Ruth 1
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Introduction
Introduction
I want us to learn this evening a little bit of how we are to study and apply OT narrative
-So often when we read our OT, we aren’t exactly sure how to interpret and apply it
-We read these accounts, and we think they’re cool, but then what?
-So often times this leads to allegorizing the text
-I’m David, and Goliath is my school debt, or my horrible boss at work, and I’m supposed to conquer these things with my faith
Or we look for some application, some “go and do” thing in the text:
-When Elijah went to the cave, God wasn’t in the wind, earthquake, or fire, but in the still small voice. So I need to try really hard to hear God’s whisper in my life
And we often don’t know what to do with OT narrative.
So over the next 3 weeks, I not only want us to go through the account of Ruth, but I want us to learn some principles about how to ready OT narrative, and understand what the author is trying to communicate and how to apply it
-Now, there in front of you is a brief diagram about how most stories in life work
**explain diagram
Now why is that important?
-Because the author is telling us a narrative, a story
-It’s a true story! it’s an historical account
-Nevertheless, the author is not just trying to communicate facts; he wants us to understand things about God and man and our relationship with Him
-So, it’s important we follow the narrative and what the author is trying to communicate so we don’t end up with an application that’s not very good, or we just allegorize the account to mean something to us that it doesn’t mean
So, let’s jump into our account:
-We do not know the author of Ruth, but this was probably written sometime during the period of the book of Kings and Chronicles
-So when a King was reigning in Israel
Exposition and Conflict (vs. 1-5)
Exposition and Conflict (vs. 1-5)
Now, right off the bat, we’re going to employ 2 of our principles:
-The first is we need to understand the world in which this is taking place
-So, for the next little bit, you all are OT Israelites during the time of the monarchy
-We need to see this account from their perspective, the people from whom this book is written
Secondly, in OT narrative, we need to note the speed of the account
-The author speeds up and slows down the account based on what he wants us to focus on
Vs 1.
“In the days when the judges ruled”
-The narrator tells us this because this was a dark time in Israel’s history
In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
-There was no central king or ruler
-So the people end up doing whatever they think is right instead of following the Law of God
-They would rebel against God and worship other gods
-They would be judged by God
-He would allow them to be conquered
-The people would repent and cry out to God
-God would send a judge to deliver them and help lead them
-And this cycle would repeat itself
It’s in this bleak setting of idolatry and godlessness that our account is set
“a famine in the land”
-Any Israelite would know that in the OT, this was a sign of judgement from God
‘And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.
I will break the pride of your power;
I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze.
And your strength shall be spent in vain;
for your land shall not yield its produce, nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruit.
this is repeated in Deut. 28
So the narrator tells us that during this time of what was probably judgment, in the a bleak time of spiritual desolation, we meet a man from Bethlehem
-Now Bethlehem would have been well-known by anyone reading this, because it is the birthplace of King David
-And this is ultimately where the narrator ends his account
-He ends with the coming of King David
-So our ears are supposed to perk up at the mention of Bethlehem
“A certain main of Bethlehem, Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons”
-Now, when you hear Moab, you’re supposed to be repulsed, or filled with righteous indignation
-Moab was one of the sons of Lot that he had through his incestuous relationship with one of his daughters
-So Moab was one of these nations that kind of has some relation to Israel
-But in Numbers 22-24, we have an extensive account of the way Moab tried to destroy Moab
-The Israelites were passing near the land of Moab on their way to finally attempt to possess the Promised Land for the 2nd time
-The Moabites see the Israelites and are afraid of them because they seem so powerful and numerous
-They say, “what are we going to do about this?”
-So their king, a guy named Balak, goes and tries to hire a false prophet named Balaam to curse the Israelites
-To make a long story short, God doesn’t allow that to happen and Balaam is only able to bless Israel
-To make matters worse, when this doesn’t work, in Numbers 25 the Moabites decide to entice Israel into idolatry and sexual immorality, and this does work
-A bunch of Moabite women entice the men of Israel into sexual immorality and to sacrifice to their idols
-And God sends judgement on the Israelites and kills 24,000 of them
-And it probably would have been more if Phinehas, the zealous priest, had not stepped in and fought for the Lord’s glory and reputation by killing one of the immoral couples
Because of these incidents, this is what Yahweh says about the Moabites right as Israel is about to enter the Promised Land:
“An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the Lord; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the Lord forever, because they did not meet you with bread and water on the road when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. Nevertheless the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam, but the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you. You shall not seek their peace nor their prosperity all your days forever.
-So if you’re an Israelite during OT times, you understand that this man’s choice to leave the Land of Promise, even though they were experiencing judgment, and to go to dwell in the land of pagans is wrong
-There should have been a seeking after God and genuine repentance
-The OT is clear that when there is judgment from God, the Israelites must turn and repent and seek Him
But instead of seeking the Lord, this man just decides to leave the land of promise and go to the land of pagans
Vs. 2
-they remain in the land of Moab
Vs. 3
-Elimelech dies
-Naomi is now a widow
-But she has two sons, so all is not lost!
-In this culture, yours sons carried on your family name and inheritance
Vs. 4
-Her sons marry Moabite women
-This is once again supposed to make us appalled as OT Israelites
-Marrying foreigners was a big deal to God
Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son. For they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; so the anger of the Lord will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly.
-So this family starts out leaving the land of promise, choose to stay, and then the 2 sons choose to marry pagan women
Vs. 5
-the final blow comes when both sons of Naomi die
-All of a sudden, this woman is left without a husband and now left without her two sons
-And it’s very significant that although the text indicates that the sons were married for about 10 years, both their wives are barren
And as OT Israelites, we would view this as God’s judgment in light of the Mosaic Law
“Cursed shall be the fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.
When the Israelites failed to obey the Covenant, one of the judgments was a failure to produce children.
-So this woman has gone to a pagan land with her family against the revealed will of God, and truly, she has lost everything there
Scene 1
Scene 1
Vs. 6
-We really see here the narrator’s view on God
-And that is that God is Providentially in control of all things
Why do I say that?
-There are only 2 times when the author himself mentions God
-Here and in Ruth 4:13
So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son.
-So at the beginning and at the end, the author attributes events that we may see as ordinary — a famine ending, a woman conceiving — as ordained by the hand of our Sovereign God
-Despite the sin of His people, God has chosen to have mercy and grace and compassion on them
-Our God is a God who desires to show mercy and grace to sinners, and is providentially able to do so in any circumstances
-So Naomi hears that God has ended the famine, and she’s ready to go back to the Promised Land
Vs. 7-9
So Naomi starts out on this journey, and her daughters-in-law follow her
-Finally she turns to them and basically says, “you all need to return. It’s ok, you don’t need to follow me home.”
-In these verses, she’s essentially telling them in a loving way to go and remarry!
-Notice “in the house of her husband”
“It’s ok! Go back and remarry someone who will provide for you”
-And they all begin to weep
-Now let me ask you ladies, when was the last time you wept when your mother-in-law left the house?
-They love each other!
-Notice her two references to Yahweh in these verses:
“Yahweh deal kindly”
“Yahweh grant you”
We find in this narrative that the characters also frequently affirm the Sovereignty and Providence of God, although we’ll see here in just a minute how this doctrine has become warped in Naomi’s own heart
vs. 10
-They want to go back with her!
-They are willing to leave their own people, and go to a foreign land to be with her
Vs. 11
-Naomi basically tells them that she has no way to provide for them!
-If they leave their land and stick with her, they’ll have nothing!
-Daniel Block, in his commentary on Ruth, points out that to lose your husband in this culture was to your economic support
-They needed to go back and remarry, not stick with a destitute widow
-Naomi firmly and kind of humorously points out the fact that she’s not going to have anymore children
-No more sons will be coming from her for them to marry
Vs. 12
-Naomi also acknowledges that no one is going to marry her
-In this culture, old widows that were past the age of child-bearing were nothing but a burden
-And a woman who was past the age of being able to do that would only be someone who is a burden financially without adding anything
She essentially says: “Even if I could bear kids, and I found a husband tonight and got pregnant immediately, would you be willing to wait the 15-20 years for them to reach marriage age??”
Vs. 13b
-Notice now that the narrator gives us a bigger glimpse into Naomi’s own heart here
“No, my daughters; for it grieves me very much for your sakes that the hand of Yahweh has gone out against me!”
We see here how Naomi views Yahweh, the Covenant-keeping God of Israel
-She knows that He’s sovereign
-He’s in control
-But He’s turned against her
-And she’s bitter
-the word here for “grieves” is translated down in vs. 20 as “bitter”
-And there she’s even more explicit in her bitterness
-There’s no acknowledgment of her own sin
-There’s no repentance of what she has done
-Just an accusation of the Lord doing wrong by her
-This is what bitterness is:
-It’s when we think we deserve better
-It’s when we think we’ve been wronged
-And ultimately, if we understand God’s Sovereignty, that He is the One who ordains and allows all things, then all our complaining and bitterness is ultimately against Him
Vs. 14
-They weep again
-Then Orpah leaves
-She takes her mother-in-law’s advice and heads home
-but Ruth stays and chooses to stay with her destitute, bitter mother-in-law and care for her
Vs. 15
-We once again see the heart of Naomi here and her view of God
“Orpah went back to her people and her gods! Follow her. Don’t adopt my people and my God.”
-this is a very low view of God here
She either doesn’t seem to believe that Yahweh is the only God
-Perhaps He’s One of many gods
Or, as one pastor pointed out in a sermon I listened to:
she’s saying “Go back to your gods, because my God isn’t very good”
Vs. 16-17
Ruth here launches into a beautiful speech of declaring her loyalty to her mother-in-law
-early in vs. 16, she implores Naomi to stop trying to dissuade her
-Her mind is made up to show her mother-in-law unconditional love and loyalty
She then launches into 6 pledges
-This is an incredible commitment!
Ruth is committing to leaving her family
-her homeland
-her culture
-her identity with her people
-the god she worships
-and she will never return, because she will be buried in Israel
This is an incredible act of loyalty and love on Ruth’s part
-Her sacrifice for her mother-in-law is truly wonderful
-And notice her understanding that her allegiance must go to Yahweh
-Now, this might not be her conversion at this point
-She probably does not know all that much about the One True God, especially if what little she’s learned about Him is from this family and from Naomi
-But this is at the very least a start, and a path that she is determining to go down
Vs. 18
-Naomi sees her determination and gives in
-She lets her come, and they travel in silence back to the land of Judah towards Bethlehem
-This is not a short or easy journey, as they have to go around the Dead Sea
Vs. 19
-Naomi and Ruth finally get back to Bethlehem, and the town is excited!
-It’s exciting when you see old friends again, especially when you live in a time period before facebook, instagram, texts and facetime
-News gets around that this woman is back who looks a lot like an older version of Naomi
-So they’re asking around, “is this Naomi?”
Now, the name Naomi means “pleasant”
-But Naomi wants everyone around her to know that Naomi might have left Bethlehem, but she has returned as Mara
Vs. 20-21
-Mara comes from the root of the Hebrew word “bitter”
and this first chapter ends with Naomi leveling a very public and very scathing accusation against Yahweh
Notice the 4 accusations the she aims at Him:
The Almighty has dealt bitterly with me
-He hasn’t done right by me! He’s made me bitter
I went out full, Yahweh has brought me back empty
-God has taken away what she has
-I left here with a husband, 2 boys, and a bright future! that’s gone now
Yahweh has testified against me
-This has the idea of a court of law
-Yahweh has found her judicially guilty
The Almighty has afflicted me
-She ascribes that calamities that have happened to her to the Almighty
So Naomi walks into town, and announces to everyone: “Don’t call me pleasant! Call me bitter! Because God has taken away everything I have and has turned against me! I left with a Jewish husband and 2 Jewish sons, and all I come back with is this Moabite widow”
-Not very gracious towards her daughter-in-law who’s sacrificed everything for her either
-And with that ringing in our ears, the first act of the book of Ruth closes
And I think and appropriate question would be: is Naomi right in her view of God?
-Is He unkind or unfair or unjust in His treatment of us?
-Does He just intend disaster against His people?
Well remember one our principles: look to the end game
-Where is this narrative going
So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel! And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him.” Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom, and became a nurse to him. Also the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “There is a son born to Naomi.” And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.
The answer is no!
-Naomi was wrong in her assessment of her situation and of God!
-God was working to bring about His desired King in what seemed to be the worst of circumstances
-God was preparing the line His chosen King David
-And furthermore, Naomi does end up with a grandchild in the end
-And people are saying “Look Naomi, Ruth is better than 7 sons!”
-But at the time, and in the midst of the pain, Naomi failed to recognize God’s goodness and grace in her life
Now let’s take off our OT Israelite garb and come back to our own time and our own world
-In OT narrative, the author wants us to see the truths presented and think about our own lives
-And we’re going to do that now
Look at another of our principles: applications will often be “come and see” instead of “go and do”
-So the point of Ruth is not to go move in with your mother-in-law if you get widowed
-Or some kind of sign that God wants you to move to a foreign field
-It’s to marvel at the goodness and kindness in the Providential hand of God
-What about your life?
-Is everything going your way?
-Are your relationships just amazing?
-Are your finances at an all-time high?
-Are you kids and spouse just being the most wonderful people?
Or are things hard and difficult for you?
-Maybe things are tragic in your life right now
-Maybe there are big problems and heartaches going on
-Or maybe there are a bunch of small, annoying worries that you’re working through
What is your view of God in all of this?
-Have you become embittered or disillusioned?
-Are you coming home frustrated and taking it out on those around you?
-Have you developed a complaining spirit?
-Maybe not
-But are you lifting your eyes to see the glory of God and His kindness to you in all circumstances?
-Are you taking heart in the fact that all things are working together for good to conform you to the image of Christ?
Are you trusting with eyes of faith that God is working out His plan in your life?
Listen, the author of Ruth didn’t even fully realize all of God’s goodness!
-I mean, he or she was like “look at how good God is! He used this to bring forth David!”
-But this side of the cross, we have something so much better!
-We see that this wasn’t just to bring about King David
-This brought about the Greater David, Jesus Christ
-These situations brought about the God-Man who would die for our sins and pay our penalty
-who would rise again and ascend to the Father
Do not lose heart and become bitter
-God is working in your circumstances
-Come and see the kindness and love of God in this account
How is He specifically working in my life in this?
-I don’t know
-but when you find out one day, you’ll fall down and worship Him for His goodness and love
-Why don’t we start that now?
