The Yale expositor., 1907-12-06
RUTH'S WISE
CHOICE
Sunday School Lesson for Dec. 8. 1907
Specially Arranged for This Paper

LESSON TEXT-Ruth 1:14-22. Memory
Verses, 16, Il.
GOLDEN TEXT.-"Thy people shall be
my people, and thy God my God."-Ruth
i:lG
TIME.-Ruth belongs TO the times OF
the Judges. possibly in the time of Gideon,
b. c. 1222-1lS2. or in the early part of the
judgeship of Eli, when East Israel was OPP
pressed by Amortes, and West Israel by
the Philistines 013D AS she was the
great grandmother of David, either date
is possible. The dates are the common
ones I'm our Bible. Some scholars place
David's date considerably later.
PLACE.-The early home of Naomi ana
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 the Dead Sea and southern
Jordan.
Comment and Suggestive Thought.
The Two Decisions.-The two wild
owed daughtersin-law, OTpah, the
"Fawn." and Ruth, the Rose OF
Moab" went part of the way to see
Naomi off, as friends and relatives
were accustomed to do, and as is still
the custom i'm 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
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
ton, 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."-T. Fuller.
She would have Ruth fully understand
her own mind, and realize what the
decision would cost her. So in tho
parable of Christ duke IA: 26-33).
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-"God forbid
that we should forsake the Lord
tells them. "Ye cannot serve the
Lord" Josh. "a: 2D.
Orpah decides to go back to her
people. There was little to attract her
d
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 burden
nothing to attract her except love and
religion. Neither of these did she
possess in degree sufficient TO over
come the obstacles in the way. We
10 hot oh nH
the worship of idols or whether she,
at least in private. chung to the re-
ligion and the God she had learned
from Naomi
Ruth. with a deeper nature and
clearer insight, with a love to Naomi
/ that would cheer and strengthen her,
and 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
be 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
I two strongest emotions of our nature
! are blended in it. and each gives por.
ton of it's 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 fateful 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.-Sc
far we have been reading the introduc.
ton 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.
1t 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 loVl
open the gates to Paradise. The sta
OF Bethlehem for the race stands over
the home with Jesus in 1t.
The greatest reward both of Boa2
and of Ruth arises from the fact that
they were the ancestors of King
David, the greatest of Israel's kings.
and of David's greater son, Jesus, the
prince of peace. .
a.