1 HOPE LOST Sermon preached by Pastor C. John Steer Autumn Ridge Church January 6-7, 2018 No. 1: Ruth The Romance of Redemption Scripture: Ruth Chapter 1 To start a new year we are going start a new series on the book of Ruth. Now you might be wondering WHY READ RUTH? There are four good reasons. First, it is a beautiful story. The German novelist Goethe called Ruth "the loveliest complete work on a small scale, handed down to us as an ethical treatise. Alexander Schroder s verdict was No poet in the world has written a more beautiful short story. As Christians we cherish the eternal values of beauty, goodness and truth. In a world filled with so much ugliness it is good to soak our souls in loveliness. Artists have enjoyed depicting this biblical story. Here is Bambini s great painting of Ruth and Boaz. Ruth has everything. There is tragedy and comedy. Supremely Ruth describes the romance of redemption. This is how the National Enquirer might summarize the story in a headline. How to Harvest a Husband. Naomi not left Ruth-less as Moabite woman marries local man. Second, we should read Ruth because it is a narrative of hope. We all need hope as we embark on a new year. There are four chapters in Ruth and we can summarize them like this: Chapter 1 Hope Lost Chapter 2 Hope Renewed Chapter 3 Hope Pursued Chapter 4 Hope Restored Ruth is a hopeful book because it speaks about the importance of belonging. We all need to belong in community and God provides that in the fellowship of his people. Third, we should read Ruth because it is a demonstration of providence. Providence is one of the great biblical doctrines. The Westminster Confession explains providence like this: God the great Creator of all things doth uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest even to the least, by his most wise and holy providence, according to his infallible foreknowledge, and the free and
2 immutable counsel of his own will, to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy. Providence tells us that God cares. God rules and God provides. Faith in such a God is found in every chapter of Ruth. The doctrine of providence tells us we are not alone in the world. God knows our situation, whether it is good or bad, painful or pleasant. God wants to use our situation for our good and his glory. Providence means that God knows every event that we are going to face in the coming year. Nothing will take him by surprise. God promises to accompany us as we walk through the dark valley of grief or ascend the bright mountain peak of success. As we trust this providential God we will discover that his grace is always sufficient. Fourth, we should read Ruth because it is relevant. Ruth takes place in a society around 1000 BC but it has wise words for us in 2018. For Ruth has something to say about the place of refugees in our society, the way women should be treated, the value of racial minorities, and the preciousness of all human life. It is significant that two weekends this month honor Martin Luther King and the sanctity of human life. Ruth can guide our thinking on these important ethical issues. So I commend Ruth to you. Do read it in one sitting. It takes about 25 minutes. Jews read Ruth every year during the Feast of Pentecost. That s a good model for us. Now let s dive into the first chapter. The writer skillfully described four events that set the scene for the rest of the story. The first is THE DEPARTURE FROM BETHLEHEM. The book begins: In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. (v.1) Judges is the preceding book to Ruth. Its message is summarized in the very last verse: In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit." (Judges 21:25) In other words, people aren t following God. Instead they are doing what seems good to them, often with disastrous consequences, and the writer links the statement that the judges ruled with the fact there was a famine. God used famine in Scripture to urge his people to return to him. In Leviticus God had promised: If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit." (Leviticus 26:3-4)
3 So it is quite probable this famine is the result of a failure of trust by God s people. It is instructive that when the famine ends it is described as The Lord coming to the aid of his people by providing food for them. (v.6) Next we are told what one family planned to do about this famine. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. (v.1) This is just an ordinary family. The God who knows when a sparrow falls to the ground and notices the gift of a cup of cold water to someone in need, is concerned about our ordinariness. Bethlehem in Judea was a large town about five miles south of present day Jerusalem. Jesus was born there 1000 years later. Bethlehem s name means House of Bread. This points to the unusual fertility of that area for grain harvesting. So bailing out on Bethlehem is an odd thing to do. This family is leaving The House of Bread and going to Moab about 50 miles to the east. You can see the route of their journey on the map. Moab was located on the high plateau east of the Dead Sea. The Moabites were the result of an incestuous relationship between Lot and his daughters that is described back in Genesis. Moabites had always opposed Israel. They had refused them bread and water during their exodus from Egypt. They had hired Balaam to curse the Israelites. In addition, Moabites were worshipers of Chemosh. They made human sacrifices to this deity. Chemosh demanded parents give their sons to die for him. In contrast God gives his Son to die for us. This is why Moabites were not admitted to the congregation of Israel. For God had said, No Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord." (Deuteronomy 23:3) Yet despite these warnings, this family decides to leave Bethlehem for Moab. God had promised to provide. Bethlehem is the House of Bread. Their neighbors stayed and trusted God. But this family thought their plans were wiser than God s. We do the same thing. God has given us laws to protect us. He shows us the way to live. But often we become impatient. We think we know better than God. So with the best of excuses we move into areas that God has forbidden. The writer of Ruth then goes on to provide the names of this family. To the Hebrew way of thinking to know a person s name is to know their character for the name is the person.
4 The man is called Elimelek, which means my God is king. Elimelek certainly doesn t live up to his name by leaving the House of Bread for a pagan land. His wife s name is Naomi, which means pleasant, lovely and delightful. Their sons are Mahlon and Chilion. These were Canaanite names. Mahlon means weakling while Chilion means frail person. Those boys names would soon be borne out in the story. In addition to being told the names of this family we also learn God s name. He is the Lord. That word is Yahweh. That is his personal name, the name of our covenant God. Yahweh is the great I AM who keeps his promises. The departure of the family from Bethlehem leads to THE DISASTER IN MOAB. Initially things seem to go well in Moab. There are a couple of family weddings. The boys, Mahlon and Kilion, marry Moabite women. One is named Orpah and the other is Ruth. This is unwise because these women are followers of Chemosh whose worship involved sexual orgies to encourage the land to be fertile. Then disaster strikes. First, Elimelek dies. This in itself is a tragedy but it is a double one as Naomi is away from her home and family and therefore has no support system. Death is always devastating and that s why as Christians we take such comfort from the resurrection of Jesus which gives us confidence that death is not the end. For the Christian, death takes us into Christ s presence with the assurance that one day our bodies will be raised from the grave as new eternal bodies appropriate for the new heaven and earth. However, the Bible paints a different picture for those who don t know God. Death for them means to be cut off from God s sphere of influence and to go to a place where God s praises are heard no more. That s why death is described as the king of terrors. The shadowy underworld of Sheol, the home of the dead, is a place that is defiled and which emphasizes death s hideousness. One death was bad enough but ten years later we are told both Mahlon and Chilion also died and Naomi is left without her two sons and husband. Things are about as bad as they can be. But remember the doctrine of Providence. It is about to come into play. For God can bring good out of the bad. We don t have to wait long to see it. Following the blackness of this disaster of her husband and two sons dying there now is a bright spot in the story. This shines out in THE DEVOTION OF RUTH. Naomi has had enough. She now has nothing in Moab except three graves. She hears that the famine in Bethlehem has ended so she is going home. So Naomi informs her daughters-in-law she is going back to Bethlehem. She points out they need to return to their own people and find another husband. She has grown fond of these girls and wants the best for them.
5 So Naomi tells Orpah and Ruth May the Lord show you kindness." (v.8) Kindness is the lovely Hebrew word hesed. Hesed refers to steadfast love. Hesed is a word which combines the warmth of God s fellowship with the security of God s faithfulness. Hesed s New Testament counterpart is agape describing the self-giving love of God for his people. That is what Naomi wants for her daughters-in-law. That is what we should want for our family. Let us pray for them May the Lord show you kindness. Initially the young women resist this idea of leaving Naomi but she insists, explaining she can t produce any more sons for them to marry. Orpah sees the wisdom of this and kisses Naomi good-bye and disappears from the story forever. But Ruth pleads to stay and makes one of the most lovely statements of commitment found in the Bible. It is so beautiful it is often used in wedding services. For Ruth now turns to her mother-in-law and says, Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God." (v.16) Then Ruth adds, May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me. (v.17) Ruth is swearing her commitment to Naomi in the name of Israel s God, thus acknowledging Yahweh as her Lord. Now remember Ruth is a follower of Chemosh. So why does she now want to follow Yahweh? It must be because Naomi has been living out her faith in front of Ruth. Despite losing her husband and two sons Naomi has faithfully followed the Lord. She has trusted him. She has made the worship of Yahweh attractive to others. For me this is the great takeaway of the chapter. We too live in Moab, where most of the people follow another God. How do we reach them? How do we persuade the group referred to as the Nones who have no religious affiliation to take a second look at Jesus? I think we can learn from Naomi. Naomi uses her suffering to point others to God. Sooner or later we will all suffer. How will we respond? We can run from God or run to him. Some years ago a woman of this church lost her husband in a terrible accident. At the funeral I met her neighbors. Several asked me, How can I have what she s got? Second Naomi speaks about her God. She refers to God as the Almighty. (v.21) The word is shaddai. It is a great title for the Lord. It means he is the one who can transform our helplessness into blessing. He is the hope of protection in a time of uncertainty. Shaddai is the God who is at his best when man is at his worst. Mother-in-law jokes are common and perhaps sometimes justified. But Naomi is a great mother-in-law which is why Ruth watches her, listens to her and clings to her.
6 Ruth is intrigued with Naomi s faith. She wants to spend the rest of her life with this remarkable woman. So Naomi relents and they set out on their journey back to Bethlehem. But don t imagine everything will now be chocolates and roses. Real life is not like that. After a walk of a week we see THE DEPRESSING RETURN HOME. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, Can this be Naomi? (v.19) Naomi has clearly aged in the ten years she has been away. Moab has left its mark on her. That s always the case when we step out of the will of God. Naomi knows it so she tells the women of the town Don t call me Naomi. Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter." (v.20) That s a play on words as Naomi means pleasant and Mara means bitter. Notice that God is the one who controls the circumstances of our life. Naomi goes on to explain I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. (v.21) That s a revealing statement. Let s remember that Ruth is a refugee. She is a Moabite. Moabites were hated by the people of Bethlehem. There are about 65 million refugees in the world today. The problem is that refugees are invisible. We don t see them. We don t hear them. Naomi says she has come home empty, but that s not true. She has come home with Ruth. What s Ruth? Chopped liver? Ruth has made a beautiful commitment to Naomi but Naomi has forgotten that in the long walk home. Let us be careful not to forget what God has given us. The chapter concludes with this significant statement. "Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning." (v.22) So they arrive in April at the time of the barley harvest. That sets the scene for what is going to happen in the next chapter with Boaz. God has brought the harvest. God has brought Naomi and Ruth back to Bethlehem. God has purposes for their lives even though they can t see it and even though all Naomi can feel right now is her bitterness. Ruth is a love story. It is the love of a daughter-in-law for her mother-in-law. It is the love of a man for a woman. And overshadowing the whole story is the love of God for his people. The book of Ruth is about a family that fell apart. It is then about how God rescued this family and helped to put their lives back together.
7 And think of this. Had not the events of this story taken place David would not have been born in Bethlehem. So Jesus wouldn t have been born there. So the coming of Ruth from Moab brought the coming of Christ to Bethlehem. And because Christ was born we can know him. We can know God. We can be forgiven and we can be saved.