Things Aren't What They Seem - Ruth 1

Introduction

(Show pic) Moe Berg - catcher 15 years in the major leagues, most notably for Red Sox - “Brainiest Guy in Baseball” - Princeton - Columbia Law School - spoke several languages - 10 Newspapers a day.

Famous for being strange - Employed by the OSS (CIA) - Sent to a lecture by German physicist Werner Heisenberg to see if the germans were close to have the atomic bomb — if so, he was to kill Heisenberg — he determined they weren’t close

Things aren’t always what they seem, are they?

God’s Word

(Show pic by Williams Blake) The book of Ruth builds our faith by showing how God works most often in ways that we can’t see or understand. In fact, God works in ways that we flat-out don’t want him to work, but it’s because his plan is for our ultimate good, not our temporary pleasure.

Ruth is a beautiful story that is best understood as four acts. We’ll cover the first today, but you’re likely to feel like you’re left hanging at times. That’s because I don’t want to ruin the end by getting too far ahead.

Takes place during the time of the Judges, and we’re supposed to understand Ruth as an addendum for additional insight.

We’ll see three main characters introduced today, and in the lives of these three main characters we’ll see three ironies of living under the rule of God (headline).

God’s “plan” ruins “dreams”.

Honestly, did you expect me to say that? Is that what you came to church to hear?

We create our plans and dreams, and then we ask God to bless them, don’t we? We assume our dreams must be God’s plans.

This is the case for Naomi. She had great plans for her life. Things seem to be on track. She’s married. She has two sons, which would’ve represented God’s double blessing to her. Some commentators suggest they seem to have enjoyed a measure of affluence. Her life plan seems right on track. That’s when Naomi’s life becomes a series of ironies.

She fled to live.

1:1-2 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. 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.

1:5 and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

History tells us that a multi-year famine struck Israel. This was exactly what God said would happen if they were unfaithful to him, and Israel became more unfaithful by the day. They leave Bethlehem, “the House of Bread”, in search of bread. Go to a place they would’ve been loathe to go, Moab.

But, here’s the irony. Fleeing to save her family, Naomi lost her family. Fleeing to live, she found only death. Her husband died, but she still had her boys. Then, one son died, and then another.

She was adapting and changing to save her dream, but it seemed like her efforts to make things better only made them worse.

She leaves to be filled.

1:21a I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty.

Naomi even seems to understand the irony of her life. They went to Moab because they wanted to be filled. They wanted to make sure they had plenty. But, she’s returning to Bethlehem empty. In fact, she realizes that she was full before. Her life was in tact. Her husband and sons were with her. Her dream was still viable. Now, they’re dead. The dream that she had for her life is dead.

Often, you don’t realize what you had until you’ve lost it. We become so focused on the dream of the future that we don’t delight in the blessing of today. Naomi seems to see this in retrospect.

Her loss changes her.

1:20 She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.

We’re supposed to pick up on the irony of her name. Naomi means ‘the pleasant one”. Mara means “to be bitter.” Her loss had changed her. Her outlook was different. Her expectations were different. Her feeling were different.

And, it was all because of God. Five times (v. 13, 20-21) Naomi’s pain attributed to God and his plan. This isn’t even including the undercurrent of God’s judgement through the famine which started this chain of events to begin with. God’s plan was constantly spoiling her plan. Her plan was to save her family, and his plan was that they would die. Her plan was to get full, and his plan was to empty her. Her plan was to live a pleasant life, but his plan was that her life would experience bitter sorrow.

The plan of God had ruined her dreams. Now, there’s hope here. There’s a greater plan coming. But, in chapter one, we’re left, like Naomi, grappling with her loss. We’re left grappling with how a person should respond when their dreams are dashed by the sovereign providence of God.

Many of you are still coping with the death of your dreams. Retirement upended by health or strained relationships. Your parents health has become your burden. Family upended by a sudden loss. Your career isn’t satisfying. Your marriage is more misery than pleasure. Your income isn’t what you expected. With every passing year, you seem a mile further from your dream rather than a step closer.

“the LORD brought me back empty” Like Naomi, we have to deal honestly with our loss. Don’t hide your deepest feelings from God. Don’t pretend like the loss isn’t significant or that it hasn’t changed you. Job: “Though he slay me, I will hope in him.”

“the LORD” She grieves her loss against the backdrop of God’s covenant promise. Returning to Bethlehem b/c “the LORD had visited his people”. She prays to the LORD for her daughters-in-law to experience kindness and blessing. Her hope, in her darkest day, is still that the promises of God are true, even if her dreams aren’t.

God “builds” with “broken” blocks.

1:1a “In the days when the judges ruled”

“Everyone did what was right in their own eyes because there was no king in Israel”

Grotesque immorality and the virtual abandonment of God. Judges leaves us asking a question that Ruth seeks to answer: Where are the true people of God? Where are those who love him and through whom He will bless the nations? Where is the remnant?

Enter Ruth — The exact wrong person to answer that question. Everything we learn about Ruth makes her an impossible choice to accomplish anything of significance.

Ruth is a barren widow. This is a multidimensional problem for Ruth.

Grief. Ruth is a young woman who lost her husband in the prime of her life. It’s not just Naomi’s dreams that have died. So have Ruth’s.

Shame. Barrenness and being widowed were evidence of God’s curse. It was like carrying a sign of God’s unhappiness with you everywhere that you went. It shamed your family. It meant that the name would end. It meant that the family wouldn’t enjoy God’s covenant promises into posterity. It was just awful.

Destitute. To be a widow without a son meant that she was left without a way to provide. There were no opportunities for her to make a better life for herself. There’s no capitalism here that promises pay with productivity. You have your place in life, and that’s that. To be a barren widow was to become a beggar.

Naomi’s prayer and plan (return to father’s house) is meant to alleviate this suffering. Her plan is kind and compassionate.

Ruth is a moabite.

The result of Lot’s incestuous relationship with one of his daughters (Genesis 19)

Worshipped Chemosh who required human sacrifices. (2 Kings 3:27)

Moabites are the first people in Canaan to lead Israel into idolatry. (Numbers 25)

Israel is to not even befriend a Moabite. (Deuteronomy 23)

"But, Ruth clung to her.”

1:16-17 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. 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.”

I wish I could just go ahead and take you to the end of the story, but this is the moment everything else builds from!

She forsakes her heritage — gods and family.

She forfeits her security — I’ll be a childless widow forever for you.

“your God my God”“May the LORD do so to me and more also” Because her faith is in YHWH. Her vow places her life in YHWH’s hands. She calls him by his covenant name and uses covenant language.

“to return” 11 times the Hebrew word for repentance/conversion is used in chapter 1. This is the story of Ruth’s conversion! Her devotion to Naomi is the result of her entrusting the wholeness of her life into the hands of YHWH.

The Great Irony: In a time of utter unbelief in Israel, in a time total moral darkness, in a time in which God has been totally forsaken, when you’re wondering “Where is the remnant? Where are the faithful in Israel?, God presents Ruth, a Moabite! A Moabite, the exact wrong person, is presented to us as the picture of true Israel who lives wholeheartedly by faith in God! Woah!

You see, God was still building his Kingdom, and He was building it out of broken blocks. God’s Kingdom is built out of the wrong people with the right faith.

There’s every reason in the world that you shouldn’t be a part of God’s Kingdom. You’re the wrong person. You’re a broken block. But, there’s one reason that you should be a part, and it’s the only reason that really matters: God loves you, and God is willing have you.

God “appears” out of “control”.

Ruth 1:20-21 She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 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?”

The narrator doesn’t just want us to ask: Where is the remnant? He or she also expects us to ask: Where in the world is God?

Naomi is constantly attributing her circumstances to God, but we don’t hear much from him. Outside of the allusion to God’s judgement by the usage of famine and Moab (a land of Judgement) during the time of Judges, we don’t have much information as to why these tragedies have struck Naomi and Ruth specifically. Perhaps, it’s because they fled Bethlehem and went to Moab, but that was most likely at Elimelech’s decision, not Naomi’s. No, if we’re honest the two big questions come up in Ruth 1 that come up when we suffer. And, I think we’re supposed to ask these two questions here because of a juxtaposition that happens in verses 20 and 21 where God’s name and one of his chief titles are used interchangeably.

“Almighty” = “El Shaddai” - Title of God, not his name. “Chief/King of the heavens” It’s a reference to his sovereignty, power, might, and majesty. It’s a question as to whether or not He is able overcome such insurmountable circumstances as these.

“LORD” = YWHW - Covenant name of God. It’s a name that invokes God’s care, love, compassion, and devotion to his covenant people.

Two big questions: Is God mighty enough? Is God good enough? That’s the question that Ruth 1 asks. Is God mighty enough to turn something so ugly into something beautiful, something so horrible into something wonderful? Is God able to work through a mess like this? And, if He is mighty enough, is He good enough to care? Are his promises actually trustworthy?

Mighty enough + Good enough = Can I depend upon God or not? That’s the question, isn’t it? Can I depend upon God at 50 years old when my life is in ruins? Can I depend upon God when every good thing in my life seems to have left at once? Can I depend upon God’s might and God’s goodness to make something beautiful out of my mess?

I want to peel back the curtain just a bit for you to see without giving too much. You see, God may look like He’s not in control. He may seem like He’s absent, or even harsh, in the midst of this mess. He almost always seems that way in the midst of tragedy. But, these two ladies, one of them young and one of them old, haven’t arrived at the end of their stories yet. You see, there would be another Son born in Bethlehem, and this Son would die, too. But, through his death, they would be filled, not emptied. And, these two obscure, suffering ladies had a role to play in that Son coming to redeem.

Life is not what it seems. God is in control.