Ruth 1:20-22
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It’s Not My Fault
It’s Not My Fault
Now the two of them went until they came to Bethlehem. And it happened, when they had come to Bethlehem, that all the city was excited because of them; and the women said, “Is this Naomi?”
All the city was excited - make a (great) noise, murmur, to be in a stir
Is this Naomi?
Were they excited to see her because they missed her?
Were they questioning in disbelief because of how she had changed in the time that she was gone? She lost her husband and sons, lived away from her people for 10 or so years?
v 4 And they dwelt there about ten years.
But she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.
Naomi means kindness, pleasantness
Mara means bitter
The Almighty has dealt bitterly with me.
She is saying “I left a pleasant woman and now I am bitter woman”
It was God’s doing, not anything she did (in Naomi’s eyes.)
She doesn’t say ‘we shouldn’t have left’
‘we shouldn’t have moved to Moab’
The town comes out to see her, there is excitement, this is her response.
She then explains to them in more detail
I went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?”
I went out full - was she full?
she had a husband and 2 sons, but they left Bethlehem to go to Moab.
they were not showing faith, where was their trust in God’s provision and care?
If she was full, why did they leave? They felt empty, that is why they left.
Their stomachs were empty and their faith was empty
She was an Israelite, the people of God Almighty, the children of Abraham, heirs of the promises of God. But she didn’t seem to trust Him
The New American Commentary: Judges, Ruth Scene 4: The Interpretation of the Crisis (1:19–21)
This one who had left Bethlehem as Naomi, “the pleasant one,” a robust woman in her prime, had returned as a haggard and destitute old woman.
So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. Now they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.
Ruth, the moabitess - again
Beginning of Barley harvest - this will play into the events to come
So lets focus our attention -
There was a problem in verse 1
A famine, probably due to disobedience of the people
Our faith - do we trust God? Do we turn to unbelief?
We see Naomi say some things that are godly and some things that are not. Her life matches the time she is living in - the period of the Judges, filled with unfaithfulness. A wavering people who didn’t fully trust in God, didn’t fully commit to Him.
We see her telling these people that she left full and pleasant and God brought her back bitter and empty. It’s God’s fault, not hers, not her husbands. Does this sound like anyone else?
Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”
So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”
And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”
Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”
And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
From the beginning we have played the blame game. We see people blame God or deny it’s their fault throughout scripture
And I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out.”
And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.”
Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”
And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have followed the Baals.
Even Jesus got blames by people who loved Him
Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.
Never blame God.
Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!”
But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 19
3 The foolishness of man ruins his way,
And his heart rages against the LORD.
We need to acknowledge that we stray, we mess things up. We struggle with unbelief, disobedience. We need to see that God if faithful and we are the sinner.
We need to learn to trust God at all times and follow His leading.
We can learn from the people we read about, what to do and what not to do.
We can learn from Naomi’s mistakes and from her faith
We can learn from people who endured hardship that wasn’t their fault
Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
There are times in our lives where things don’t look the brightest. God, the amazing Almighty God, can take what we think is dark and bitter and make it into something glorious.
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
God is going to do amazing things in the lives of Ruth and Naomi, things that trickle down through history and touch us
They left Bethlehem. they didn’t show faith in the LORD, but they returned, and God is a forgiving God who redeems works amazing things in our lives.
Trust Him, don’t blame Him
