The Vinita daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1902-1913, 1907-12-07
RUTH'S WISE
CHOICE
Sunday School Lesson for Dec. 8. 1907
Specially Arranged for This Paper

my people, ana tiiy Lou my NOu' NUN
l;le.
TINE.-Ruth belongs to the times of
the Judges. possibly in the time of Gideon,
B. c. 1222-l1S2 or in the early part Of the
iudgeship Of Eli, when East Israel was op-
pressed by Amorites. and West Israel by
the Philistines Q13D. AS she was the
great grandmother of David either date
is possible The dates are the common
ones in our Bible Some scholars place
David's date considerably later.
PLACE.-The early home of Naomi and
the later one OF Ruth was at Bethlehem,
around which so many interesting events
cluster. The early home of Ruth was In
Moab, east Of theADead Sea and southern
Jordan.
Comment and Suggestive Thought.
The Two Decisions.--The two wild
owed daughters-in-law, orpah, the
.Fawn." and Ruth, "the Rose Of
Moab" went part Of the way 10 see
Naomi off, as friends and relatives
We're accustomed to do, and as Is still
the custom in the east. When the time
came to part, when they had kissed
each other and wept together, they
both declared they would not return,
but would go with her to Israel, Like
a wise woman, she declined to take
advantage Of the impulse Of passion
ate regret, which seemed adverse to
their temporal welfare, and which
their cooler judgment might not sane
tion, and urged them, by many strong
arguments, to return" God wrestled
with Jacob with desire to be con-
quered; so Naomi, no doubt, opposed
Ruth, hoping and wishing that she
herself might be foiled. IT. Fuller.
She would have Ruth fully understand
her own mind, and realize what the
decision would cost her. So in the
parable of Christ (Luke IA: 26-3S).
So Joshua, in his farewell address to
his people, when urging them with all
his soul to be true to their God, even
after their declaration-"Go forbid
that we should forsake the Lord
tolls them, ''Ye cannot serve the
Lord" (Josh "a: 21).
Orpah decides to go back to her
people. There was little to attract her
to q new and strange home, with pow
erty In prospect, with little hope that
she would be welcome to the exclusive
Jews, to whom, as well as to her
mother, she might become a burden
nothing to attract her except love and
religion. Neither of these did she
possess in a degree sufficient to over
come the obstacles in the way. We
do not know whether she returned to
the worship of idols or whether she,
at least in private. clung to the re-
ligion and the God she had learned
from Naomi
Ruth, with a deeper nature and
clearer insight, with love to Naomi
that would cheer and strengthen her,
and a consciousness of her need of
God and love to God that made all
other blessings as nothing in compari-
SON, clave unto Naomi, and, like Mary,
chose the good part which shall not
he taken away from her.
v. 16. "And Ruth said" 'Ruth's
passionate burst Of tenderness is i'm
mortal. 1t has put into fitting words
for all generations the deepest
thoughts of loving hearts, and comes
to us over all the centuries between
as warm and living as when it welled
up from that pure, heroic soul. The
two strongest emotions of our nature
are blended in 1t, and each gives a por-
ton Of its fervor-love and religion"
--Maclaren.
Orpah and Ruth, starting together
for the promised land, and one return
ing to idolatry, while the other goes
on to immortal blessedness, are par
alleled by the characters in the early
part of Bunyan's Pilgrims Progress" "
where Christian and his neighbors
start together for the Celestial City.
Christian goes on, while Obstinate
and Pliable soon return to the City Of
Destruction. 1T might have been"
sums up the tragedy of many life.
Choices between good and evil, even
in small things, are the most i'm
portant acts of our lives. They are
the creative acts of the soul. Often
these fatefuI crises come in our lives
in connection with decisions Of the
Importance Of which we do not dream.
We know what is right; we do not
know the far-reaching effects.
The Outcome of Ruth's Choice.-So
far we have been reading the introduc-
tion to Ruth's romantic love story, a
companion picture in common life to
the picture in Solomon's song portray
ing the love of great king.
It is well to have these two pictures
in the Bible gallery, because home
and holy love are essential conditions
Of the Transforming this world into
the kingdom Of God. Home and love
open the gates to Paradise. The star
of Bethlehem for the race stands over
the home with Jesus in it.
The greatest reward both Of Boaz
and of Ruth arises from the fact that
they were the ancestors Of King
David, the greatest of Israels kings,
and of Davids greater son, Jesus, the
prince Of peace.
Here we have the eternal appre-
citation of everyday virtue and service
a. the midst Of little ordinary things