Faith of a Foreign Woman

Where you go, I will go Where you stay, I will stay forever Where you lead, I will follow So I can know the One you know Chorus from “Ruth’s Song (Where You Go I Will Go)” by Marty & Misha Goetz The book of Ruth opens in tragedy. Within the first five verses, three women are widowed and left without anyone to care for them. At the instruction of their mother-in-law, Naomi, the women are told to return home to their parents to start over. We are in the part of our story where we have witnessed favor, slavery, wandering, victory and a seemingly never-ending cycle of sin, repentance and deliverance. Today, we take a look at the story of Naomi and Ruth. The book of Ruth opens with a famine in Bethlehem. We meet a man named Elimelech, his wife, Naomi and their two sons. Elimelech has decided to leave Bethlehem in Judah and travel to Moab. It is here that life for Naomi starts to unravel. Her husband, Elimelech dies. His sons marry Moabite women – foreign women from a pagan nation and then they die leaving all three women in the family widowed. Naomi gets word that the famine back home has come to an end and she decides to head back to Bethlehem. Before she does, she tells her sons’ widows that they should stay behind in their hometown and seek new husbands so that they are well taken care of. She knew what it was like to leave home and live in a foreign land among foreign people and she wanted what was best for them. At first, they both cry and insist on being with her. After some more urging, Orpah kisses her mother-in-law goodbye but Ruth, makes the decision to remain by Naomi’s side. This is her response… READ Ruth 1:16-18 NIV This is a big deal. Ruth has never left her land or her people. But she has come to know Naomi and has witnessed the faithfulness and goodness of the Lord and makes a choice, out of great love for her mother-in-law, to go back to Bethlehem with her. It is here in Scripture that we start to see an emerging theme in God’s Word. As we read in Joshua, Rahab the prostitute took a great leap of faith that resulted in her being grafted into the Israelite people. In the Upper Story, we are starting to see that God’s saving purpose is not exclusive to Israel. Here, in the story of Ruth, we see someone stepping out of their past and into the community of God’s people. Ruth may not yet know the Lord as her God, but she knows enough of who He is through the witness of her mother-in-law and she deems that worth leaving the ways of her own people behind and making a lifetime commitment to follow Naomi and her God for the rest of her life. This is an incredible reminder of the witness of God’s people. We are living in very uncertain times. The fact that we are worshiping together today from the comforts of our own homes rather than gathering in this chapel to worship leaves us all a little unnerved. I can’t tell you how rattled I was preparing for today. But Ruth’s story reminds us of how incredibly important our witness it to others. Just by the way we live our lives, we introduce the Lord to those who need to meet Him. Our lives become attractive to those who have been searching for hope. Ruth sees that in Naomi and her relationship with her God and wants to be a part of that. When they return to Bethlehem, Ruth starts to work in the fields collecting leftovers in order to make ends meet and to provide for herself and Naomi. It isn’t an accident that the field she is working in belongs to a kind man who happens to be related to Naomi. His name is Boaz. Boaz notices Ruth and promises to take care of her. As we read throughout the story, he has heard of her faithfulness to Naomi and admires her for it. READ Ruth 2:10-12, NIV By Naomi’s instruction, Ruth makes a bold move and asks Boaz to be her kinsman-redeemer. I love this. A kinsman-redeemer. Someone who redeems and provides. This is the second part of the new emerging theme mentioned earlier. The saving purpose of the Lord is not only offered to a foreigner, but it is redeemed by our Kinsman-Redeemer. We live in a time when people need a Kinsman-Redeemer. They need someone to stand in the gap and to redeem and provide. This new theme that we start to see at this point in God’s Story is preparing us for meeting our ultimate Kinsman-Redeemer, Jesus Christ. The world needs to meet Jesus. How do they do that? Through you and me. As God chose Abraham to bring forth a nation to be a representation of who He is, He chooses us today, grafting into His family, to represent Himself to a world that desperately needs to meet him. How we live will speak volumes over the noise of the world today. You have seen the news and read the articles regarding the current pandemic that is consuming all attention right now. Businesses have had to shut down. People are losing work and children are not in school. We are living in a time where the enemy is banking on our worry and doubt and fear. We are easily distracted with all of the unknowns, that we sometimes allow God’s voice to be stifled by the noise. Our church, the Salvation Army, worldwide, is working hard to continue to shine the light of the Lord through all of the work that God has entrusted to us. But this army is made up of individual believers that must make the choice to represent the Lord as the Kinsman-Redeemer – the Lord who will redeem and provide. Family, be reminded that God is not taken by surprise at what is happening in our world today. He can already see its resolve. We need to trust Him and continue to represent Him the best way we can. Like in our story today, may we be reminded that we can be a witness to others by how we live our lives and how we serve others. Let’s pray. Father God, we thank you for the opportunity that we have to gather, as unconventional as it is, and worship You. We ask, Lord, that during this time You would bring about opportunities to show Your love and who You are to a world that desperately needs to meet You. May we be great representations of You and may our lives reflect Your love and redeeming power. We love You, Lord. Amen.