Famine, Family and Faith

Big Idea

Tension: How does Ruth respond to the great suffering in her life?

Resolution: by clinging to Yahweh and to his people.

Exegetical Idea: Ruth responds to the great suffering in her life by clinging to Yahweh by clinging to his people.

Theological Idea: In great suffering, Christians should cling to Christ by clinging to his Church.

Homiletical Idea: When suffering strikes, we must cling to Christ by faith by clinging to his church.

Outline

Background: While Judges is the historical context of Ruth, the story itself is historically associated with the wisdom literature. The distinctive mark of the various books in the wisdom literature is how we deal with various kinds of suffering. So Ecclesiastes’ answer to suffering is “ah, it’s all vanity.” And Proverbs’ answer to sufferig is, “Don’t be a fool.” Psalms is “Worship.” Job’s is, “Ask the right questions.” And Ruth’s answer to suffering is… well we will see.

Introduction: Why do we suffer?

“Many believe that a caring, personal God has their welfare in mind, but the literary evidence provides little to support this view. Even if there is a God, his inscrutable purposes may be far beyond us, or he may be playing with us, or he may be tormenting us. I would say that the universe has no purpose and that we humans have to sort out what matters. Purpose and meaning are not properties of the universe in the way that mass and energy are. Rather, purpose and meaning are human creations, our glory and our tragedy.” - Bernard Leikind

Exposition (vs. 1-5)

And this is a good example of suffering. Notice how the first five verses set the tone for the book.

A famine has struck the land of Judah. It has become so bad for one family, that they’re basically displaced. We find out later that they’ve had to sell their family property. They have no food, no work, no farm, no land. So they set out to find greener pastures.

Elimelech looks like he’s the point of the book - then he died very suddenly. (vs.3 )

His sons marry, these two women were potentially very well off.

Mahlon and Chilion die very suddenly (vs. 5)

Naomi and her two daughter-in-laws are left. You have to realize that other than teh emotional toll this would ahve taken on them, the loss of the men who probably would ahve provided for them put them in utter poverty.

Ambiguities: Why Moab? Is Elimelech a godly or godless man? Are Mahlon and Chilion faithless or just in the wrong place at the wrong time? Were Orpah and Ruth converts to Judaism, or did they remain in their ways? Is the famine a punishment? The reality is that a great amount of suffering comes in these first five verses and we get very little reason for it. And that is so much like real life isn’t it? Sometimes suffering strikes and we don’t always have a good reason. That is probably the most common thing we ask in times of suffering, and God so rarely gives us the reason for it. Rather, he asks us to trust him. In the darkest night, the fiercest storm, when the bottom drops out and we don’t know why, most often God just says quietly but firmly, “Take my hand.”

But what is clear is that Ruth needs redemption. <We all need redemption>

Rising Action:

Vs. 6-9

So Naomi stands to leave. She’s heard that the suffering has relented, that famine has let up back home, so she decides she’s going to go home. Now there’s not much for her back in home, but there’s even less for her in Moab.

Naomi sends her daughter-in-laws home with a blessing.

She remarks that they’ve been good wives, and kind. So she asks that God would bless them and show them lovingkindness just as they’ve been so good to her.

Vs. 10-13

Her daughter-in-laws both object and say, “No, we’ll go with you.” (v 10)

But Naomi objects and sends them back for two reasons.

There is no possibility of ever having a life through her (vs. 11)

Even if by some miracle God gave her another son, then it would be at least 13-14 years before either of them could expect another husband. (vs. 12)

But more importantly, she says that God’s hand has come out against her. She feels that by joining her, they will lose more than they gain.

Now, maybe you and I as we read this are like, “What the heck, this is a pretty bad way to evangelize Naomi. Don’t send them back to Moab! That’s a land of godless pagans!”

But that just shjows how deeply we’ve been penetrated by a kind of prosperity gospel. But the reality is, Ruth knows that to follow Yahweh will lead to suffering. In this world we will ahve trouble. Jesus says that if we would follow him we must take up our cross and follow him. If you want to be a follower of Jesus, it is going to mean loss, it’s going to mean suffering, it’s going to mean hardship.

Vs. 14-18

so begrudgingly, Orpah goes back, but it says in vs. 14, Ruth “clings to her.”

So Naomi tries to reason with her and convince her to go backk (vs. 15) but Ruth will have none of it.

Instead, Ruth says these climactic words in vs. 16-17

Now you can see, just about in the middle of the speech is this word, “Your God will be my God”

And all around it will be the words, “Your people will be my people.”

You see, in teh midst of an immense amoung of suffering, dislocation and messiness, Ruth clings to God and to his people. And sometimes, when suffering strikes, when hardship arises, when darkness rears its ugly head, the only thing you and I can really do is cling to Christ and to his people.”

She is throwing all her chips in with Yahweh to provide the redemption that she needs. She’s trusting in him alone.

Objection: Now, maybe you think in your heart, wait a minute, did Ruth really make a profession of faith here? After all, wasn’t she just saying, “I’ll take your God if it means I get you.” No, I don’t think so, I think Ruth had a true faith. We can see that in 2:12 where Boaz remarks that she’s come to take refuge under the wings of Yahweh. So let me give two ways that this passage is speaking about what it means to have true saving faith:

True faith clings to Christ by clinging to his people.

Here’s why: because you can’t love God and not his people. You can’t be in God’s presence without being with God’s people. Ruth’s posture in vs. 14 of “clinging” to Naomi is her spiritual state. She is simultaneously “clinging” to Yahweh. To love God

So what’s the relationship between clinging to Christ and clinging to his people? Well, Ruth clung to Yahweh by clinging to Naomi. In the same way you and I cling to Christ by clinging to his church. If you and I would have Christ, we must have his people. If we would take hold of him, we must take hold of his people.

True faith endures loss

Ruth gives up everything so she can follow Naomi to a strange land. She gives up potentially a royal family, she gives up her traditions, she gives up her relatives, she gives up her reputation, she gives up her religion.

Here she is a contrast with Orpah. Orpah is not willing to lose it all to gain Yahweh.

But Jesus himself says as much. After all, what does he say to the rich young ruler in Luke 18:22

Luke 18:22 ESV

When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

Why would anyone in their right mind do that? Why would they give up all that they have? WHy would they, in Paul’s words, “count it all as loss”?

Here’s why: he’s worth it. To lose everything she had back in Moab, to gain the one true God of Israel was worth it. He is worth it. If we have everything and we don’t have Jesus, we have nothing. But if we have nothing, and we have Jesus, we have everything.

You see, in the final estimation, the problem with the prosperity gospel is not that they tell you God gives you too much, it’s that they say God gives you too little.

Listen to me, there are times when those might be the only things that sustain you in suffering. Clinging to Christ and clinging to his people. When the world falls down, when nothing’s quite right, wehn you’re just disappointed wiht your life, to know that whatever else might come your way he is worth it, that might just get you through the darkest storm.

While Ruth didn’t get the answer to her suffering, she did get the LORD, and that is more than enough. God doesn’t always give us a reason for our suffering, but he always gives us himself.

So Naomi gives up and they go on their way back to Bethlehem, back to the house of bread to see what God might provide.

Application:

If you want to follow Christ, it means you will have to give up everything.

But you should know he’s worht it.

Only he can redeem you.

God might not always give us a reason for our suffering, but he will always give us himself in our suffering.

You should ask yourself, is this true of your faith? (2 Cor 13:5)

If you want to cling to Christ, you must cling to his people.

\You don’t have to create your own meaning in suffering.