Sermon Tone Analysis

New Hope For Naomi

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Introduction

Do you know what it means to be at the end of your tether, facing an apparently impossible situation with no apparent prospect of relief?

Well, that is where Naomi is when our passage opens - sunk in apathy and despair.

That morning she had allowed Ruth to go off to the harvest fields with no thought of the young woman's welfare; you see, she was at the end of her tether.

What did it matter any more?

That is the Naomi's mood, when Ruth returns from her day in the fields.

But verse 19 marks a turning point as Naomi, realising the amount of grain that Ruth has brought back asks her,/ “Where did you glean today?

Where did you work?

Blessed be the man who took notice of you!”/

But notice – it was only /after/ Naomi's hunger was satisfied, when her spirits were revived, that her curiosity was aroused.

Before that she was too hungry and apathetic to care about how Ruth had got on in the fields that day.

She ate first, then she asked her question.

But before Ruth had a chance to answer, the excited Naomi quickly asked God to bless on Ruth's as-yet-unnamed benefactor.

Obviously Naomi knew that such a heap of grain could not have come without outside help.

This moment of Naomi's awakened hope is the crucial turning point of the story.

For, at the end of her tether Naomi finds God working through His providence for her blessing.

And it is God's mysterious providence which silently overshadows all the events of  this passage.

The subtle traces of His presence are apparent.

The Lord is at work for Naomi's good through the actions of Ruth and Boaz, whom God has providentially brought together.

As we look at these verses we learn some important lessons.

Firstly the pressures of life should not diminish our trust in God.

Secondly, the encouragement we receive from the Lord should reinforce our commitment to Him.

And thirdly, in all things we should open towards God.

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God Loves You!

Naomi pronounces two blessings.

In verse 19 there is a general blessing – /"Blessed be the man who took notice of you!"/

But once she knew the identity of the benefactor, she could not suppress her joy for she realised that the merciful hand of God was behind everything.

Once again she blessed Boaz, but her words became even more exultant, when she praised the Lord for His kindness to the living and the dead.

In chapter 1 she said that God's mercy had left her, but now she saw that He had remembered both her and Ruth, the living, and Elimelech and his sons, the dead, by caring for their widows.

It was because of the Lord's goodness and faithfulness that Ruth met Boaz, and made such a favourable impression on him.

Now, anyone might have been surprised and glad, as Naomi was, at this unexpected turn of events and exclaimed such a blessing as Naomi did.

But we need to remember that to Naomi it seemed that God had become her enemy.

After all, hadn’t her husband and sons died prematurely in Moab, because of the family's sin in leaving the Promised Land.

Naomi saw herself as bereaved, forsaken, empty, because she shared that sin.

She felt she had put herself beyond God's mercy and love - but she was wrong.

For in a wonderful providence which had led Ruth to find a helper in Boaz, her wealthy kinsman, Naomi sees proof that God had not wholly abandoned her, that He had not left off His kindness whether to her, or to the beloved dead.

There are many people who feel like Naomi – who feel that something in their past has created a barrier between them and God, which forever cuts them off from His blessing.

They regard the gulf as unbridgeable.

They believe that God has abandoned them; not that they blame God, they feel they are wholly to blame.

They just think that God can never forgive them.

But they are wrong.

Just as Naomi was wrong.

God is still reaching out in love, offering forgiveness and wholeness.

If you feel that way today, then I have good news for you.

God still loves you.

And here is the proof: He loves you so much that He sent His one and only son into the world to take upon Himself the guilt and punishment of your sins, no matter what they are, by dying for them on the Cross of Calvary.

If you want to know what God's love is, look at Calvary.

Will you believe that?

Will you accept God's forgiveness, which He is offering you today in Christ?

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Encouragement

Naomi is encouraged by God’s providential ordering of the day’s events, but her delight is more about Boaz's relationship to them than at the amount of grain Ruth has brought home.

For, it is with the mention of Boaz's name that Naomi for the first time begins to see the hand of the Lord in what has happened that day.

Naomi seems to grasp at once the significance of her relative's kindness.

The word /kinsman-redeemer /to describe Boaz introduces a new theme to the book that decisively alters its course.

The contrast between Naomi's earlier bitterness and her joy marks a turn-around in her situation.

Before she had been destitute and isolated; now she had food and a gracious benefactor to look after her, as Ruth went on to tell Naomi how Boaz's kindness guaranteed that they would have food for the time being.

The practical evidence of God's love and favour towards her and Ruth, gave Naomi confidence as they faced the future together.

Their problems remained.

They were still penniless, but Naomi's former despair had now turned to a joyful assurance.

She therefore praised God that He had not abandoned His loving-kindness to her.

In caring for people in need, God chose to work through people, and still chooses to work through people.

In our story Boaz is the one through whom the Lord works, in order to ease Naomi's and Ruth's hardship.

Sometimes God uses circumstances in this way - as a means of encouraging us.

These are often connected with the everyday things of life - a word, a touch, a card, a letter, a small gift.

When these things happen, we see God's hand behind the circumstance; and so we should be thankful.

We can also be used by God to bring encouragement to others.

He may place us in situations where we can bring help or blessing to someone in need.

What we are and what we do are one and the same.

In the Christian steadfast loving-kindness should be both active and passive – loving and giving go together.

We should be open-hearted and open-handed.

The presence or, indeed the absence of such loving-kindness can make such a difference.

Remember, it was not until Naomi arrived in Bethlehem and saw her neighbours indifferent and apathetic that she concluded that she was shut out from the mercy of God.

It was only when Boaz showed a little kindness to Ruth – the same kindness that we can show to a someone any day – that Naomi felt that the door of mercy was once again open to her.

And that restored her faith and confidence in God.

Confidence in the biblical sense comes from a heart that is right with God.

Confident people see how He reinforces their faith and trust and therefore gladly trust Him for the future.

The importance of showing practical kindness is a solemn responsibility for each one of us.

The effectiveness of our Christian witness depends on the visible reality of our love for one another.

As Michael Griffiths writes in his book, /Take My Life/, "Love is doing, not feeling.

Therefore love demands time."

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A Learning Heart

It is only when she has been lifted from her mood of despair that Naomi becomes concerned about Ruth's safety.

In verse 23 we see that Ruth did exactly as Naomi and Boaz had instructed.

She stayed close to Boaz's young women to do her gleaning.

The final verse of chapter 2 summarises what Ruth did for the next two months.

There were no changes in her daily routine.

Every day she gleaned in Boaz's fields, first at the barley harvest then at the wheat harvest.

She lived faithfully with her mother-in-law.

Over and over again Ruth willingly subordinates herself to Naomi, accepting the guidance of the older woman in the little matters of day-to-day living.

From Ruth's example, we learn that through little things, we prepare ourselves as she did for the big experiences of life.

In fact, these experiences only come when we are prepared for them.

To be prepared, we need to be prepared to learn.

People, who think they know everything and cannot be taught anything, show by their attitude both their immaturity and their resistance to growth.

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Conclusion

This passage reminds us that God graciously honours those, who show simple devotion, by providing for their needs.

If we trust God and follow Him, then we shall have nothing to worry about.

As Jesus reminded His followers in Matthew 6:33 /But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well./

The cure for worry is trust.

Naomi had only recently returned to that point.