We all

We all face events in life that can be devastating, events that leave us feeling fearful, bitter, uncertain about the future.

Today on Truth for Life, we'll learn how a widow named Naomi dealt with this kind of tragedy, and we'll find

out how her daughter-in-law's decision to remain with her points forward to a decision each of us

must eventually make.

Alastair Begg is teaching today from the opening verses in the book of Ruth.

And that's already scene it is.

A lonely widow living in a foreign country without either the protection and provision of a husband or that which may come by way of her sons in a male-dominated society.

There's a hopeless setup.

Who's to know whether she thought it was a great idea to go to Moab or not?

Who's to know the discussions that took place in the family room before they left? Did she say to Alimelech? I don't know if I really want to go to Moa? And he said, oh, come on, I think it's the best thing to do.

Or was she the champion of it? Did she lead the former, then she would, of course, have reason to sit

and say, I wish I hadn't listened to him. And if it was the latter, then she would have reason

to sit and say, I wish he hadn't listened to me. But whether the former or the latter, she now

sits alone, an alien in a strange land, driven from her home by famine, robbed of her loved ones by death. And the most significant

part of this, which will unfold as we continue our study, is this, that one of Israel's family

units totters on the brink of extinction. And if there was one thing that was a shame in the

nation of Israel, it was that your family line would come to an end. And that is exactly what she

faces. Her husband's gone. Her boys are dead. She's too old to get married again. If there

were to be any prospect at all of any kind of offspring in these amazing odds,

then it would have to be a work of God.

So we read on.

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