Experiencing God in Challenging Times
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Intro:
25 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
1 Now it came to pass, in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.
2 The name of the man was Elimelech, the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion—Ephrathites of Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to the country of Moab and remained there.
We are still in our Year of Prayer. As we look to scripture to see the importance of prayer, I want to look at the life of Ruth. The title of my message is, [Experiencing God in Challenging Times].
I feel it is safe to say we live in challenging times. This week I walked outside of our church and thought about how much life has changed since I made Vulcan my home in 2015.
The thought hit me, the world is very different than it was six years ago. We live in challenging times on all fronts.
Life is economically challenging as we see the prices of everything rise.
Life is morally challenging. We live in a day when immorality is not only accepted, it has become the law of the land.
Life is relationally challenging. Never before have we seen such division and hate from opposing sides of issues.
Life is personally challenging. I think of our church and know that many have faced and are facing challenges they’ve never faced before.
I know opening a message discussing various challenges may not sound overly exciting. But we need to recognize something in regards to challenges.
Our challenges do NOT limit God’s power. In fact, it is often during challenges that we experience God in a new dimension.
Today, as we look to the book of Ruth, I want us to see how we can experience God through challenges. Truthfully, I have always found the book of Ruth challenging.
I do not think I have ever preached from this book. Perhaps it is because Ruth lived in a day with customs that seem very peculiar to me.
Close relatives had to marry widows
People worked harvesting wheat and barely
They even exchanged sandals as a sign of a contract or agreement.
However, Ruth has been called a literary masterpiece of the Old Testament. The short book of only four chapters shines hope in challenging times.
Another challenge I have set myself out to this year is to read scripture through the lens of prayer. Every message I have preached since the end of December has been about prayer.
I have never felt so convinced of the importance of prayer. As we look at the book of Ruth, we will notice the power of prayer. In the four chapters there are seven references to prayer.
However, none of the prayers originated with Ruth. Instead, those around Ruth prayed for her. Life was very challenging for Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi, but God helped them and answered their prayers.
Something we must remember about prayer— people of prayer are people of commitment.
Commitment is often hard to find today. If we do not like what we’re going through, we will look for something better!
But people of prayer will stick with God REGARDLESS of what they face. They will stay committed in good times and in challenging times.
Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law, was a committed person. As we will see, she and Ruth faced unique challenges, but they never gave up on God.
So what do we in challenging times? How can we experience God in challenging times? I have three points, [Return in Challenging Times], [Refuge in Challenging Times], and [Redemption in Challenging Times].
Let’s begin
1. Return in Challenging Times
1. Return in Challenging Times
6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had visited His people by giving them bread.
7 Therefore she went out from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.
To understand the miracle of Ruth’s story, we need to pick up on a few easily overlooked details. In our text, we read the timing of their lives.
Ruth and Naomi lived in the times of the Judges. After Israel inhabited the Promised Land, God used judges to lead Israel. However, they always came after a cycle of backsliding.
The would turn from God, judgment would come, they would cry out to the Lord, He would send a judge, the people would repent, and peace would return.
But toward the end of the Judges, the people became increasingly wicked and backslidden. They turned from God and begin to worship false gods.
Often, droughts were a judgment for sin. So Naomi had a husband named Elimelech (Ee-lim-ell-lech). When a drought came to Bethlehem, their home in Judah, he packed up the family and left.
Leaving the Promised Land to live with Moabites was a not a sign of faith. In fact, the Moabites constantly attacked Israel. But Elimelech was a man of his time.
Everyone did what was right in their eyes. The drought comes. Instead of viewing it as a call to repentance for their sin, he went to a land that worshipped false gods to find help.
Elimelech died. His two sons did not go back to Bethlehem to find a Jewish wife. Instead, they were comfortable in Moab, so they to marry women who worshipped false gods.
But the two sons died as well, leaving Naomi with two daughters-in-law named Orpah and Ruth. She determined to return home to where God wanted her to live.
She told her daughters-in-law to return to Moab. Orpah left, but Ruth clung to Naomi and declared:
16 But Ruth said: “Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever 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. The Lord do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me.”
The depths of this declaration is almost beyond comprehension. Ruth, a Moabite, not only agreed to go to Naomi’s home, but she wanted Naomi’s God.
Evidently Naomi shared about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Something caused Ruth to desire the God of Naomi.
I wonder what the trip to Bethlehem was like? What all did Naomi tell her?
On the way they passed Mount Nebo, where Moses died. I can almost hear Naomi speaking about the leadership of Moses, crossing the Red Sea, eating manna in the wilderness, and seeing the glory of God at the Tent of Meeting.
If they traveled north from Moab, they would have crossed the Jordan River. I wonder if Naomi pointed out the Memorial Stones left by Joshua, recounting the story of Israel’s entrance in the Promised Land.
They probably traveled the remains of the city of Jericho. What stories she could have told about the walls that fell down flat!
Eventually they entered Bethlehem and people welcomed Naomi. She told them, don’t call me Namoi, which means pleasant, lovely, and delightful.
No she’d faced intense challenges. She told them, call me Mara, which means bitter to taste or experience.
Remember, people of prayer are people of commitment. Even in her hardships, she returned to the land of the Lord.
Naomi knew what to do in challenging times. She returned home where God was! When she returned home, her and Ruth found...
2. Refuge in Challenging Times
2. Refuge in Challenging Times
2 So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.”
3 Then she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.
It is hard to comprehend how difficult it was for Ruth to live in Bethlehem. She was not Jewish, she was a Moabitess. She would have been treated unkind, for people found her unclean.
We can tell she had a rough way to go. She had the worst job. To keep her and Naomi from starvation, she went to the fields to pick up stalks of grain that was left over.
I can see Ruth looking for a field. But remember, very few people would have liked or trusted Ruth. She was foreign and deemed unclean.
But it so “happened” that she came to a field that belonged to Boaz. And better yet, Boaz was a relative of Elimelech, her father-in-law.
Boaz, who was wealthy and owned land and exceptionally kind. He went to the impoverished people and blessed them, praying for them.
Until he noticed Ruth. When he learned who she was, he put the pieces together. This is the Moabitess who traveled fifty-five miles from her home to take care of the widow Naomi.
Boaz, who could have treated her unfairly opted to show kindness. He even prayed for her.
12 The Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.”
Boaz could see what many probably ignored. Even though Ruth was not Jewish by birth, she was placing her faith and trust in the God of Israel.
Therefore, Boaz prayed for Ruth’s safety, security, and protection. Ruth had found refuge when she met Boaz. Boaz looked out for her and made sure everyone left her alone.
Notice, the challenging times were becoming more bearable. God began to answer Naomi’s prayers and now Boaz prayed for Ruth.
When we go through hard times, we must RETURN to the Lord. When we do, He will become our refuge, our protection from trouble.
Remember, people of prayer are people of commitment. We can go to Him in prayer and He will provide refuge. And in that place of refuge, we will see that we have...
3. Redemption in Challenging Times
3. Redemption in Challenging Times
19 And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where have you gleaned today? And where did you work? Blessed be the one who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.”
20 Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “Blessed be he of the Lord, who has not forsaken His kindness to the living and the dead!” And Naomi said to her, “This man is a relation of ours, one of our close relatives.”
Every time I have read Ruth’s life, this is the part that has always challenged me. The customs of the day were so different than ours.
But Ruth came home and Naomi noticed how blessed she was with so much grain. She asked, where did you get this? Whose farm did you visit?
Ruth answered, a nice man named Boaz. Naomi prayed and thanked God for His kindness. Then she explained, Boaz is a close relative.
The word relative means more than a cousin. The best equivalent we have to that word in the English language is a “kinsman redeemer.”
Kinsman, meaning family.
Redeemer, meaning to pay the price to cancel someone’s debt.
In God’s grace, He set up a system in the Old Testament law. If someone came on hard times, their nearest relative would pay to cancel their debt.
Their “kin” would “redeem” them. In this instance, Naomi’s husband had sold a piece of property. Now Naomi was left destitute because she didn’t have any land.
Therefore, the nearest male relative could redeem, buy back, the land and keep it in the family. It will give Naomi a place to live.
Boaz wanted to redeem the land, but he was not the closest male relative. Boaz went to the closer relative who agreed to redeem Ruth and her family, but there was a problem.
5 Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also buy it from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance.”
6 And the close relative said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I ruin my own inheritance. You redeem my right of redemption for yourself, for I cannot redeem it.”
The man realized that by buying back the land for Naomi, he would have to marry Ruth and any child she had would inherit the land.
Sounds like a lot of land entanglement and the closer relative didn’t want to ruin his inheritance. So Boaz agreed to become the redeemer for Naomi and Ruth.
He and the closer relative took off one sandal and traded them and everyone was a witness to the agreement!
Word quickly spread around that everything changed for Naomi and Ruth. Ruth and Boaz were to get married! Boaz had not children, so any son they had would inherit everything and keep the family line growing!
People were elated.
The elders of the area prayed for Ruth.
11 And all the people who were at the gate, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. The Lord make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who built the house of Israel; and may you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem.
They prayed God would bless Ruth and give her children like He did for Jacob’s wives, Rachel and Leah. Then they prayed that God would make Bethlehem famous.
Guess what? God answered and Ruth had a son. Naomi’s friends prayed for the baby:
14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel!
15 And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him.”
Even though they did not realize their prayers, they asked God to let this baby RESTORE Naomi. But the fact is, this baby was a part of God’s redemption plan.
For God did not only have concern for Ruth and Naomi, He also had concern for humanity. How do we know, look at the baby’s name:
17 Also the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “There is a son born to Naomi.” And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.
We do not know much about Obed, but he had a son named Jesse, who had a son who was a shepherd named David.
God answered the prayers of the people, God made Ruth’s descendants famous, for everyone knew about King David!
Close:
Ruth experienced God in challenging times.
Ruth began with loss and ended with gain
Ruth began with sorrow and ended with joy
Ruth began with death and ended with life
Not just life, she became the great-grandmother of David! Her life is an answer to pray, but I find it interesting that every prayer recorded in Ruth was prayed FOR Ruth not BY Ruth.
That is not to say she didn’t communicate with God. But when the Lord prompted the individual to write this book, the Holy Spirit made known to us the prayers of others.
And here is what I want us to notice, God answers prayer. And people of prayer are people of commitment!
Naomi stayed committed to God.
Boaz was committed to God.
and now Ruth became committed to God. A Moabitess who was raised worshipping false gods became a key figure in the story of God’s redemption plan!
I want to close with one prayer that was prayed in the book of Ruth. The elders of Bethlehem prayed that God would make their city famous!
The face it, Bethlehem had a challenging past. Most every biblical detail about Bethlehem up to the point of Ruth was discouraging and sad.
Jacob buried his favorite wife in Bethlehem
A corrupt priest sold and stored idols in Bethlehem
A concubine of a Levite was sexually assaulted and cut into twelve pieces in Bethlehem.
A drought took place in Bethlehem.
No wonder the elders of the city prayed for God to help their city. They wanted to experience God in a city that had such a challenging past.
And God answered their prayer! David was born in Bethlehem. The greatest king of Israel was from a town that had a history of death, idolatry, murder, and poverty!
But God looked beyond Ruth and Boaz, and even David. For the prophet Micah promised:
2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”
Who was the ruler that came from Bethlehem. It was not David. No, for in Bethlehem there was another young girl who faced challenging times.
She was pregnant out of wedlock and had become an outcast to many. But in that little town of Bethlehem there came three kings from the east who wanted to see this young child. They fell at His feet and worshipped Him!
The child, the ruler in Israel, who is from old and from everlasting is named Jesus! Think about it for a moment. None of this would have happened like it did had Naomi not trusted God in challenging times.
She returned home. Her and Ruth found refuge. They met their redeemer in Bethlehem.
And just as Boaz provided refuge and redemption to Naomi and Ruth, Jesus provides refuge and redemption to ANYONE who will call on His name!
We live in challenging days. We face challenging times. But there is HOPE for us. For challenges NEVER limit God’s power.
So let us learn from Ruth and Naomi.
When it gets hard, return to God in prayer.
When we pray, trust God to become our refuge.
And within this refuge we will find redemption!
We must never forget that we are REDEEMED! We’ve been bought with a price. Every one of us owed a debt to God. And the wages of our sin was death.
But we have a kinsman redeemer. We have a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Jesus saw us in our plight. He empathized with our sinful condition.
So He came and paid the ultimate sacrifice for us! Now we are redeemed. Redeemed how I love to proclaim it!
And because we’re redeemed, we have a hope and a future.
Sure times are challenging, but in the challenging times God but listen to the Psalm of Ruth’s great-great grandson
A Psalm. A Song At the Dedication of the House of David.
1 I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up, And have not let my foes rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried out to You, And You healed me.
3 O Lord, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
4 Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.
5 For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.
6 Now in my prosperity I said, “I shall never be moved.”
7 Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong; You hid Your face, and I was troubled.
8 I cried out to You, O Lord; And to the Lord I made supplication:
9 “What profit is there in my blood, When I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth?
10 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me; Lord, be my helper!”
11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,
12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.
So how do we experience God in challenging times?
Return to God in prayer, praise, and worship.
Seek refuge from God in His presence.
And remember, we are redeemed and God is forever on our side.
So we will continue to pray, no matter what comes against us for people of prayer are people of commitment!
And we will stay committed until our redeemer comes back to earth to take us home with Him for eternity!