Running away - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2025

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.
Ruth 1: 1.

Running away
Because famine raged in Bethlehem and people had nothing to eat, Elimelech and his family left the land to reside in Moab.

What seems sensible from the human point of view turned out to be a tragedy: Elimelech and both his sons died, leaving Naomi behind as a widow in a foreign country. This confirms the verse in impressively: "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death."

This story shows us how fatal it is when a believer runs away from God and turns to the world. Bethlehem speaks of the place where the Lord Jesus gathers the redeemed around Himself. Moab is an illustration of the world that seeks to get along without God. As in Elimelech's case, difficulties are often the cause of a Christian leaving a place of worship to seek satisfaction in the world. He may have numerous reasons for taking the step, but none is valid before the Lord. It is disobedience towards God.

Consider the tragic consequences for the family: when the father sets out on a wrong pathway, taking his children with him, he exposes them to dangers that they can neither see nor survive unharmed. They will find faith only through the Lord's abundant grace, as do all the redeemed, but the father's poor example will not make it easy for them

(to be concluded tomorrow)

Today‘s reading: 1 Samuel 16: 1 - 13 · Psalms 102: 12 - 18