Naomi - A tragic story

Our theme for 2020 is “Seeing Spiritually”.

God is all about redemption.

Understanding the Bible centers around reading it with the plan of redemption in mind.

It is also the key to navigating life and circumstances: to know that God is redeeming the world and you too!

This series is called “Redemption Stories”.

There is a short book in the Old Testament called “Ruth” which tells the stories of the ancestors of King David.

The book has been acclaimed for it’s literary quality.

When Benjamin Franklin was United States Ambassador to France, he occasionally attended the Infidels Club -- a group that spent most of its time searching for and reading literary masterpieces. On one occasion Franklin read the book of Ruth to the club when it was gathered together, but changed the names in it so it would not be recognized as a book of the Bible. When he finished, they were unanimous in their praise. They said it was one of the most beautiful short stories that they had ever heard, and demanded that he tell them where he had run across such a remarkable literary masterpiece. It was his great delight to tell them that it was from the Bible, which they professed to regard with scorn and derision, and in which they felt there was nothing good.

Redemption always makes a great story.

We rejoice when someone who is the underdog ends up on top.

We use “redemption” to describe second chances, stories that go from tragedy to triumph, from rags to riches and from failure to success.

We are going to look at three such stories in this one little book.

Naomi - a story of tragedy and of recovery.

Ruth - a story of finding love again after loss.

Boaz - a story of a truly good man and what it really means to be successful.

Then we are going to tell one final story, our story.

Because woven through these three stories is the idea that God has always had a plan for our redemption.

Each of us can have our own redemption story because we have a God who specializes in turning bad things into good things.

The necessity of change

Ruth 1:1–5 ESV

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.

We live in a fallen world where life is full of chaos.

The story is set in the time of the Judges.

This was the low point in Israel’s history.

It was a time of chaos and corruption.

Judges 21:25 ESV

25 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

This is the last verse of the book of Judges and it summarizes the entire book.

God raised up Judges, time after time, to rescue his people.

But it was only temporary and then they would go back to following the ways of the nations around them.

The Judges themselves were not always good role models, but they were people who were available to be used by God.

Bethlehem means “house of bread”.

It describes a rich farming community that provided food for the surrounding area which included Jerusalem.

The first thing that we are told is that there was famine; meaning the main source of industry was not doing well.

Life was disrupted (like we are experiencing now)!

In chaos, we look for ways to bring order to our own lives.

Elimelech means “Our God is King”.

This was before the time of the monarchy, but Kind David would come from Elimelech.

Elimelech was an Ephrathite meaning that he was from the leading clan of Bethlehem.

1 Chronicles 4:4 ESV

4 and Penuel fathered Gedor, and Ezer fathered Hushah. These were the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah, the father of Bethlehem.

In the Bible (and today) names are important.

They not only describe a person, but they are prophetic declarations about the person’s life and what God is doing.

In the time of the Judges, the people were asking for a king, but God wanted them to see Him as their king, not an earthly ruler.

Eventually a king would come from the line of Elimelech, but first God would show them that He is their Provider and King.

Elimelech’s sons are named “Sickly” and “Weakling”.

If that’s a description of what he saw in them, then I guess they could never measure up to their father’s expectations.

The commentaries say that their names are not Hebrew names but Caananite names.

Elimelech carries a prophetic destiny but things are not going well for him.

The economy is drying up around him.

His sons are a disappointment to him.

He is more influenced by the world around him than he is making an impact.

His wife Naomi means “pleasant” so at least there’s that.

So Elimelech’s prophetic destiny is to declare that Yahweh God is King, but his own life is out of control.

God commanded His people to live in the land and to possess it, but Elimelech is just trying to survive.

The only way to survive is to adapt and change.

For Elimelech and Naomi survival meant leaving their homeland.

Moab is southeast, about 50 miles across the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea.

On a clear day you can make out the hills of Moab in the distance from Bethlehem.

Perhaps they could see the hills in the distance and imagined a better life there.

The famine in Bethlehem must have been fairly local.

Or perhaps, as is recorded in the story of Gideon, they could not properly harvest their crops because of raiders.

They somehow felt compelled to go to a region that had been historically hostile to Israel.

Moabites are descendants of Lot through incest.

Balak the King of Moab hired Balaam to curse Israel.

In the early time of the Judges, the Israelites were paying tribute to Eglon King of Moab.

Their sons took wives from the region.

The boys likely came of age whole they lived in Moab.

Elimelech dies in Moab. The text seems to imply that this preceded the marriage of the two sons.

Perhaps marrying Moabite women was another means of survival.

Every event in this story up to this point is taking this family further from their homeland, further from the God of Israel and further from their prophetic destiny.

The certainty of loss

Ruth 1:6–14 ESV

6 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.” 14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

Up to this point, the story has been mostly about Abimelech and his sons, but this sermon is about Naomi.

As a woman in ancient times, Naomi’s identity would have been in her husband.

So, being alone with her daughters-in-law means they have no one to speak for them; they had nowhere to belong.

Everything in the story up to this point sets the stage for understanding Naomi’s grief, her bitterness and hopelessness.

Grief and loss is unpleasant.

We all experience grief, not just literal death, but death of a dream or the loss of some expectation that we had.

We all have times when our stories don’t go the way that we hoped that they would.

Sometimes the loss is tragic, sometimes it could be better described as disappointment.

What are some of the losses that you have experienced in life?

Naomi lost:

A husband.

Two sons.

Her homeland and family.

Loss of position and dignity.

Loss of whatever wealth and status she has previously.

She reports to the people of Bethlehem that she went away full and came back empty.

Ruth 1:21 Tanakh

21 I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. How can you call me Naomi, when the Lord has dealt harshly with me, when Shaddai has brought misfortune upon me!”

Naomi means “pleasant” but she is not feeling pleasant anymore.

Everything has gone wrong for her and life has become painful and bitter.

Her name means “favor”, and the name of God here is that of “abundance”, but she is overwhelmed with misfortune.

At times we just want to cry out, “God, this is not what life is supposed to be like!”

In times of grief, remember God’s faithfulness.

I want you to notice the word translated as “kindly” in verse 9.

Ruth 1:8 ESV

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.

The word “hesed” in Hebrew is a very important word.

It describes God’s unconditional love for His people.

Some have translated it as “covenant faithfulness”.

God keeps His covenant even when His people are unfaithful.

Naomi has faith to believe that her two daughters-in-law may yet experience God’s goodness and she wants God’s best for them.

They are Moabites, but Naomi blesses them by essentially saying that because they have been faithful to their husbands and to her, that God will be faithful to them and bless them.

Naomi has faith to believe that God’s goodness may extend to these Gentile women, but she has trouble believing that it is there for her.

At times of trauma, we have a choice to shut down or to move through it.

When Heidi passed away unexpectedly in Japan, our two youngest children were with us on that trip. My daughter, Elisabeth, has been going through a teenage phase where we felt like she was pulling away from us. She didn’t even want to be on that trip, but we had convinced her that it would be a good thing for her to experience and that her mother really wanted her to go.

In those moments as we mourned together our sudden loss, my daughter said, “We have a choice. We can either become bitter or we can become better.”

She made the choice that day to move toward me.

Ruth made the choice to move toward Naomi in her grief and pain.

Ruth 1:15–17 ESV

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.”

In doing so, Ruth demonstrated the kind of unconditional love that God has for His people.

God feels emotions. The Holy Spirit is said to be grieved.

But God moves toward us anyway.

Naomi invokes the hesed of God, but Ruth demonstrates hesed!

The promise of recovery

Ruth 1:18–22 ESV

18 And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more. 19 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?” 20 She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 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?” 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.

Recovery happens in community.

Naomi has lost everything, but she has Ruth.

She is going back to her ancestral home, but she does not have the same standing in the community as she did with her husband.

She is completely dependent on the generosity of others and the support of her daughter-in-law who is now more like a maidservant.

Without getting too far ahead in our story, I can tell you that things do turn around for Naomi and it is through the support of others.

After Seminary I took a year to study Global Trauma Recovery. We read stories and heard cases of communities that were ravaged by war and genocide. How do people survive such extreme loss? One of the main ways that they can recover is through community. People who feel the support of others can heal. However, people who isolate or are not allowed to talk about what happened suffer for many years, even passing their bitterness on to future generations.

Recovery happens through transparency.

While it may seem that Naomi is complaining, it’s completely appropriate considering what she has been through.

People need to talk about their painful experiences.

It can be painful to listen because we naturally empathize with another’s suffering.

Empathy is actually an important part of the healing process.

All of Bethlehem was moved by Naomi’s story.

It’s important to learn how to walk alongside someone who is suffering.

Learn to listen without insisting on “fixing”.

Express emotion with them but not for them.

Recognize the limits to what you can carry or even understand.

Recovery must be done intentionally.

Trauma is not your fault, but healing is your responsibility.

“Healing is our responsibility because unprocessed pain gets transferred to everyone around us, and we are not going to allow what someone else did to us to become what we do to those we love.”

https://thoughtcatalog.com/brianna-wiest/2019/10/trauma-is-not-your-fault-but-healing-is-your-responsibility/

There comes a time when people will say you have to move on.

“Moving on” may seem unfair because it suggest that you should act like nothing ever happened.

I prefer to call it “moving forward”.

After tragedy, life never goes back to the way it was.

Things will never be “normal”. But there can be a “new normal”.

In the weeks to come we will learn that Naomi will be just fine.

She will be well taken care of.

She will have a family again.

She will have a grandson which will bring her great joy!

And that grandson will have another grandson which will become the King of Israel.

Elimelech’s legacy will be complete - “Our God is King” will have an everlasting dynasty.

Because that’s what happens in a redemption story; God turns bad things into good things.

God find’s a way to turn a hopeless tragedy into an eternal victory.

Questions for reflection

What do you do when life doesn’t seem to be going in a good direction? Do you take matters into your own hands? What does it look like to trust God in difficult circumstances?

How do you deal with pain and disappointment? Where have you experienced loss in your life? What brings you hope and encouragement? How is God still good?

What has God brought you through? Could you have imagined the outcome while you were going through your trial? What have you learned abut God’s love and faithfulness?