The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-03-11

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something was lacking in their makeup.
The spiritual part of their lives was
stunted. They had learned to love man,
but they had not learned to love Jesus
Christ. Not thus was Ruth She meas
ures full to the test of human love. She
also measures full to the divine test. Let
me draw a flgurative picture of what
mean.
In the Land of Moab
It was sad. sad sight in one of the
homes of city of the great and rich
country in the land of Moab You ought
to know little of the history of that
land Its cities were as rich as the cities
of Sodom and Gomorrah and the inhab-
itants of these cities were Just as vile
as the Sodomites. They were not only
idol worshipers. but worse. Their worship
was similar to that which was celebrated
in the temple of Baal. In this home are
three weeping widows, Naomi is there
and Orpah and Ruth. Like pure spotless
diamonds glttering amid the filth of a
swine trough is the purity of the home
compared to the vileness and sin all
around it. Naomi now is speaking to her
girls those beautiful words found in the
book of Ruth: And Naomi said unto her
two misunderstanding. Go each to her
mothers house, the Lord deal kindly with
you as We have dealt with the dead and
with me-" Then methinks / can see Ruth
turn her great soulful eyes upon Naomi
as she says: Mother, why speak thus
to me? Thou didst give to me for a hus-
band thy dearly beloved son. But thou
ddst do more than all that Thou didst
teach me about the God of Moses and Of
Joshua. Thou hast shown me the way
Of life and what the purity of the home
means. IL thou dost leave me. then back
to idol worship / may go. Nay ] will not
abide here. Whittier thou goest | will 60
and where thor lodgest | will lodge; thy
people shall be my people, and thy God
my God. Do you not grasp what | mean?
In order to worship the true God. Ruth.
gentle Ruth was ready to turn her back
upon the land of her birth. She was
ready 10 go forth into exile, ready to
starve and even die In order THAI Naomi's
God might be her God Are you and l
ready to suffer as did Ruth to be true
disciple of Jesus Christ?
All, sometimes we change our minds in
reference to human love. There is a
beautiful story told that when Henry M.
Stanley started on his last great trip
across the African continent he went with
heavy heart, for the only woman he
| had ever loved did not love him. But when
he returned and met her the first question
he was asked by Miss Dorothy Tenant
was this: Mr.. Stanley, do you find Lon
don much changed?' And the intrepid
| explorer quietly answered: mo. | have
| not found London changed and | have
not changed either" Then he looked her
gently in the eye as he said: 'Have you
changed" With that the famous model
of Millais' great picture. entitled yes or
No?" softly answered, Yes, | have
changed" And the mo of refusal was
changed to the Yes OF wedding bells
But though some of us may change in
reference to the wooing of human love.
Ruth never changed In regard to her al
logiance to the divine love, She was
ready to go into exile. TO starve and even
to die, as she declared to Naomi. "Thy
people shall be my people. and thy God
my Cod" Can we, dare we, say as much?
VIII we give to God today our whole
hearts, full of devotion and self-sacri-
flee?
And what was the result of this self
sacrifice and love for the divine Master?
All Ruth herself never realized what its
far reaching result was to be- / think,
even from Ruth's standpoint, at times she
must have become very discouraged and
felt that her sacrifices amounted to
naught. Everything that she expected
miscarried. She left her own home to
go to the land of her husbands family.
There. of course, she expected to be well
coined and cared for. Was she? No SOON
er did Naomi and this beautiful young
girl cross the Jordan and come up to the
home land of Bethlehem than. her old
neghbors and friends came out to taunt
and to ridicule her. They met her with
these hooking words: rs this Naomi.
who persuaded her husband to go and
live in that wicked country of Moab? Is
this Naomi, who went and married her
two sons to the daughters of the heather
Moabites? No wonder your husband and
both your sons are dead. God has cursed
you with poverty and bereavement" Can
not YOU see the tears trickle down the
! poor wrinkled cheeks of the old woman
and hear the painting sobs choke the
throat of the beautiful young girl when
the sneerng, hooking words are uttered,
us this Naomi?"
Naomi's Trial.
And this Is not all. Not only did the
neighbors and the people mock Naomi.
but they literally left her to starve She
seemed to have no friend in the world.
She went down and down, as some Of you
| have gone down In the struggle of life.
| She got so low that one day Ruth who
| was compelled to 90 something to earn
bread for them to live upon, went out
| to CLEAN after the reapers. The few
| grains of wheat which the reapers aecl-
| dentally dropped were not allowed to be
| niclSed M by the reapers. but We're always
! left to be gathered by the needy poor.
| Then II was, when ii seemed as though
| Ruth could not sink lower that Boaz saw
her and loved her When We think we
are the most friendless and hopeless
! then the Lord is going 10 open for MS. as
/ he did 10 Beth, our greatest opportunity
! of usefulness II we only remain true to
him. Are we willing to go to the land Of
| exile for him? Are we willing to trust
| him? Are we willing to let him use us
for his service? ] ask of you this ques-
tien here and now, amid the dark clouds
h vour life. viii you trust him and re-
main true TO him now?
like Ruth cleaning In the fields az a
manner. in the darkest hours Of your life
can you not learn to trust him and be
true to him? All, Ruth had her Boaz.