Sermon Tone Analysis

Ruth Part 1

As Al began to unfold for us some weeks back, Ruth is a wonderful and powerful account of the nature of “hesed” or kindness, blessedness and steadfast love.

A love that obligates itself to its object in promises and acts of blessing and devotion.

That ‘hesed” shows itself in Ruth and in Boaz and in all points as a reminder of God’s own love for His Church.

That concept helps us understand the place of this little book in the larger canon of Scripture.

It has often been asked what role this book plays in regard to the Bible as a whole since it seems - as charming as it is - not to hold any major theological importance.

Tho, as Al pointed out so ably, its graphic depiction of Ruth’s devotion t Naomi is meant to give us insight into Christ’s love for His people.

I would like to suggest to you yet another reason why this book earns its place in the canon: That is how it graphically demonstrates the doctrine we just had read for us in Ephesians chapter 2.

In Ephesians, Paul describes how it is that Gentile believers like the majority of us here today, can find inclusion in the household of faith which was promised only to the people of Israel as the offspring of Abraham.

As you well know, God had chosen the Jewish people alone from all the peoples on the earth to reveal Himself to, give His Word to, and bring the Messiah out of to earth.

When Paul is lamenting that so many of his fellow Jews do not believe in Jesus he says this about the Jewish nation in

The negative then is also obvious: These things belong to THEM.

So how then do you and I get to be a part of this?

Ruth shows us in this most sweet and charming way how this was always a part of God’s plan, and how by His grace it all comes about.

Ruth, this Moabitess, this Gentile woman to whom none of these promises belong - gets brought in, so as not just to be a partaker of God’s exclusive promises to Israel, but also to become the great-grandmother of King David himself, and part of the bloodline of Jesus the Messiah.

Amazing!

So it is with that backdrop in view, we can begin to mine out a host of truths, lessons and encouragements for the Church today.

Verse 1 helps us locate the events of the book at a particular moment in Israel’s history.

And not their finest moment by any means.

As the book of Judges just before Ruth closes, it does so on this note:

And if you are at all familiar with the book of Judges, you know it contains records of some of the darkest periods in all of Israel’s history.

It was a bizarre time.

The wild wild west of Israel’s history.

This idea that everyone just did what was right in their own eyes tells you how lawless and dangerous it was.

So it is that during this time a famine came about in the region of Bethlehem where this family, Elimelech, his wife Naomi and their 2 sons Mahlon and Chilion lived.

Travel not being what it is today and the topography of Judah being what it is, it was possible for somewhat regional famines to occur.

Agriculture was very regionalized.

The family’s move from Bethlehem to Moab was only about 50 miles.

But as we well know in upstate NY, weather conditions from say Rochester to Buffalo can vary in the extreme.

So here.

Moab, although technically a foreign nation, was still a cousin nation to Israel.

They had a mingled history.

And relations between them at this point - at least among the common folk as neighbors - were friendly.

This move was really no great shakes to anyone.

And as the word “sojourn” in vs. 1 indicates this was to be a temporary arrangement, not permanent.

So far, so good - until:

Elimelech dies - we don’t know how or what of.

And the 2 sons decide to take Moabite wives.

Contrary to popular thought, it was not against God’s law for Jewish men to marry Moabite women.

There was a prohibition against Jewish women marrying Moabite - or any foreign men - because the family inheritance of land was passed down through the male bloodline.

The passage often cited in this regard is

The key to understanding this has to do with what it means that neither of these may “enter the assembly.”

Jewish literature tells us that to “enter the assembly” meant to become part of the community leadership or have a voice in local politics.

All land owners had this privilege.

But foreign men having no right to own land in Israel, they were not permitted to hold such a place in the local economy.

In any case, in time, Mahlon - whose name means weak or sickly - most likely named that because he had been a sickly child, and Chilion, whose name means failing or pining, both pass away as well.

At this point Naomi, having heard the famine back home was over, and having no husband or sons anymore decides to go home, accompanied by her daughters-in-law Orpah and Ruth.

But as they go, Naomi has second thoughts, and appeals to these 2 young women - apparently still of marriageable age - to go back to their people and find new husbands.

The dialog is very emotional and in the end, Orpah does return, but Ruth - as the text says: “clung to her.”

And here we encounter a powerfully poignant and important conversation:

Ruth simply will not be persuaded.

She has seen something in Naomi and perhaps in her exposure to the whole family, which has captured her.

And there has grown a love between them that Ruth finds it unbearable to let go of.

She makes a most impassioned plea and a series of vows we’ll come back to in a minute.

And at last, Naomi relents and off they go to Bethlehem.

So it is they arrive back in Naomi’s hometown, to the welcome - and by the word “stirred” in vs. 19 - also to the sympathies of her neighbors for her losses.

Well then, what are we to glean out of this so far?

Let me make just 6 observations.

Observation 1: When providence allows great suffering, it is easy to imagine that God has something against us.

That He is persecuting us in some way.

Look at Naomi’s language so far:

13 - The hand of the Lord has gone out against me

20 - The Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me

21 - The Lord has brought me back empty

21 - The Lord has testified against me

21 - The Almighty has brought calamity upon me

This is a brokenhearted woman.

And by her own admission, bitter.

What emerges in these statements is that she has - at least for the moment - lost any sense of the kindness of God in the depths of her sorrow.

So it is with you and I; when we lose our confidence in God’s great love for us in Christ - we can easily begin to imagine our trials are the fruit of God having actually turned against us.

Naomi is not a bad woman, she is a broken one.

She is sad, grieving, discouraged, lonely, perhaps perplexed, and hurting.

And I am so grateful that the narrative doesn’t have anyone showing up and saying: “Don’t feel that way!”

This is a condition God well understands.

When Moses was sent back to Egypt to free God’s people from slavery, records

It is at times like these that the admonition of becomes critically important to the Believer.

Keep yourself in the love of God beloved.

Don’t let go of it.

Remind yourself of it.

Sing the songs and hymns that reiterate it to your soul.

Go back to meditate on the Cross and those great passages that tell you of the love of God over and over and over.

And don’t forget to recall

It is all too easy to lose the reality of God’s love for us in times or great trial and suffering.

We can easily become Naomi ourselves.

Observation 2: - In times of deep sorrow, it is hard to see the blessing God has placed even in the closest proximity to us.

a. Ruth.

Naomi discounts how lovingly devoted Ruth is to her.

Ruth’s devotion doesn’t seem to impact her.

In fact, she seems to treat it more like an unwelcome complication.

That will change.

b.

Reversal of the famine.

She has gone home because the famine is ended.

God is blessing, but she is blind to it even though she knows it.

c.

A welcoming community.

vs. 19 says the whole town was stirred at seeing them return.

The women especially seemed to rally to Naomi and took notice of the toll the years had taken on her.

There is sympathy and love and concern, but she can neither feel it, nor take comfort from it.

Don’t be surprised if at times your brother or sister in Christ is overwhelmed by grief and confusion at.