Part 1: Responding To Ruin (featuring Ruth and Naomi)

Series Introduction

Tonight we are beginning a new series titled “Ruth: From Ruin To Redemption.”

This will be an 8-part series taken from the Book of Ruth

In this series, we will move through the Book of Ruth verse-by-verse from beginning to end

The Book of Ruth is one of the most unique and beloved books in all of the Bible

It’s only 4 short chapters, and can be sat down and easily read in 15 minutes

Yet, it is beautiful little book, with a compelling story filled with loss and love, pain and joy, and risk and redemption

Ruth is one of only two books in all of Scripture named for women

The other is Esther — Esther was a Hebrew woman married to a Gentile king; Ruth was a Gentile woman married to a wealthy Hebrew farmer

The Book of Ruth fits chronologically right in the middle of the Book of Judges (even though it comes right after it in our Bibles)

Her story takes place during the darkest days in all of Israel’s history

After Joshua had conquered the land, the judges ruled and eventually people fell into rejection of God’s truth and the country was filled with violence, idolatry, and corruption.

Even the “heroes” of the time of the judges were people who had patterns of weak faith and irresponsible decisions

Gideon had a great moment of faith when invading the Midianites with 300 men, yet later on he failed to seek God’s leadership for the everyday decisions he made as a judge. Eventually, one of Gideon’s 70 sons (who he had with multiple different wives) killed all of the other sons to so that he could make himself king, and when he became king he was a godless and violent man.

Samson famously had great physical strength but lacked moral integrity, and he eventually had his greatest victory by sacrificing his life in shame to destroy a temple filled with Philistine idol-worshippers

Neither of these tales are particularly bright, yet they are far from the bleakest moments of the times of the judges for Israel.

By the end of the book of Judges, the last verse before the book of Ruth begins, we see a summary of the wickedness plaguing Israel:

Judges 21:25 KJV 1900

25 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

Because of this, the story of Ruth stands out like a tiny ray of sunlight in a cold, dark abyss.

She is a simple Gentile woman, who shows a kinder, Godlier spirit than all of Israel.

Her story is a shining example of the way that God is still present, working in people’s lives, even when the world seems like a crazy, awful place.

The Book of Ruth is broken into 4 different acts, much like a play, and we’ll take 2 weeks to look at each one.

We’ll analyze the different characters (like Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz), and we’ll tell their stories from different perspectives.

We’ll walk our way through the narrative, and we’ll take time to look at some of the odd, cultural nuances and why they made sense in that day

By the end, we will all have a firm grasp on the people of this story and the way God worked in their lives.

Each week, we’re going to look at what each part of the story teaches us about God and about people. My prayer is that in each part you’ll see two things:

How God is faithful, loving, kind, and providential for His people.

How God’s people should take that faithfulness, love, kindness, and grace and reflect it back into the world around them

Let’s begin.

Part 1: Responding to Ruin (featuring Ruth and Naomi) — Ruth 1:1-18

Introducing The Thought

“What do you do when it all falls apart?”

Telling The Story

Situation: The setting, background, characters, etc.

Ruth 1:1–2 KJV 1900

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 Beth-lehem-judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons. 2 And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Beth-lehem-judah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.

Our story opens with a sentence that sets the stage for this time period in Israel: things are bad.

There is corruption and political unrest

There is violence and war

There is wickedness and idolatry

And now, to top it all off, there is not enough food

It was nothing short of a “Great Depression” for Israel and its people.

Next, we’re introduced to a man and his family

Elimelech, his wife Naomi, and their two sons Mahlon and Chilion

So, Elimelech decides he is taking his family and leaving.

It’s their country, their home. But its unrecognizable from days gone by. There is nothing for them there.

They packed their bags, and they left Israel behind.

You can imagine the sadness and emotions that came with this journey — their home was so destitute they had to abandon it

And, they had to go to a place that was totally foreign to them.

To put it simply, things were pretty bad.

Elimelech had to take his family somewhere where they could survive, so he chose the closest neighboring area to the east called Moab.

Even though Bethlehem ironically means “house of bread,” the dry region there made it ripe for famine if they didn’t have enough rain. Whereas Moab has more rivers and porous soil, making it an easy choice for their move.

Show map on screen

When Elimelech took his family and left, he would’ve either gone north to Jerusalem and followed some key roads to Moab, or he could’ve taken the southern route that you see drawn on the map.

Now, the Israelites and the Moabites were neighbors, but they were not friends

The Bible has story after story of the hostile relationships between Israel and Moab (the wilderness wanderings, war with King David, war with Ahab, etc.)

The Moabites were descendents from some pretty awful circumstances surrounding Lot’s family, and from that point forward there was always bad blood with Israel

On top of that, they were pagans that faithfully worshipped the false god Baal.

So even though Elimelech is leaving Israel in all of its wickedness, the place he’s going to isn’t going to be much better off from that standpoint

But, there was one thing Moab had that Israel didn’t: food.

Stress: The trouble that gives the story its dynamic

Ruth 1:3–5 KJV 1900

3 And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died; and she was left, and her two sons. 4 And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years. 5 And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband.

If Naomi thought things couldn’t possibly get worse, she was wrong

By the end of verse 5, Naomi has gone from having a family and living in her home country to being displaced, widowed, and alone.

Not only did she lose her husband, but both of her sons.

Culturally speaking, she was completely destitute. In this day, men were the sole providers for their families.

She was a woman who was widowed and had no sons or grandsons to care for her.

She was also an old woman, and unable to remarry.

Naomi had truly lost everything: her home, her husband, her sons, and now she couldn’t even support herself.

It’s important to understand how tragic it was for a family in this day to lose all generations without hope for another like this

In Israel, extinction of the family name was the greatest tragedy that could happen to a group of people

Not only had Naomi lost these people, but there were no children to carry on the name.

In addition to her being alone, her husband’s family is on the brink of extinction.

Naomi’s pain is deep, and her lack of a family to carry forward only deepens it

So now what does Naomi do?

She has no home, no family, and no way to support herself.

The only connections she has are with her two daughter-in-laws, Moabite women that her sons married before they died.

At this point in the story, things look as hopeless as can be.

Should she wait out death? Should she try to make her way home? What options does she have?

Search: The various solutions explored as the story unfolds

Ruth 1:6–13 KJV 1900

6 Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the Lord had visited his people in giving them bread. 7 Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters in law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah. 8 And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to her mother’s house: the Lord deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me. 9 The Lord grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept. 10 And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people. 11 And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? 12 Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons; 13 Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord is gone out against me.

Naomi decides to make the long journey home

Verse 6 tells us that Naomi heard some good news: God had intervened in the famine Israel was experiencing and given the people food to eat

This would’ve been good news on many fronts, first from the practical standpoint — they had food again, but also from the standpoint of God’s faithfulness.

As we know, Israel was anything but worthy of God intervening and ending their famine. They had rejected him over and over and had no interest in following Him.

Yet, God was faithful, and would not leave His people. Out of His faithful kindness, He “visited His people.”

This is enough reason for Naomi to return. She probably has a better chance of surviving at home with her own people than in Moab.

Naomi tells her Orpah and Ruth, her daughter-in-laws, to return to life with their family

Naomi is leaving, and in this culture, it would make the most sense for Orpah and Ruth to return to their home and start over

With the mention of her “mother’s house,” she’s essentially telling them to go and remarry and start new lives.

The mother played a significant role in arranging marriages in that day, so Naomi was trying to encourage them to go and find new husbands while they were young.

Naomi tells them, in her own culture’s ways, “Goodbye, and God bless you.”

There is a sense of hopelessness here. She’s freeing them from any relationship to her, and in addition to that, she’s turning them over to God’s care because she knows she can’t care for them on her own.

This also shows us that, even though Naomi is hopeless, she still recognizes that God is the one who provides and helps people.

Orpah and Ruth offer to go with Naomi back to Israel

There is a tremendous amount of self-sacrifice here on the part of these two women

They have no allegiance to Naomi once she has sent them away, but they’re willing to endure their own widowed, childless situations to be with her and care for her

Naomi then paints the bleak picture of the foolishness that it would be for them to follow her

She asks them, “Do I have any more sons for you to marry?” “Is there any way I can help you have a family of your own?” “Even if I had a son on the way, would you wait for him to grow up and marry him?”

All of these statements reveal how destitute Naomi feels. She feels like she has no value. Nothing to offer anyone. And anyone who does life with her will only reap that same emptiness.

She ends her argument by finally just saying what she’s feeling: “Why would you try to find happiness with me when even God Himself is against me?!”

Solution: The solution discovered, resolving the stress

Ruth 1:14–15 KJV 1900

14 And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her. 15 And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law.

Orpah takes the offer and returns, but Ruth chooses to stay

Even in this, Naomi does everything she can to convince Ruth to go

In light of everything Naomi has said, and every cultural norm of the day, it is absolutely absurd for Ruth to commit to Naomi

Ruth has nothing with Naomi, and it requires her to abandon all of her Moabite roots to continue following her.

She was literally abandoning all security and ties to her family to travel with an old widow woman to a country she’s never even been to.

Yet, she does it anyways.

Ruth “clave” unto Naomi. This phrase is very significant.

This word is chosen on purpose, to note the strong, deep-felt emotional connection that Ruth had to Naomi.

She loved her, and it was the only thing that could possibly compel her to do such a seemingly foolish thing.

Naomi tries one last time to convince Ruth to leave, but it’s without success.

Orpah did the sensible, reasonable thing. Not even something worth criticizing, and the author of this book refrains from doing so.

If anything, what Ruth chose was the extraordinary, unexpected option.

(New) Situation: The new circumstances that prevail

Ruth 1:16–18 KJV 1900

16 And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: 17 Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me. 18 When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.

Finally, we hear Ruth’s heart and her motivation for going with Naomi

You can imagine Ruth turning and looking Naomi dead in the eye, “Stop trying to convince me. I’m not leaving you.”

She tells her, “Where you go, I go. Where you live, I live. Your people are my people. Your God is my God.”

Ruth drives the point home with a final dramatic statement, “The only thing separating us now is death.”

It’s incredible, that even with all she’s seen happen, and even with Naomi’s indictment on God, that Ruth chooses to follow Naomi

She is now going to be an Israelite. She is now going to serve Yahweh. She is going to die one day in Israel, not Moab.

She has no guarantee how she will be received, or if they’ll even survive the journey, but she is certain.

This is the dramatic introduction to the story of Ruth. So what do we learn from all of this?

Finding The Truth

How does this change my relationship with other people?

We need to recognize that the way we respond to things falling apart has an affect on the people around us

Naomi went through a lot of horrible things, and many of them weren’t her fault.

Naomi allowed those things to make her bitter, and her bitterness didn’t just affect her, it affected the people around her

Let it be clear, Naomi did not make it easy for Ruth to choose to follow her, and she did convince Orpah to turn back.

This is a stark contrast to how Job responded in a time of brokenness and loss

Job 2:9–10 KJV 1900

9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. 10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

As a representative of Yahweh, the way Naomi responded to things falling apart was a reflection on God to the people around her

Regardless of how hard it got, Naomi failed to let the goodness of God show through even in the hard times of her life.

When things fall apart in our lives, the way we respond tells the people around us what our God is really like.

This begs the question, “What does your life tell people God is like?”

We need to love people, even when it all falls apart

Ruth loved Naomi when she didn’t have to, and when she didn’t deserve it

The kind of loyalty and love that she displayed is exactly the kind love that God showed for Israel

We are called by God to reflect His love into the world, and that means loving people when they don’t deserve it and everything is falling apart.

The kind of loyalty and love that she displayed is exactly the kind of hard, messy love that Jesus calls us to have for people.

Matthew 5:38–42 KJV 1900

38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: 39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. 41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

It’s easy to love other people when they’re doing well, but what about when they’re not?

How does this change my relationship with God?

We can trust God because He is good even when we are not

Even in the darkest, most wicked time in Israel, God was still providing for His people.

He had never failed them yet, and even now, He wasn’t failing them.

Psalm 146 celebrates that God will always care for His children because He is good!

Psalm 146:5–10 KJV 1900

5 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in the Lord his God: 6 Which made heaven, and earth, The sea, and all that therein is: Which keepeth truth for ever: 7 Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: Which giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth the prisoners: 8 The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: The Lord raiseth them that are bowed down: The Lord loveth the righteous: 9 The Lord preserveth the strangers; He relieveth the fatherless and widow: But the way of the wicked he turneth upside down. 10 The Lord shall reign for ever, Even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the Lord.

It’s easy for us to think that because we have failed, or because things are falling apart, that we have to go somewhere other than God.

This is not true! When we’re at our worst, darkest moments, the only place we can truly find help is God!

He is worthy of trust because His love doesn’t depend on our behavior, He loves us in spite of our sin!

Romans 5:8 KJV 1900

8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

God will always love and provide for His people because He is good — and His goodness extends beyond our failures

We can believe that even when things fall apart, God hasn’t left the story

God didn’t let Israel starve, and God didn’t let Naomi and Ruth die. Things weren’t easy, but that doesn’t mean God isn’t still good.

It’s hard to see exactly what God is doing in every detail of this story, especially the hard ones

Paul understood this, and told the church at Philippi that even though he was in prison, God was at work for the sake of the Gospel!

Philippians 1:12–14 KJV 1900

12 But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; 13 So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; 14 And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

The pattern of God showing up and being good to His people teaches us that even when we think it’s over, God isn’t done yet.

When things in our lives fall apart, we can rest in God knowing that He has never failed, and He’s not done working until Jesus returns

Philippians 1:6 KJV 1900

6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: