wait until they're going to be of an age that they can marry you? The third answer is no. Obviously, it's not possible. So, her mind is awareing of this situation, these laws that God gave his people Israel. So, she said to them in verse 13b, she says, Nay, my daughters, for it grieves me. And now listen to this, brothers and sisters. She said, it grieves me much for your sake that the hand of the Lord is gone out against me. You see, she understood that God's hand ended up to deal with her in discipline. God loved her. God wished best for her.

But it seems to be, beloved brothers and sisters, that she understood very well that the reason that she finds herself in this situation is because the hand of the Lord has gone out against Naomi. I don't know about you, but sometimes we feel it in our own life. When we violate the word of God, when we turn away from him, when we don't submit to his authority in our life, when we have our own will, when we have our own way, the Lord will discipline his very own people. Whom the Lord loveth, as I mentioned, he chastens and he scourges every son whom he had received.

and I would like to suggest that perhaps 10 years earlier when there was in Bethlehem a famine maybe she was one of the influence upon her husband to say dear let's not stay here in Bethlehem let's go to Moab let's fix things ourselves let's do things you know why should we stay here let's carry on and do our own thing and she must have participation in the whole deal of them leaving the land of Bethlehem Yehudah into the land of Moab to the field of Moab and she is looking back and she remembers and she is understanding that all her activity affected her husband her sons even her daughters-in-law we don't point a finger at her we know that in our own life when we don't listen to the voice of the Lord.

Do you think God is going to allow us to do our own thing and not deal with us? What kind of a God is He? If the Lord will allow us to have our own way, do you think we can enjoy a relationship with Him and sing to Him and praise Him and worship Him and adore Him and doing our own thing? It doesn't work. God will deal with His own people. Turn back to Judges chapter 2. Look what we read there in Judges chapter 2 verse 13, 14, and 15. It says in verse 13. They forsook the Lord, namely Israel, in the time of the Judges. And they served Baal and Ashtaroth.

And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel. And he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them. And he sold them into the hands of their enemies. Roundabout. So that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. And then look what it says in verse 15. Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn unto them, and they were greatly distressed. You see, it's so clear that the Lord is dealing with his people. Listen, it's not only to read it in the book, in the Bible, in the Tanakh, and not to apply this to our own self the bible is real it's god's word when we willfully do our own thing and carry on in our own way sooner or later beloved brothers and sisters the lord will deal with us we might think that he doesn't deal with us and we might blame everybody else around us we can do so if we want but she came to her wits and understanding when she said the hand of the Lord is gone out against me look at another verse in Psalm 38 please this is a psalm that David the king of Israel have written for our people and he's reminded of the way of the Lord's dealing with his own people, with himself and the nation.

And he says, O Lord, listen to this, Psalm 38, verses 1 and 2. O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand, here it is again, and thy hand presses me sore. You know, often times people ask the question, why do believers suffer? And the Bible teaches us that there are three reasons why believers suffer. Some of the reasons why believers suffer is because it is part and parcel of the believer's life in this world in which we live in. And because we identify with Yeshua the Messiah. In this world that reject the Messiah.

It is part of the suffering experience of the people of God. And we are all part of it. All the children of God. Even the Lord Yeshua our Messiah suffered for not anything wrong that he has done. But then there is a suffering that comes because the enemy shoots Eros. And you remember what we find out in Ephesians chapter 6 and so on, that we are to be vigilant and watchful because the enemy, you know, is constantly shooting those darts, the devil, Satan, who attacks the people of God. He sometimes appears, 1 Peter chapter 5, as a roaring lion. Sometimes he is as an angel of light, 2 Corinthians.

And he always seems to cause havoc among the people of God. The enemies of God's people are causing suffering upon the people of God. But there's a third reason that the believers do suffer is because of our own fault. Sometime because of our own fault and our lack of humility and brokenness before the Lord and submissiveness to the Lord, the Lord send problem away. And as David said in Psalm 38, he said, for thine arrows, he said, thine arrows, God. It's not the arrow of the enemy. We cannot blame Satan this time. It's God's arrow. They stick fast in me and your hand presses me so.

Lord, it's hard for me, David said. Well, David needed to be disciplined. Like you and I need to be disciplined at times. But we always have to remember that it's so precious to the heart. Whom the Lord loves, he chases. His love for us never changes for a moment. Even when we violate his word, his love for us is so precious. so great and he deal with us so we can turn back to a better path walking with him in a better and a more healthy relationship with the Lord and so to know that verse for we know that all things work together for good to them that love God to them who are the called according to his purpose Romans 8 and verse 28.

And so here we find out in this verse she's giving them the second time verses 11, 12 and 13 the second time where she's telling them to go to return. And you notice this time she says to them I don't have any more sons. I'm not going to be able to get married again. I'm getting old in age and you are not going to wait for the time when they are getting up in age so you can marry them. So it is not possible ladies go back to your own land. And so look at the response that we have here in verse 14. Beautiful response that we have here.

And they lifted up their voices, but the response was a decision-making here by those two women, Opah and Ruth. On the one hand, you see a positive response. On the other hand, we see a negative response. And it says, again, they all lifted up their voices, and they all wept again. But look what happened.

Orpah kissed her Saying shalom And she kissed her mother-in-law And we know from the next verse That she returned back to her land And then on the other hand Ruth did exactly the opposite Ruth clave unto her As it says here in verse 14 The Hebrew word clave Come from the Hebrew word Devek, glue she glued unto Naomi to remind us of Genesis chapter 2 let a man leave his father and his mother and cleave glue himself devak unto his own wife and the two shall be one flesh here we see that Ruth made a godly decision while Opa made another decision altogether all wept by the way you can see that it's not the

amount of tears that one shed that makes one truly repented and turning and following the ways of the Lord, sometimes we can shed tears and make wrong decisions all wept again, as we had it earlier, they wept before they are weeping again but one make a decision to be sticking to Naomi the other one make a decision to return to her own land and again I want you to know that the name Orpah really speaks of the back part of the neck Ores in Hebrew in other words she gave her back to the God of Israel and to Naomi her mother-in-law and she went towards her own people and notice what it says beloved brothers

and sisters in verse 15 when Naomi said now to Ruth this is the third time now and this time she's only speaking to Ruth and in this third time she's appealing to Ruth to go back also and look what she's telling her about her sister Opah it says in verse 15 she said, this is Naomi behold your sister-in-law she's gone back and listen to this to her people but not only to her people and to her gods return thou after thy sister in law Ruth just watch Opa she returned to her own family to her own people but she also returned to her own gods now you know that the Moabites worship Moloch they were

idol worship nation and Opa had been exposed to the true and living God, the God of Naomi the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and she had to make a decision in this crossroad, what should I do, should I follow the God of Israel or should I go back to my people and my idols, my God and she made a decision what a poor decision it was what a sad decision, can you imagine and I told you, I don't know if you remember, some years ago and one of my mission trips I've gone to India and I've been visiting Jewish missionaries in India, in Mumbai and I remember going to one of the meetings he

invited me to go to minister the word and I remember at that meeting where at the end of the meeting there was a lineup of people who were Hindus in the past Hindus, they were believing in idols but they became believers in Yeshua the Messiah and there was a bag in the front of the table and they were making a line up to give their offering to the Lord and as they line up they were singing I have decided to follow Jesus it was so moving not in English it was in their own language in Hindi I have decided to follow Yeshua no turning back no turning back it was so moving I was sitting

there in the front I was weeping when I could see how they're all so poor it's amazing but just a song coming from people who used to worship idols became believers in the Lord Yeshua the Messiah and made a decision to follow after him and not turning back to idolatry no turning back I have decided to follow Yeshua.

And you know, decisions in our life, the greatest decision that one will make is whether we turn our hearts to the Lord Jesus, the Messiah. There is no greater decision we will ever make. Greater decision than when we get married or not get married. Greater decision whether our job situation, school situation, everything. The greatest decision in life for a person is where will we spend eternity? Will we accept the God of the Bible, the God of the scripture who gave his son the Messiah to save us from our sin? Or will we live a life here in this world rejecting him and finding ourselves eternally separated from him?

The Lord asked the disciples in Israel those days when he was there, he says, Will you also go away from me? And Peter answered him in John, the Gospel of John. He says, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the one that has eternal life. You are the Mashiach, the Messiah, the Son of the living God. To where are we going to go? Where are we going to go? Well, there is nowhere to go except to him. And Opa made a foolish decision By turning her back On the God of Israel And going back to serve idols Turn to 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 There was a congregation in Thessalonica Who made a decision to follow The true and living God And we read when the Apostle Paul is writing to the Thessalonican, to the people of Thessalonica, and he's saying, listen, in verse 9, and he says in verse 9 and 10, for they themselves show of us the manner of entering in we had unto you and how listen to what he's saying how you people of Thessalonica have turned to God from idols to serve the living God the living and true God and to wait for his son from heaven whom he raised from the dead Even Yeshua, Jesus, which is the deliverer or the one who delivered us from the wrath to come.

You see, the people of Thessalonica were wise in their decision. They turned, notice, it doesn't say they turned from idols to God, but they turned to God from idols. First of all, we got to turn our hearts to God and that will enable us to turn our hearts from idolatry, from idols, to serve the living and true God, El-Hachaim, the true and living God. Well, Orpah went back to her own gods, to her own people, and she turned her back on the God of Israel. And by the way, we never read of Orpah in the pages of Scripture anymore.

Opa kind of walked off the pages of scripture And we never read of her anymore She done very similar to what Cain did Cain wanted to approach God his own way And God said to him Cain I did not accept you because you didn't come to me On the basis of what I have taught you The blood must be shed The sacrifice must be offered All your good works can never save you so Cain was angry with God and God said Cain Cain sin offering is laying at your door just take it and offer it I will accept you Cain but instead Cain rejected the offer of God and we find out in the book

of Genesis chapter 4 Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and we never read that ever Cain returned to the presence of the Lord and I hope today those of you that are hearing me today I hope you're going to make a wise decision in your life to choose Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah as your Lord and Savior and find eternal forgiveness because of what he has done for us well look on the other hand the decision that Ruth have made in the next verses it says here in verse 16 and 17 here we find out Ruth answered to Naomi and we find a seven fold statement of faith what an example it is

we often use these verses in the marriage union in a marriage ceremony we often use this passage and look at the seven fold statement of Ruth seven fold number one Wood said, number one, entreat me not to leave thee or to return from following after thee.

Number two, for whither thou goest, I will go. Number three, and where thou lodgest, I will lodge. Number four, thy people shall be my people. number five and thy God my God number six where thou diest will I die and there will I be buried and number seven the Lord do so to me and more also if aught but death part thee and me interesting you know we sometimes have what is called a statement of faith What do we believe in?

Most organizations will give you a statement of faith Most of church groups or local assemblies will give you This is the statement of faith We believe in that God is the creator of the universe We believe in the triunity of the Godhead We believe in the virgin birth of the Messiah through the virgin Miriam We believe in eternal security of the believer We believe in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit We believe a statement of faith while Opa went back to worship idols that cannot move that cannot see that cannot heal that cannot walk idols man made them on the other hand Ruth turned her heart to the true and living God and he gave

us this beautiful sevenfold statement of faith entreat me not to leave thee not to return from following after thee for whither thou goest I will go where thou lodgest I will lodge thy people shall be my people thy God my God where thou diest I will die and be buried and she said the Lord do so to me and more also if out but death part thee and me beautiful statement of faith what a decision she had made oh yes it was not easy she had to leave her family she had to leave her people she had to leave her homeland it's not easy do you know that father Abraham when he was called in

Genesis chapter 12 to leave his father's house, his kindred his people, his land and to go into the land that God will show him off in Genesis chapter 12 in the first three verses it was not easy for him as well but he had to make a decision now brothers and sisters what would happen if we will gain everything here we'll have our families our friends everything around him and when we're going to have to stand before God what are we going to tell him if he's going to ask us this one simple question what have you done with my beloved son Yeshua Jesus that I sent for you what will be the answer well

every one of us I trust in this room can say God I have embraced him as my Mashiach my Messiah my Savior and my Lord I have sinned I don't want to live in the way I used to live in an idolatry and with the people who rejected the Messiah I want to follow you I want to follow Yeshua the Messiah that's what Ruth is saying in an Old Testament language for us today is the very same we need to make a decision also first of all to acknowledge yeshua as our lord and savior and secondly to seek to follow after him even though at times he needs to discipline us when we are violating

his word well let's conclude with verse 18 And in verse 18 we say Naomi saw that Ruth determined to go with her and she stopped now to tell her to return.

And so we read, when she saw that she was steadfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her. when Naomi now could not do anything anymore three times she tried to discourage Ruth, twice she have done so, Opa Opa eventually showed the reality in her heart that really with all the tears that she shed she chose idols over the living God and she ended up returning, walking off the pages and we never never read of opah anymore in the word of god well my brothers and sisters may the lord help us and encourage us as we study this wonderful book of root that we will learn from this person we can see the love of god the grace of god and how root a moabitish woman eventually entered to be part of the nation of Israel and was in the line of Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus the Messiah as it is found in Matthew chapter 1 and verse 5