WHICH WILL I EXALT? MY REASONING OR GOD’S
WILL?
Ruth 1: 1: 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 Bethlehemjudah 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 Bethlehemjudah. 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 teaches us never to
lean to our carnal understanding. Instead, we should obey God’s will in his
word, even when other ways appear more reasonable.
Bethlehem-Judah was God’s house of bread
where he promised to meet with his people. It was God’s will that around his
house his dwell together in unity. They could fellowship together, bear one
another’s burdens and, most importantly, worship together as one. On the other
hand, Moab was the land where God’s curse rested. God’s will was that his people not dwell in Moab away from his house
and their brethren. There was no place
to worship God in Moab, only idolatry.
Then God sent a test. He sent famine into Bethlehem-Judah while making
Moab fruitful. Elimelech knew God’s will.
But he began to reason by natural sight. How do we reason when we judge by sight rather
than faith? It goes like this: “I know it is God’s will for me to dwell with
his people but it just makes more sense to move to Moab; I know Bethlehem is God’s house of bread but
my livelihood is in Moab; I know it is God’s will for his people to dwell
together and to consistently be under the preaching of the gospel but we can go
to the house of bread from time to time, we just want be near to bear our
brethren’s burdens or have them bear ours when we are in need.” So Elimelech moved to Moab.
Which of these will God bless? Will God
bless us exalting him by trusting that his house is the house of Bread where he
is able to provide for us against all carnal reasoning? Or will God bless us
exalting our understanding over his will, exalting our earthly bread over
Christ our Bread, choosing to live together with Christ-hating rebels over God’s
people? The answer is found when we see
God arrange his good providence so that what began as Elimilech’s temporary “sojourn” turned into him staying over
ten years in Moab. We see the answer in
that God killed Elimilech in Moab. Then as their father taught them by his
example, his two sons rebelled against God by marrying Moabite women. Then God
killed his two sons leaving Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth with no man to provide,
no brethren near to help and, worst of all, no place to worship God. Oh, God
saved Naomi and Ruth because they were his elect. But Naomi suffered much bitterness as God
removed all the obstacles that were hindering her and brought her back to
Bethlehem-Judah.
Now, which will I exalt? My carnal reasoning
or God’s sovereign will?