February 22nd -28th 2021

Time To Leave Moab

Scripture of the week
“So she set out from the place [Moab] where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.” (Ruth 1:7)

Weekly Word With Kerry Faucher

There are many great lessons we can learn from in the book of Ruth, in the bible. It's said to be one of the greatest love stories told in the bible, while this is true I want to share with you what God gave me while reading the book of Ruth.

Ruth 1 begins on a note that recounts to a famine that occurred in Bethlehem which means the House of Bread. This sounds ironic because there was no bread in the House of Bread.

A man by the name of Elimelech took his wife, Naomi, and their two sons and moved to the country of Moab to avoid the famine. To be honest this would of been my first move if I were in a situation like this. At the time Elimelech thought he had made the right decision. After all, he and his family needed to eat...

Elimelech’s fleeing to the land of Moab indicates that he did not have much confidence in the Lord. First of all, there was no evidence in the scripture that said God had told Elimelech to move his family to another country. From this, I noticed that there was a lack of FAITH! It was, instead, an act of living by sight which is the total opposite of Faith. The bible says in Hebrews 11:1, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
God wants us to have faith in him and trust him even before we see the blessing he has instore for us!

It is at times such as these that we begin to understand the nature of true faith. David, in Psalm 27:5, stated, “For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hid me; He shall set me high upon a rock.” He continues in verse 13, “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.”

That is where our true hope lies. Though tragedy may strike, yet we have the confidence that our God never leaves nor forsakes us. As we walk even through the valley of the shadow of death, His faithful arms shelter and guide us.

Secondly, Elimelech left the presence of God in Judah to go to a city that that was filled with corruption! God said that Moab was strictly off-limits for the Israelites, however, off went the family of four to Moab. They made a new home there until Elimelech died. Although Naomi was a widow, she still had her sons who later on married Moabite women. But 10 years after both of Naomi's son's die.....which left all 3 of these women alone, desolate and no form of support .
What a tragedy!

Now the decision was left to Naomi, to either remain in this land and suffer or return to her homeland in Judah! She chose to return to her homeland. and fortunately for her the famine was over which could be a great opportunity for her to start over! Despite our mistakes or how hard our past is, there is always an opportunity to start over!

“So she set out from the place [Moab] where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.” (Ruth 1:7) It was time to LEAVE MOAB! GO BACK TO GOD!

In the same way and for the same reason, you and I need to leave the Moabs of our own making. Whether it’s a place we don’t belong or a relationship going in the wrong direction or an activity we’re ashamed of or a habit that’s strangling us, we need to get out of Moab.

And there is another difficult part of leaving Moab. As Naomi and her 2 daughters in law set out to leave Moab…One of the women became confused when they had to decide between staying in Moab or returning to Judah. Her name was Orpah. She wanted to leave but her mind was filled with uncertainty. All three women had to make a choice. Orpah chose differently than Ruth and Naomi. She returned to Moab.

Sometimes we have to leave people too. People who are not traveling in the same direction. People who want to stay in Moab. People who have chosen different paths. It’s tough to do but in order to receive the blessings we have to do so!
Elevation Requires Separation!