The Tupelo journal., 1902-12-05
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
Lesson in the International Serles
for December z, 10O2-Ruth
and Naomi.
H LESSON TEXT.

thee, or to return from following after
thee; for whittier thou goest. | will go; and
where thou lodgest, l win lodge; thy peo-
pie shall be my people, and thy God my
God;
II. Where thou diest, will I die. and, there
will l be buried; the Lord do so to me, and
more also, II ought but death part thee
and me.
Is. Whenshe sawthat she was steadfastly
minded to go with her, then she left speak
ing unto her.
~. So they two went until they came to
Bethlehem. And 1t came to pass, when they
were come to Bethlehem, that all the city
was moved about them. and they said, Is
this Naomi?
~ Ano' she said unto them, Cali me not
Naomi, call me Mara; for the Almighty
nath dealt very bitterly with me.
Il. l went out full. and the Lord hath
brought me home again empty; why then
can We me Naomi, seeing the Lord hath
testified against me, andthe Almighty hath
afflicted me?
~. 80 Naomi returned, and Ruth the
Moabitsss, her daughter-in-law, with her,
which returned out of the country of Moab;
ana they came to Bethlehem In the begin
ming of barley harvest.
GOLDEN TExT.-Be kindly afec-
TONED one to another.-Rom. 1910.
OUTLINE OF SCRIPTURE SECTION.
GUNS /.
Puth seaslce. z.
RUINS redemption. 3, 4.
TlME-B. c.. 1922 and, 1872.
PLACE-Moab and Bethlehem.
NOTES AND COMMENTS.
The story of Ruth is a story of the
heart. 1t shows the beauty and the
rewards of a life of unselish devotion.
But Ruth is not the only noble char
acter in this little drama. In Naomi
and Boaz, as we'll, we have illustra-
lions of what the heart can do to-
wards making one worthy of homage
and imitation. In reading of the three
one feels moved to live so as to bless
others; and that kind of living, as
Jesus showed, is the kind that is ap-
proved of God. In giving up all for the
sake of Naomi, Ruth gained all; in
losing her life she found it. So sweet
a story is well worth study.
1t is not known who wrote the book,
or when he lived. Such explanations
of the story as snow this was the GUS
tom in former time in Israel" (4:7)
show that the author wrote many
years, and perhaps many centuries,
after it all happened, and after many
of the old-time customs had been for
gotten.
The story should be read and reread,
that it may teach its own simple les
son of fidelity and love in its own way.
FOLLOWING the Book of Judges, which
has been filed with bloodshed and yio-
lence and the heroism of the sterner
virtues, it m upon us like a bene-
diction of peace. 1t contains no trace
of war or high politics; the disasters
of its story are the troubles of family
life-exile, bereavement, poverty;
while its grand incidents are no more
than the yearly festivities of country
life, and the formal transfers of prop
erty that must go on though kingdom
rise and fall."-Richard G. Moulton.
"Entreat me not to leave thee, etc.,"
Both Ruth and Orpah loved, but loved
in different ways. Orpah dreaded the
parting, but she saw that Naomi was
right; it would be better for her to
stay. She did not forget herself in her
love. Ruth's love was of that higher
and rarer kind that knows no OBJ
stacles. To follow her mother-in-law
meant poverty in a strange land, but
personal considerations were moth
ing to her. She forgot herself in her
love, and went. Ruth's words have
descended to us as the formula of
personal devotion for all time" "Thy
people shall be my people, and thy
God my Cod" The character of
Naomi is revealed here, too. 1t is no
small thing to inspire such a noble de-
%votion. She had gone into an idola-
trous land, but had remained true to
Jehovah, andwon her daughter to Him
also. "All the city was moved about
them" Naomi must have been well
known and, though the years of sor-
row had changed her, was remem-
bered. Jehovah hath testified against
me-" Naomi's idea here is the com
mon Hebrew one, expressed by Jobs
friends, that suffering was a sure sign
of Gods di%sapproval. Christ taught
that this was not the case.
On reaching Bethlehem, Ruth found
herself in a hard fight with poverty.
She went out like others who were
very poor, to pick up the scattering
heads of grain that the reapers had
missed. But the story of her unselfsh
fidelity was known, and every one was
kind to her. The owner of the field in
which she CLEANED turned out to be a
kinsman of her husbands and took a
great interest in her, finally marrying
her, SO ending the struggle with pow
erty, and showing us that real nobility
of character does not go unrewarded,
even in the sight of men.
PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS.
Each one at some time chooses be-
tween the road that leads to Israel
and the road that leads to Moab.
Orpah saved her life, but lost it:
Ruth lost her life, but found it.
1t is not enough to go part way on
the road to the Kingdom of Heaven
One must continue to the end.
It is better to go with one only on
the road that leads to Heaven than to
remain with the multitude.
If one chooses to serve God the de-
| cision should be irrevocable. There
should be no half-mind about it.
Spear Points.