Were the people in the
Bible any different to us today?
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Or ordinary
people like you and me.
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What can we find
out from their lives
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that will help us?
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Find out with
Pastor Geoff Youlden
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and Rosemary Malkiewycz
here on People Just Like Us.
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Life is made up of choices.
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Every day we have to
make them, big and small.
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Many of our choices
directly affect others.
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Some choices are good,
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but some are
bad, even catastrophic
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for ourselves and for others.
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Today, we're going
to discuss a family
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that made a bad choice,
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which brought about hardship
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and how the wife
ended his story happily,
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by turning around
and retracing his steps.
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So tell us,
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why do you call this
family backsliders, Geoff?
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Well, I must admit,
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I personally don't
like the term backslider...
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Nor do I.
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It really doesn't sound good.
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However, it does
describe what some people do.
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They backslide from
what they know to be right.
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And that, the good thing
about this story, Rosemary,
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is that it has a happy ending.
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Yes.
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And we're going to
talk about a backslider,
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who returned and was restored.
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You'll remember her story.
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Naomi left Bethlehem
with her husband Elimelech,
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when there was a
great famine in the land,
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and went down to
Moab with their two sons.
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I would imagine
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that they were
chasing a better life perhaps.
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Well, yes, because it's said
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there was a famine in Bethlehem.
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Yes, maybe better pay.
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So they thought
that leaving Israel,
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where they had been
brought up to love God
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and to go to a country
that had no inclination at all,
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to serve God,
was a wise decision.
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Unfortunately,
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it didn't turn out
to be a wise decision.
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No.
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But while down in Moab,
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her husband died
and their two sons.
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So it was a very
serious plight to be in.
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You can just
imagine how poor Naomi is.
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Her husband dies,
and then their two sons.
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I mean, that would
be a tragic experience.
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And she would
have used all her money
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trying to survive,
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because there was no pension,
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no way of supporting
her through the government.
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That's right, and...
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And she was a foreigner.
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Well, she was in a
foreign land as a widow now.
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That's right.
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And in those
days, women didn't work.
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So it was a pretty,
pretty bad situation.
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Now the question is,
who were these Moabites?
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They were the
descendants of Lot.
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You remember during the
nights of his drunkenness,
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he committed incest
with his two daughters.
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The story is
recorded in Genesis 19.
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And Lot became the father
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of two bitter
enemies of God's people,
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the Moabites from
his older daughter,
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and the Ammonites
from his younger daughter.
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And yet they're
relatives of the Hebrews.
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Yes, well, our
cousins I guess, weren't they?
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Yes.
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The Ammonites were very
hostile to God's people.
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They were nomads
and often joined forces
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with other
nations to oppose Israel.
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On the other hand,
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the Moabites were far
more settled and sophisticated.
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They didn't
fight Israel as such.
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They were far more subtle
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in their engagement with Israel.
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Moab hired a false
prophet to curse Israel,
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and later sent the
most beautiful woman in Moab
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to seduce God's people.
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You know, the world is always
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a very, very dangerous
place for God's people,
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but never more dangerous
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than when it offers
friendship, and fellowship,
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and recognition to His people.
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You know, join our
club and our committee,
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our fraternity and
enjoy our lifestyle,
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no trouble at all.
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We know that you don't
approve of our gods necessarily,
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but we will accommodate you,
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as long as you
don't preach against us.
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That's the way
it goes, isn't it?
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Yes, that's what they said.
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That was the Moab
that Naomi lived in,
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as a lonely widow.
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And it's hard to imagine
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a more dangerous place for a man
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to bring his family
into and then leave them.
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The gods of the
Moabites were extremely cruel.
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Yes.
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In fact, they were so bad.
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It's almost an
unbelievable thing
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when I tell you this, Rosemary.
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In order to
fertilize their crops
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and to have the gods
approve of their crops,
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they would take their babies
and they had a god call Moloch.
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And if you could picture Moloch,
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he was like on his
haunches with his arms out,
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and they had a
fire inside his belly
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that they would stoke up,
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and then they
would take these babies
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and actually throw
them into the hands,
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the red hot hands of Moloch.
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And they believed
that in doing this,
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they were appeasing their gods
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in order to make
their crops fertile.
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So they're killing their babies,
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burning their babies alive.
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It's unbelievable.
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But that's, that's
exactly what they did.
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Another thing, God
was so upset with them,
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that He made a decree
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that no Moabite
could participate
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in the sanctuary service
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and in the salvation process
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until 10 generations had passed.
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In other words,
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to get all this
Moabite bad blood
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out of their system
took 10 generations.
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It's amazing when
you look at the gods
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of these different people,
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those who didn't
find the God of Israel.
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Even the gods of some
of the societies around us,
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the cultures around us today,
they can be very barbaric.
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Yes.
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And it's, the people
follow them out of fear.
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Yes.
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Whereas the God of the Hebrews
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wanted to be
followed out of love.
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And He was always
thinking of the downtrodden
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and the oppressed and
wanting to look after them.
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Well, this was the background
and it was during the Judges 2,
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that there was a
king by the name of Eglon.
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And the Bible
describes him as fat.
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Very, exceedingly fat.
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Yes and repulsive.
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And he ruled
Israel for 18 years.
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As a foreign...
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As a foreign, and...
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A foreigner king.
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Dominated them for 18 years.
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And I would have thought that,
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that ought to be a
warning to any person in Israel,
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of the danger
of being associated
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with the Moabites.
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But, of course,
when you're a backslider,
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you don't see
the dangers of Moab,
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and that's why
Elimelech took his wife, Naomi,
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and their two sons,
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and they
journeyed down into Moab.
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It was
certainly a backward step.
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Well, not only that,
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but when they
got down into Moab,
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to add insult to injury,
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not only was Naomi now widow,
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but now her two sons
married to Moabite girls.
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So they're really entrenched
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into the Moabite society.
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Then one day Naomi announces
to her daughters- in-law.
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Who are both widows as well.
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Yes, who are
widows by this stage
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that she was
going back to Bethlehem.
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And she was
about to say goodbye.
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And we pick up the story,
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if you'd like to read it with me
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in the Book of Ruth 1:7,
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it says this,
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"Therefore she went out
from the place where she was,
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and her two
daughters-in-law with her,
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and they went on the way to
return to the land of Judah.
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And Naomi said to
her two daughters-in-law,
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'Go, return each
to her mother's house.
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The Lord deal kindly with you,
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as you have dealt
with the dead and with me.
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The Lord grant
that you may find rest
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each in the
house of her husband.'
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So she kissed them
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and they lifted up
their voices and wept.
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And they said to her,
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'Surely we will return
with you to your people.'"
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And you can think
here of the influence
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that Naomi had
on these two girls.
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Must have been amazing.
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Well, it was a very
positive one for a start,
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because she was saying,
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"Come, and we'll
go back to Bethlehem,"
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and the girls
were willing to follow.
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And you can see these,
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these three girls
traveling together.
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There was Naomi, of
course, the backslider.
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Then there was Ruth,
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who was a very
interested convert.
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And there was her,
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the other son's wife
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by the name of Orpah.
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And she was perhaps
regarded as an inquirer,
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but unfortunately,
she never made it.
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And as a result,
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she eventually
went back to Moab.
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And I blame Naomi for that.
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It was Naomi's influence finally
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that led Orpah to go back to.
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And you can read that here
in a little bit further on.
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And once again
I'm sort of picturing
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in my mind now
00:10:19.31\00:10:20.65
as we're talking
about it, Rosemary,
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these three girls walking
along the road toward Bethlehem.
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And they would be traveling...
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And it's quiet a distance. West.
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They'd be
traveling west of the sun
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would be in their
eyes as they traveled
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most of the afternoon
at least, into the evening.
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And,
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no doubt Naomi was
telling Ruth in particular,
00:10:41.30\00:10:45.01
about the God of Israel,
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and telling her about Abraham,
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and Isaac, and Jacob
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and reciting all
the wonderful stories.
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She no doubt
recited the story of Joshua,
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and how they
conquered, you know,
00:11:02.16\00:11:05.79
the land of Canaan,
and all of these stories.
00:11:05.83\00:11:09.20
And then she told
him about the true God.
00:11:09.23\00:11:12.43
And then suddenly
as they were talking,
00:11:12.47\00:11:15.44
bit like the story
of Jesus and his parent,
00:11:15.47\00:11:17.64
you know, the parents,
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they were so busy
talking, where's Orpah?
00:11:19.34\00:11:24.05
Hence, they turned
around and looked back
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and there Orpah was way,
way back in the distance.
00:11:27.65\00:11:32.99
And so they waited
for her to catch up.
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And poor Orpah was
thinking about going over
00:11:38.56\00:11:42.26
to this foreign
land called Israel.
00:11:42.30\00:11:45.63
And she was thinking
00:11:45.67\00:11:47.00
that she was going to leave
all her childhood memories.
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All her family.
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All her family, all the
things that were dear to her,
00:11:52.77\00:11:56.48
she was going to leave behind.
00:11:56.51\00:12:00.38
And Orpah makes a statement.
00:12:00.42\00:12:06.32
In fact, if you
look here at verse 11.
00:12:06.35\00:12:11.63
This is Ruth 1:11.
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In her, Naomi, this is in
her backslidden condition.
00:12:14.33\00:12:17.73
This is what she
says now to Orpah, look.
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This is why I say,
she's to be blamed.
00:12:23.64\00:12:25.71
Notice what she says.
00:12:25.74\00:12:27.08
"But Naomi said,
'Turn back my daughters,
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why will you go with me?
00:12:30.95\00:12:33.55
Are there still sons in my womb,
00:12:33.58\00:12:36.35
that you may
have your husbands?'"
00:12:36.38\00:12:39.62
So she's saying, "Look,
I'm not going to be able
00:12:39.65\00:12:42.96
to produce any
more sons for you."
00:12:42.99\00:12:47.66
Verse 12, "Turn
back my daughters, go."
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That is go back to Moab.
00:12:52.07\00:12:54.67
"For I am too old
to have a husband.
00:12:54.70\00:12:57.14
If I should say I have hope,
00:12:57.17\00:12:59.57
if I should have
a husband tonight
00:12:59.61\00:13:01.61
and should also bear sons,
00:13:01.64\00:13:03.91
would you wait for
them till they were grown?
00:13:03.95\00:13:07.25
Would you restrain
yourselves from having husbands?
00:13:07.28\00:13:10.42
No, my daughters,
00:13:10.45\00:13:11.85
for it grieves me
very much for your sakes
00:13:11.89\00:13:14.06
that the hand of the
Lord has gone out against me!"
00:13:14.09\00:13:18.29
Yeah, here she's blaming
God for all that's happened.
00:13:18.33\00:13:21.96
And she's
wallowing in her misery...
00:13:22.00\00:13:24.60
Well.
00:13:24.63\00:13:25.97
And it turns her
thoughts negatively
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to her
daughters coming with her.
00:13:28.24\00:13:30.11
Yeah, well,
she's saying to them,
00:13:30.14\00:13:31.47
"Look, I can't
have any more sons.
00:13:31.51\00:13:34.18
So you're not
going to get any sons
00:13:34.21\00:13:36.21
out of me for marriage."
00:13:36.24\00:13:38.48
And furthermore, she said,
00:13:38.51\00:13:40.98
"There was no
upright Israeli man
00:13:41.02\00:13:44.39
who will ever have
you as their wives."
00:13:44.42\00:13:47.06
Because we've been told that
00:13:47.09\00:13:49.72
till 10 generations
we're not to get associated.
00:13:49.76\00:13:52.53
Moabites are not to come in.
00:13:52.56\00:13:53.90
Yes.
00:13:53.93\00:13:55.26
And, whereas if
you stay in Moab,
00:13:55.30\00:13:58.60
the chances of you
getting married again
00:13:58.63\00:14:01.17
are extremely high.
00:14:01.20\00:14:02.84
So, you go back.
00:14:02.87\00:14:04.81
And this is what
she says to both,
00:14:04.84\00:14:06.17
to Ruth, and to Orpah.
00:14:06.21\00:14:08.64
And these two young women,
00:14:08.68\00:14:11.38
who were
showing such an interest
00:14:11.41\00:14:14.08
about the true God,
00:14:14.12\00:14:15.85
and about His
leading in their lives,
00:14:15.88\00:14:18.42
she now pours cold
water on the whole thing,
00:14:18.45\00:14:21.56
and sends them back to Moab.
00:14:21.59\00:14:25.43
And so I say, I blamed Naomi
00:14:25.46\00:14:28.26
for the condition of
Orpah, in particular.
00:14:28.30\00:14:33.07
And then she
adds here in verse 14,
00:14:33.10\00:14:37.97
"Then they lifted up
their voices and wept again,
00:14:38.01\00:14:40.84
and Orpah kissed
her mother-in-law,
00:14:40.88\00:14:44.11
but Ruth clung to her."
00:14:44.15\00:14:47.48
So I can see Orpah
now in this situation.
00:14:47.52\00:14:50.59
The three of them
are talking around
00:14:50.62\00:14:52.89
and Naomi's
saying, look, go back.
00:14:52.92\00:14:55.42
No chance of getting
married if you stay with me.
00:14:55.46\00:14:58.19
Go back, and I can see
Orpah now straightening up.
00:14:58.23\00:15:03.47
And she says, "Mom,
I think you're right.
00:15:03.50\00:15:06.13
I think you're right.
00:15:06.17\00:15:08.17
I'm going to go back to my gods,
00:15:08.20\00:15:11.91
and to my old way of life."
00:15:11.94\00:15:14.34
I love you, but I'm
going to go back to my people.
00:15:14.38\00:15:17.11
Yes.
00:15:17.15\00:15:18.95
She listened to
the reasoning of Naomi
00:15:18.98\00:15:21.65
which was so bad.
00:15:21.68\00:15:24.05
And she goes back,
and it's interesting.
00:15:24.09\00:15:28.49
You know, she goes
back to her pagan gods,
00:15:28.52\00:15:30.29
but we don't read another
single thing ever about Orpah.
00:15:30.33\00:15:34.36
What happened to her?
00:15:34.40\00:15:35.73
We have no idea.
00:15:35.76\00:15:37.10
But she goes into
absolute darkness.
00:15:37.13\00:15:39.67
And once again, Rosemary,
00:15:39.70\00:15:41.50
it indicates to me,
00:15:41.54\00:15:42.87
how careful we need
to be about our talk.
00:15:42.90\00:15:47.01
Because we can have
a tremendous influence,
00:15:47.04\00:15:48.78
both for good, and for bad
00:15:48.81\00:15:51.65
upon those that we
come in contact with.
00:15:51.68\00:15:55.92
Let me give you
another illustration
00:15:55.95\00:15:57.35
in the Bible.
00:15:57.39\00:15:58.72
Abraham.
00:15:58.75\00:16:00.09
Now, it was when
Abraham apostatized
00:16:00.12\00:16:02.82
and became a backslider
00:16:02.86\00:16:05.49
that he went down into Egypt.
00:16:05.53\00:16:08.06
You know the story.
00:16:08.10\00:16:09.70
And while he was
in Egypt, of course,
00:16:09.73\00:16:11.47
Lot, his nephew
00:16:11.50\00:16:15.50
got a taste of the
highlife, the Egyptian highlife.
00:16:15.54\00:16:19.14
Yes.
00:16:19.17\00:16:20.78
And that's what led
finally, when they left Egypt,
00:16:20.81\00:16:25.98
and they then settled.
00:16:26.01\00:16:27.48
In Canaan.
00:16:27.52\00:16:28.85
Yes, that Lot chose to go
down by Sodom and Gomorrah,
00:16:28.88\00:16:33.79
because that was the highlife.
00:16:33.82\00:16:35.66
He got a taste of it in Egypt,
00:16:35.69\00:16:37.33
and he wanted to continue it on.
00:16:37.36\00:16:38.83
And it was
Abraham's backsliding attitude
00:16:38.86\00:16:42.20
that led to Lot's mistakes
00:16:42.23\00:16:45.10
and all the
consequences followed.
00:16:45.13\00:16:47.14
And it led to the Moabites.
00:16:47.17\00:16:48.87
Yeah, well, the story
that we're reading here
00:16:48.90\00:16:51.91
wouldn't be a story,
00:16:51.94\00:16:53.98
because it would
never have happened,
00:16:54.01\00:16:55.71
if Abraham had been faithful...
00:16:55.74\00:16:58.01
Yes. And not backslidden.
00:16:58.05\00:16:59.45
So, the Bible is
full of stories like this,
00:16:59.48\00:17:01.98
that illustrate how
important it is for us,
00:17:02.02\00:17:04.25
never to backslide,
00:17:04.29\00:17:05.62
because there are consequences,
even though people come back,
00:17:05.65\00:17:09.59
and Naomi, we're
going to read, came back,
00:17:09.62\00:17:12.19
and Abraham came back,
but there were consequences.
00:17:12.23\00:17:15.63
And the
Moabites and the Amorites
00:17:15.66\00:17:17.97
were consequences of Naomi's,
00:17:18.00\00:17:22.14
or sorry, of Abraham's.
00:17:22.17\00:17:24.97
So our choices in life
don't just affect ourselves,
00:17:25.01\00:17:28.91
they affect
other people around us,
00:17:28.94\00:17:31.21
including other generations.
00:17:31.25\00:17:32.58
That's right, exactly.
00:17:32.61\00:17:34.15
And in verse 16 and 17,
00:17:34.18\00:17:37.09
some of the most wonderful words
00:17:37.12\00:17:38.69
in the English language,
00:17:38.72\00:17:40.52
and sometimes you
hear this at weddings.
00:17:40.56\00:17:43.22
Because Ruth said,
00:17:43.26\00:17:45.33
in view of all that
Naomi had been saying,
00:17:45.36\00:17:49.33
let's remember this,
00:17:49.36\00:17:50.70
she'd been
encouraging, Orpah, took it up.
00:17:50.73\00:17:52.67
But Ruth had a
different attitude.
00:17:52.70\00:17:55.20
And this is what she said,
"Entreat me not to leave you."
00:17:55.24\00:17:58.41
Don't press me to
leave you," she said,
00:17:58.44\00:18:00.41
"or to turn back
from following after you,
00:18:00.44\00:18:03.35
for wherever you go, I will go,
00:18:03.38\00:18:06.92
and wherever you
lodge, I will lodge.
00:18:06.95\00:18:10.39
Your people shall be my
people, and your God, my God.
00:18:10.42\00:18:14.82
And where you die, I will
die, and there will I be buried,
00:18:14.86\00:18:19.36
The Lord do so
to me and more also,
00:18:19.39\00:18:22.66
if anything but
death parts you and me."
00:18:22.70\00:18:27.74
Beautiful words,
aren't they? They are.
00:18:27.77\00:18:29.24
Some of the most majestic
words in the English language.
00:18:29.27\00:18:31.77
Their real confession of faith.
00:18:31.81\00:18:33.27
Yes.
00:18:33.31\00:18:34.64
No wonder, Ruth became the
girl that she eventually was.
00:18:34.68\00:18:38.38
You could see the
quality in the girl
00:18:38.41\00:18:42.08
right in these early days.
00:18:42.12\00:18:43.45
And she really
loved her mother-in-law.
00:18:43.49\00:18:45.65
She did.
00:18:45.69\00:18:47.19
Verse 19 says,
"Now the two of them,
00:18:47.22\00:18:50.56
they came back to Bethlehem.
00:18:50.59\00:18:53.23
And it happened, when
they came to Bethlehem,
00:18:53.26\00:18:55.90
that all the city was
excited because of them,
00:18:55.93\00:18:58.77
and the women
said, 'Is this Naomi?'"
00:18:58.80\00:19:02.94
They couldn't believe
that it actually was Naomi.
00:19:02.97\00:19:06.81
Well, she'd been away
for, what, 10 years or so?
00:19:06.84\00:19:10.45
At least.
00:19:10.48\00:19:12.51
And, but the lines on
her face, she had aged.
00:19:12.55\00:19:17.02
Not just by the 10 years,
but by many, many more years.
00:19:17.05\00:19:21.02
And she would have, I
presume, looked extremely,
00:19:21.06\00:19:25.03
not just sad, but grieving.
00:19:25.06\00:19:27.76
Yes, well that...
00:19:27.80\00:19:29.13
She would be
anything less than human
00:19:29.16\00:19:30.57
if she wasn't upset, you know,
00:19:30.60\00:19:32.23
losing her husband,
losing her two sons.
00:19:32.27\00:19:34.54
That's enough to
break the heart of a lion.
00:19:34.57\00:19:36.10
And her wealth,
what money they had.
00:19:36.14\00:19:39.47
Yes, it was all gone.
00:19:39.51\00:19:40.84
Yeah.
00:19:40.88\00:19:42.94
And her face indicated
that she was a different woman.
00:19:42.98\00:19:48.38
And verse 20 goes on to say,
00:19:48.42\00:19:52.42
"But she said to them,
00:19:52.45\00:19:53.79
'Do not call me
Naomi, call me Mara,
00:19:53.82\00:19:59.29
for the Almighty has
dealt very bitterly with me."
00:19:59.33\00:20:04.03
So once again, she blames God.
00:20:04.07\00:20:07.24
Don't we do that?
00:20:07.27\00:20:08.60
Well, backsliders often do.
00:20:08.64\00:20:09.97
We blame God for
our bad mistakes?
00:20:10.01\00:20:12.67
Well, remember,
00:20:12.71\00:20:14.04
let's just recast
our mind on this story.
00:20:14.08\00:20:16.71
She and her husband chose
to go to Moab, didn't they?
00:20:16.75\00:20:20.95
Yes.
00:20:20.98\00:20:22.32
God had nothing to do with it.
00:20:22.35\00:20:24.89
God would have discouraged that.
00:20:24.92\00:20:26.89
So, why is she blaming
God for doing something
00:20:26.92\00:20:30.99
that they chose to do?
00:20:31.03\00:20:32.36
But that's so much like us.
00:20:32.39\00:20:35.46
We get into difficulties,
00:20:35.50\00:20:37.30
and the first
person we blame is God.
00:20:37.33\00:20:39.93
Well, Adam started doing
that in the Garden of Eden
00:20:39.97\00:20:43.54
when he sinned.
00:20:43.57\00:20:45.07
And God said, "Adam,
why did you do this?"
00:20:45.11\00:20:47.64
He said," Well, the
woman that you gave me..."
00:20:47.68\00:20:49.74
"Was the problem."
00:20:49.78\00:20:51.11
So, he blamed God
even then, and then,
00:20:51.15\00:20:53.62
the woman blamed the serpent
00:20:53.65\00:20:56.25
that God had created, basically.
00:20:56.28\00:20:58.42
So, they're passing the buck
00:20:58.45\00:21:00.82
and blaming God
and someone else,
00:21:00.86\00:21:02.89
and we've been
passing the buck ever since.
00:21:02.92\00:21:05.19
Well, it gets worse, Rosemary.
00:21:05.23\00:21:08.86
Naomi gets worse.
00:21:08.90\00:21:10.23
Because have a look at verse 21,
00:21:10.27\00:21:12.57
"I went out full,
00:21:12.60\00:21:14.54
and the Lord has
brought me home again empty.
00:21:14.57\00:21:17.94
Why do you call me Naomi,
00:21:17.97\00:21:20.11
since the Lord has
testified against me,
00:21:20.14\00:21:22.51
and the Almighty
has afflicted me?"
00:21:22.54\00:21:26.11
So now...
00:21:26.15\00:21:27.48
Once again. She's blaming God.
00:21:27.52\00:21:28.85
She says, "The Lord has
done this deliberately to me."
00:21:28.88\00:21:30.99
Yeah.
00:21:31.02\00:21:32.35
And, poor Naomi, as I said,
we can sympathize with her,
00:21:32.39\00:21:37.36
having lost her
husband and her two sons,
00:21:37.39\00:21:39.79
and she paid a tremendous
price for backsliding.
00:21:39.83\00:21:42.96
Do you think that part
of what she's doing there
00:21:43.00\00:21:45.33
is the influence
of the gods of Moab?
00:21:45.37\00:21:49.80
Because they would have tried
00:21:49.84\00:21:51.17
to appease those
gods all the time,
00:21:51.21\00:21:53.21
because they would, you know,
00:21:53.24\00:21:54.61
not give them a
good crop or as you say,
00:21:54.64\00:21:56.75
fertilize the ground,
or the rain or something.
00:21:56.78\00:21:59.48
If, "Oh, we haven't
done the right thing,
00:21:59.51\00:22:01.05
let's appease the God.
00:22:01.08\00:22:03.65
And so the God
has done this to us."
00:22:03.69\00:22:06.55
And so, then that reflection
is in the way of her thinking.
00:22:06.59\00:22:11.46
Well, she would
have been influenced
00:22:11.49\00:22:13.73
by what was going on around her,
00:22:13.76\00:22:15.10
no question about that.
00:22:15.13\00:22:16.46
And I think the
point that you're making
00:22:16.50\00:22:17.83
is very good.
00:22:17.87\00:22:19.20
Here over in 4:15.
00:22:19.23\00:22:23.77
Now we must remember too.
00:22:23.81\00:22:26.41
You can
understand how the people
00:22:26.44\00:22:27.94
would have
regarded Ruth, a Moabite.
00:22:27.98\00:22:32.95
What's she doing
coming down here?
00:22:32.98\00:22:35.02
She's unclean.
00:22:35.05\00:22:36.75
She's not one of us.
00:22:36.79\00:22:38.69
And so I would imagine
for a long period of time,
00:22:38.72\00:22:42.29
I don't know how long,
00:22:42.32\00:22:43.66
but for a period of time,
00:22:43.69\00:22:45.89
there must have been
great suspicion against Ruth.
00:22:45.93\00:22:52.57
That would be
natural, wouldn't it?
00:22:52.60\00:22:53.94
It would be, definitely.
00:22:53.97\00:22:55.30
And it's
interesting, in verse 14,
00:22:55.34\00:23:00.18
they make a statement,
00:23:00.21\00:23:02.34
"Then the woman said to
Naomi, 'Blessed be the Lord,
00:23:02.38\00:23:06.55
who has not left you this
day without a close relative,
00:23:06.58\00:23:10.29
and may His name,
be famous in Israel.'"
00:23:10.32\00:23:12.92
And verse 15,
00:23:12.95\00:23:14.29
"And may He be to
you a restorer of life
00:23:14.32\00:23:16.93
and a nourisher
of your old age,"
00:23:16.96\00:23:18.76
you know, they're
trying to encourage her,
00:23:18.79\00:23:21.00
"for your
daughter-in-law," that's Ruth,
00:23:21.03\00:23:23.83
"who loves you,
who is better to you
00:23:23.87\00:23:26.50
than seven sons, has borne him."
00:23:26.53\00:23:29.67
Just talking about
eventual marriage with Boaz.
00:23:29.70\00:23:32.97
And, so in that, in
that period of time,
00:23:33.01\00:23:36.18
the folk have got to love Ruth,
00:23:36.21\00:23:38.35
and they've
seen their qualities,
00:23:38.38\00:23:39.75
and they're
praising Naomi and saying,
00:23:39.78\00:23:42.05
"Well, she's actually
better than sons and..."
00:23:42.08\00:23:44.35
Seven sons.
00:23:44.39\00:23:45.72
"Seven sons."
00:23:45.75\00:23:47.09
And that would have been
something for her to say.
00:23:47.12\00:23:48.79
And also, it's interesting
00:23:48.82\00:23:50.46
to notice what
Boaz said about Ruth.
00:23:50.49\00:23:52.99
You'd think
that he may have been
00:23:53.03\00:23:54.36
a little bit biased,
00:23:54.40\00:23:55.73
but this is what he
said "And now my daughter..."
00:23:55.76\00:23:57.97
This is 3:11.
00:23:58.00\00:24:01.00
"And now my
daughter, do not fear,
00:24:01.04\00:24:03.04
I will do for you
all that you request,
00:24:03.07\00:24:06.51
for all the
people of my town know
00:24:06.54\00:24:08.71
that you are a virtuous woman."
00:24:08.74\00:24:11.88
So she had the accolades
00:24:11.91\00:24:14.42
and the praise of
all that were with her.
00:24:14.45\00:24:17.69
Obviously, Ruth had
really accepted the true God,
00:24:17.72\00:24:22.96
the God of the Israelites,
00:24:22.99\00:24:25.13
and had put all
of her faith in Him,
00:24:25.16\00:24:27.63
and they could see that in her
00:24:27.66\00:24:29.16
even though she was a
Moabite, she was a true convert.
00:24:29.20\00:24:32.73
Yes, well, she
was a wonderful woman.
00:24:32.77\00:24:34.97
You know, something
else I find interesting,
00:24:35.00\00:24:37.21
is that when Naomi came back,
00:24:37.24\00:24:40.04
she was a bitter old woman.
00:24:40.08\00:24:42.11
That's why she said,
"Don't call me Naomi anymore.
00:24:42.14\00:24:45.01
My name is Mara."
00:24:45.05\00:24:47.45
But as she
fellowshipped with God's people,
00:24:47.48\00:24:49.75
a change took place,
00:24:49.78\00:24:52.32
and the people all
started to call her Naomi again,
00:24:52.35\00:24:56.02
which means pleasant.
00:24:56.06\00:24:58.73
You know, this is the reason
00:24:58.76\00:25:01.73
why God has
established the church.
00:25:01.76\00:25:04.60
And I meet people, I'm
sure you do too, Rosemary,
00:25:04.63\00:25:07.54
from time to time, who say,
00:25:07.57\00:25:09.27
"Look, I'll just
worship on my own.
00:25:09.30\00:25:13.38
I don't need to go to church.
00:25:13.41\00:25:14.74
I don't need to
belong to a church."
00:25:14.78\00:25:16.11
That's right. I hear
lots of people say that.
00:25:16.14\00:25:17.65
But that's not the
way God intended it.
00:25:17.68\00:25:19.91
God, we are social creatures,
00:25:19.95\00:25:21.78
and we need the
fellowship of the church...
00:25:21.82\00:25:24.32
And the encouragement.
And the encouragement.
00:25:24.35\00:25:26.22
And this is what
we're reading here
00:25:26.25\00:25:27.69
that these women in Bethlehem,
00:25:27.72\00:25:30.19
they encouraged Naomi,
00:25:30.23\00:25:31.99
and they lifted her spirits,
00:25:32.03\00:25:34.73
so much so that her name,
00:25:34.76\00:25:38.87
they wanted to
give her back her name,
00:25:38.90\00:25:40.24
because it meant pleasant.
00:25:40.27\00:25:41.60
Yes.
00:25:41.64\00:25:42.97
Someone who
was, who's around us,
00:25:43.00\00:25:44.37
who's pleasant, you know,
00:25:44.41\00:25:45.74
we all like being
around people who are pleasant.
00:25:45.77\00:25:48.08
Yes, we do. Yes, it's natural.
00:25:48.11\00:25:50.68
And so her name means pleasant,
00:25:50.71\00:25:53.52
and they gave her back her name.
00:25:53.55\00:25:56.72
And once again,
00:25:56.75\00:25:58.55
I think it illustrates
the importance for us
00:25:58.59\00:26:02.12
of the church
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and the social
aspects of the church.
00:26:03.99\00:26:07.43
And I believe that the church
is not only studying the Bible,
00:26:07.46\00:26:11.97
that's very, very
important and foundational,
00:26:12.00\00:26:14.90
but on top of that,
00:26:14.94\00:26:17.54
it is social and encouraging us,
00:26:17.57\00:26:22.68
and God wants us to be people
00:26:22.71\00:26:25.61
who are pleasant
to be around with.
00:26:25.65\00:26:27.35
That's right.
00:26:27.38\00:26:28.72
And one of the
fruits of the Spirit is joy.
00:26:28.75\00:26:31.69
You know, the
world offers many things,
00:26:31.72\00:26:33.66
amusement and pleasure,
but it can't offer joy.
00:26:33.69\00:26:37.39
Joy is more than happiness.
00:26:37.43\00:26:39.73
You know, happiness
depends upon what happens to us,
00:26:39.76\00:26:43.06
but joy
transcends circumstances.
00:26:43.10\00:26:46.10
When Jesus is about to go
00:26:46.13\00:26:47.47
to the cross at the Last Supper,
00:26:47.50\00:26:48.87
He could speak of joy.
00:26:48.90\00:26:51.37
It is sin that
actually takes away
00:26:51.41\00:26:54.21
the joy of our salvation.
00:26:54.24\00:26:55.91
Because you'll remember,
00:26:55.94\00:26:57.28
that when King David
sinned with Bathsheba.
00:26:57.31\00:27:01.65
David didn't lose his salvation,
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because he still loved the Lord.
00:27:03.75\00:27:06.02
But he lost the
joy of his salvation.
00:27:06.05\00:27:09.72
And God wants us to
be joyful as Christians.
00:27:09.76\00:27:13.86
And when Nathan came
in and reproached him,
00:27:13.90\00:27:16.16
he realized he's lost that joy.
00:27:16.20\00:27:17.53
Yes.
00:27:17.57\00:27:18.90
So Naomi, instead of
being gloomy and depressed,
00:27:18.93\00:27:21.40
went around
spreading the fragrance of joy.
00:27:21.44\00:27:24.11
And people gave her
back her old name, Naomi.
00:27:24.14\00:27:27.54
And so God wants us to
fellowship with one another
00:27:27.58\00:27:31.28
and to be pleasant people.
00:27:31.31\00:27:33.15
God wants us to
make good choices.
00:27:33.18\00:27:35.25
It's up to us,
00:27:35.28\00:27:36.62
whether or not
we make the choices
00:27:36.65\00:27:38.32
in consideration of His will.
00:27:38.35\00:27:40.86
Or just do our own thing
00:27:40.89\00:27:42.22
and we end up
with the consequences.
00:27:42.26\00:27:45.23
So let's choose the right things
00:27:45.26\00:27:46.73
and fellowship
with God's people,
00:27:46.76\00:27:48.23
and to love God,
00:27:48.26\00:27:49.86
and may He bless you
until we see you next time.
00:27:49.90\00:27:52.60