Ruth 1:19-22

Today, we begin studying the last section of chapter 1 of Ruth. Naomi and Ruth return home to Naomi's native land. The people notice! No doubt, these people would have heard of Naomi's loss of her husband and sons. The women even ask, "Is this Naomi?" and Naomi responds by telling them to call her Mara instead of Naomi. Why would she do this? Naomi means, "pleasant one." If Naomi had lived up to the meaning of her name, the people would have remembered her as such. Mara means, "bitter." This word is first used in Exodus 15:23 when Israelites came upon bitter water. The place was called, "Marah," because of it's bitterness. Naomi's response to the women indicate the place of her heart. She was no longer pleasant, but rather was now bitter because of her current circumstances. Although she recognizes that it is God which has caused these things to happen to her, she is not willing to submit to His plan. Rather, she is relaying her bitterness in what God is doing in her life. How about you? How do you respond towards what God is doing in your life? Do you recognize his sovereignty and yet still have a bitter heart? Or do you recognize his sovereignty and have a pleasant heart?

Hope from Ruth

It is evident that Ruth had faith and confidence in the God of Israel. She would not have been so willing to leave her family, culture, false gods and everything else she had known for all of her life. It is also interesting to note that all Ruth would have learned about God through Naomi and her family for the previous 10 years. She did not have Scripture as we do today! How does her commitment to God offer hope and encouragement to you? We share our thoughts today on the program and would love to hear from you. Please share!

Ruth's commitment

In chapter 1:17, Ruth tells of her commitment to Naomi. The Bible says in verse 14 that Ruth clung to her. This word "clung" is used in the same way as in Genesis 2:24 when God commands to man to "cleave" to his wife. Ruth's mind was made up. She was going home with Naomi and once Naomi saw her determination she said no more. How did Ruth reveal her commitment to Naomi?

• Where you go, I will go. She commits to leaving her home.
• Where you lodge, I will lodge. She commits to settling in a foreign land.
• Your people shall be my people. She commits to embracing a new culture.
• Your God shall be my God. She commits to denying her false gods and chooses faith in the one true God.
• Where you die, I will die and there be buried. She gives up her right to be buried with her family in her home country.
• May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you. A seal of her comittment to Naomi.

Losing Hope

Ruth 1:10-14 reveal to the reader that Orpah and Ruth desired to return to Bethlehem with Naomi. This reveals that they were willing to give up their family, their gods and their culture to follow their mother-in-law. As we discuss today, this shows they loved Naomi. She must have been a mother-in-law worth following in order for them to give up everything they knew. Then we find out that Naomi desires for them to stay home. She gave several reasons to them that they should return home: she no longer would bear any more children, she was too old to have another husband, she had lost hope and said the hand of the Lord was against her. Naomi felt that God was against her and that if these ladies followed her, they would suffer because of her. But why did Naomi feel God was against her? As we discuss today, we see from these verses that she loses hope. She acknowledges God's hand in her situation, but feels hopeless for any joy in her life. As you study these verses, do you see yourself like Naomi - losing hope in your time of trial? Never forget that the God who created you and loves you has His hand on all things in your life. He is good and as His child will cause all things to work for your good to conform you more to be like Christ (Romans 8:28-29).

Character qualities of a godly woman

We learn more about Naomi and Ruth as we continue on in our study. We are learn that while in Moab, Ruth's husband dies. Her two sons marry Moabite women and then her sons die. Naomi now finds herself in a foreign country with just two daughter-in-laws as her family. She had no grandchildren. At some point while Naomi was in the fields, she finds out that the Lord was blessing her people with food (vs. 6). Naomi desires to return to her people, her home and gives Orpah and Ruth a blessing. Her blessing was that the Lord would be kind to them as they had been to her and the dead and that they would find rest in the house of their husbands (most likely a desire for them to marry again). This relationship between Naomi and her daughter-in-laws cause us to ask about the character of these women. What kind of mother-in-law was Naomi to Orpah and Ruth to give them such a blessing? What kind of daughter-in-laws were Orpah and Ruth for Naomi to be so kind to them? What does this indicate about their relationship?

The Setting

As we dig further into the background of the book of Ruth, we find in 1:1-2, some interesting facts about Ruth's family....before we even meet Ruth. It is helpful to know what is going on at the time of the writing. It helps to know how Ruth (a Moabite) would have found herself going to Bethlehem and serving the One True God. We find out from the first two verses that because of a famine in the land of Judah, Elimelech and his wife, Naomi, and two sons chose to move to the country of Moab. We're not told if they thought this was a temporary move or if their reasons for moving were prompted by God. All we know is that they moved. So here's a question for thought....Do you think that Elimelech's decision to move his family to Moab was wise? Why or why not?

Studying Ruth

Today we will begin studying the book of Ruth. We encourage you to take about 15 minutes and sit and read through the entire book. It's just 4 chapters long and will help you to refresh your memory about the story as we begin studying in detail. Notes for our study are posted on the right side of our blog. If you wish, you may print these notes and study ahead on your own or follow along with us as we study. As we begin today, we will discuss the purpose of the book of Ruth. Please share any thoughts or questions you might have here. We would love to hear from you!

An Interview with a Missionary

We are blessed to have the opportunity to have Hannah Scott with us on the program. She'll be sharing her testimony and ministry with her husband in Thailand. Hannah is the daughter of our own Pam Ormiston and we are delighted for this opportunity for Hannah to share her heart with us. She'll be with us from February 4-10, 2011. We hope you will enjoy listening! Hannah, a member of Family Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN, was born into a godly family on January 27, 1980 in Illinois. At the young age of four, Hannah placed her faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ through the testimony of her mother. Through the ministry of camp, Hannah surrendered her life to the Lord’s service around the age of 10. God continued to prepare her by providing ministry opportunities with children, youth, ladies, and counseling. Amidst the ministry at Family Baptist Church, Hannah and Duane realized the mutual desire and passion for missions that they shared. August 3, 2002 they were married. 2003 they began the application process with Baptist Mid Missions where they saw a presentation on Southeast Asian. After a brief survey trip to that area they began deputation for Thailand. Hannah and Duane have been serving in Thailand since June of 2006. You can follow their ministry here: http://www.scottsinthailand.org

Imitating Good

As we close our study in 3 John, we want to spend the time talking about how we can encourage children and teens to imitate good in the midst of peer pressure. We can't ignore the fact that children and teens are bombarded with false philosophies on a daily basis. Every day that your child goes to school they must make a decision about whether they will choose to follow God or do what their friends do. Every day is an opportunity to talk with your children (or those whom you have influence over) and discuss how their walk with Christ is going. It is VITAL that we are being godly role models and mentors to those who are younger than us. Well, we share a lot of our thoughts today on the program. If you missed the broadcast you can look for the audio archives (link is located on the right of this blog) and listen. What do you think? How can Christian women encourage children and teens to imitate good?