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Ruth 1:1-20 (NKJV)
Elimelech’s Family Goes to Moab
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 Bethlehem,
Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two
sons. 2 The name of the man was Elimelech,
the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two
sons were Mahlon and Chilion—Ephrathites of Bethlehem, Judah.
And they went to the country of Moab and remained there. 3 Then
Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left, and her two sons. 4 Now
they took wives of the women of Moab: the name of the one was Orpah,
and the name of the other Ruth. And they dwelt there about ten years. 5 Then
both Mahlon and Chilion also died; so the woman survived her two sons and her
husband.
Naomi Returns with Ruth
6 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
that the Lord had
visited His people by giving them bread. 7 Therefore
she went out from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with
her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. 8 And
Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, and return each to her mother’s
house. The Lord deal
kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 9 The Lord grant that you may find rest,
each in the house of her husband.”
So she kissed them, and
they lifted up their voices and wept. 10 And they
said to her, “Surely we will return with you to your people.”
11 But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will
you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb, that they may
be your husbands? 12 Turn back, my daughters,
go—for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, if I
should have a husband tonight and should also bear sons, 13 would
you wait for them till they were grown? Would you restrain yourselves from
having husbands? No, my daughters; for it grieves me very much for your sakes
that the hand of the Lord has
gone out against me!”
14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again;
and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
15 And she said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone
back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16 But
Ruth said:
“Entreat me not to leave
you,
Or to turn back from following after you;
For wherever you go, I will go;
And wherever you lodge, I will lodge;
Your people shall be my people,
And your God, my God.
17 Where you die, I will die,
And there will I be buried.
The Lord do so to me,
and more also,
If anything but death parts you and me.”
18 When she saw that she was determined to go with
her, she stopped speaking to her.
19 Now the two of them went until they came to
Bethlehem. And it happened, when they had come to Bethlehem, that all the city
was excited because of them; and the women said, “Is this Naomi?”
20 But she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with
me.
·
Famine in the land where they lived.
·
Word of God has not found expression in
Elimelech’s life as the priest in his home.
·
He migrated his family to a land God had
forbidden. Deuteronomy 23.3
·
Death of Elimelech, Naomi became widowed, his
sons became fatherless.
·
Sons married Moabite ladies.
·
The two sons died; suddenly Elimelech’s
household of four migrants, later on two daughters-in-law has now reduced to
three widows under same roof. What a TRAGEDY!!!
·
Then, a ray of HOPE in the midst of
tragedy and hopelessness.
·
Naomi HEARD that the Lord has visited His
people in the land of Judah in giving them bread. (This means Naomi, despite
her circumstances was listening, attentive to the Holy Spirit and had not
forgotten the land of Judah).
·
She arose, like the prodigal son (Naomi
came to her senses). Widowhood and calamity had not made her loose her senses
nor lose hope.
·
Naomi had the welfare of her
daughters-in-law at heart; she prayed for them. BUT they refused to leave her.
·
Naomi listed her hopeless situation.
o
No more sons.
o
Too old to have husband.
o
Even with hope, if I have husband and have
sons, can you wait?
o
The hand of God has gone against me.
o
Your sister in law has returned to her
people and her gods.
·
Ruth was resolute in her determination to
stick with Naomi (we know she was actually clinging to the God of Naomi that
she has heard of and touched in Naomi’s life and made up her mind to follow, no
matter what).
·
Ruth also stated her own case as it came
to her.
o
Entreat me not to leave you.
o
Where you go, I will go, where you lodge,
I will lodge.
o
Your people shall be my people and your
God my God.
o
Where you die, I will die and be buried.
o
Only death will part us.
ELIMELECH’S ACTION - What
can we learn?
·
Consequence of going against God’s will.
·
We suffer a great deal when we do not allow
the Word of God to richly dwell in our hearts.
·
Disobedience - gone to the forbidden land.
· When a man goes down to Egypt, he also
goes down in life. High price to pay and sometimes not an individual one but
involves others.
·
There is blessedness in trusting God and
obeying His Word totally not partially. Psalm 1:-1-6
·
God knows the end from the beginning. Isaiah 46:10
·
Naomi saw hopelessness initially, but God
had a bigger plan of redemption.
· Naomi, positioned herself to be in that
plan, even though at the time she was disciplining Ruth, she did not know it.
· The Almighty God opens a door no man can
shut and shuts a door no man can open. Revelation 3:8. He brought Ruth into the lineage of the Lord Jesus Christ, though Moabites have been forbidden in the camp of the children of Israel for up to the 10th
generation. When we see the genealogy of our Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 1:5 from Abraham to Boaz, and Ruth who begat Obed, it
is the 11th generation. What a faithful God we have.
PRAYER POINTS
PERSONAL
Luke
13:1-9 Parable of the Barren Fig Tree
· Lord, may I not be like the barren fig tree that You laboured over but did not produce worthy fruit for You.
· May You find fruit when You come around me to seek fruit.
· Lord, don’t cut me down. May my life bring what pleases You.
· May I not do anything or engage in what will make Jesus tired/frustrated in praying for me.
· Do not let heavens decision over my life be sudden. Help me to take every opportunity You are bringing my way.
· Father, let me bring forth fruit worthy of repentance - purity, holiness, integrity, faith in Christ, true love, unity amongst brethren.
· Prune me for more fruit.
· At the scent of water of Your Word, let my life bud and bring forth boughs like a plant. Job 14:7-9
THE CHURCH
· May the Lord God of heaven, who said I
will build my church and the gates of hell will NOT prevail against it, grant the Nigerian church the understanding
of what the “body of Christ” means.
·
Father, help us to know that what guarded Your
move in the hands of the apostles was “these all continued in one accord in
prayer
and supplications.
Acts 1:14
·
Break every demarcation, denominationalism
and tribalism in the body of Christ in Nigeria.
·
Let us know that to be used by You, our
bodies must first and foremost be presented to God as a living sacrifice. Romans 12:1-2
Outpouring of the
Holy Spirit will not be poured on strangers. They that belonged to Christ have
crucified the flesh with its passion and desires. Galatians
5:24
Upon man’s flesh shall
this not be poured was the instruction in Exodus 30:22.
·
Father, raise up a church of believers in
Nigeria who have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
· Make Your children men/women/ young/old, those who have laid their all on the altar of sacrifice, who have had a life exchange
at Calvary.
·
Lord, as the only One responsible for
administering spiritual gifts, raise more men and women that You have
administered to bring forth sound teaching and sound doctrines that will help
Your children grow into maturity in Christ.
·
Grant more grace to the ones You have
already given us.
·
Let the mystery of the gospel continue to
grow and grow in the body of Christ in Nigeria
·
For the body of Christ to function well,
the administrator (GOD) must be in charge of us all.
·
Remove every activity of leaders who are
trying to perform this function that belongs to You.
For the revival we
are seeking in the body of Christ not to be scuttled, the administration of the
Lord must be obeyed and must be strong in our midst. God is meticulous about who does what, where,
when and how.
·
Lord, help us to do all things according
to pattern You have laid.
·
Make us to be obedient to Your Word fully, not partially.
· May we not delay this revival that You
have determined to bring to us even in our own generation.
NIGERIA
What the enemy wants us to see in Nigeria is hopelessness -
corruption, bribery, kidnapping, man’s inhumanity to man, selfishness, lack of
infrastructures, lack of medical facilities, failing education system and so on.
We have however seen past and present state Governors
who were determined and seriously committed to doing the best for their States
- e.g. Ondo State and Lagos State, immediate past and present, to name a few
It has been announced that Nigeria is out of recession.
No matter what we see or hear, we have taken this news with faith in the God of 'divine
possibilities'.
· Let us pray concerning fresh anxiety over
the health of the President, Muhammadu Buhari. May God’s will be done over His
life and may He experience the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
· Thank God for the Lagos State Governor and
as many of the leaders that are committed to
really serving and improving the lot of God’s people.
·
Pray for the families of about 30 men
electrocuted at a viewing centre in Calabar, Cross River State in Nigeria, when
watching football match. Some were reported dead and some, injured and receiving
treatment in hospital.
·
Let us continue to lift up the President,
Vice President, their wives and all government officials in Local, State and
Federal levels; pray for the wisdom of God to guide them in leadership. Pray
for their souls to come to the knowledge of Christ’s saving
grace.
·
Pray earnestly for God to deliver us from
the spirit of mammon as they begin to uncover stolen money in various places
including graveyards and forests in Nigeria.
·
Let us pray for Muzzamil Umar, a 21year
old SS3 student in Kebbi State who assembles cars with his bare hands. May the
gift of God in His life lead him to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. May
God raise helpers of destiny for this young man.
·
Pray that God will bring a stop to top
suicidal tendencies in Nigeria.
