Daily Devotions

in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons. 2 And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem Judah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there. 3 And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died; and she was left, and her two sons. 4 And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years. 5 And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband.

Elimelech, Naomi, and their sons lived in Israel, in Bethlehem, in the times of the Judges in Israel, during a time when men did that which was right in their own eyes. The bible tells us there was a famine in the land, no rain, poor crops, and the people became poor. What to do? In his own eyes Elimelech decided it was better to go into Moab, a pagan land, to last out the famine. Most likely he did not intend to stay in Moab the rest of his life, but he left the land of his fathers, he lift the land of his God, to go to a pagan land, and he never returned again. This is one of the steps that took Naomi from joy to sorrow, from being filled to being empty. Remember from yesterday that she had everything that she could want, a husband, sons, a home in Israel. After a few years in Moab she has no husband and no sons, she lost all that brought her joy. Spiritually speaking we make a huge mistake when we move from where God wants us to be to do that which is right in our own eyes. Spiritually speaking when we step away from the Lord we never intend for it to be a long time, just a short while. But just as Elimelech got used to being in Moab so does the Christian get used to being away from God. Doing what is right in our own eyes, moving away from where God wants us to be is the first step in moving from joy to sorrow.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 9th, 2013 at 6:12 am and is filed under Daily Devotions. You can skip to the end and leave a response.