3.5.24 5.9.2021 Ruth 1.1-22 & 2.1-13 The Loyal Love of Ruth and Naomi

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Entice: Do you think that Naomi and Ruth snuck across the border? Did they arrive in a hastily assembled caravan or did they slip in by themselves with other harried refugees? After all, Naomi's time in Moab was a disaster. Surely God had judged her for something that her husband had done or that she had done. And Ruth--Ruth was just a dirty-dark--skinned Moabite.

Engage: I can almost hear what was whispered in Betheleham when they walked into town "How can we ever MAKE ISRAEL GREAT AGAIN if we let just anybody in...Oh..there's...dear sweet Naomi; "I'm so sorry about Elimelech, and Mahlon, and Chilion...now what was I saying?--Oh I remember: poor Naomi and now she's got that Moabite trash traipsing after her."

At the same time the matriarchs and patriarchs of the village were gossiping and griping the land around them was filled with corruption, chaos and cultural compromise. No King? No problem! Anything goes! Worship what you will.

Take what you want.

Exploit the exploitable and

disenfranchise the weak. To understand the text we have to peal back the polish which has been applied over the millennia to obscure the truth. Because to really "get" the story it has to be understood in Context.

I know what you expect on Mothers Day.

We've all listened to quaint homely little Mother's day sermons. We expect an emphasis on the soft ideals of motherhood and apple pie. A comforting, reassuring sermon that does not challenge us. I've preached quite a few of those Mother's Day sermons myself. We've had a lifetime filled with them. This ain't one of those sermons.

Ruth’s story begins in tragedy. Pain. Alienation. It ends in victory. Loyalty. Love. Hope. That’s how you come back.

Ruth 1:1–22 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. 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. 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.” 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.

Expand: For women like these in times like those there were really only three alternatives. (in descending order of preference)

One=Second, third, or fourth wife of a wealthy man who looked upon you as an attractive breeder. Awesome.

Two= Prostitute.

Three=potential rape victim.

Naomi and Ruth had each other. They had Faith. The had their wits. They kept their dignity. They sought to honor God and God honored them. They gave Him room to move. They did not give up and they did not remain idle. They had an active faith through which God could move to bring about deliverance in difficult circumstances.

Excite: We cannot even do the math to possibly fathom our accrued benefits. The differences between us now and them then are enormous. The advantages we have in our day and age the mere fact of material and social capital available to virtually every one of us should fill us with continual gratitude. Yet, much of what we hear is carping and complaining about what others do to to us, hold against us, or get instead of us. If you want to have hope in hard times you need knock it off! Get over yourself. Look at these two heroic women. You need to learn their story. You need to apply their diligent example. Grow up. Get moving. Hitch up your pants and do what needs done to provide God the room He needs to move in your life.

Explore:

Hope for hard times comes from investing in the community of Faith

Explain: Naomi and Ruth share some important secrets of loyal faith to us.

The First Secret...

Relationship.

The Next Secret...

Resiliency.

The Final Secret...

Redemption.

Ruth 2:1–13 ESV

1 Now Naomi had a relative of her husband’s, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3 So she set out 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 clan of Elimelech. 4 And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you!” And they answered, “The Lord bless you.” 5 Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” 6 And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.’ So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.” 8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. 9 Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.” 10 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” 11 But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. 12 The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” 13 Then she said, “I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.”

Shut Down:

How have you grown since March of 2020? As a Christian, person, spouse, parent--really, grade yourself. Is God pleased with how you have behaved during a trying time? Are you pleased with yourself?

I will admit my preaching this year has been prickly, personal, and intense. It is all of those things by design. Pajama-time is over.

Like a flood the Pandemic is receding. As a flood recedes there is work to do. Clean up. Repoint what is off-kilter. Those who live in the south get the alligators and cotton-mouths out of the bath tub. The worst is behind us. Time to get to work. Time to buckle down. Time to face a receding crisis like the crisis these wonderful mothers their crisis.