Ruth 1: Faithfulness

Ruth 1 Overarching theme: Kinsman Redeemer This chapter’s focus: Faithfulness Introduction: Have you ever felt like you needed to do something that others say isn’t a good idea? - Call to be faithful “Put yourself in the sandals of…” - Introduce Bethlehem as a fertile place, ripe with farmland. Hills turn brown, drought, Elimelech and his family are forced to move somewhere, anywhere, for a chance to survive. - Even if that land is Moab.(Brief history of Moab and Israel) - Closely related (Lot & daughters) - Similar language - Weren’t driven all the way out, contentious relationship, subjugated - Not allowed in the temple Where is the faithfulness of God in that? - That’s what the entire book of Ruth is about. - (Introduce overarching theme of “kinsman redeemer”) - To understand this theme, (as it’s being played out in the first chapter of Ruth), we need to understand that it begins with faithfulness - in this chapter, we see this faithfulness appear in three ways (point A, B, and C). Begin reading Ruth 1: ​In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. 2​ ​The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. ​3 ​But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. ​4 ​These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, 5​ ​and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband. A. Naomi’s faithfulness to her daughters Introduce topic. Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food. 7 ​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. ​8 ​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. 9​ ​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. ​10 ​And they said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” ​11 ​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? ​12 ​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, ​13 ​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.” - Daughters-in-law are still bound to serve the family and carry on the name Naomi showing incredible faith in God by allowing them to go back to their families - We can see that this is not an easy decision for her because of her obvious grief - This grief does not indicate an absence of faith, (reference Psalm 13, David crying out to the Lord) Psalm 13:1-2 How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? 2​ How long shall I take counsel in my soul, Having sorrow in my heart daily? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? Application: Crying out to the Lord is not a lack of faithfulness. It is often needed. B. Ruth’s faithfulness to Naomi 14 ​Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. 15 ​And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” ​16 ​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. ​17 ​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.” ​18 ​And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more. - Verse 16 is one of the most well-remembered verses in Ruth, and possibly even the Bible. Why? Because of Ruth’s unbelievable faith. Deuteronomy 23: 3 ​“No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the Lord forever, ​4 ​because they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way, when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. - Living as a widow is very difficult (no services) Living as a foreigner is clearly difficult as well. As a young woman, choosing that life, even after being released of the obligation, you have to ask why she did it. Because she knew that faith in God was more important than doing what seemed to make sense to others. Application: point C C. God’s faithfulness to His people (even foreigners) - - In both of these circumstances, we see clear acts of faith that come from a clear understanding of the nature of God - that He is faithful to his people, both as a “kinsman redeemer,” and by not abandoning us when He calls us to do things that we don’t understand. Naomi and Ruth are both basing their faithful actions on the nature of the Lord. Who He is, and what He’s done, determined what they chose to do. - Not an easy choice (Naomi crying out) but an essential one (Ruth choosing to stay with Naomi). God is always faithful to His people, no matter if they are Israelites or not. We can see this point foreshadowed in Ruth 1 with the last verse: 22 ​So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest. (Communion) - God is always faithful to his people. He redeems us, like is is going to do with Ruth, and like He has done with the death of Jesus on the cross. Let us take communion with a special remembrance of His faithfulness in our lives this week.