RUTH 1
5 Outlines
Ruth 1:1
THE HOUR OF DECISION
#1 of 4 in a Series on
Ruth
(The other parts of the
series are found in Chapters 2,3,&4.)
We go through life
making decisions. Every day is a day of
decision. Today you decided what you were going to eat for breakfast, what
clothes you would wear, and with whom you would spend time. This week you will
make decisions that will effect where you go, what you
do, and how you use the abilities that God has given you.
There are times in our
lives when major decisions must be made.
These decisions, being major, cause us to stop and think before we make
a decision. When we come to the point of
making such a serious choice, I think of it as "The Hour of Decision"
(with apologies to Billy Graham!) The hour of decision is a time in my life
where I will end up being blessed or not so blessed based on the choice I make. Such major
hours of decision include, choosing a marriage partner, making a career move,
selecting a church to join, or choosing a standard of morals by which I will
conduct my life.
In Ruth 1 we meet four
people who came to "The Hour of Decision". Two of them made wise decisions. Two of them
made unwise decisions. Their choices are
important to us because we will be forced to make the same types of decisions
today.
BACKGROUND TO THE BOOK
OF RUTH
Probably written in the
days of David.
Events of this book
might have taken place during the time of Gideon.
Ruth 1:1 tells us that
it was during the days that the Judges ruled that these events took place.
These were not good days, as Judges 2:11-19 indicates.
THE HOUR OF DECISION FOR
ELIMELECH - HE CHOSE TO RETREAT - Vss. 1-5
Vs. 1 - It was a time of
famine. It was a time of judgment from God. The land was dry and not producing.
People were hungry. Elimelech had a decision to make.
He was in the land that God had given the Jewish people. He could stay in the
land and endure God's discipline, or he could leave and seek blessing
elsewhere. Abraham faced a similar
decision in Genesis 12:10-20 and made the same wrong choice.
I feel Elimelech was wrong to leave
Elimelech reminds me of what I would call a backsliding Christian.
There was a time when they were on fire, in the right place, excited, and
enthused about the work of Jesus Christ. Then, they chose to stop walking with the
Lord and serving Him the way they once did. Those who backslide should not be
surprised when they receive God's discipline as described in Hebrews 12:5. In Ruth 1:3-5 we find God's judgment on Elimelech and his family.
THE HOUR OF DECISION FOR
NAOMI - SHE CHOSE TO RETURN - Vss. 6-7
Here is the story of a
backslider who did all the things that her husband did, but came back to the
Lord. She heard that God's people were being blessed, and decided to return to
THE HOUR OF DECISION FOR
ORPAH - Vss. 8-14 - SHE CHOSE TO REJECT
Orpah looked good. She
was following her mother-in-law back to
Orpah reminds me of many
a person I have met who claims to have trusted Jesus Christ as Savior.
They start out right by
making a profession of faith, but go no further. Their lives showed no change.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Vss. 8-13 - Naomi
explains the truth. She gives the cold, hard facts. Orpah decided that the cost
of following Naomi was too high. When
professing Christians who never truly trusted Christ lean of the required
commitment to Christ, they reject their new found faith (If not in word, they
do it by deed.) Matthew 13:20-21
Vs. 14 - Orpah kissed
her mother-in-law and left. She rejected Naomi and her God.
THE HOUR OF DECISION FOR
RUTH - Vss. 14-18 - SHE CHOSE TO RELY
When Orpah left Naomi,
Ruth clung to her. Ruth gives us an
example of a person who is truly born again. She would not be dissuaded from
her faith and made a total commitment to Naomi and her God. Seeing her sincerity, Naomi stopped trying to
dissuade Ruth. Ruth chose to rely on God.
The true Christian chooses to rely by faith on Christ!
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Ruth 1:1-18
KISS OR CLING?
Naomi had two daughters in-law. The big difference between them was that
Orpah was a “kisser” and Ruth was a “clinger”.
Orpah showed some affection for her mother in-law and then left her.
Ruth clung to her mother in-law and went with her as
Naomi returned to the
In Christian circles there are two groups.
There are the “kissers” of our Lord Jesus Christ.
There are the “clingers” to our Lord Jesus Christ.
(You will need to read and explain verses 1-7 for background
information.)
THE KISSER
Vss. 8-10 – Naomi released her daughter in-laws from
any obligation to her. Both, for the
moment, said they would still stick with Naomi.
Vss. 11-13 – Naomi makes it clear exactly how dire the
situation is and encourages them to go back home.
Vs. 14 – Having heard more information, Orpah kisses
Naomi, cries some more, and leaves.
There are many “kissers” like Orpah in Christianity.
They make a commitment of sorts, but their pattern is
to kiss and leave.
They kiss Jesus on Sunday and leave Him for a
commitment to the World and their own pleasures and interests during the week.
1 John 2:15-17
THE CLINGER
Vs. 14 – Oprah kissed, Ruth clung.
Vs. 15 – I think Naomi is testing Ruth here to make
sure that she is sincere.
Vss. 16-17 – Ruth’s response is classic and shows us
how we should cling to the Lord Jesus.
Ruth 1:16-17 - And
Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return
from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and
thy God my God: [17] Where thou diest, will I die,
and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but
death part thee and me.
A. RUTH CLUNG TO FOLLOW - for whither thou goest, I will go
To cling to the Lord Jesus we should be able to say, for whither thou goest, I will go.
Luke 9:23-24
B. RUTH CLUNG TO DWELL - and where thou lodgest, I will lodge:
We should dwell with the Lord Jesus by abiding in Him.
John 15:1-7
C. RUTH CLUNG TO FELLOWSHIP - thy people shall be my people,
The people of the Lord Jesus should be our
people. We should have fellowship with
fellow believers.
John 13:34-35, Hebrews 10:24-25, Ecclesiastes 4:9-11
D. RUTH CLUNG TO WORSHIP - and thy God my God:
When we trust Christ we will recognize the Trinity,
and we are to worship. Psalm 100
E. RUTH CLUNG TO DIE - Where thou diest, will I die,
Jesus died on the cross. According to Romans 6, we died with Him. Also see Galatians 2:20.
Vs. 18 – Naomi finally accepted Ruth’s position. They
traveled together. Ruth was submissive to Naomi, and eventually Ruth married
Boaz and became a descendent of the Lord Jesus.
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Ruth 1:1-6
THE
RETREAT FROM THE
REAPING OF SORROW - Vss. 3-5
RETURN TO PLACE OF BLESSING - Vs. 6
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Ruth 1:1-18
TALE OF THREE WOMEN
INTRODUCTION - Vss. 1-6
There are three women in this story. Naomi had left the promised
land with her husband during a time of famine. He had died.
Naomi's two sons had married Orpah and Ruth. The sons had died as well.
NAOMI CHOSE TO RETURN Vss. 6-7
She once left the promised land
and was coming back to the place where she should be. When we do what is wrong, we should return to
the ways of our God by repenting of, and forsaking sin. 1 John 1:9, Revelation
2:5
ORPAH CHOSE TO RETREAT Vss. 8-14
Naomi told her daughters-in-law to return home.
There was much trouble ahead for her. At first, Orpah was going to faithfully
follow her mother-in-law. Finally
however she retreated to
her old way of life. Many people make professions of faith or
commitment and then retreat from them when the road gets rough.
RUTH CHOSE TO RETAIN Vss. 15-18
Ruth retained her commitment to her mother-in-law,
and her commitment to her mother-in-law's God.
In the end, she was the one who was blessed. (She became great grandmother
to David. Ruth 4:13-17)
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Ruth 1:6-18
WOMEN AT THE CROSSROADS
A "crossroads"
is when a person needs to make an important decision that will affect the rest
of their lives. Three women, a mother
in-law and two daughters in-law reached a cross roads at the same time.
INTRODUCTION - Explain
Naomi's story Vss. 1-5
NAOMI WAS REALISTICALLY
DESCRIPTIVE - Vss. 6-13
Naomi decided to return
home. It was time to be back in the
Promised Land. Upon deciding to go home,
her daughters in-law decided that they would follow
her. Naomi was honest about her state and the probable future for the daughters in-law if they followed her.
ORPAH WAS READILY
DETERRED - Vss. 13-14
RUTH WAS REALLY DETERMINED
- Vss. 14-18
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Ruth 1 and 3
MOTHER IN-LAW
There have been many
jokes about mother in-laws (You may tell one or two, if you feel so led.),
however there have been many good and godly mother in-laws. My mother in-law, Grace Adams, was a
Christian woman who quietly worked behind the scenes to help those in need.
In the book of Ruth we
meet Naomi, who was by no means perfect, but in the end, had a positive witness
on her daughter in-law, Ruth. Here is
her story.
SHE WANDERED FROM GOD -
1:1-5
In a time of famine
Naomi went with her husband Elimelech into the
They should have
remained in God's land among God's people.
During this time of
wandering her sons married unsaved girls, Moabites.
Her husband died, and so
did her sons.
SHE WENT HOME - 1:6-7
She was returning to
God's land of blessing. She was coming
back to where she once had been.
SHE WITNESSED TO HER
DAUGHTERS IN-LAW - 1:8-18
This was not traditional
witnessing as we would think of it.
However, she must have
talked enough about the Lord, that Ruth was willing to follow her and claim her
God.
Naomi actually tried to
send her daughters in-law back, and Orpah did return
to
Her influence on Ruth was
strong enough, however, that she stayed by Naomi and went to
Mother in-laws can have
a very strong influence on their daughters and sons in-law for good or bad.
SHE WORKED TOWARDS
RUTH'S WELL-BEING - 3:1-4
It was Naomi who told
Ruth to approach Boaz, seeking that he redeem her as a
kinsman-redeemer.
It was her advice that
led to the redemption of Ruth, her marriage to Boaz, and the birth of Obed, the grandfather of David. See chapters 3-4 to fill in
the details.