Three Mistakes to Avoid

"Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah went to dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons." v1                                     Ruth 1    NKJV

This man was called Elimelech with his wife Naomi and two sons, Mahlon and Chilion. Elimelech was concerned that he wouldn't be able to feed all of his family so, instead of trusting and seeking God, he ran away to the country of Moab, a place with a hatred for Israel and dedicated to heathen practice. This was mistake one - unbelief.

We see in scripture, that many people have tried to avoid God's direction and Elimelech was no different. He was a man who walked by sight, not by faith. He was trusting in man, not God and he would learn that this was an unwise thing to do.

Originally, he had meant this to be a temporary measure but the sojourn lasted ten years - a decade of disobedience. After a short time, Elimelech died and his two sons, after marrying two Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth, later died too. There is a lesson here, if we honour the enemy instead of God, we have to reap the consequences of our behaviour. 

Mistake two - the cover up followed, Naomi decided to leave the area and return to Bethlehem, there was no point in staying there any longer. She had heard that the famine was over in her country and she determined to go there - alone. She talked this over with her two daughter's in law, explaining that it would be better for them to return to their family here and the logic of it all. Orpah decided she would do this but Ruth was adamant, she would stay with Naomi until she died. Naomi's plan had been to send the two women to their families and go alone as she didn't wish for people in her homeland to discover that her family had broken the Law of Moses by allowing their two sons to marry outside the covenant nation. If her daughter's in law were not with her, no one would know this. She was trying to cover up this sin.

Mistake three - bitterness, came with Naomi blaming God for all the bad things that had happened to her because of her disobedience.

Three mistakes, Unbelief, Deception and Bitterness. We are all susceptible to these areas; we may get away with them for a time, but we can never hoodwink God. He sees all, knows all and will reveal all, unless we repent. Sometimes possibly in haste, we make bad decisions and we have to live by them. This is why we should always consult with God in the first instance Proverbs 3:5-6. 

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