The Un-expected Consequences of Sin
We live in an unusual age. It is no longer normal to see God's broken laws or the transgressing of God's laws as sin. We call it by much more respectable terms such as illness, sickness, addiction, gender confusion, alcholism, pro-choice, etc, etc. One of the problems is that we no longer put human behavior in the right perspective. Morality has been successfully severed from the God who gives it reality.
This is evident in a multitude of ways, but allow me to digress back into the OT story of Ruth to provide a classic example of how the unexpected consequences of sin can overwhelm us as we lose our moral bearings.
The story of Ruth is a prime example of what can happen in believers’ lives when they allow themselves to be influenced by a culture which fails to recognize God's moral authority. The story takes place in the time of Israel's judges when "every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). It was a precarious, unpredictable period of history. I think we are re-living it today right here in America. Here is what happened.
Elimilech, an Isrealite man was living in Bethleham-Judah with his family when a famine came into the land. Elimilech, whose name means "my God is King," decided that God was not able to take care of his family in Bethleham which ironically means "house of Bread.” Elimilech decided to go down to the foreign, idol-worshipping land of Moab in an attempt to take care of his family. Obviously, it was not a decision based on faith in God or obedience to God. It was a decision which characterized the spirit of their times, and it would prove to be disastrous for Elimilech, his two sons, and his wife Naomi. But I want to point out three steps which Elilimech took on way to ultimate disaster which I hope each of us can avoid in our lives today. First, Ruth 1:1 the narrator says Elimilech,
went to sojourn in the country of Moab.
This word sojourn means to remain temporarily as in a short visit. That’s the way all sin happens. We don't intend to sin long and hard, but it never really works out the way we think it should. Sin is always is more complicated than we think. Remember how the one white lie as a child turned into numerous untruths? Put it like this. Sin is never short and sweet! But then notice after coming into the land the text then states in verse 2 that,
They continued there.
It is simply too easy to get comfortable with our sinful lifestyle. We gradually become hardened in our resolve to accomplish whatever got us there in the first place. With Elimilech, it took no faith for him to eat in this place. Food was available, and they thought they had escaped the famine. Unfortunately, they had simply exchanged a physical famine for a spiritual famine. The latter was far worse than the former. Along this way of disobedience, Elimilech died and then verse 4 says,
They dwelt there about ten years.
I'm sure when Elimilech left Bethleham ten years prior that he had no intention of being gone for a decade. The first indication is that he only wanted to stay temporarily, for a very short period of time. But remember, that is exactly how sin works.
Sin always costs us more than we can pay, keeps us longer than we intend to stay, and takes far more than we are willing to give.
In this case, Naomi and her two daughters in law are now left penniless and without hope in an unforgiving male-dominated society. In many cases in this OT world, death would be just as desirable. The best part of this story moving forward is no longer the availability of food, but the insertion of hope that their faithful God extended through Naomi and Ruth's eventual return to Bethleham in the person of Boaz, their Kinsman Redeemer.
Like Boaz, who eventually married Ruth the Moabitess, and restored hope to a broken family, Jesus is our Redeemer who can restore hope to you when you trust His power to deliver you from your sin.
This is evident in a multitude of ways, but allow me to digress back into the OT story of Ruth to provide a classic example of how the unexpected consequences of sin can overwhelm us as we lose our moral bearings.
The story of Ruth is a prime example of what can happen in believers’ lives when they allow themselves to be influenced by a culture which fails to recognize God's moral authority. The story takes place in the time of Israel's judges when "every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). It was a precarious, unpredictable period of history. I think we are re-living it today right here in America. Here is what happened.
Elimilech, an Isrealite man was living in Bethleham-Judah with his family when a famine came into the land. Elimilech, whose name means "my God is King," decided that God was not able to take care of his family in Bethleham which ironically means "house of Bread.” Elimilech decided to go down to the foreign, idol-worshipping land of Moab in an attempt to take care of his family. Obviously, it was not a decision based on faith in God or obedience to God. It was a decision which characterized the spirit of their times, and it would prove to be disastrous for Elimilech, his two sons, and his wife Naomi. But I want to point out three steps which Elilimech took on way to ultimate disaster which I hope each of us can avoid in our lives today. First, Ruth 1:1 the narrator says Elimilech,
went to sojourn in the country of Moab.
This word sojourn means to remain temporarily as in a short visit. That’s the way all sin happens. We don't intend to sin long and hard, but it never really works out the way we think it should. Sin is always is more complicated than we think. Remember how the one white lie as a child turned into numerous untruths? Put it like this. Sin is never short and sweet! But then notice after coming into the land the text then states in verse 2 that,
They continued there.
It is simply too easy to get comfortable with our sinful lifestyle. We gradually become hardened in our resolve to accomplish whatever got us there in the first place. With Elimilech, it took no faith for him to eat in this place. Food was available, and they thought they had escaped the famine. Unfortunately, they had simply exchanged a physical famine for a spiritual famine. The latter was far worse than the former. Along this way of disobedience, Elimilech died and then verse 4 says,
They dwelt there about ten years.
I'm sure when Elimilech left Bethleham ten years prior that he had no intention of being gone for a decade. The first indication is that he only wanted to stay temporarily, for a very short period of time. But remember, that is exactly how sin works.
Sin always costs us more than we can pay, keeps us longer than we intend to stay, and takes far more than we are willing to give.
In this case, Naomi and her two daughters in law are now left penniless and without hope in an unforgiving male-dominated society. In many cases in this OT world, death would be just as desirable. The best part of this story moving forward is no longer the availability of food, but the insertion of hope that their faithful God extended through Naomi and Ruth's eventual return to Bethleham in the person of Boaz, their Kinsman Redeemer.
Like Boaz, who eventually married Ruth the Moabitess, and restored hope to a broken family, Jesus is our Redeemer who can restore hope to you when you trust His power to deliver you from your sin.
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