Lesson For The Week (Jan. 4)

Security
But whoever listens to me will have security. He will be safe, with no reason to be afraid. (Proverbs 1:33)

Getting Started
We have so many things to make us feel secure, and we are always inventing more. We have locks, alarms, security cameras, emergency phone numbers, police, firemen, security guards at banks and hospitals, passwords on our computers, streetlights, and cell phones, just to name a few. But even with all these reasons to feel safe, many of us don’t. A world-wide survey was done last January to see how safe people feel. Over 1 billion people were interviewed. Half of them said that they did not feel safe enough. Half also said they fear their children’s world will be even less secure. Where can we find true security?

* Gallup International, January 2004

Vocabulary
security (n) – safety; freedom from danger, fear and worry; having everything you need
alarm (n) – a device to protect a house or car that makes noise if someone tries to break in
guard (n) – a person hired to protect someone or something
survey (n) – an interview given to many different people to find out information
widow (n) – a woman whose husband has died
bury (v) – to place under ground

Reading God’s Word

Ruth was a young widow from a land called Moab.
Her husband had not been a Moabite. He was an Israelite who had come to
Moab with his family. When he died, everyone expected Ruth to stay in Moab
and get married again. An unmarried woman was powerless in those days.
Ruth’s sister-in-law, Orpah, was also a widow and so she faced the same problem.
But Ruth and Orpah really loved their mother-in-law, Naomi, and she wanted to
return to her own homeland.

Ruth 1:7-17

7 They started out together to go back to Judah, but on the way 8 she said to them, "Go back home and stay with your mothers. May the Lord be as good to you as you have been to me and to those who have died. 9 And may the Lord make it possible for each of you to marry again and have a home." So Naomi kissed them good-bye. But they started crying 10 and said to her, "No! We will go with you to your people." 11 "You must go back, my daughters," Naomi answered. "Why do you want to come with me? Do you think I could have sons again for you to marry? 12 Go back home, for I am too old to get married again. Even if I thought there was still hope, and so got married tonight and had sons, 13 would you wait until they had grown up? Would this keep you from marrying someone else? No, my daughters, you know that's impossible. . . 14 Again they started crying. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye and went back home, but Ruth held on to her. 15 So Naomi said to her, "Ruth, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her god. Go back home with her." 16 But Ruth answered, "Don't ask me to leave you! Let me go with you. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. 17 Wherever you die, I will die, and that is where I will be buried. May the Lord's worst punishment come upon me if I let anything but death separate me from you!"

Taking a Closer Look
1. What does Naomi advise Ruth and Orpah to do? (1:8)
2. What reasons does she give for telling Ruth and Orpah to leave? (1:9)
3. What does Orpah decide to do? (1:14)
4. What does Ruth decide? (1:16,17)
5. What risk is Ruth taking?
6. Where does Ruth find security? (1:16)
7. Where do you find security?

Taking Action
1. Sometimes even though we know God is taking care of us, we still worry about our security. How can we get better at putting our life in God’s hands?

2. Because Ruth felt truly secure that God would take care of her, she had the courage to take a big risk to help her mother-in-law. What risks are you willing to take to help others?

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