Naomi and Ruth

Great Women of the Bible Series - Naomi and Ruth

Reading…

Ruth 1

Introduction…

Through conversation with some in the church it seems to me that their thinking is that only people of high intellect and ability do a real work for the Lord.
- Nothing could be further from the truth…
  - He took simple fishermen to confound the wisdom of this world and built a massive church that neither Judaism not Rome could control…
  - AS simple study on the spiritual gifts that God bestows on all believers are there and are vital for the continuance and benefit of the church…
    - Teaching, preaching, caring, administrative, cleaning, catering…
- Truth is God does on some occasions use hugely talented people to achieve his ends…
  - But all too often He uses ordinary people who are available and then He enables them.
So the purpose of this series is to show how God has used so many so-called ordinary women, who lived in very difficult circumstances, to achieve great things. These women get little exposure… a mention or at best a chapter or 2
- How much do you know about Moses mother…
  - Do you even know her name?
- Who was Deborah and what did she accomplish?
  - Old Testament or new?
- Who was Naomi and what did she achieve?
  - David’s great, great, great grandmother
- And of course we all know Mary the mother of Jesus
  - Why choose a teenager nobody from nowhere to be the mother of Emmanuel… God with us.
As we look at these women we must acknowledge that God has taken the simple things in this life to achieve great things.
- With exception of Deborah none of them were high profile people
  - The fact is with Deborah the Lord shows up the weakness of the man and the strength of the woman.
So this morning I want to speak about Naomi and Ruth and leave Andrew, Ali and Stuart to deal with the others mentioned.

Background…

The genealogy quoted at the end of Ruth tells us that Boaz was the son of Salmon who dates back to the fall of the walls of Jericho and Rahab… Ruth 4:20
- And chapter 1:1 refers to the times being… the days of the judges.
  - This means that the times of this story go back to the earlier days of the Judges.
In those days Israel osculated between pleading with God for mercy and help and outright debauchery as was practiced by their pagan neighbours.
- As Mark pointed out last week…
  - The blessings of God were conditional on obedience and disobedience resulted in judgement…
- In keeping with His promises to the fathers, God brought judgement on His people in the form of a famine…
  - But was at the same time working out His plan of salvation.
There was a famine in the land… Ch 1:1
- In this time of great difficulty Elimelech packs up his family and they move to Moab…
  - On the surface it is a perfectly sound logical decision.
    - A better life for the wife and boys awaits.
  - The problem is that…
    - Historically Moab was an enemy of Israel… Judges 3:14
    - Moab was a pagan people worshipping foreign gods and practicing debauchery.
    - Effectively they were saying Jehovah-Jireh was not living up to the promise of providing…
      - And there they could not worship Jehovah as required by the law.
  - They removed themselves from the presence of Jehovah. MISTAKE
Elimelech dies…
- Which would be a judgement from the Lord
  - However Naomi stays on… MISTAKE
  - Eventually her sons both marry Moabite women…
    - This is of course also against the law… Deuteronomy 7:3… MISTAKE
  - Eventually they also die…
- Naomi sees this as the Lord’s judgement against her… Ch 1:13
Her life has changed from a life of fullness… 1:21
- To a life of sadness, difficulty and emptiness.
  - No hope, no prospects, nothing to look forward to…
    - Just call me Mara… bitterness.

The amazing Naomi…

It is in circumstances like these that we start to question God…
- What has happened to Jehovah-Jireh… the God who provides… Genesis 22:14
- Why me Lord… what have I done?
  - We become angry with God.
Clearly as the story unfolds we see in Naomi a God-fearing woman…
- Yes she makes a few bad choices…
  - .. She does not ask… why me…
    - She accepts responsibility… 1:21
    - Decides to go back to Israel… effectively seeking forgiveness
We need to ask ourselves a few questions here…
- Why would either of the daughters-in-law want to go with her…
  - Clearly the God in whom her hope is based has let her down… is even causing her suffering.
    - They came because of famine
    - She returns in the midst of bitterness.
  - But now she is going back to her God…
    - And challenges them to return to their gods and people.
    - But she asks the Lord to bless them with good husbands.
- Naomi has nothing of substance to offer these two very good daughters-in-law…
  - She loved them… 1:10
    - Parting for them was like another death… they wept loudly the Scripture says
  - They had been good wives to her sons… 1:8
    - And to her.
  - But there was no future on the horizon for them…
    - And she tells them to leave her and go back.
    - And so the realistic Orpah goes back.

The devoted Ruth…

What was it that made Ruth cling to Naomi like a desperate child…
- Begging to be permitted to stay with her… 1:16
  - There was no hope, prospects of another husband in whose home she could find rest… 1:9
  - Just a future with prospects of great bitterness.
    - A life of survival through hard work.
- But Ruth saw a quality in Naomi that Orpah did not recognize…
  - A quality that said…
    - Wherever you go I want to be with you… like you…
    - If your people are anything like you I want to be associated with them
    - And despite all that has happened your God is real and He will be my God
      - My future is in His hands.
    - Nothing but death can cancel this commitment.
- And she backs this up with an unconditional oath…
  - If I break this promise may Jehovah, the one who according to Naomi had taken her husband and two sons away, may He deal even more severely with me… 1:17

Where did this commitment come from…
- I believe that Naomi lives an exemplary life in the home.
  - And that life was a testimony to the love of her God to them…
- There is no apparent preaching here…
  - But there is a lot of teaching by example.
    - In her relationship with Elimelech maybe.
      - Which they then follow as wives to Mahlon and Killian.
- No why me Lord…
  - Only the realization that she had been disobedient and was worthy of God’s attention.
- No accusations or finger pointing of godlessness in her daughters-in-law
  - Just… make a choice…
    - Go back and serve your gods… I have nothing to offer.
    - Follow me and the bitterness of my life at the hand of Jehovah.
    - And a prayer that Jehovah-Jireh would provide for them husband of real quality
      - He would care for them.
- Ruth saw in Naomi the gentle and quiet spirit that Peter encourages in the Godly wives in Christ… 1 Peter 3:4
  - Peter says unbelieving husbands are changed, not by preaching… but by the way of life.
- I believe Ruth was won over for Jehovah by a quiet and gentle spirit buried deeply in Naomi…
  - A spirit that circumstances could not change.
  - A life that was a light in a dark place…
    - Revealing the love and faithfulness of a holy God to a pagan people.
So in a very real sense Ruth was born again…
- To a new lifestyle with Gods people
- Worshipping a real living God
- A life where she is loved unconditionally.

A Good Story with a Great End…

On the surface it would seem that Ruth made a crazy choice…
- In so many ways Naomi was a loser… big time.
  - I went away full and came back empty.
    - No husband, sons, grandchildren, no money.
    - Just a daughter-in-law to remind me of my bitterness.
      - But whom she loved dearly.
    - One who must depend on the goodwill of strangers to survive… effectively goes and begs for food.
- Where is the faithful Provider…
  - This life of faith is not making any sense at all.
BUT GOD…
- Does what He always does…
  - He provides a Redeemer…
    - To save us from our bitterness and to bring us into new life.
      - As he did through…
        
        Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Deborah, David…
        
        And ultimately this story is happening so that He could introduce the better redeemer Jesus our Lord and Saviour.
And that is what He does for Ruth as Naomi skillfully guides her through the process of kinsmen redemption…
- And she marries Boaz…
- And finds rest in his home…
  - No more gleaning
  - Here is a Godly husband for a woman of faith and commitment.
  - Here is a son born to them… a blessing from Jehovah-Jireh.
Here is the end of Naomi’s bitterness…
- As Ruth fulfills her commitment to Naomi
- As that grandson is placed in her lap by Ruth…
  - So that he too can benefit from her gentle and quiet spirit.
Here again Naomi’s testimony is continued… As is God’s faithfulness to those who obey Him…
- As the women of the town say…
  - Naomi has a son
    - She went away full… came back empty…
    - But look what God has done.
  - And they call him Obed who became the father of Jesse the father of Israel’s great King… David
  - Ultimately the line was passed on to Jesus.

Challenge…

Was it an easy ride…
- From fullness to famine
- From famine to plenty
- Bitterness to rejoicing.
No… not for Naomi or Ruth…
- It was hard, bitter.
  - Worse than Covid… She lost her entire family.
- It is a story of disobedience and forgiveness through redemption…
Was Naomi some great intellect chosen of God to reveal his plan of salvation…
- No … she was a faithful worshipper with gentle and quiet spirit who made a few mistakes…
- But a forgiving God was able to use her to bring a pagan woman into the family of God.
  - That is what we call the grace of God.
It is a great story that reveals our God in many ways…
- A God of…
  - Power to save
  - Faithfulness to His promises
  - Mercy in the face of disobedience
  - Forgiveness and the second chance
  - Blessing upon blessing.
- A story that is forerunner to the great plan of redemption found in the life, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ…
  - And our eternal blessing and glory in Christ.

Commitment…

Question…
- What legacy are you going to leave one day…
  - I often wonder what people will say at my funeral
  - How many will even be motivated to come
    - Because there is nothing to be said or remembered.
- To the unbeliever…
  - Her/His life was a disaster…
    - Yes, successful business…
    - But they failed as a husband/wife and father/mother.
    - Bitter because the memories are not great.
  - Naomi returned to her God and experienced massive blessing.
    - So can you… look what God has done.
- To Christian parents…
  - Are we making the same mistakes as Elimelech and Naomi did…
    - As good parents seeking to give our children the best life possible
      - But are we taking them to live in an environment where there is no shortage of things, but a famine of Christian influence.
      - Where they are likely to befriend and marry people who do not believe in Jesus as Lord.
  - Or are your children going to say of you…
    - Their God will be my God
    - Their people will be my people
    - May God deal with me ever so severely if I leave the way they walked.
  - The Children of Israel, one generation down the line did not know about the God who brought them into the Promised land.
    - Three generations after Naomi, we find a young boy…
      - Looking up at the stars and worshipping Naomi’s God
      - And killing giants in the name of the God she served.
  - Did it take huge intellect or talent on Naomi’s part…
    - There were no flashing lights or liberation movements…
    - Only God’s enabling.
- Young people…
  - You grow up very quickly… old age comes sooner than you expect…
  - What legacy are you planning to leave…
    - Will you ever lead a soul to Christ
    - Will your children say their God will be my God.
  - Living for the Lord Jesus starts right now…
- To all of us…
  - We need to consider Ruth’s commitment…
    - Your God… my God
    - Your people… my people
    - Only death can separate…
  - It was total, uncompromising, it was absolute.

Naomi and Ruth

Written by:

Lawrence Payne