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LECTURE II.

NAOMI, OR SANCTIFIED TRIAL.

RUTH 1, 3-7.

"And Elimelech Naomi's husband died; and she was

left, and her two sons.

And they took them wives

of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth; and they dwelled there about ten years. And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband. Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab; for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the Lord had visited his people in giving them bread. Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters in law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah."

We

IN the last Lecture our attention was directed to the history of Elimelech. dealt with it as illustrative of the feelings

and conduct of an unconverted or "spiritu ally dead" man. We saw how he left the Land of Promise to sojourn in the land of Moab, and we reviewed briefly the motives, by which he was actuated, and the sad results of his conduct; drawing therefrom some very solemn lessons for our admonition.

The second character in the book, with which I proposed to deal, is Naomi. Her history will serve to illustrate the feelings and conduct of a believer under trial-in other words, the benefit and blessing of sanctified affliction. This is a very impor tant subject, and, if the Holy Spirit help us in our consideration of it, we shall find it both practical and profitable.

Let us take these as the two heads, under which to classify our thoughts.

I. Naomi in the land of Moab.

II. Naomi's return to the land of Israel.

I. Naomi in the land of Moab. We

have seen how, when God sent a famine upon the land of Israel, probably to punish the people for their forgetfulness of Him; Elimelech, actuated by the love of money, left the land of his fathers, and went to sojourn in Moab, thereby separating himself from the public ordinances of God, and exposing himself, and his family, to an unholy and dangerous association with the enemies of the Lord. It does not appear from the history that Naomi offered any opposition to this course. I know that it is argued, that she was not a willing party to the flight from the land of Israel, but that she had "the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit," and acted under a sense of duty to her husband, hoping by submission to win him over to God. I cannot adopt this view as correct. It seems much more likely that she was herself at the time an unconverted person. Her name "Naomi" signifies Sweet," or "Pleasant;" and if

แ

we assume, as perhaps we may fairly do,

that this name was given to her because of her personal graces, then she had two things, which are amongst the most dangerous of all possessions-Beauty and Wealth. Intoxicated by these she, like her husband had forgotten God. He was not in all her thoughts. His honour was not the first thing in her mind. And so, without remonstrance, she accompanied Elimelech to Moab, probably silencing her conscience, as he did his, with the subtle plea-"It will not be for long."

Let us pause here, for a moment, to learn a lesson, which we cannot have too deeply impressed upon our minds. How often do we see persons possessed, as Naomi was, of great worldly advantages, and because they are, as we phrase it, better off than ourselves, we repine, and are sad. Nay more, we are ready to think that if we were in their position, we should have much fewer temptations, and should find it easier to serve God. Now this is really great folly.

It approaches very closely to the spirit of Adam, when he said, "The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat." Adam indirectly charged God with his sin; and so do we, when we impute our sins to the circumstances in which we are placed, forgetting that those circumstances are all ordered by God. The sober truth is, that the absence of the very things which we covet, saves us from many temptations, to who have them are exposed.

which they

"

Very beaugiven by a

tiful was the simple answer venerable old farmer to a relative, who urged him to try to better his position. "I have lived," he said, "on this farm for more than half a century, I have no desire to be richer than I am. For forty years I have known and worshipped God. His blessings have been richly spread around me; and I have made up my mind long ago, that, if I want to be happier, I must have more religion, not more wealth." The old