Ruth 1:1-2
Looking at the way the book of Ruth started, I jumped into conclusion that it must have been a continuation of something… As a result of this, I was forced to go back to the last verse in the book of Judges (Judges 21:25).
In those days, there was no king in Israel…neither was there a prophet nor a teaching priest. There was no sense of divine direction in the land, and of course, there was drought of revelation, people had no access to the Word of God!
Therefore… everyone did what was right in his own eyes!
While the judges were ruling, famine hit the land…
Under the leadership of God-fearing prophets and priests, they enjoyed sound economic system, good governance (proper allocation of resources), good security system, establishment of law and order, and most importantly, the sound doctrine of the Word of God, and prophetic utterances.
But now, under the administration of judges, a severe famine broke out in the land. A man of Bethlehem-Judah, called Elimelech got tired of the situation of the country and sought for greener pastures in a strange land, Moab!
Famine does not connote the end of the world, it’s a seasonal occurrence. It will only exist for a certain period. Every generation has its own fair share of the ‘famine’ experience, it’s just that it comes in diverse ways…
In spite of the famine experience that came upon the land, Israel was still the envy of nations of the world, still favourably blessed amongst the nations of the earth… A land flowing with milk and honey indeed, yet there was gross famine!
Elimelech would have had a thorough deliberation with his family and they must have made a consensual agreement to seek for better opportunities elsewhere.
Are you on the verge of leaving your Godly inheritance just because you are seeking greener pastures? Don’t leave the presence of God. Stay deeply connected to the roots until you begin to bear fruits.
Even in this time of recession, don’t unplug yourself from God’s presence. Stay in the place of grace and let the Word of God dwell richly in you.
I believe Elimelech might have been a Jew who just had the basic knowledge of God, he probably was never really enthusiastic about the things of God. All he wanted was a promising career, strong financial status, a secured future for his family, etc. Perhaps he had carried out his feasibility study, and he concluded that all these would be made available in the land of Moab…
A great calamity indeed! A tremendously blessed man, with a great prophetic heritage, uprooting (unplugging) himself from the commonwealth of Israel, for what looked like the blessing of the Lord. Many people are forsaking their Godly inheritance today for what looks like the blessing of the Lord. People are trading off substance for shadows. They love to have the quick fixes of life and forsake totally the seemingly hard process that will lead to eternal bliss (Gen.26-29-34; Heb. 12:15-17).
The pasture will always look ‘greener’ from the other side, but there is more to it than meets the eye… (Gen. 13:10-11).
Elimelech relocated to Moab with his family, forgetting about his spiritual heritage in Israel. Maybe if he had followed the divine process for his life, he would have yielded himself to thorough grooming and spiritual development through the sound doctrine of the Word of God and even if at all, he would have to embark on a journey or pilgrimage to Moab, it would be in order to bring the likes of Ruth (whom God had pre-ordained) into the fold.
…And they went to the country of Moab and remained (continued) there…
PASTOR NATHANIEL SADELA
Resident Pastor
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