Mother's Day

Introduction

This morning we honor our mothers. We are so grateful for them.

I would like to walk through a Bible account of a mom named Naomi, coming from the Book of Ruth.

Naomi, Elimelech (her husband), their two sons moved to Moab from Bethlehem. When I looked it up, it would take approximately 40 hours to walk today (around 110 miles).

The Moabites were close to the Israelites but were in constant conflict.

Naomi’s sons married Moabite women

Sons: Mahlon and Chilion

Daughter in-laws: Orpah and Ruth

The husband and sons all died there in Moab and Naomi suffered the loss of all the men in her family.

Naomi decides to head back to Bethlehem and encourages the daughters to go back to their families as staying with Naomi means poverty and death without a husband.

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A Wise Mother

Something had to have happened in the time the women were married to Naomi’s sons. Because after Naomi gives the girls her blessing for them to leave, Ruth does something unthinkable.

Verse 16 tells us:

Ruth 1:16–17 NKJV

16 But Ruth said: “Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God. 17 Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me.”

The Moabites did not serve God, yet she was willing to cling to Naomi and hold to her regardless of the future.

Then name Naomi means Pleasant, and she did not feel pleasant after losing her husband and sons so after the very long trip back, verse 20 tells us she asks the people who knew her, to call her “Mara” which means Bitter.

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Please know that God did not forget about Naomi. He did not leave her in her sorrow and grief. She says,

Ruth 1:20 NKJV

20 But she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.

This wise mom was really hurting, and in her pain could not see that God was doing something amazing in the midst of her pain.

God’s Sovereign “Hidden” Will

God’s sovereign or decretive will is also called His “hidden” will. It is “sovereign” in that it shows God to be the Sovereign ruler of the universe who ordains all that happens. It is “decretive” because it involves God’s decrees. It is “hidden” because we are usually unaware of this aspect of God’s will until what He has decreed takes place. There is nothing that happens that is outside of God’s sovereign will. For example, it was God’s sovereign will that Joseph be taken to Egypt, languish in Pharaoh’s prison, interpret the king’s dreams, and eventually save his people from famine and be honored by all (Genesis 37–50). At first, Joseph and his brothers were completely ignorant of God’s will in these matters, but, every step along the way, God’s plan was made plainer. When Ephesians 1:11 describes God as the one “who works all things according to the counsel of His will,” it speaks of God’s sovereign or decretive will. God Himself expresses the fact of His sovereign will in Isaiah 46:10: “My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.” Because God is sovereign, His will can never be frustrated.

God’s Revealed “Perceptive” Will

God’s revealed or preceptive will is not hidden from us. This facet of God’s will includes that which God has chosen to reveal to us in the Bible—His precepts are plainly stated. “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). The preceptive will of God is what God wants us to do (or not do). For example, we know that it is God’s will that we speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15), repent, and turn to God (Acts 3:19). It is God’s revealed will that we not commit adultery (1 Corinthians 6:18) or get drunk (Ephesians 5:18). God’s revealed will is constantly “making wise the simple” (Psalm 19:7). We are obligated to obey God’s revealed or preceptive will; however, we have the ability to disobey. God’s revealed will for Adam and Eve was to be fruitful and multiply, tend the garden, subdue the earth, and not eat of a certain tree (Genesis 1–2). Unfortunately, they rebelled against God’s revealed will (Genesis 3). The consequences they suffered show that they could not excuse their sin. Neither can we claim that our sin simply fulfills God’s sovereign will, as if that absolves us from guilt. It was God’s will that Jesus suffer and die, but those responsible for His death were still held accountable (Mark 14:21).

God’s Dispositional Will

God’s dispositional will deals with His “attitude”; His will of disposition is what pleases or displeases Him. For example, God “wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). This is an expression of God’s disposition toward the lost—He wants them to be saved (if He did not, then He would not have sent the Savior). Although God’s heart desires all to be saved, not all are saved. So, there is a difference between God’s dispositional will and His sovereign will.

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Naomi knew that God was going to send the Messiah but did not know that she was part of that plan. His sovereign will was unfolding through her life.

We often look at the amazing character of Ruth in how she honored Naomi and was part of the image of Jesus redeeming us - in that Boaz redeems her. It is an amazing story.

We see in Ruth 2:22 that Naomi gives Ruth godly counsel as to what she needed to do.

Ruth’s Virtue

Ruth 3:10–11 NKJV

10 Then he said, “Blessed are you of the Lord, my daughter! For you have shown more kindness at the end than at the beginning, in that you did not go after young men, whether poor or rich. 11 And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman.

God’s Will fulfilled

Ruth 4:13–17 NKJV

13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. 14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel! 15 And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him.” 16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom, and became a nurse to him. 17 Also the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “There is a son born to Naomi.” And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

This Moabite woman was so impacted by Naomi that she surrendered her future to the unknown and God took her and through the wise counsel of Naomi, became the mother of David’s grandfather who was the ancestral line of Jesus.

God’s Hidden Faithfulness

So often, we go through difficulties and are tempted to be discouraged or to give up. But God is doing a work that is so much bigger than us.

We must:

Trust His Faithfulness

Walk in His Faithfulness

**Pray for all the mothers. those going through hard things that they would trust in God’s faithfulness (His Will), and that they would walk in His Revealed will shown through His faithfulness.