the book of Ruth, the little book of Ruth, and the chapter is the chapter number one. We'll read the final verse of the book of Judges. It'll give us some context in which this little Ruth of book sits historically and gives us a little insight into the state of society whenever we come to read the book of Ruth. So we're reading the final verse there in Judges 21, the verse 25, and then we'll read the chapter together. Let's hear God's word. In those days there was no king in Israel. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes. It came to pass in the days when the judges ruled that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife, Naomi, and the name of his two sons, Malon and Shileon, Ephrodites of Bethlehem, Judah. And they came into the country of Moab and continued there. And Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left and her two sons. And they took them wise of the woman of Moab, the name of the one was Orpah, the name of the other Ruth, and they dwelled there about ten years. Malon and Chilion died, also both of them, and the woman was left of her two sons and her husbands. Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return on to the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab how the Lord had visited his people and given them bread. She went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her, and they went on their way to return unto the land of Judah. Naomi said unto her two daughters-in-law, Go, return each to her mother's house. The Lord deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voice and wept. And she said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people. And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters, why will ye go with me? Are there yet more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? Turn again, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, if I should have a husband also tonight, and should also bear sons, would ye tarry for them till they were grown? Would ye stay for them from having husbands? Nay, my daughters, for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord is gone out against me.' And they lifted up their voice and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth cleaved unto her. And she said, Behold, thy sister-in-law is gone back to her people. And unto her, God, return thou after thy sister-in-law. And Ruth said, And treat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee. For whither thou goest, I will go, and where thou lodgest, I will lodge. Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. Where thou diest, I will die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me. And she saw that she was steadfastly minded to go with her. Then she left off speaking on to her. So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. They came to pass when they were come to Bethlehem that all the city was moved about them. And they said, is this Naomi? And she said on to them, call me not Naomi, call me Mara. For the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full and the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why then called ye me, Naomi, seeing the Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me? So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabiteess, her daughter-in-law with her, which returned out of the country of Moab, and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest. Amen. And we'll conclude there. Let's briefly engage just in a word of prayer. Loving Father, we come now to Thee, Lord. I come to preach the word. Lord, we pray now that help will be given. As the word is preached, come and fill me with thy spirit, O God. Help me to say that which is right and proper. Lord, we pray that thou wilt instruct us and school us in the things of God this very day. May we be ready to hear that which the Lord would have to say and deal with our hearts, Lord. We believe, Lord, that thou wilt deal tenderly with us. We thank Thee that as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. Lord, come by and help me now, I pray, for I offer prayer in and through the Savior's lovely, great, and precious name. Amen. It has to be her. Well, I'm telling you for a fact that it's not. Well, if it's not her, it's certainly someone that is very like her. Listen, it cannot be her because where is her husband and where is her two sons? Honestly, I think it's mistaken identity on your part. That's the kind of heated and impassionate debate that I envisage took place among the townsfolk the day that Naomi returned from Bethlehem. from or to Bethlehem from the land of Moab. You see, the question that was on everyone's lips was this, is this Naomi? News had traveled like wildfire that Naomi, the woman who had been away for so long and never expected to return to Bethlehem, had now returned home after 10 years absence. The final verse of the chapter puts it like this, As we continue our studies on some of the Bible's great returns, we want to think today about Naomi's return. to Bethlehem. It is one of the more sadder returns that we come to read about in Scripture. Every return that we have considered already in this series and that we will consider in coming weeks, we will find that for there to be a return, there must first of all be a departure that takes place. And that is certainly the case in the life of Naomi. Naomi's return from Moab points to the fact that she left Bethlehem. And so for today's outline, as we think about Naomi's return to Bethlehem, we want to frame that message around really her departure from that said town. As we think about Naomi's return to Bethlehem, I want us to think first of all about the background to Naomi's departure. the background to Naomi's departure. We're really going to think about the state of two particular realms when we think about the departure or the background to her departure. I want us to think about the state of the nation, and then I want us to think about the state of a family. When it comes to Naomi's departure from the town of Bethlehem, What was then the state of the nation when Naomi and her family, her husband and two boys left for Moab? Well, can I say that three things marked the nation during this sad episode in the nation's history. The first mark within the nation was that of apathy. There's tremendous apathy in the land of Israel at this time. The 12 tribes of Israel had failed to go and to subdue entirely the land of Canaan and to claim it for its inheritance. When Joshua was an old man, he was told by the Lord that there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed. And so what had happened was that the first generation of Israelites, they had left pockets of the enemy untouched. The second generation of Israelites, they came along and they said to themselves, well, why bother? Why bother to subdue the land any longer? Why fight any longer? Why not just be, as it were, living alongside the enemy. Why push the enemy out of the land? Why see to its complete subduing the nation of Canaan? You know, apathy can be a terrible blight in the life of a believer and certainly in the life of any church fellowship. It causes that church fellowship to stall in its progress. People, they shrug their shoulders and say, well, why should I bother myself? Why should I bother myself? Why should I bother myself when it comes to reaching out to the lost? Why should I bother in coming to the times and seasons of prayer? Why should I bother coming to God's house And therefore, progress is stalled within the work of God. May God rid us of our apathy. May God deal with our indifference when men and women and boys and girls are dying in their sin and they're going to hell. May God deliver us from apathy. The second mark was that of apostasy. Judges chapter 2 informs us that the children of Israel had forsaken the worship of Jehovah, and in its place they had now come to worship Balaam. Balaam. All sorts of immorality was associated with Baal. Worship, prostitution, the sacrificing of children. Great immorality, great sin was found when a nation had refused to worship the living God and had replaced the worship of Jehovah with the worship of false gods. And that's what happens whenever God's people become apathetic. The next step on the road is apostasy. Apathy leads to apostasy. The denial of biblical truth and the promotion of that which is immoral comes to take the place when a people have become apathetic with regard to the things of God. And so there was apathy, there was apostasy in the land, and then there was anarchy. Anarchy. This downgrade within the nation continues to such a stage that we get to the place that we find ourselves in that closing verse of Judges. And the chapter 21 and the verse 25. In those days there was no king in Israel. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes. There was anarchy in the land. Apathy, apostasy, anarchy were the order of the day in which Naomi lived. Does it sound familiar? It ought to. Tremendous apathy exists among us. apostasy, a turning away from that which is right, anarchy within our land and within our nation. We find ourselves as Naomi and her husband and her family found themselves in the days of Ruth. Well, God was not going to allow His covenant people to sink any further into sin. And so, He sent judgment. He chastened His people. in order to bring his people back to himself. Now that judgment in the days of Ruth took the form of a failing harvest. God had warned his people that such would happen in the days of Moses. You can read about that in Deuteronomy 28, the verses 15 through to 18. God had told his people that if they forsook him, if they turned away from him, that God would curse the field, He would curse their basket, He would curse their store, He would curse their herds and their flocks if they would not hearken on to the voice of God to observe, to do all His commandments and all His statutes. And so God is simply making good on the promise with regard to judgment. That's what happens when a society, a people set aside God's statutes and when God's people set aside God's commandments. God's judgment comes upon a nation. And brethren and sisters, we find ourselves under judgment. Under judgment. There is a famine in the land. Not a famine of bread. Plenty of that in the supermarket shelves, but a famine of the hearing of God's Word. And we lament of that. We mourn over that. We mourn that there is a famine with regard to the hearing of God's Word outside the church, and rightly so. But sadly, such a famine has found itself into the church as well. Devotional style talks. More the order of the day than expositional and doctrinal preaching in among the places of worship across the land. May God spare us from such preaching. Well, here was a people. Here was a nation. This was the state of society in the days in which Naomi lived. This is the background to Naomi's departure. But there was one family, along with all of the families, but there was one family who was impacted by the famine. It was a little family of four. We read about that family here in the opening chapter of the book of Ruth. Such is the pressure that came upon a Limelax family that it was decided, I don't know how, I don't know when, but it was decided that they would relocate to Moab until better times returned to Israel. Notice that they didn't plan to stay long. It says in the opening verse that they went to sojourn in the land. They went to sojourn in the country of Moab. Then in the verse number 2 it says that they continued there. And then in the verse number 4 it says that they dwelt there. That's what happens when there's a departure from God. It's all incremental. It's all slight. The drift is small. Initially, oh, we'll only stay there for a few days, maybe a few weeks, possibly a few months. But that evolved into continuing there. And then it seems to be that they put down their roots. They decided to stay there. That's where they were going to live out the rest of their days. See how subtle backsliding can be. Now, whenever we look at this family, there are a number of ironies regarding this move to Moab that need to be mentioned. The first irony relates to the name of the town in which the family lived. Naomi and her husband, Elimelech, and their two sons, Malon and Chilion, they lived in a town called Bethlehem during the days of famine. The name Bethlehem means house of bread. The irony was that there was no bread. That was the irony of the day. There was no bread in the house of bread. This obvious contradiction was designed by God to provoke the people who lived there and within the nation, to provoke them to repent of their sin, to return to God, who would then in turn visit His people again and give them bread. That is why God comes and chastens us in our lives. It isn't that He is some sort of capricious God. some kind of tyrannical deity who delights in seeing his people suffer, but rather God chastens those with one end in view, are turning from sin, are repenting from sin, and are returned to the Lord. In love, he chastens us. May we never despise the chastening of the Lord, the irony with regard to the name of the town. Then there is a secondary irony, and it relates to the name of the head of the home. Naomi's husband is called Elimelech. His name means, my God is king. My God is king. From Elimelech's actions, it does not appear that God was his king. Elimelech, like the rest of Israel, was at this time doing that which was right in his own eyes. If God had been Elimelech's king, why was then he planning to take his family and to live among the ungodly in Moab outside the land of promise. Sad to say, Elimelech, he had a name that he had failed to live up to. God was not this man's king. Now, as we read the historical narrative regarding this family's departure from Bethlehem, we never read of them praying about this matter. We never read of Naomi protesting to her husband about this move. In fact, as you read between the lines of what Naomi says whenever she returns to Bethlehem, it seems, at least in my mind, that it was her idea to move away from Bethlehem. She says, the Lord has dealt bitterly, very bitterly with me. The Lord hath afflicted me, she said. She seems to take on the responsibility that this departure from Bethlehem was down to her. Now, I don't know if that was the case or not. But it seems to be, as we read between the lines, that at least Naomi feels the weight of the decision that she made, along with her husband, to take her boys away from the land of promise. But regardless of who it was that suggested setting up home in Moab, albeit though it be for a period, only a brief period of time, it was wrong for them to leave this town as a family, the town of Bethlehem. Because while things were not good in Israel at this time, Moab in terms of its morality and in terms of its spirituality was going to be a million times worse. Here were parents who made a choice that was going to see their boys, their two boys exposed to all kinds of sin and licentiousness and wickedness and would eventually see that they married two heathen girls. You know, this story in the book of Ruth, it is a reminder to all who have been given the God-given responsibility of being a parent that they must be, and we must be, careful in the choices that we make for our families. A father or mother's departure from God can have a monumental impact upon a family unit. To withdraw from the covenant community of God's people can result in untold heartache and sorrow. Just ask Naomi. Let me repeat that again. To remove and to withdraw from the covenant community of God's people can result in untold heartache and sorrow. Just ask Naomi. Moab was no place to raise a family. I say that because Moab, in the scripture, is a picture of the flesh. You'll know how the Moabites came about through the incestuous relationship between Lot and one of his daughters. It speaks to us of the flesh. And so here's a mother, here's a father who take themselves and their little family away from the house of bread, from Bethlehem, from the place where the Messiah would be born, and they would expose those boys to the sensuous living and the false worship of the Moabites. Such a move away from God and from his people would never have God's blessing on it. It is a reminder to us all that we must, as I've already said, beware of any spiritual drift in our lives. No matter how small that drift may be, a meeting missed, a prayer time skipped, a quiet time neglected, as the potential of taking us far, far, far from God. And our country is littered with men and women who became careless in their walk with God and now they are nowhere with God. And I speak of ministers as well, individuals who once walked with God and they became careless It is a return to God that you need. It's not a return to the prayer meeting. It's not a return to the service as a church. It's not that. It's a return to God you need. A return to God. And then everything else will fall into its place. Well, this move to Moab was not only dangerous physically, but it was also spiritually dangerous. And yet, despite that, Despite these dangers, we read in the verse number two that they came to the country of Moab and they continued there. Verse four goes on to say that they were there for about 10 years. Think of that. What was only intended to be a short visit to Moab ended up being 10 years in its duration. We could say here was a family who lived 10 years outside of God's will. A family who lived ten years out of the will of God. You know the intention on the part of the backslider is never to be that long away from God. They wouldn't be so infrequent at the throne of grace and prayer. They never intended to be so regular in their non-attendance at the house of God. They certainly never intended to be so worldly and so fleshly and so carnal in their living, but that's the way that it's worked out. What is the remedy? Well, the remedy is never to depart from the Lord, stay close to Him. Stay close to the Lord. And if there has been a departure, then it calls for a speedy repentance and a return on to the Lord. This is the background to Naomi's departure. But I want us to think about then, secondly, the bitterness experienced because of Naomi's departure. Let me read to you again what befell this little family as they removed themselves from the covenant community of God's people and took up residency among the ungodly citizens of Moab. We're informed in the verse number three that Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died and she was left of her two sons. And they took them wives of the woman of Moab. The name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth. And they dwelled there about 10 years. And Malon and Chilion, they died also, both of them. And the woman was left of her two sons and her husband. Within 10 years, Naomi's husband and her two sons die. Death ensued. Warren Worsby, he summed it up like this. A family exchanged one famine for three funerals. A family exchanged one famine for three funerals. Said Lou Baxter, he said, they sought bread, but they found graves. That's what Moab became for this family. It became a graveyard. It became a place of death. It's a reminder to us all that far off fields are not as green as we all imagine them to be. We must be wary of the lure to leave the place that God places us. Short-term gain can oftentimes result in long-term pain. A short-term gain can oftentimes lead to a long-term pain. And so we find that death ensued with regard to this departure from Bethlehem. What do we learn from this? Well, we learn a number of things. Firstly, we learn that it is a most serious thing to step out of the will of God. It is a most serious thing to step out of the will of God. Be careful whenever you make decisions that you are in the center of God's will and avoid everything that is contrary to God's revealed will. Secondly, death follows departure from God. Not physical death. but spiritual deaths. Our spiritual lives, they dry up. We become, as it were, like a spiritual prune or some kind of reason whenever we wander away from God. When we engage in that which is prohibited in the Scriptures, we find ourselves spiritually, as it were, dying. There's a death, there's a dearth, enters our lives. I wonder, are you there today? Are you in spiritual dearth? Have you wandered from the Lord? How long has it been since you prayed? How long has it been since you last took down the Word of God and read it and enjoyed reading it and studied the Scriptures? How long has it been since you've witnessed to someone else about the Savior? How long has it been since you've just enjoyed being a believer? and understanding who you are in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. In this little section of God's Word, we have a 10-year period. It's only a couple of verses, the verses 3 down to 5, just 10 years. You think of that there, 10 years. A life of 10 years is condensed into three verses. And we read what those 10 years really entailed. It entailed sorrow. and heartache and bitterness because they had left the place where God had placed them. You may say, but they had no option. But they did. Because there's another man in Bethlehem and he stayed while there was famine. His name was Boaz. He didn't move. He didn't take his family or take his relations or his friends. He wasn't married. Maybe at that time he shouldn't have said that. But Boaz wasn't married. But he didn't decide to leave and go to Moab and set up home in Moab. No, Boaz stayed in the place where God had placed him. And so they had an option. Yet these people decided to leave. But in this 10-year period, we read about Naomi's life. And it's interesting what we don't read. It's interesting that we don't read her praying. We never read of Naomi praying in these 10 years. We never read of her worshiping at an altar that was built by Elimelech. to keep up the worship of the true God in their home, whilst they were living in a pagan society. You see, that's what should have happened. The Limelech should have built an altar to God. And as a family, though they were living in a pagan society, they should have worshipped God. But we never read of an altar ever being built in Moab by Naomi, a Limelech, and their boys. We never read of Naomi singing the Lord's song in a strange land. She's worshipless, she's prayerless, and she's songless because she's outside of God's will. She's living in the place where God does not want her to be. And maybe that's you. Maybe you're in a place, spiritually speaking, in your personal journey as a believer, and there's no song. No prayer, no worship of God. Are you Naomi? Are you Naomi? She comes to verbalize what it was like living in Moab. what it is like living outside the will of God, and I believe it would do well that we would all give attention to what Naomi says, especially those who are drifting from the Lord. It would be good that we would take Naomi's words to heart and learn from her mistakes, because she says to those, in Bethlehem who questioned whether or not she was Naomi, she says, The Pleasant One, that's what Naomi's name means, Pleasant One. now has become the bittered one, the embittered one. That's what Mara means, it means bitter. From being pleasant to being bitter. And backsliding is a bitter thing. I believe it's Jeremiah the prophet who calls backsliding bitter. It's a bitter thing. It embitters one's life. And not only is it embittering, backsliding is not only embittering, backsliding is emptying. For she went out full, and yet the Lord brought her again empty. He brought her home empty. Just as Naomi left full and returned empty, so the backslider, they leave their God. They leave their God who gives them fullness. They leave their God full and satisfied and they return empty and dissatisfied. What a bitter chapter this was in Naomi's life. The sad reality is that it didn't need to be this way. If only she and her family had stayed in Bethlehem. If only they had a trusted God. in the providences that God had brought into their lives. If only they had trusted God, and if only they had have stayed near to God and stayed near to His people, such a bitter chapter would have never been written in Naomi's life. I trust that we'll never come to write such a chapter in our lives. And if that chapter is being written by you, I pray that a new chapter will be written today as a result of this message. That really brings us to consider one final point, the blessing that convinced Naomi to return from her departure. Whilst living in Moab as a sorrowing and bittered widow, Naomi hears something that convinces her to return to her home in Bethlehem. She heard on the grapevine how the Lord had visited His people in giving them bread. We read that in the chapter. She hears about it. It comes to her understanding. It comes to her ears that God has visited His people in giving them bread. It's found there at the end of the verse number six. Now, we're not told the details of how this visitation of God in Bethlehem came about. But we can make this assumption. We can assume that God's people must have acknowledged their sin. They must have repented of their sin and they must have returned to God. Because God now comes as a result of their repentance. He comes and He removes the famine And he now visits his people with bread. You know, as I thought of that little statement, the Lord had visited his people and giving them bread, and the circumstances that must have led to that visitation of God in Bethlehem, you know, I was encouraged. Because it reminded me that although things can reach a low ebb in a land spiritually, it does not have to remain in that terrible state. into a land, let's not forget about the state of society, into a land, into society that was marked and wrecked by apathy and apostasy and by anarchy, God worked, God intervened, God stepped in, and God turned the whole thing around. God can do the same. He can take the land, that's in famine and make it a fruitful place again. God is still true to his word, brethren and sisters. If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and I will forgive their sin and heal their land. Well, the news that God had visited his people with bread convinced Naomi to pack our bags and make the 50-mile journey back to Bethlehem. Eventually, the city comes into sight for Naomi and her accompanying daughter-in-law. We're told that all the city was moved about them, and they said, is this Naomi? Verse number 19. When I read that statement, I thought about what the townsfolk, what they said about Naomi. Is this Naomi? They didn't say, who's that coming down the road? Who's this stranger? Who's this individual walking down the road coming back into Bethlehem? It's been 10 years since they have last seen her. And though Naomi's experience, and though she had experienced the traumatic death of her husband and her two sons, which would have undoubtedly, undoubtedly taken a toll on her physical appearance and also her emotional state, these people still recognize Naomi. Is this Naomi? Is this Naomi? What I'm trying to get across, brethren and sisters, is this, they hadn't forgot about her. They hadn't forgot about their Naomi. And they certainly didn't chase her out of town whenever she came back home. Who do you think you are coming back to Bethlehem? Moab not good enough for you now. Didn't say that to her. They welcomed her back into the covenant community of God's people. They remembered Naomi. There she is. There's Naomi. We recognize her, and we welcome her back again. Backslider, contrary to what you may think, and maybe even what the devil has told you, God's people haven't forgot about you. God's people haven't forgot about you. There are those who are still praying for you, family members and Christian friends who are looking out for your return to God. And I can assure you that when you do return, they will not be chasing you out of town. They will be more than glad to see you, more than glad to see you back in the place where you ought to be. back at the place where you should never have left. Their welcome will be like the welcome that the prodigal received from his father when he returned from the far country. That welcome will be marked by joy and thanksgiving. Naomi, there she comes. There she comes. You may ask, well, how do I return to the Lord? I'm here in the meeting place today. I haven't left the fellowship, but I know in my heart that I have departed from the Lord. How do I return? Well, you return as Naomi did, by acknowledging your sin. Naomi doesn't blame Alimelech. She doesn't blame her two sons. She doesn't blame the Lord for the state that she found herself in. She says, I went out. I went out. In other words, it's my fault. I was fully compliant in the decision that I took to leave the Lord and to leave Bethlehem, and the Lord has dealt justly with me with regard to the decision that I made. As lovingly as I can say it, Baxlater, could I encourage you to stop blaming others? You left the Lord. It was you who left the Lord. You went out. You went out. Well, to face up to that fact that you made the choice to leave the Lord and you alone. And yet, I believe that you can take heart from the words of Naomi there in the verse number 21. Because although she went out, I went out. Notice it says, the Lord hath brought me home again. God brought the wanderer home. Oh yes, I went out in my willful rebellion, but God in his mercy hath brought me home again. You see, God is the God of the second chance. He doesn't throw the clay away, but he comes to Naomi and draws her back to himself. And maybe you're here today and you've got to the stage in your life you think, I could never, I could never return. Well, thank God, God can bring you home again. God can draw you back again. I say that you have wandered for far too long. It's time to return home. And can I say, this is your home. This is your home. This is your spiritual home. Your home is among the people of God. If the root of the matter is in you, your home is with the people of God. And when you return, you will find, as Naomi found, you will find that abundant supplies are waiting for you, not supplies of food, but supplies of mercy, supplies of grace, supplies of forgiveness. She returned in the time of barley harvest. It was just the beginning of the barley season. They would make their way through barley harvest and then they would come to the wheat harvest. She found that there was bread enough and to spare. in the father's house. And so Naomi returned. That's what it says. Naomi returned, verse 22. She returned out of the country of Moab. You need to come out. You need to leave where you are. Young man, you need to leave it. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest. That return would kick start a chain of events that would see to Ruth marrying Boaz, the Kinsman Redeemer. But more importantly than that, it would see to the preservation of the Messianic line. Because Ruth and Boaz, they have a son, Obed. And Obed, he has a son called Jesse. And Jesse has a son, and he's called David. And Jesus Christ is of the seed of David. Her return would preserve the line of the Messiah. And what blessings have come to us through Christ. And what blessings can come through the church or to the church through your return to himself, your return to God? God knows. God knows. Oh, may there be a return. And if the drift be only little, check it. Check it and turn again to the Lord. He will welcome you home again. The Lord, the Lord brought her home again. May the Lord bring you home. Let's bow our heads in prayer together. The hymn writer said, I've wandered far away from God. Now I'm coming home. The paths of sin too long I've trod. Lord, I'm coming home, coming home, coming home. Nevermore to roam, open wide thine arms of love. Lord, I'm coming home. Are you coming home? You're going to come back to the Lord today? Do it privately. If you need help, we're here to help you. May God draw you back to himself. And may God visit us in giving us bread again. May God turn us to himself. Our loving Father, our gracious God, we come to thee. We thank thee for the love of our Savior. Oh, how often we make foolish and, Lord, terrible mistakes in our lives as Christians. We make rash decisions without seeking God's mind on the matter. We find ourselves out of the will of God. Oh, we pray that we'll be careful, Lord. Help me to be careful. Lord, help me in my walk with thee. May I not make spiritual shipwreck of my life. Oh, help us to be ever in the center of Thy will. Bless my brethren and sisters, and if there be one or many or few, Lord, who find themselves like Naomi today, may they return unto God. We offer our prayer in Jesus' precious name.