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Series Code: PJU
Program Code: PJU190008A
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00:03 Were the people in the Bible any different to us today?
00:10 Or ordinary people like you and me. 00:22 What can we find out from their lives 00:24 that will help us? 00:29 Find out with Pastor Geoff Youlden 00:31 and Rosemary Malkiewycz here on People Just Like Us. 00:38 Life is made up of choices. 00:40 Every day we have to make them, big and small. 00:44 Many of our choices directly affect others. 00:47 Some choices are good, 00:49 but some are bad, even catastrophic 00:53 for ourselves and for others. 00:55 Today, we're going to discuss a family 00:57 that made a bad choice, 00:59 which brought about hardship 01:01 and how the wife ended his story happily, 01:04 by turning around and retracing his steps. 01:07 So tell us, 01:08 why do you call this family backsliders, Geoff? 01:13 Well, I must admit, 01:14 I personally don't like the term backslider... 01:16 Nor do I. 01:18 It really doesn't sound good. 01:22 However, it does describe what some people do. 01:26 They backslide from what they know to be right. 01:29 And that, the good thing about this story, Rosemary, 01:32 is that it has a happy ending. 01:34 Yes. 01:35 And we're going to talk about a backslider, 01:38 who returned and was restored. 01:42 You'll remember her story. 01:44 Naomi left Bethlehem with her husband Elimelech, 01:48 when there was a great famine in the land, 01:50 and went down to Moab with their two sons. 01:55 I would imagine 01:56 that they were chasing a better life perhaps. 02:00 Well, yes, because it's said 02:02 there was a famine in Bethlehem. 02:03 Yes, maybe better pay. 02:06 So they thought that leaving Israel, 02:08 where they had been brought up to love God 02:10 and to go to a country that had no inclination at all, 02:15 to serve God, was a wise decision. 02:18 Unfortunately, 02:19 it didn't turn out to be a wise decision. 02:21 No. 02:22 But while down in Moab, 02:24 her husband died and their two sons. 02:27 So it was a very serious plight to be in. 02:28 You can just imagine how poor Naomi is. 02:32 Her husband dies, and then their two sons. 02:34 I mean, that would be a tragic experience. 02:37 And she would have used all her money 02:39 trying to survive, 02:40 because there was no pension, 02:42 no way of supporting her through the government. 02:45 That's right, and... 02:47 And she was a foreigner. 02:48 Well, she was in a foreign land as a widow now. 02:50 That's right. 02:52 And in those days, women didn't work. 02:54 So it was a pretty, pretty bad situation. 03:00 Now the question is, who were these Moabites? 03:03 They were the descendants of Lot. 03:06 You remember during the nights of his drunkenness, 03:10 he committed incest with his two daughters. 03:14 The story is recorded in Genesis 19. 03:17 And Lot became the father 03:19 of two bitter enemies of God's people, 03:22 the Moabites from his older daughter, 03:25 and the Ammonites from his younger daughter. 03:29 And yet they're relatives of the Hebrews. 03:32 Yes, well, our cousins I guess, weren't they? 03:34 Yes. 03:35 The Ammonites were very hostile to God's people. 03:38 They were nomads and often joined forces 03:40 with other nations to oppose Israel. 03:44 On the other hand, 03:45 the Moabites were far more settled and sophisticated. 03:49 They didn't fight Israel as such. 03:51 They were far more subtle 03:53 in their engagement with Israel. 03:56 Moab hired a false prophet to curse Israel, 04:00 and later sent the most beautiful woman in Moab 04:05 to seduce God's people. 04:08 You know, the world is always 04:09 a very, very dangerous place for God's people, 04:11 but never more dangerous 04:14 than when it offers friendship, and fellowship, 04:16 and recognition to His people. 04:19 You know, join our club and our committee, 04:22 our fraternity and enjoy our lifestyle, 04:24 no trouble at all. 04:26 We know that you don't approve of our gods necessarily, 04:30 but we will accommodate you, 04:33 as long as you don't preach against us. 04:36 That's the way it goes, isn't it? 04:38 Yes, that's what they said. 04:39 That was the Moab that Naomi lived in, 04:42 as a lonely widow. 04:44 And it's hard to imagine 04:46 a more dangerous place for a man 04:47 to bring his family into and then leave them. 04:52 The gods of the Moabites were extremely cruel. 04:56 Yes. 04:57 In fact, they were so bad. 04:58 It's almost an unbelievable thing 05:01 when I tell you this, Rosemary. 05:04 In order to fertilize their crops 05:08 and to have the gods approve of their crops, 05:11 they would take their babies and they had a god call Moloch. 05:16 And if you could picture Moloch, 05:18 he was like on his haunches with his arms out, 05:22 and they had a fire inside his belly 05:25 that they would stoke up, 05:27 and then they would take these babies 05:29 and actually throw them into the hands, 05:32 the red hot hands of Moloch. 05:34 And they believed that in doing this, 05:38 they were appeasing their gods 05:40 in order to make their crops fertile. 05:44 So they're killing their babies, 05:45 burning their babies alive. 05:47 It's unbelievable. 05:49 But that's, that's exactly what they did. 05:53 Another thing, God was so upset with them, 05:55 that He made a decree 05:57 that no Moabite could participate 06:00 in the sanctuary service 06:01 and in the salvation process 06:04 until 10 generations had passed. 06:06 In other words, 06:07 to get all this Moabite bad blood 06:09 out of their system took 10 generations. 06:12 It's amazing when you look at the gods 06:14 of these different people, 06:16 those who didn't find the God of Israel. 06:21 Even the gods of some of the societies around us, 06:24 the cultures around us today, they can be very barbaric. 06:28 Yes. 06:29 And it's, the people follow them out of fear. 06:31 Yes. 06:32 Whereas the God of the Hebrews 06:34 wanted to be followed out of love. 06:35 And He was always thinking of the downtrodden 06:37 and the oppressed and wanting to look after them. 06:41 Well, this was the background and it was during the Judges 2, 06:45 that there was a king by the name of Eglon. 06:48 And the Bible describes him as fat. 06:52 Very, exceedingly fat. 06:53 Yes and repulsive. 06:56 And he ruled Israel for 18 years. 07:01 As a foreign... 07:02 As a foreign, and... 07:03 A foreigner king. 07:05 Dominated them for 18 years. 07:06 And I would have thought that, 07:08 that ought to be a warning to any person in Israel, 07:11 of the danger of being associated 07:13 with the Moabites. 07:16 But, of course, when you're a backslider, 07:21 you don't see the dangers of Moab, 07:25 and that's why Elimelech took his wife, Naomi, 07:29 and their two sons, 07:31 and they journeyed down into Moab. 07:34 It was certainly a backward step. 07:36 Well, not only that, 07:37 but when they got down into Moab, 07:40 to add insult to injury, 07:43 not only was Naomi now widow, 07:46 but now her two sons married to Moabite girls. 07:52 So they're really entrenched 07:54 into the Moabite society. 07:57 Then one day Naomi announces to her daughters- in-law. 08:03 Who are both widows as well. 08:05 Yes, who are widows by this stage 08:08 that she was going back to Bethlehem. 08:11 And she was about to say goodbye. 08:14 And we pick up the story, 08:16 if you'd like to read it with me 08:18 in the Book of Ruth 1:7, 08:25 it says this, 08:27 "Therefore she went out from the place where she was, 08:31 and her two daughters-in-law with her, 08:34 and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. 08:38 And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, 08:41 'Go, return each to her mother's house. 08:45 The Lord deal kindly with you, 08:47 as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 08:50 The Lord grant that you may find rest 08:53 each in the house of her husband.' 08:56 So she kissed them 08:57 and they lifted up their voices and wept. 09:00 And they said to her, 09:01 'Surely we will return with you to your people.'" 09:07 And you can think here of the influence 09:10 that Naomi had on these two girls. 09:12 Must have been amazing. 09:14 Well, it was a very positive one for a start, 09:16 because she was saying, 09:19 "Come, and we'll go back to Bethlehem," 09:21 and the girls were willing to follow. 09:25 And you can see these, 09:27 these three girls traveling together. 09:29 There was Naomi, of course, the backslider. 09:31 Then there was Ruth, 09:34 who was a very interested convert. 09:38 And there was her, 09:41 the other son's wife 09:45 by the name of Orpah. 09:48 And she was perhaps regarded as an inquirer, 09:52 but unfortunately, she never made it. 09:56 And as a result, 09:59 she eventually went back to Moab. 10:03 And I blame Naomi for that. 10:06 It was Naomi's influence finally 10:08 that led Orpah to go back to. 10:12 And you can read that here in a little bit further on. 10:17 And once again I'm sort of picturing 10:19 in my mind now 10:20 as we're talking about it, Rosemary, 10:22 these three girls walking along the road toward Bethlehem. 10:27 And they would be traveling... 10:28 And it's quiet a distance. West. 10:30 They'd be traveling west of the sun 10:31 would be in their eyes as they traveled 10:33 most of the afternoon at least, into the evening. 10:37 And, 10:41 no doubt Naomi was telling Ruth in particular, 10:45 about the God of Israel, 10:49 and telling her about Abraham, 10:52 and Isaac, and Jacob 10:55 and reciting all the wonderful stories. 10:57 She no doubt recited the story of Joshua, 11:02 and how they conquered, you know, 11:05 the land of Canaan, and all of these stories. 11:09 And then she told him about the true God. 11:12 And then suddenly as they were talking, 11:15 bit like the story of Jesus and his parent, 11:17 you know, the parents, 11:19 they were so busy talking, where's Orpah? 11:24 Hence, they turned around and looked back 11:27 and there Orpah was way, way back in the distance. 11:33 And so they waited for her to catch up. 11:38 And poor Orpah was thinking about going over 11:42 to this foreign land called Israel. 11:45 And she was thinking 11:47 that she was going to leave all her childhood memories. 11:51 All her family. 11:52 All her family, all the things that were dear to her, 11:56 she was going to leave behind. 12:00 And Orpah makes a statement. 12:06 In fact, if you look here at verse 11. 12:11 This is Ruth 1:11. 12:14 In her, Naomi, this is in her backslidden condition. 12:17 This is what she says now to Orpah, look. 12:23 This is why I say, she's to be blamed. 12:25 Notice what she says. 12:27 "But Naomi said, 'Turn back my daughters, 12:30 why will you go with me? 12:33 Are there still sons in my womb, 12:36 that you may have your husbands?'" 12:39 So she's saying, "Look, I'm not going to be able 12:42 to produce any more sons for you." 12:47 Verse 12, "Turn back my daughters, go." 12:52 That is go back to Moab. 12:54 "For I am too old to have a husband. 12:57 If I should say I have hope, 12:59 if I should have a husband tonight 13:01 and should also bear sons, 13:03 would you wait for them till they were grown? 13:07 Would you restrain yourselves from having husbands? 13:10 No, my daughters, 13:11 for it grieves me very much for your sakes 13:14 that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me!" 13:18 Yeah, here she's blaming God for all that's happened. 13:22 And she's wallowing in her misery... 13:24 Well. 13:26 And it turns her thoughts negatively 13:28 to her daughters coming with her. 13:30 Yeah, well, she's saying to them, 13:31 "Look, I can't have any more sons. 13:34 So you're not going to get any sons 13:36 out of me for marriage." 13:38 And furthermore, she said, 13:41 "There was no upright Israeli man 13:44 who will ever have you as their wives." 13:47 Because we've been told that 13:49 till 10 generations we're not to get associated. 13:52 Moabites are not to come in. 13:53 Yes. 13:55 And, whereas if you stay in Moab, 13:58 the chances of you getting married again 14:01 are extremely high. 14:02 So, you go back. 14:04 And this is what she says to both, 14:06 to Ruth, and to Orpah. 14:08 And these two young women, 14:11 who were showing such an interest 14:14 about the true God, 14:15 and about His leading in their lives, 14:18 she now pours cold water on the whole thing, 14:21 and sends them back to Moab. 14:25 And so I say, I blamed Naomi 14:28 for the condition of Orpah, in particular. 14:33 And then she adds here in verse 14, 14:38 "Then they lifted up their voices and wept again, 14:40 and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, 14:44 but Ruth clung to her." 14:47 So I can see Orpah now in this situation. 14:50 The three of them are talking around 14:52 and Naomi's saying, look, go back. 14:55 No chance of getting married if you stay with me. 14:58 Go back, and I can see Orpah now straightening up. 15:03 And she says, "Mom, I think you're right. 15:06 I think you're right. 15:08 I'm going to go back to my gods, 15:11 and to my old way of life." 15:14 I love you, but I'm going to go back to my people. 15:17 Yes. 15:18 She listened to the reasoning of Naomi 15:21 which was so bad. 15:24 And she goes back, and it's interesting. 15:28 You know, she goes back to her pagan gods, 15:30 but we don't read another single thing ever about Orpah. 15:34 What happened to her? 15:35 We have no idea. 15:37 But she goes into absolute darkness. 15:39 And once again, Rosemary, 15:41 it indicates to me, 15:42 how careful we need to be about our talk. 15:47 Because we can have a tremendous influence, 15:48 both for good, and for bad 15:51 upon those that we come in contact with. 15:55 Let me give you another illustration 15:57 in the Bible. 15:58 Abraham. 16:00 Now, it was when Abraham apostatized 16:02 and became a backslider 16:05 that he went down into Egypt. 16:08 You know the story. 16:09 And while he was in Egypt, of course, 16:11 Lot, his nephew 16:15 got a taste of the highlife, the Egyptian highlife. 16:19 Yes. 16:20 And that's what led finally, when they left Egypt, 16:26 and they then settled. 16:27 In Canaan. 16:28 Yes, that Lot chose to go down by Sodom and Gomorrah, 16:33 because that was the highlife. 16:35 He got a taste of it in Egypt, 16:37 and he wanted to continue it on. 16:38 And it was Abraham's backsliding attitude 16:42 that led to Lot's mistakes 16:45 and all the consequences followed. 16:47 And it led to the Moabites. 16:48 Yeah, well, the story that we're reading here 16:51 wouldn't be a story, 16:54 because it would never have happened, 16:55 if Abraham had been faithful... 16:58 Yes. And not backslidden. 16:59 So, the Bible is full of stories like this, 17:02 that illustrate how important it is for us, 17:04 never to backslide, 17:05 because there are consequences, even though people come back, 17:09 and Naomi, we're going to read, came back, 17:12 and Abraham came back, but there were consequences. 17:15 And the Moabites and the Amorites 17:18 were consequences of Naomi's, 17:22 or sorry, of Abraham's. 17:25 So our choices in life don't just affect ourselves, 17:28 they affect other people around us, 17:31 including other generations. 17:32 That's right, exactly. 17:34 And in verse 16 and 17, 17:37 some of the most wonderful words 17:38 in the English language, 17:40 and sometimes you hear this at weddings. 17:43 Because Ruth said, 17:45 in view of all that Naomi had been saying, 17:49 let's remember this, 17:50 she'd been encouraging, Orpah, took it up. 17:52 But Ruth had a different attitude. 17:55 And this is what she said, "Entreat me not to leave you." 17:58 Don't press me to leave you," she said, 18:00 "or to turn back from following after you, 18:03 for wherever you go, I will go, 18:06 and wherever you lodge, I will lodge. 18:10 Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. 18:14 And where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried, 18:19 The Lord do so to me and more also, 18:22 if anything but death parts you and me." 18:27 Beautiful words, aren't they? They are. 18:29 Some of the most majestic words in the English language. 18:31 Their real confession of faith. 18:33 Yes. 18:34 No wonder, Ruth became the girl that she eventually was. 18:38 You could see the quality in the girl 18:42 right in these early days. 18:43 And she really loved her mother-in-law. 18:45 She did. 18:47 Verse 19 says, "Now the two of them, 18:50 they came back to Bethlehem. 18:53 And it happened, when they came to Bethlehem, 18:55 that all the city was excited because of them, 18:58 and the women said, 'Is this Naomi?'" 19:02 They couldn't believe that it actually was Naomi. 19:06 Well, she'd been away for, what, 10 years or so? 19:10 At least. 19:12 And, but the lines on her face, she had aged. 19:17 Not just by the 10 years, but by many, many more years. 19:21 And she would have, I presume, looked extremely, 19:25 not just sad, but grieving. 19:27 Yes, well that... 19:29 She would be anything less than human 19:30 if she wasn't upset, you know, 19:32 losing her husband, losing her two sons. 19:34 That's enough to break the heart of a lion. 19:36 And her wealth, what money they had. 19:39 Yes, it was all gone. 19:40 Yeah. 19:42 And her face indicated that she was a different woman. 19:48 And verse 20 goes on to say, 19:52 "But she said to them, 19:53 'Do not call me Naomi, call me Mara, 19:59 for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me." 20:04 So once again, she blames God. 20:07 Don't we do that? 20:08 Well, backsliders often do. 20:10 We blame God for our bad mistakes? 20:12 Well, remember, 20:14 let's just recast our mind on this story. 20:16 She and her husband chose to go to Moab, didn't they? 20:20 Yes. 20:22 God had nothing to do with it. 20:24 God would have discouraged that. 20:26 So, why is she blaming God for doing something 20:31 that they chose to do? 20:32 But that's so much like us. 20:35 We get into difficulties, 20:37 and the first person we blame is God. 20:39 Well, Adam started doing that in the Garden of Eden 20:43 when he sinned. 20:45 And God said, "Adam, why did you do this?" 20:47 He said," Well, the woman that you gave me..." 20:49 "Was the problem." 20:51 So, he blamed God even then, and then, 20:53 the woman blamed the serpent 20:56 that God had created, basically. 20:58 So, they're passing the buck 21:00 and blaming God and someone else, 21:02 and we've been passing the buck ever since. 21:05 Well, it gets worse, Rosemary. 21:08 Naomi gets worse. 21:10 Because have a look at verse 21, 21:12 "I went out full, 21:14 and the Lord has brought me home again empty. 21:17 Why do you call me Naomi, 21:20 since the Lord has testified against me, 21:22 and the Almighty has afflicted me?" 21:26 So now... 21:27 Once again. She's blaming God. 21:28 She says, "The Lord has done this deliberately to me." 21:31 Yeah. 21:32 And, poor Naomi, as I said, we can sympathize with her, 21:37 having lost her husband and her two sons, 21:39 and she paid a tremendous price for backsliding. 21:43 Do you think that part of what she's doing there 21:45 is the influence of the gods of Moab? 21:49 Because they would have tried 21:51 to appease those gods all the time, 21:53 because they would, you know, 21:54 not give them a good crop or as you say, 21:56 fertilize the ground, or the rain or something. 21:59 If, "Oh, we haven't done the right thing, 22:01 let's appease the God. 22:03 And so the God has done this to us." 22:06 And so, then that reflection is in the way of her thinking. 22:11 Well, she would have been influenced 22:13 by what was going on around her, 22:15 no question about that. 22:16 And I think the point that you're making 22:17 is very good. 22:19 Here over in 4:15. 22:23 Now we must remember too. 22:26 You can understand how the people 22:27 would have regarded Ruth, a Moabite. 22:32 What's she doing coming down here? 22:35 She's unclean. 22:36 She's not one of us. 22:38 And so I would imagine for a long period of time, 22:42 I don't know how long, 22:43 but for a period of time, 22:45 there must have been great suspicion against Ruth. 22:52 That would be natural, wouldn't it? 22:53 It would be, definitely. 22:55 And it's interesting, in verse 14, 23:00 they make a statement, 23:02 "Then the woman said to Naomi, 'Blessed be the Lord, 23:06 who has not left you this day without a close relative, 23:10 and may His name, be famous in Israel.'" 23:12 And verse 15, 23:14 "And may He be to you a restorer of life 23:16 and a nourisher of your old age," 23:18 you know, they're trying to encourage her, 23:21 "for your daughter-in-law," that's Ruth, 23:23 "who loves you, who is better to you 23:26 than seven sons, has borne him." 23:29 Just talking about eventual marriage with Boaz. 23:33 And, so in that, in that period of time, 23:36 the folk have got to love Ruth, 23:38 and they've seen their qualities, 23:39 and they're praising Naomi and saying, 23:42 "Well, she's actually better than sons and..." 23:44 Seven sons. 23:45 "Seven sons." 23:47 And that would have been something for her to say. 23:48 And also, it's interesting 23:50 to notice what Boaz said about Ruth. 23:53 You'd think that he may have been 23:54 a little bit biased, 23:55 but this is what he said "And now my daughter..." 23:58 This is 3:11. 24:01 "And now my daughter, do not fear, 24:03 I will do for you all that you request, 24:06 for all the people of my town know 24:08 that you are a virtuous woman." 24:11 So she had the accolades 24:14 and the praise of all that were with her. 24:17 Obviously, Ruth had really accepted the true God, 24:22 the God of the Israelites, 24:25 and had put all of her faith in Him, 24:27 and they could see that in her 24:29 even though she was a Moabite, she was a true convert. 24:32 Yes, well, she was a wonderful woman. 24:35 You know, something else I find interesting, 24:37 is that when Naomi came back, 24:40 she was a bitter old woman. 24:42 That's why she said, "Don't call me Naomi anymore. 24:45 My name is Mara." 24:47 But as she fellowshipped with God's people, 24:49 a change took place, 24:52 and the people all started to call her Naomi again, 24:56 which means pleasant. 24:58 You know, this is the reason 25:01 why God has established the church. 25:04 And I meet people, I'm sure you do too, Rosemary, 25:07 from time to time, who say, 25:09 "Look, I'll just worship on my own. 25:13 I don't need to go to church. 25:14 I don't need to belong to a church." 25:16 That's right. I hear lots of people say that. 25:17 But that's not the way God intended it. 25:19 God, we are social creatures, 25:21 and we need the fellowship of the church... 25:24 And the encouragement. And the encouragement. 25:26 And this is what we're reading here 25:27 that these women in Bethlehem, 25:30 they encouraged Naomi, 25:32 and they lifted her spirits, 25:34 so much so that her name, 25:38 they wanted to give her back her name, 25:40 because it meant pleasant. 25:41 Yes. 25:43 Someone who was, who's around us, 25:44 who's pleasant, you know, 25:45 we all like being around people who are pleasant. 25:48 Yes, we do. Yes, it's natural. 25:50 And so her name means pleasant, 25:53 and they gave her back her name. 25:56 And once again, 25:58 I think it illustrates the importance for us 26:02 of the church 26:03 and the social aspects of the church. 26:07 And I believe that the church is not only studying the Bible, 26:12 that's very, very important and foundational, 26:14 but on top of that, 26:17 it is social and encouraging us, 26:22 and God wants us to be people 26:25 who are pleasant to be around with. 26:27 That's right. 26:28 And one of the fruits of the Spirit is joy. 26:31 You know, the world offers many things, 26:33 amusement and pleasure, but it can't offer joy. 26:37 Joy is more than happiness. 26:39 You know, happiness depends upon what happens to us, 26:43 but joy transcends circumstances. 26:46 When Jesus is about to go 26:47 to the cross at the Last Supper, 26:48 He could speak of joy. 26:51 It is sin that actually takes away 26:54 the joy of our salvation. 26:55 Because you'll remember, 26:57 that when King David sinned with Bathsheba. 27:01 David didn't lose his salvation, 27:03 because he still loved the Lord. 27:06 But he lost the joy of his salvation. 27:09 And God wants us to be joyful as Christians. 27:13 And when Nathan came in and reproached him, 27:16 he realized he's lost that joy. 27:17 Yes. 27:18 So Naomi, instead of being gloomy and depressed, 27:21 went around spreading the fragrance of joy. 27:24 And people gave her back her old name, Naomi. 27:27 And so God wants us to fellowship with one another 27:31 and to be pleasant people. 27:33 God wants us to make good choices. 27:35 It's up to us, 27:36 whether or not we make the choices 27:38 in consideration of His will. 27:40 Or just do our own thing 27:42 and we end up with the consequences. 27:45 So let's choose the right things 27:46 and fellowship with God's people, 27:48 and to love God, 27:49 and may He bless you until we see you next time. |
Revised 2020-01-23