Becoming Fruit: Faithfulness

Moving forward in our exploration of becoming more Christ-like by growing in the Fruit of the Spirit, we come to the virtue of faithfulness. Our first thought about faithfulness is usually related to our faithfulness to God, and that is good. But God also calls us to faithfully carry out our relationships with others. It is, in fact, one of the ways by which we demonstrate our faithfulness to God. And, of course, we see that our faithfulness to God is the appropriate response to HIS faithfulness to us. This morning we look to a beautiful story of faithfulness in the Old Testament that shows us what being faithful looks like AND how important our faithfulness is—not only as it relates to our lives, but also how as it relates to God’s great plan. It is the story of Ruth and Naomi. The story of Ruth showing faithfulness to her mother-in-law Naomi, even when it cost her dearly. Our story occurred during one of the darkest times in Israel’s history...the time of the Judges. Indeed, the story of Ruth is one of being...

Faithful in the darkest days.

Our story begins with the following setting: Ruth 1:1 “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.” So much to see in one verse: 1) What do we know about the time of the Judges? Commentators refer to it as “...a time of apostasy, warfare, decline, violence, moral decay, and anarchy.” Sounds like this morning’s news! The Old Testament Book of Judges is even more to the point: Judges 21:25 “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” This is a recipe for trouble, and trouble came in the form of a great famine. 2) So we find a certain man (Elimelech) taking his wife Naomi and their two sons to temporarily live in Moab, where there was food to eat. The choice of Moab was interesting, because the Moabites and Israelites had been at odds for a long time. The truth is: they were locked in a big old Family Feud! You can’t make this stuff up. Who were the Moabites? Do you remember the story of Sodom & Gomorrah? The wickedness that brought down fire and brimstone?? God showed mercy on Abraham’s nephew Lot and allowed him to escape with his wife, two daughters, and their husbands. The sons-in-law thought Lot was joking and stayed behind. And his wife looked back!! Pillar of salt!! So Lot and his daughters go live in a cave, and the daughters start to worry about the fact that they have no children to carry on the family name. They got Daddy drunk and…well, the result of this incestuous encounter is recorded in Genesis 19:36-37 “Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father. The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day.” This is definitely a recipe for trouble. In fact, we read in Deut 23:3 “An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the Lord;” The choice of Moab certainly was interesting, but back to our story: Elimelech died, leaving Naomi a widow. The days are getting darker, but at least she has her two sons. The sons of Naomi marry Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. Another interesting choice…the Moabites were pagan. After some time, the two sons also die. Now, the days are darker than ever. Naomi, a widow. Two daughters-in-law who are also both widows. Not much future for a woman during that time. Naomi devises a plan for the daughters-in-law. She will return to Bethlehem, where things have eased up, and the younger two will stay in their home country and find new husbands, who can provide the means to be successful. But Ruth decides to be...

Faithful, not successful.

Successful might have meant finding a nice looking, wealthy Moabite man to marry (that is what Naomi suggested for her daughters in law.) In those days, a single woman (especially a widow) didn’t have much in the way of social standing. She could not own property; she would not have enjoyed wealth; in the cases of Naomi, Ruth, and Ruth’s sister-in-law Orpah, it was even more hopeless, because Naomi’s sons (Ruth and Orpah’s husbands) had also died. Naomi (call me Mara/Bitter) recognizes that the younger women still have a chance. Find that husband! That is likely what Orpah did. That would have been the acceptable and sensible thing to do. We don’t know, because we never hear of her again. But that is NOT what Ruth does. Ruth loves her mother-in-law. She will not leave her alone and destitute. She will stay with her no matter what. She is family. It is also notable that Ruth commits to worship God, rather than the pagan gods of the Moabites. So, Ruth returns to Bethlehem with Naomi Ruth 1:16 “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.” Taken out of context for weddings, but not horribly inappropriate. A noble vow. Ruth does not find the success of a handsome, wealthy, young husband. She is picking up scraps of barley at harvest time, trying to make a meager living in Bethlehem. Trying to defend herself against the grabby young men in the field (see chapter 2.) Faithful not successful…until later. What’s the point then?

Faithful for God’s purposes.

Ruth becomes the beneficiary of an ancient tradition known as the Levirate marriage. Deut 25:5-6 “If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the widow of the dead man shall not be married to a stranger outside the family; her husband’s brother shall go in to her, take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. And it shall be that the firstborn son which she bears will succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel.” A very wealthy relative named Boaz fulfilled this role (kinsman-redeemer) even though he was not required to (not being a brother.) He restored all of Naomi’s property back to her and even married Ruth, making it possible for her to have an heir. Ruth ultimately found success. God honored her faithfulness to Naomi in a big way. But her story is important for another—much bigger—reason. After they married, Ruth and Boaz had a son, and they named him Obed. Obed had a son, and he named him Jesse. Jesse had a son, and he named him David. You see, faithful Ruth became the great-grandmother of King David, which makes her the faithful great-great-great (to some degree) grandmother of Jesus. Just the way God planned it.