Ruth 1:1-5, What to do in famine?

Ruth 1:1-5, What to do in famine?

 1-5, 1.In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab.
2 The man’s name was Elimelek, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.
3 Now Elimelek, Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons.
4 They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years,
5 both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.

    There are famines in life. These are poor years in economy, poor years in relationships, poor years in health, etc. (Job). In the text, we see Elimelech/Naomi, the people of God who met a famine.
1. Why did they meet the famine?
 Natural phenomenon? Their sin or faults? God's training? God’s test? God’s education?    In the era of turning away from God (1), to overcome the famine, they left the land of God and migrate to the foreign land of Moab (1,2,6, When Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, she and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there.). We do what is right in our own eyes (Judges 21:25,  In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.) But apart from God, we are nothing.  John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
 Ps. 127:1, Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.

2. Why did you flee there?
 1) They prioritized the issue of eating over the issue of the soul.
 2) Trusted the world more than God. ‘Elimelech’(My God is king), ‘Naomi’(Joy)
 3) They didn't know the meaning of hardship. Training? Trial? test?

3. What is the result of leaving God?
 1) Elimelech, her husband, died early (3, Ps 127:1)
 2) Two sons-married  Moabite women(4,5) Orpha&Ruth(refreshmennt, friendship)
 3) Death of Mahlon(sickly person)&Kilion(frail person), two sons with negative names

4. Follow God's will and live as a grain life
 1) Meet God who comes in times of famine (Job 40:6-7, 6Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm: 7 “Brace yourself like a man; I will question you,  and you shall answer me).
 2) Be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:9, 1 Kings 2:2, 1 Cor.16:13, Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong)
 3) Winnowing God (Matt. 3:12, From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it)-Do you know the principle of winnowing? I saw a winnowing in the countryside. The chaff goes far away when winnowed. But the grain is closer. Do you live as a light chaff or a grain life(true faithfulness)? How do you live?

*Conclusion: Let us all live a fruitful life according to God's will in the famine of life.