There aint no bread in the land of Moab

"Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons. 2 And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehemjudah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there. 3 And Elimelech Naomi's husband died; and she was left, and her two sons. 4And 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. 5 And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband. 6 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" (Ruth 1:1-6).

During a famine in the times of the Judges, Elimelech took Naomi his wife and two sons and went into the land of Moab. It appears that this famine that led Elimelech to flee to Moab, occurred during the Midianite oppression. In Judges we read "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. 2 And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds. 3 And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them; 4 And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass. 5 For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it. And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD" (Judges 3:1-4).

The reason that there was a famine when Elimelech left Canaan for Moab was because the children of Israel did Evil in the sight of the Lord. But when the Israelites cried unto the Lord after seven years of oppression, God heard them and called Gideon to deliver them from the Midianites. Miraculously God had once again visited his people and saved them not only from the Midianites but from the famine that resulted from their oppression. Elimelech on the other hand not only missed out on the visitation of God that came when His people cried out to him in repentance, but he lost his life in Moab. And not only did he die in Moab, but his two sons as well leaving their widows to have to make it on their own. When things got hard in the promise land he high tailed it out of their seeking bread in Moab and ended up losing his life. Ten years later, after experiencing the loss of her loved ones, Naomi returned home when she heard that God had "visited his people" and lifted the famine. If Elimelech would had stuck it out with his people during hard times and cried out to God in prayer with them, he and his family would have experienced the great revival that came to his people.

God sometimes allows hard times to come to marriages, churches and families that he might bring about repentance, renewal and rest. But too often rather than crying out to God and working through the difficulties, married couples instead seek divorce, churches divide and families are fractured. Husbands leave their wives and vice versa when they experience problems seeking for bread in the land of Moab and later are filled with regret and even more misery. Will never find the bread that only heaven can provide if when things get hard we look for the easy way out. Many times we make decisions not based on what God is leading us to do. We do so in order to seek a better situation elsewhere only to find that there aint no bread in the land of Moab. The heavenly provision that heals marriages, and brings revival to churches only comes when God's people cry out to him in humility and repentance. God will visit his people when they allow the hard times to drive them to God not divide them from one another. God does his best work in hard times. Unless you know God is calling you elsewhere don't you runaway. There ain't no bread in Moab. Moab is your own ambitions, you own plans, and your own agenda. God's doesn't appreciate what he doesn't initiate. By God's grace may there be a resolve in our heart that says, "I will not run to Moab. I want to be where God wants me to be even if it's cost me. Jesus paid it all and all to him I owe." When the going gets tough don't cut and run. Cry out to God and wait on Him. "Heavenly Father come and visit your people. Rain down on us Lord."