God Takes Away
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LOTR - Gandalf telling Frodo he is not trying to steal from him but trying to help him.
Today we will be confronted by an important question from our text and that question is,
Do you truly believe that God is for you, even when it seems like He is against you?
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.
Fast forward through long trip
Arrive in Bethlehem
stirred - excited, murmured, etc
Is this Naomi? Life had been hard.
Naomi - pleasant one - to Mara - bitter one
Almighty (Shaddai) - dealt bitterly with me
Systematic Theology (3. Shaddai and ’El-Shaddai)
The name Shaddai is derived from shadad, to be powerful, and points to God as possessing all power in heaven and on earth. Others, however, derive it from shad, lord. It differs in an important point from ’Elohim, the God of creation and nature, in that it contemplates God as subjecting all the powers of nature and making them subservient to the work of divine grace. While it stresses the greatness of God, it does not represent Him as an object of fear and terror, but as a source of blessing and comfort.
Lord (YHWH) - brought me back empty
Systematic Theology (4. Yahweh and Yahweh Tsebhaoth)
The meaning is explained in Ex. 3:14, which is rendered “I am that I am,” or “I shall be what I shall be.” Thus interpreted, the name points to the unchangeableness of God. Yet it is not so much the unchangeableness of His essential Being that is in view, as the unchangeableness of His relation to His people.
Lord - testified against me
Almighty - brought calamity against me
But…they came at the beginning of the barely harvest.
Why this insert? just a place setting or is it foreshadowing something bigger.
Is Naomi’s theology correct? Did God do all of this?
In one sense, yes.
4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel as his own possession.
5 For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods.
6 Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.
7 He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth, who makes lightnings for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.
4 Give them this charge for their masters: ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: This is what you shall say to your masters:
5 “It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to whomever it seems right to me.
What does God not cause?
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.
14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.
15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
God is not the cause of sin, but he allows sin to take place and uses that sin to accomplish his purposes. We see this all through scripture as God allows evil people and nations to act according to their own desires as His instruments of judgement.
So when Naomi is saying God has caused her suffering we can say she is right as long as we can see that at no point is God an agent of sin in any way.
So why is it important to know this today? Why couldn’t we just say, poor Naomi, look how downcast she is!
It is because at many points in life, we are Naomi. We look at our life and think, “this isn’t what I planned or desired. It feels like God has abandoned me, failed me, or at worst is against me. When we feel this way we must answer our question,
Do you truly believe that God is for you, even when it seems like He is against you?
and our answer must be, Yes.
3 reasons why our answer is yes and all of them are found in verse 22.
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.
1. God is at work when you do not see it.
Famine had ended and they had a reason to return.
2. God has not forgotten you or your family.
God brought a young woman home so the line would not end.
3. God brings life from seeming death.
Beginning of the barley harvest.
GOSPEL
We can absolutely say yes to our question,
Do you truly believe that God is for you, even when it seems like He is against you?
We need to hold on to the truths of Scripture,
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
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