The Book of Ruth tells us about Elimelech, a man born to the tribe of Judah. He and his wife, Naomi, had two sons. Because of severe famine in Judea, he moved his family to Moab, and shortly thereafter, Elimelech died. His sons did something the Lord had warned against, they married Moabites women. On its surface, particularly with our modern day thinking, we might not understand God’s motive for this. Such a thing is almost unheard of in free societies, and it would be frowned upon to place such limitations on who a person can marry. Our God is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving, holy and sovereign. Everything He does is perfect, so we need to study God’s warning to understand His reason for it. The spiritual significance of it will greatly add to the wisdom we need to walk in God’s Will and Plan today.
Proverbs 14:12, 16:25 tells us that there is a path that seems right, but it ends in death. You don’t get any clearer than this. From its clarity, you and I can deduce that there are two paths in life; one that IS right, and one that SEEMS right. We also know from our Heavenly Father that the peril of choosing and then walking the path that seems right is undeniable. Something in our lives will die if we choose that path, and it is quite possible that a person can lose his or her life from choosing poorly as well. For many people, the imminent and drastic finality of the wrong choice is harsh. They view it much the way they might view God’s warning to the people of Israel not to marry or entangle themselves with the Moabites people.
God doesn’t deal with in-betweens. For those who like to be neutral, this is very uncomfortable. But their discomfort does nothing to change the reality that two paths exist, and we’ve got to choose one of them. Elimelech chose a path that seemed right. The conditions were very bad where he was, and he made a move to secure his family. We must note that dire conditions, no matter the severity, will not exempt us from needing to hear from God. Quite the contrary, it is when we need to hear from Him most. Many of us look at this and might think we’d do as Elimelech did, but as God’s sons and daughters, we should never take matters into our own hands without consulting Heavenly Father first. To act impetuously could be an exceedingly bad mistake.
Proverbs 3:5-7(NLT) tells us, “5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. 7 Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the LORD and turn away from evil.” Our faith must be built on nothing less that total dependency on God. He’ll show us which path to take. We don’t always understand why He’s telling us to do something or why some things take longer to manifest that others, but He has instructed us to always, and in every situation, wait on His divine directives.
Elimelech’s sons married two Moabites women, Ruth and Orpah, and later these two sons died. It was incredibly difficult for Naomi, their mother. Widows would depend on their sons for support after their husbands died, because in those days a respectable woman was not allowed to work. When her sons died, her poverty was imminent.
God commands us not to worship other gods. It is a sin that the devil loves, and the Moabites were notorious idolaters. God told His people in Deuteronomy 7:3-6(NLT), “3 You must not intermarry with them. Do not let your daughters and sons marry their sons and daughters, 4 for they will lead your children away from me to worship other gods. Then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and he will quickly destroy you. 5 This is what you must do. You must break down their pagan altars and shatter their sacred pillars. Cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols. 6 For you are a holy people, who belong to the LORD your God. Of all the people on earth, the LORD your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure.” Heavenly Father did not want idolatry tangled up in the people He called His own. It would allow the devil to disrupt God’s plan for their protection and care. This is why God issued this command, but Elimelech didn’t school his boys on the diligence of keeping the Lord’s commandment, and the consequence was dire.
Heavenly Father warns us throughout His Word to be careful, stay alert, and guard our hearts so we can stay on the path He has set before us. Sometimes you’ve got to slow your roll to give yourself the time to tap into the Father and hear from Him. We have a spiritual enemy who lays many traps, all of them designed to put a wedge in our relationship with Heavenly Father. We should never make impetuous moves without the guidance of God through the Holy Spirit. If we seek Him first, He promises to keep our feet from falling. Isaiah 40:31 tells us that if we wait upon the Lord, our strength will be renewed and like eagles, we’ll mount up with wings. We’ll run and not get tired because He rewards those who will hear His Word and are diligent to keep it. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Impetuous Moves”, written by JMack, 4theChristianMan.com© 2019. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.