IN-LAWS, FAMILY AND MARRIAGE 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. 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. And they came into the country of
Moab, and continued there. (Ruth 1:1-2)
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The book of Ruth is quite a short book, but has enormous lessons for marital
relationships today. In less than 15 minutes you could read the entire book, and
guided by the Spirit of God, you could discover some of the gems that this book
contains for your personal development and understand of good marital
relationship.
Foreigners in another country
Elimelech travelled to another country because of the famine in his country of
Israel at the time. Since creation people have never stopped travelling from one
place to another for various reasons: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and even the earthly
father of Jesus Christ did travel and became foreigners in another country.
Being a foreigner does not make you lose your dignity; unfortunately, many
foreigners face a lot of challenges the world over. If you find yourself as a
foreigner in a country like South Africa, you will have to endure both racism
and xenophobia simultaneously from whites and blacks respectively. However, it
will be unwise to allow these two devilish treatments to overshadow your sense
of beauty and appreciation of the magnificent diversities that God has placed in
South Africa.
Elimelech travelled with his whole family, and this is very important; that is
also true in the case of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph (the earthly father of
Jesus Christ). The unity of the family must be maintained, and that is exactly
what all these people did.
Never allow any situation to cause your family to live apart in difference
places. That will not be in support of the unity of the family.
Disaster or Prosperity
As much as we all wish for the best, sometimes things go the other way. Due to
circumstances that cannot be explained, disaster struck the family of Elimelech.
He and his two sons died leaving his wife and daughters-in-law. Since the dead
does not know anything, it was Naomi who bore the pain of this disaster. But the
strange thing was that one of these daughters-in-law, Ruth, would not let go of
Naomi. The bond between Ruth and Naomi really defied the normal perception or
outlook of ladies of today. Ruth looked beyond the absence of her husband; she
looked beyond the material things which most women see as the ultimate reason
for marriage; and she saw what ordinary eyes cannot see. She had the eyes of
faith:
…faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen
(Heb 11:1).
Ruth could not have had faith in a devilish mother-in-law! Naomi could not have
given in to go with Ruth to her country if Ruth was a devilish daughter-in-law!
Indeed Ruth must have seen some unique and extraordinary attributes of her
husband and in-laws which were absent from her own pagan country of Moab! It
must have been this desire and longing that created the bond between Ruth and
Naomi which made them inseparable; so much so that Ruth could say this to Naomi:
Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for
whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people
shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there
will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part
thee and me (Ruth 1:16-17).
This was the voice of a woman who had a lot of sense of value for God and godly
things rather than material things.
We can share the same outlook with Ruth; to look ahead with the eyes of faith;
the kind of active or living faith which goes with works. Our faith must be
invested in God, associated with God’s people and related to godly things.
Reward of the faithful
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God
must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek
him (Heb 11:6).
Ruth was greatly reward for her faithfulness; and so was Naomi. What more could
a woman wish for? All that she lost in Moab and more was restored to her in
Israel. She was blessed with a husband who was both rich spiritually and
materially. She was blessed with the fruit of the womb; and most importantly,
she became one of the vessels to carry the lineage of the Saviour of the human
race. The genealogy of Jesus Christ cannot be outlined without the mentioning of
the name of Ruth, and the Holy Bible will not be complete without the book of
Ruth.
Conclusion
Yes family is important, and family is built on marriage. Marriage is the model
which depicts the beauty of the relationship between the Church and Jesus
Christ: Jesus Christ being the groom and the Church being the bride (Eph
5:22-33). Marriage is the God’s own and first institution to be establish.
Children grow and develop best within the confines of a family: to learn to be
loved and to love, to develop proper senses and good values. If the family is in
trouble, the community of human beings is also in trouble.
No wonder the devil has made marriages his number one target. The rate at which
marriages are falling apart is all time high, and the rate is even increasing.
As more and more children are being brought up outside proper family homes, the
earth is being populated by people of questionable characters and attitudes.
Violence and immorality are escalating, and for such people aggression,
cheating, lying and stealing are all ways of survival.
The principles of God for marriage are being pushed aside, and new ones
formulated by politicians are being used to regulate and control marriages,
whereas God being the originator of the marriage institution is being push
aside. How can this work? It does not work because it does not make any sense!
Marriage has become one of the means by which some people make wealth; the real
purpose of marriage being lost completely in the eyes of these people.
If you follow the principles of God for marriage, and you invite Him to be
involved in your quest for better marriage, He will never disappoint you if you
are prepared to wait on Him. I am waiting on the Him, and if I may ask: will you
join me in waiting on the LORD?
May God bless you for your attention, and may you be blessed as you share this
with others. Amen.
Presenter: Admin Webmaster
Date: 2018-12-27 14:56:20
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