Act 1: The Road Home

Good morning! My name is John Lee and I serve Mission Church as the Lead pastor. I’m honored and humbled to be with you this morning… especially as we continue our Advent series through the book of Ruth. Advent means “coming” or “arrival” ....and historically…these weeks leading up to Christmas are a time for Christians to slow down…it’s a time for us to look back to the long-foretold first coming of the Messiah, and as we do.....we learn to look forward to his return. You see.....Advent is a season of preparation and anticipation.

Let’s be honest...We all feel the effects of living in a broken world.....and if we slow down long enough we can sense a cosmic ache…we can feel a deep desire for things to be made right…and so....rather than ignoring the brokenness around us and the depravity within us …Advent is an opportunity for us to face up to the darkness in order to appreciate the light.

Last Sunday we began our Advent journey in a surprising portion of Scripture. Tucked away in the Old Testament...during a time of chaos…before Israel had a king...hundreds of years before Mary, Joseph, and the birth of Jesus…during a time when everyone did what was right in their own eyes…we stumble upon a story of a girl called Ruth.

And Ruth’s story doesn’t hold back from the reality of suffering and despair.....in fact.... it’s a story full of sadness, tears…and even death... but it's also a story where hope is found in the darkest of places....ultimately....the story of Ruth will liberate us from the exhausting deception that we should ignore the ever present brokenness and it gives us permission to hope as we anticipate Jesus’s return.

So....If you would......Please grab a Bible and open it to Ruth1. I will give you a moment to turn there and when you have it…and if you are able…please stand for the reading of God’s Word.

Ruth 1 (CSB)

1 During the time of the judges, there was a famine in the land. A man left Bethlehem in Judah with his wife and two sons to stay in the territory of Moab for a while. 2 The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife’s name was Naomi. The names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They entered the fields of Moab and settled there. 3 Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 Her sons took Moabite women as their wives: one was named Orpah and the second was named Ruth. After they lived in Moab about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was left without her two children and without her husband.

6 She and her daughters-in-law set out to return from the territory of Moab, because she had heard in Moab that the Lord had paid attention to his people’s need by providing them food. 7 She left the place where she had been living, accompanied by her two daughters-in-law, and traveled along the road leading back to the land of Judah.

8 Naomi said to them, “Each of you go back to your mother’s home. May the Lord show kindness to you as you have shown to the dead and to me. 9 May the Lord grant each of you rest in the house of a new husband.” She kissed them, and they wept loudly. 10 They said to her, “We insist on returning with you to your people.”

11 But Naomi replied, “Return home, my daughters. Why do you want to go with me? Am I able to have any more sons who could become your husbands? 12 Return home, my daughters. Go on, for I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me to have a husband tonight and to bear sons, 13 would you be willing to wait for them to grow up? Would you restrain yourselves from remarrying? No, my daughters, my life is much too bitter for you to share, because the Lord’s hand has turned against me.” 14 Again they wept loudly, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. 15 Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods. Follow your sister-in-law.”

16 But Ruth replied: Don’t plead with me to abandon you or to return and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. 17 Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me, and do so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.

18 When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped talking to her. 19 The two of them traveled until they came to Bethlehem. When they entered Bethlehem, the whole town was excited about their arrival and the local women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?” 20 “Don’t call me Naomi. Call me Mara,” she answered, “for the Almighty has made me very bitter. 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has opposed me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?” 22 So Naomi came back from the territory of Moab with her daughter-in-law Ruth the Moabites. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

Pray

Survival experts have said that people can live for weeks without food, days without water, and only minutes without oxygen. Food....water....and oxygen are critical to our survival yet I would argue that more important than all three is hope... for.... we can not survive a single moment of life in this broken world without hope. The truth is.... a person can not live long under the debilitating weight of despair. For....despair and distress can be crippling...suffocating…and paralyzing.

A study on the current state of mental health makes the claim that an average of 70,000 Americans die annually from suicide, drug overdose, and alcohol poisoning.....tragedies which are now being titled as “deaths of despair” and has led experts to sound the alarm that America is in a crisis ....a crisis of despair. You see ...hopelessness is dangerous and can even be deadly.

Now…hopelessness and despair can be a result of sin’s painful consequences…it can be due to living in a broken and depraved world…it can be a result of being faced with the reality of your own depravity and the fragility of life.....but ultimately despair is the bitter water that flows from sin, pain, sickness, and loss..and it leaves us empty…and wondering ..... Is God still with me? Is God still good? Does God even care?

Brothers and Sisters.....despair can be swift and suffocating. But I want you to know this morning…that no matter what painful reality you may be facing today .... you can be sure that God is providentially working on accomplishing His sovereign purposes in your life.In fact....you can be confident that there is a God who loves you and is working all things....for His glory and your good. Even if what you are experiencing today is the result of your running away from God..... friend...you can be confident in the One who gives us the grace that enables us to return back to Him.

And.....when you do return back to him and depend on Him for your greatest needs....you will find that He is, in fact, your greatest need and that He is more than willing to fill the emptiness of your heart and soul....with an unshakable hope that is not dependent upon circumstance.

In Ruth 1 we are given front row seats to observe God working in a dark time of distress and despair in the life of a woman named Naomi. Last week…in the first 5 verses of chapter one....we watched as Naomi’s problems piled up.

In v6 we are faced with the fact that Naomi and her two daughters-­in-law are in dire danger of starving to death.... especially now that Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, and her two sons, Mahlon and Chilion have died. Even worse.... her sons died childless....meaning that the entire family line of Elimelech is threatened with extinction. So....between the threat of starvation and the seemingly inevitable extinction of Elimelech’s family line...death hangs heavy over this story right from the start.

Remember... Naomi…her husband and her two sons…when faced with difficulty…rather than trusting in God...they did what they felt was right....and they departed from the land of promise and headed for the land of compromise. They had hoped that the grass would be greener in Moab …but now…10 years later....after the death of her husband and two sons…Naomi was an old widow living in enemy territory completely cut off from support. Naomi had a decision to make....what would she do? Where would she go? Would she continue to live outside of God’s will or would she return back to the lord in faith?

The reality of Naomi’s difficult circumstances speak to the truth that when you’re living outside of the will of God......God will take you to the end of yourself....He will take you to the point were you have nothing and no one left to depend on so that you would turn back to Him. You see…for Naomi...Moab ..at one point seemed to have so much promise…but now…what seemed to be the answer to all of her problems was now the source of her heartache and despair. Moab was no longer a viable place for her to live…she had nothing left but to go back home.

Ruth 1:6 (CSB)

6 She and her daughters-in-law set out to return from the territory of Moab, because she had heard in Moab that the Lord had paid attention to his people’s need by providing them food.

For the first time in the book of Ruth…we read of good news....Naomi had heard that God’s blessing had returned to Bethlehem. The famine in had finally ended. Given the setting... in the days of the Judges....this can only mean that God’s people had repented of their sin and returned to God …and as a result... rain had fallen....crops had grown…and the house of bread was full again. Upon hearing the good news…Naomi decides to return home.....you see.....after experiencing the bitter emptiness of the land of compromise.....the time was long overdue for the prodigal daughter to swallow her pride and go home.

The question is.....will she experience the same grace and provision of God that Bethlehem did? Perhaps…But for Naomi…I think she’s simply searching for a place to eke out the rest of what she assumes will be a miserable existence. Either way she packs up the u-haul and begins the journey. Look at v7

Ruth 1:7 (CSB)

7 She left the place where she had been living, accompanied by her two daughters-in-law, and traveled along the road leading back to the land of Judah.

At this point Naomi is left with 2 Moabite daughters-in-law…Orpah and Ruth...and as they all set out for Bethlehem.....Naomi is faced with a dilemma.... “Is the choice I am making to go home to Bethlehem the right choice for them too?” Well…after some thought...she abruptly stops the trip to have an extremely difficult and horribly awkward conversation. look at v8

Ruth 1:8–13a (CSB)

8 Naomi said to them, “Each of you go back to your mother’s home. May the Lord show kindness to you as you have shown to the dead and to me. 9 May the Lord grant each of you rest in the house of a new husband.” She kissed them, and they wept loudly.

10 They said to her, “We insist on returning with you to your people.” 11 But Naomi replied, “Return home, my daughters. Why do you want to go with me? Am I able to have any more sons who could become your husbands? 12 Return home, my daughters. Go on, for I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me to have a husband tonight and to bear sons, 13 would you be willing to wait for them to grow up? Would you restrain yourselves from remarrying?...

Here…we have three broken women...and the grieving daughters in law say to Naomi...“We want to go with you”....but Naomi insists… “You would be foolish to follow me …I have no job, no money, no life insurance, and no hope...I’ve got nothing. Not only that.... but I have not been home in 10 years and I have no idea what’s going to happen when I get back. Also …Think it through, ladies. Even if I were to have sons in my old age (which I can’t!), you would need to wait years before you could marry them. It’s not going to happen! You have no obligation to me anymore”....in other words..... “Ladies, let’s face reality....It’s over!” Like a doctor calling someones time of death...Naomi is essentially proclaiming that her family is dead…she’s calling it. (PAUSE)

The story continues

Ruth 1:13 (CSB)

13 would you be willing to wait for them to grow up? Would you restrain yourselves from remarrying? No, my daughters, my life is much too bitter for you to share, because the Lord’s hand has turned against me.”

Tell me…have you ever experienced hardship and pain and thought that the Lord was the one causing it? This is exactly were Naomi is…and I believe that she really wants what’s best for these girls but her pain is blinding her to the truth....and as a result she is giving out bad advice. What should these women do? Would they take Naomi’s misplaced advice and stay in Moab? I mean …Moab is their home....it’s where their family is…it’s all that they know..... While Bethlehem had once been Naomi’s home, it has never been theirs. Her people were not their people.

No to mention that these two Moabite women would be outsiders who .....by their very presence..... would be a constant reminder of Naomi’s sin in abandoning the Promised Land and marrying her sons outside the covenant people. Every time she saw their foreign faces, she would be confronted with the heavy hand of God’s judgment upon her in the loss of her husband and her sons.

No wonder Naomi thought…you know what…it’s better for you to go back home to your parents...find a new husband…and start over. Remember, these women had been through a lot together! They have all lost their husbands, buried them and grieved them together! Naomi thought that she was looking out for their best interest.

Well....After first rejecting Naomi’s proposal....Ruth and Orpah again face a decision. Will they forsake all and follow Naomi, or turn back to Moab?

Ruth 1:14–15 (CSB)

14 Again they wept loudly, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. 15 Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods. Follow your sister-in-law.”

Orpah makes ...what she felt to be.... the safer...the more sensible decision..she went back home. I think Orpah was fond of her mother-in-law...but …when the rubber met the road....she didn’t allow her emotions to cloud her decision.

And…can you blame her?!? It seemed as though the best prospect of blessing for Orpah and Ruth was with their own people in their own land. You see.....Orpah weighs out her options...God plus nothing in Bethlehem or Everything minus God in Moab!.... and she makes her decision using exactly the same flawed logic that Elimelech and Naomi had followed earlier.....the fields of Moab looked far greener than the land of Israel. And with that simple... sensible choice she went back to her people....and back to her gods.

Notice that…Naomi…who is a believer…in her pain she tells these two woman....go back …go away from God’s presence...and go back to worshipping false gods. Now I might be wrong....but I don’t think that this is the best evangelism strategy?!?! My God hurt me....so go back to worshipping a false god. Friends…i think its safe to say…that sometimes…when we are hurting…how we respond to our pain and how we talk to unbelievers does not make them want to meet our God. And despite Naomi’s good intentions....This is exactly what happens with Orpah....she says… you know what..Im good…she listens to Naomis bad advice concluding that the safer and more sensible decision is to stay in Moab.

Then there was Ruth.

And remember…just like Orpah....Ruth was a nobody, an outsider, a Moabite of all things. There was nothing kosher about Ruth. She knew she would be about as welcome in Bethlehem as a ham sandwich at a bar mitzvah.

Conventional wisdom shouted for Ruth to follow the way of Orpah…the most likely way of worldly security and significance.......But Ruth was not Orpah and there was nothing conventional about her. She would not let Naomi go on alone to her empty future....and so...in spite of the unknown and the uncertainty....Ruth clings tightly to her mother-in-law.... Orpah’s decision may have made sense on a practical level. But Ruth’s decision is a picture of the kind of active faith that we should imitate......and in a crescendo of commitment... Ruth not only pours out her heart to Naomi but she makes a stunning profession of faith in God.. Look at v16

Ruth 1:16–17 (CSB)

16 But Ruth replied: Don’t plead with me to abandon you or to return and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. 17 Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me, and do so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.

Ruth’s statement is well-known due to its poetic power. In fact… these two verses have been read at thousands of weddings and I am pretty sure you can purchase greeting cards and wall hangings with Ruth’s beautiful words. But understand......Ruth is not merely expressing devotion to Naomi....she is expressing faith in God.

I love how Sinclair Ferguson paraphrases Ruth’s response…he says...

“Listen! I have been converted. Stop urging me to go back; did you hear me? I have been converted.” (Sinclair Ferguson - Faithful God, page 33)

In other words....Ruth has counted the cost....and she is has chosen to follow God and to join his people. The Hebrew literally reads like this: “Your God, my God. Your people, my people.” You see..Ruth is not pledging something in the future but she is stating something that has already taken place…she is speaking of a faith and an identity that she already has..

In other words...She is saying, “Naomi, because your God is my God, and your people are my people, I am going with you.”

Again…Ruth’s commitment to Naomi …is not about Naomi...…Naomi is a bitter old woman who is actively trying to get rid of her....Let’s be honest....she’s probably not the best hang....but even so…Ruth is committed to Naomi because Ruth is committed to God. Ruth says, I belong to you is because I belong to God.

This is love without an exit strategy! Think about how this salvation came to Ruth....It definitely wasn’t because of anything Naomi did! Naomi was an absolutely terrible witness, who experienced terrible circumstances. Who in their right mind would sign up to follow her God??! Yet, God in His grace does a work in Ruth’s life and at great cost she gives up everything to follow Him!

Paul helps us to see Ruth’s genuine faith, for it is similar to the Thessalonians.

1 Thessalonians 1:9 (CSB)

9b you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God

And friends ....this is authentic Christianity…and it involves the turning of your back on the gods of this world…turning your back on sin and self sufficiency....in order to have Christ and His Church.

Consider what Jesus says in Matthew 7:13-14

Matthew 7:13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. 14 How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.

Orpah…she took the wide road…but Ruth.....she took the narrow road..she took the road less traveled.... she walked away from her national God, Chemosh (Key-mosh), she walked away from her home…her family…her friends…and her culture…she gave up everything in order to put her faith in the one true God.…she counted the cost and found that everything that she had lost was worth it to know God and to be with His people.

So what about you? Are you like Orpah.....is there is too much for you to loose in your own version of Moab? What are you clinging to? What’s preventing you from following Jesus? I pray that you would see that you can come home to God. But... maybe you’re thinking…How? How do I do that? How do I let go? How can I experience God’s grace? Well… consider this.....For good to start, bad must end.

What is your Moab....maybe its a relationship…or unrepentant sin....maybe you’re bowing down to the gods of comfort, sex, money, or success....maybe you have just been trying to solve all your problems yourself…and let’s be honest…none of this is working…it’s only leading to brokenness and heartache…your whole life you have been pouring into and investing in a bucket with no bottom.....listen to me..... For good to start, bad must end. If there is going to be a new beginning there has to be a necessary ending.

Maybe you got into something you never should have gotten into....Elimelech and Naomi....this whole family should had never have been in Moab…their boys should have never married Moabite women. But for good to start, bad must end....For good to begin …you have to face reality and have a necessary ending.

Consider how Ruth had a necessary ending with Moab…she came to faith in God…she recognized that all she had ever known and ever done was outside of God’s will....so she turned her back on Moab and she walks away from her old life and begins walking towards a new life in the presence of God.

This is a picture of repentance.... repentance is when you have your face towards sin and your back toward God....and you literally have a change of life and you turn your back towards sin and your face towards God. This is what Ruth does…she has a necessary ending…and for some of you here today..... you need to do the same. Wether it’s for the first time ....like Ruth… or if you’re returning home like Naomi....the doors are open and God is ready to embrace you with open arms and He’s waiting to lavishly pour out his grace on you through Christ Jesus.

Now… look back at v18....having just listened to one of the most emotionally moving speeches....in which Ruth pledged herself completely to Naomi…how do you think Naomi responds? Well…lets take a look

Ruth 1:18 (CSB)

18 When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped talking to her.

No “Thank you” graced Naomi’s lips. There was no “I’ll be really glad for some company on this difficult road.” Literally, the Hebrew says, “When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped talking to her.Naomi just looked right at Ruth and gave her the silent treatment. What a bitter old lady! What a horrible response to Ruth.

I was at hobby lobby with my wife the other day…and there it was...... perfectly framed and ready to hang on your wall....was Ruth’s beautiful proclamation… “where you live I will live. Your people will be my people and your God will be my God.” Thousands of years later our response is to quote Ruth’s words in wedding ceremonies and to be choked up by their implications. Yet…Naomi..in her bitterness... had nothing to say!!! And…I don’t think I am being to tough on her considering what she says when she and Ruth finally reach Bethlehem.

Ruth 1:19 (CSB)

19 The two of them traveled until they came to Bethlehem. When they entered Bethlehem, the whole town was excited about their arrival and the local women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”

Now...we’re not given any details about their journey to Bethlehem…but I’m sure that Naomi’s heart would have been flooded ....not only with memories of the past…memories of her late husband and sons..... but also with concerns about how she was going to be received by her old friends..... She was returning home quite differently than how she left.

Well....Naomi shows up unannounced and she’s not alone....and immediately the whole town is excited. This word translated as excited …is derived from a word that means, “to throw into disorder, to confuse.” In other words....the gossip train has started. It’s all over Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. “Naomi is back, and with a Moabite woman!”

They all knew she went away with a husband and two sons and now she has returned empty handed and with a stranger by her side. Could this really be Naomi!?! You see…they can hardly believe this is the woman they once knew. Naomi has changed....No doubt she had changed physically after ten years. Maybe a few pounds and some grey hair.....But there was more..there was something else…perhaps she was wearing her despair in her posture…and her hopelessness on her face....either way…her reply clears it up… She says...

Ruth 1:20–22 (CSB)

20 “Don’t call me Naomi. Call me Mara,” she answered, “for the Almighty has made me very bitter. 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has opposed me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?”

22 So Naomi came back from the territory of Moab with her daughter-in-law Ruth the Moabitess. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

It’s almost as if Naomi is being asked, “How are you?” And she responds, “I’m terrible!!! Thanks for asking!!! I left with a happy family in the prime of my life and now… I am old…and broken..and without hope. How would you feel!!?”

Understand....Naomi’s heart was angry with God for the way her life was turning out. She was experiencing the pain of life in the desert and she felt that her pain was God’s fault. But really…. Naomi was just resentful that the greener pastures of Moab, outside the land of promise, had actually turned into a desert.

You see...this prodigal daughter may have made the journey home, but her spirit was still far from restored…and her bitterness was blinding her to God’s gift ...Ruth ....and to the reality that the famine is over! Yes…what Naomi experienced was unimaginable for most of us..i cant even imagine losing my wife and kids....but did the Lord really bring her back empty? Naomi announced the verdict before she had seen all the evidence.

The truth is....we are just like Naomi.... how easy is it for us to become absorbed in and overwhelmed by our circumstances?! We struggle to lift our eyes to see the bigger picture. Thank goodness that God’s word never belittles Naomi’s pain....it doesn’t discount Her bitterness and suffering. Rather....along with Naomi…we are encouraged to be honest with God about our despair.

Maybe …like Naomi...you too have been tempted to say that your life is empty. But as real as Naomi’s emptiness felt.....Ruth’s presence with her was a reminder and a demonstration that God was faithfully present with her.. God had not left her…God had not turned his hand against her.

You see... Naomi did nothing to help Ruth or to earn her love and commitment towards her......However...Ruth…in spite of Naomi’s bitterness and harshness....she still promised to love Naomi....She still promised to never leave or walk out on Naomi. And Ruth’s steadfast love for Naomi points to God’s steadfast love for you.

Whatever painful reality that you are facing or will face…as we turn and look alongside ourselves.... we see the One who will never leave us…we see the One who has been broken for us…and the One who will wipe each bitter tear from our eyes.

Brothers and Sisters....take heart…and find hope in Hebrews 13

Hebrews 13:5b…He himself has said, I will never leave you or abandon you.

And friend....you can take this promise to the bank! You can be confident that God will never leave you ... He will never walk out on you .

How? How can we be sure? Well....because Jesus bound his life to our own. Consider the moment when Jesus…moments from being betrayed....he sat and ate with His disciples.

Matthew 26:27 (CSB)

27 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you.

Why?!?

Matthew 26:28 (CSB)

28 For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

This is how Jesus bound Himself to us in love. Jesus willfully went to the cross where his blood was poured out.....and with his blood he sealed a covenant....a promise that we can be reconciled to God…a promise that he will never leave us…that He will always be with us....that He will never walk out on us.

Jesus not only died in our place but He died instead of us…and by doing so God has so tied Himself to us that nothing....no circumstance can pull us away from His love. And all there’s left for you to do…is receive it.

Where Ruth could say with confidence to Naomi “Only death can separate us” Christ.... having conquered sin, satan, and death can say with confidence “Not even death will separate us.”

Brothers and Sisters.....In our bitterness...we must remember.... that....God is not absent. It’s true…that in our despair....we tend to believe with Naomi..that God has turned away from us. In that case… I plead with you to look to the cross. Turn your eyes to Jesus, the One who was abandoned and crucified that we may be reconciled to God forever, and hold on to the promise that he will never leave us nor forsake us…and find your ultimate hope in the truth that He is returning soon.

Let’s Pray