During the era when champion deliverers ruled in Israel, a severe famine overtook the land. Elimelech, a man of importance, left Bethlehem and immigrated to the country of Moab. He took with him his wife Naomi and their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion. They belonged to the clan of Ephrath from Bethlehem in Judah.
— Ruth 1:1-2
God speaks to us through simple stories where we learn about Him, the characters, and about ourselves. In this story, the husband is named Elimelech which means God is my King. Naomi’s name means pleasant, delight, lovely, gracious. They had two sons. One was named Mahlon which means weak and sickly and another named Chilion which means pining away or he’s not going to make it.
Famine came to the land and brought fear. Fear that they would die. But remember, God had said to them in covenant, “I will look after you”. Evidently Elimelech forgot what God had said and let his feelings rule. He said, “we are going to Moab until things get better”.
Moab was a terrible place because in their culture everything centered around the god they worshiped named Chemosh. This was a god who lusted after blood, specifically the blood of children. The people had to bring their children and sacrifice them to Chemosh. Baal was worshipped, too, which was the god of sex and greed. Elimelech brought them into this environment by not trusting God to look after them.
Elimelech made a wrong decision, and I will be sharing some of the things that happened to them in Moab. But what I want you to see now is that even in his bad choice, God did not abandon this family. God sees our humanness and our mistakes. But God in His love for us joins us in our wrong choices to bring about His plan. Because of this decision, Naomi became a bitter woman, distrustful and depressed. In spite of that, God used this family to bring a Moab woman named Ruth to Bethlehem who would be in the lineage of Jesus. God stepped into their circumstances and brought good from a wrong decision. He didn’t send them to Moab and their choice brought about some not so good consequences, but He did not abandon them.
We have all made wrong choices and you may think that because of them God has given up on you, but no, never. Agape Love – God – never stops loving and never gives up. Let this Love bring healing and forgiveness to yourself and others. God is crazy about you. He is rejoicing over you. He will not abandon or forsake you or point out your weakness. He gives you His Hand and says, “Come on, let Me redeem this situation for My Glory and for you. Walk with Me”.
“Don’t pass the love of God through circumstances, pass circumstances through the love of God.”
August 2023 Wallpaper