Ruth 1:6-22 - Emptiness

Opening illustration: Have you ever seen these upside down painting presentations that happen? I can remember the first time I saw this. I watched the artist make what I believed was a total mess, came to the conclusion that this guy clearly didn’t know what he was doing, and thought to myself that I would most certainly do a better job than he.

Then he turned the painting over. And what seemed to me a total mess, turned out to be a phenomenal piece of art, made even more phenomenal by the surprise of the work.

God’s providence works like this. Especially in difficult times, we can look at our lives and see a total mess, cone to the conclusion that clearly God doesn’t know what he is doing, and then proceed to not only think we can do a better job, but we attempt to wrestle control away from the almighty. And that always leads to ruin. But sometimes, in God’s grace, we see him turn the painting over.

Today’s passage is for us instruction on how to trust the Lord when the painting is upside down. We don’t get to see everything He is doing. We aren’t privvy to His secret counsel, and no matter how hard we try, we won’t ever be. So how do we trust Him when we can’t see what He is doing? I believe this text gives us three helpful action steps for trusting the Lord when we cannot see what the picture looks like.

How do we trust God with our sorrow?

I. Trust that God’s promises are for you (7-14)

Ruth 1:7–14 ESV

So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. And they said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.” Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

Naomi plans her return, and her two daughters in law start the trek with her. But at some point in the journey, Naomi starts thinking about her misery and emptiness, about her suffering, and then she looks to the two women journeying with her and she starts to have second thoughts. These two young women are displaying a rare kindness by staying with her; they were in no way obligated to do so. Surely they would be better off if they would just go back home. What sort of future could possibly await them if they continued on with me, she thinks?

Emptiness has put blinders on Naomi, and so she speaks half truths that she believes to be whole. But there is a sincere motive behind these statements as well: she knows that for her two Moabite daughters-in-law to come to Israel would be to subject them to persecution and hardship, and she seems to believe that they have experienced enough hardship. And so Naomi attempts to put herself out on an emotional island. And so, Naomi prays a blessing over these two women that she herself does not believe that she will receive. Sorrow can work like that sometimes. Look at how Naomi prays here:

A. “May God show you kindness.”

This word translated Chesed (let’s all say it together) is one of the most important, if not the most important concepts in the book of Ruth. English translations vary in how they translate this word: some say “love,” or “covenant love;” others say “kindness.” In reality the word Chesed can’t be translated with one English word of phrase. One of the commentators I read this morning called it “a love that cannot be sentimentalized.” It’s far, far deeper than that. It is an above and beyond love that transcends acts of duty. It is a gut sort of love, that is an outward manifestation of radical inward commitment. Chesed is cleaning up the bathroom at 3 in the morning when the stomach virus hits your family. Chesed is giving above and beyond what is required because of an intense devotion. Chesed is what newlyweds have to learn in order to see their marriage prosper. Other than the very name of God, I don’t think any single word in Hebrew carries such weight and significance than this word.

So, Naomi is praying that God would show this kind of love to these two Moabite women. But you wouldn’t see Naomi saying that God has shown her this kind of love. Yet. But that’s coming.

Sorrow can lead us to believe that God has others’ best interest in mind, but not ours. It becomes easy for us to believe that God will bless others, but we can often miss that, even in sorrow, He has also blessed us, even in the darkest times, and He will continue to bless us.

B. The Lord grant that you may find rest - verse 8-10 is Naomi trying to send these young women home to find security. They are young, and apparently good women; surely they would be able to find Moabite men to marry them. So, she prays that they would have “rest.” She wanted them to have a sense of security, so she tries to send them back.

Naomi wants these women to stop and consider there own future. But she also seems certain that she has no future.

Sorrow can lead us to believe God will give hope to other people, but not us. When the blinders of sorrow are on, we can easily miss that He has also given us a means for hope, even in the most difficult circumstances.

C. “The hand of the Lord has gone out against me.” Naomi’s speech here concludes with rapid-fire arguments against why these women should stick around with her. First, she makes a statement that would be hard to argue with barring the miraculous. She basically says that there is no chance that she can have more children, and she knows these young women at least should be thinking about finding another husband.

Then she immediately runs to her next point. Even if they did stick around, she is too old to find a husband that would care for her in her old age. Then she asks them a simple question that she assumes should be answered with a “no.”

And now we get to the heart of the problem. Naomi makes a simple statement here “the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.”

Sorrow can make God feel like an adversary. Job had this same experience. Listen to what he says in Job 13:23-24

Job 13:23–24 ESV

How many are my iniquities and my sins? Make me know my transgression and my sin. Why do you hide your face and count me as your enemy?

As we said last week, it is often in the life of the Christian that God both gives and takes away, and so strips us of false security. But it is not because He is against us. It is because He is for us, and wants to move us to a place of deeper faith. This almost always requires suffering.

And so Naomi ends her monologue with an appeal for Orpah and Ruth to go home. Her logic is airtight. Her reasons are actually good. Naomi’s attempt at self-imposed isolation seems like they will be heeded, as we read of the women weeping, then Orpah kissing her mother in law goodbye. But then the end of verse 14 - “But Ruth clung to her.” And we hit one of the high notes in the roller coaster that is chapter 1, as we see the determination of Ruth.

II. Trust that God is for you (14-18)

Even when circumstances seem to say otherwise

Ruth 1:14–18 ESV

Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.

Now, there is no question that when we see this, we are to take note of the faith and determination of Ruth, but there is more. This is intended not just to show the faith of Ruth, but to use Ruth as an instrument to show Naomi the true character of God. It is a gentle rebuke from a merciful God, and her answer is a direct response in God’s providence to Naomi’s statement that “the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.”

We can now see, at least dimly, that Ruth is intended to be an instrument through which God shows kindness to Naomi.

Through Ruth’s declaration of faith, God is showing Naomi important and substantial truth that speaks into her emptiness, so that God, through Ruth, would show Naomi and us that God is for His people:

A. You are not alone - “Do not urge me to leave.” Ruth is committed to Naomi, to being in her life. Naomi felt alone, and Ruth is being used by the Lord to communicate truth to her, and to us, that even when we feel alone, we who love and trust Christ will never be alone again. You may recall that when we went through our series on depression and anxiety, I said one of the most important things to communicate often is the simple statement “you are not alone.” This is what God is communicating to Naomi, through the words of Ruth.

B. God is still YOUR God - “Your God is my God.” Even in Naomi and Elimelech’s disobedience and pragmatism, through tragedy and in a frail and faltering faith, God is pleased to orchestrate the salvation of Ruth through His providence.

Ruth realizes that if she is to go to Israel with Naomi, she has to adopt Yahweh as her God. And she is willing to do so. She is declaring a transfer of membership from the people of Moab to the people of God, and so declaring a new allegiance to the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob.

But even more than that, she is imitating the words of the Mosaic covenant, whether she knows it or not. In Deuteronomy 29, Moses speaks these words Deuteronomy 29:13

Deuteronomy 29:13 ESV

that he may establish you today as his people, and that he may be your God, as he promised you, and as he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

Now, to get in the “Wow, God’s Word is Amazing!” weeds for a second, do you know where God’s people are when Moses speaks these words? Dt. 29:1

Deuteronomy 29:1 ESV

These are the words of the covenant that the Lord commanded Moses to make with the people of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant that he had made with them at Horeb.

So, a Moabite woman is saying your people are my people, your God my God, and essentially reminding Naomi of the covenant promises of God, made to Israel in the land of Moab. Why? Not just as a statement of faith or commitment; it definitely was that. But also as a reminder to Naomi, to Israel, and to us that God has covenanted Himself to us.

C. God is closer than you know - “If anything but death parts us” God still has a good end, even if we cannot see it, and still gives goodness, even if we don’t feel it. Ruth is totally committed to Naomi, and she makes an oath that demonstrates her seriousness to this

But sometimes, God exposes our minds to truth before our hearts fully receive it. If we wrote this story, we might write something like Ruth and Naomi holding hands and skipping back home to Bethlehem, where everyone would just happily receive them, and everyone just gets along swimmingly. Naomi, seeing Ruth’s love and devotion to God and to her, just rids herself of all bitterness, and receives the gentle rebuke of God through her daughter-in-law and everything is just dandy.

But people don’t generally work like this. And grief doesn’t work like this. And small towns DEFINITELY don’t work like this. And so, this chapter doesn’t end with Naomi making some great confession of God’s love, it ends with the expressions of a broken heart.

III. Trust that God has good for you(18-21)

Ruth 1:18–21 ESV

And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more. So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?”

It was about a 60 mile walk from the fields of Moab to Bethlehem. It is highly likely that they had animals of burden when they left Bethlehem; the fact that Elimelech is called an Ephrathite most likely meant that they were a family of means. It would have been likely that they had at least donkeys, and maybe even a camel. The men would walk, and the women would ride.

But the way back was different. Everything has been lost, and these two women have nothing. And so, they make the journey together, and on foot. With nothing to their name, and no way to provide for themselves, it was actually God’s grace that even allowed them to make it back to Bethlehem. But the toll of 10 years and 60 miles of heartache is clear when they make it back to the people that remembered what they all looked like 10 years ago.

She comes home ashamed, as the talk of the town “Is this Naomi?” The author tells us the whole town was stirred because of them. The whole town is coming out now to see these broken women. Can you just imagine this? Naomi is coming home, broken, downtrodden, back to the people of God, and she is the topic of conversation. And so they ask “Is THIS Naomi?” 10 years and multiple tragedies has that sort of effect on a person. Remember what Naomi’s name means? “Pleasant.” It makes this even more poignant: “Is THIS the pleasant one?”

And it is this statement that moves Naomi to begin to verbalize what is on her heart, so that we can see how she has interpreted this experience in Moab. She now personalizes the pain, and gives her perspective on what has happened: God is against her. Her belief in this is evidenced through the four accusations she makes against God:

A. The Almighty has dealt bitterly with me - a name change is indicative of an identity change. “I was pleasant before, but now I am different.” She uses the name “El Shaddai” in verse 20. The name “Shaddai” is best translated “Almighty” or “all-powerful one.” Naomi is willing to ascribe all power to God, but then says that God has used that power to deal bitterly with her.

Tragedy, crisis and being emptied will make you different, but it doesn’t have to make you bitter.

B. The Lord has brought me back empty - she had many good things, and in God’s providence those are gone. And because they are gone, she feels all hope is gone. She feels empty. But more than that, she believes she will remain empty. And this emptiness was caused by God. This time, she uses the covenant name of God, Yahweh. The God who made covenant promises of fulness to His people has, in Naomi’s estimation, left Naomi empty.

But did you catch what she said here: “I went away full.” Really? Why did Naomi leave? Because of famine. Quite literally, they left Israel for the opposite reason, that they were not full! But the bitterness of Naomi’s heart has changed her perspective of God.

C. The Lord has testified against me - so now, God has not only taken Mara’s fulness, He is testifying against her. This is a judicial statement: she is saying that God has declared her guilty, and that this is her sentence - to be in misery, destitute, the talk of the town: this was God’s testimony against her. And all these statements lead us to the final statement she makes here

D. God’s purpose for me is ruin - there is no good in store for me. Just ruin. Everything is bleak. There is nothing for me but my emptiness. Mara’s bitterness is so great that she can’t even see the sweet young daughter in law next to her, who stands there as evidence that everything Mara just said was flawed.

Where is hope?

“The came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.”

Naomi thinks it the end, but God is still writing the story. In this story, it looks like death and sorrow might have the final word, but the author is preparing to turn the painting upside down and show us His glory.

Resurrection - the grave was not the end. Naomi comes at the firstfruits of the barley harvest, Jesus comes as the firstfruits of those who have died.

Naomi can only see through a dim mirror - Luke 24 - they didn’t know the whole story either!

Quote from commentary on providence. “The more the story seems to hide the hand of God, the more it actually affirms, even more firmly, His total sovereignty. For the great theological insight revealed here is that God does not act intermittently, but consistently. Though He may appear to step into the scene at given key moments, He is actually and actively there every moment, albeit hidden.” We just cannot see all the ways He is working. Which is the big lesson I believe this chapter is teaching us.

What is Ruth 1:6-22 telling me to do?

The striking part about the emptiness of Naomi is that there is not a point in this story so far where she even entertains the thought that God may be bringing something beautiful out of the ashes. There is no point where she even considers that her suffering and sorrow may be producing something good for her. She is so blinded and stricken by sorrow that she just refuses to see that any good may come of it.

I have been here before. I wonder if you have too? It is in light of both this book, where we know the outcome, and my own experience of God’s good providence, that I can see this in a way that helps us think about what to do with this text. It is a simple command:

Trust the Lord.

God’s story in the light of His people is to teach us patience through waiting while He is working. But that’s hard for us. We, like Naomi, can often see and believe that God is working in the lives of others, and refuse to believe that He is working in our lives. We can see and believe that God will answer the prayers of others, but fail to think that’s what He will do for us. We can, like Naomi, hear truth and fail to really apply that to our own heart. We can, and often do, chalk up our experience as God’s hand being heavy on us, without considering that God’s hand in our lives is always intended to produce good, even if that good comes through suffering. Why would He do that? One simple reason. To teach you one simple lesson:

Trust the Lord.

And that is what this passage is teaching us.

Trust the Lord when you do not see what His hand is doing.

Trusting the Lord with the outcomes of your life. Be obedient to His Word, and trust the Lord.

Trust the Lord in emptiness. Trust the Lord with rebellious children. Trust the Lord with cold spouses. Trust the Lord with the loss of loved ones. Trust the Lord when blessings seem withheld. Trust the Lord in the desert. Trust the Lord in the wilderness. Trust the Lord in plenty. Trust the Lord when you are exhausted. Trust the Lord when you don’t think you can do it any more. Trust the Lord when it hurts.

Saint. Trust the Lord. He will prove Himself trustworthy, at all times. Naomi can’t see what God is doing. And neither can you. But these things are written for our instruction. And what is God telling us to do?

Trust the Lord.

Benediction: Ps. 130:5-8

Psalm 130:5–8 ESV

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.