July 9, 2008
Leaving Home and Settling in a New Place
Read Ruth 1:1-2 and Deuteronomy 23:3-6
This brief portion of Ruth seems to be pretty mundane. You may feel that there is
not much to see here, time to move on to the real story. One of the things I learned
during my three years in seminary was that there is frequently more to the
Scriptures than what immediately meets our eyes. This is definitely true with the
first two verses of Ruth.
The theme for this portion of Ruth is "leaving home and settling in a new place."
This is a theme with which I am definitely in touch, as I have just relocated my wife,
our four kids, and all of our earthly belongings from Pittsburgh, PA to Jacksonville.
Moving is never easy, whether in our modern day, or in the days of Elimelech's
relocation (though certainly a truck is easier to load than a camel). Elimelech's
decision to leave famine-stricken Judah to seek food and shelter in Moab was
certainly not an easy one. Surely he, his wife, and their two sons were stressed
out and anxious during their move.
We are not told how strong Elimelech's faith was, nor how he came to his decision
to travel to Moab. Biblical commentators inform us of a few interesting points
regarding this situation: Elimelech means "My God is King." So, we see that Mr.
"My God is King" is leaving the "promised land" to seek his provision elsewhere.
Hmmm.
Mr. "My God is King" resides in Bethlehem, which literally means "house of bread."
Moab, the chosen destination for Elimelech's journey, is not remembered in Scripture
as a hospitable place for God's people. Deuteronomy 23:3-4 prohibits any Moabite
from entering the assembly of the Lord, because of their failure to offer bread or
water to the Israelites as they came out of Egypt. Therefore, Mr. "My God is King"
is leaving the "house of bread" for a country which historically offered no bread.
Double Hmmm.
Regardless of Elimelech's motives, or the irony in his name and his decision to
leave Bethlehem for Moab, God providentially used this ordinary man to initiate
an amazing story of provision and faithfulness.
Bill Driscoll
