“Ah, so you’re not just sojourning, you’re settling there. Some of the worst lies are the lies we tell ourselves. The way we rationalize our resistance to the Lord’s word and His leading. The term used was a technical one: They were becoming resident aliens in Moab. We’ll see they go all in on Moabite culture. They marry into the Moabite community. After 10 years, Naomi says to her daughters-in-law, “Go back to your gods. They’re just as good or better than Yahweh.” This is a dramatic movement away from the God of Israel.
Interestingly, Elimelech’s name means “God is my king.” That phrase may be on his lips every day, or coming from Naomi every day when she called her husband’s name, but where was their faith? It was in the soft soil of Moab. But we’ll see that this place that Elimelech was so convinced would be the site of new life for his family ended up only being the site of his grave and the graves of his sons. He defied God’s principles, He defied God’s leading, He stopped believing in God’s promises or His trustworthiness, and the result was ruin and death.
This story starts with a family of God’s people doing exactly what what we see in Judges – they do what’s right in their own eyes. And predictably, it’s a disaster. The bleak spiritual setting makes the faith of Ruth and Boaz shine all the brighter. With this backdrop, they believe and follow God.”
