Ruth: From Ruin to Redeption | Act 1: The Road Home | 11/27/2022
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Good morning and welcome to Mission Church! My name is John and I serve Mission as the Lead pastor. I am honored and humbled to be with you this morning.....especially as we enter the Advent season. Traditionally... advent begins 4 Sunday’s before Christmas but this year we are going to start a week early. It seems that every store and radio station has already started the Christmas season....so why not us?
Now.....what’s the deal with Advent? Well....Advent means “coming” or “arrival” and this season has historically been a time in which we look back to the long-foretold first coming of the Messiah, and in turn.....we learn to look forward to his return. Advent is a season of preparation....it’s a rhythm in which we as Christians pause.....we intentionally slow down....and recognize that the world in which we live is broken.
Let’s be honest.....We all know this.... we all feel the effects of living in a broken world.....and if we slow down long enough we can sense an almost cosmic ache…we can feel a deep desire for things to be made right and the incompleteness we find in the meantime.
Our collective tendency is to ignore ...or …to downplay the world’s brokenness… while we deflect or numb our feelings of despair. But by focusing our hearts on the first and second coming of Jesus....Advent can be an opportunity for us to face up to the darkness in order to appreciate the light....You see....the world might try to dull the pain of our suffering, but the refreshing news is that Scripture never does.
So where might we be going this Advent? Well we are going to spend time in a surprising portion of Scripture.....tucked away in the Old Testament…hundreds of years before Mary, Joseph, and the birth of Jesus is the story of a girl called Ruth. And her story doesn’t hold back from the reality of suffering and despair.....in fact it’s a story full of sadness and tears...even death... but it is a story where hope is found in the darkest of places....ultimately....the story of Ruth will liberate us from the exhausting deception that Jesus came into a world of endless cheer, tinsel, and twinkling lights.
So....If you would......Please grab a Bible and open it to Ruth1. If you don’t have a Bible we have some available for you ...along with some Ruth scripture journals.... on the book shelf in the foyer. I will give you a moment to turn there and when you have it…and if you are able…please stand for the reading of God’s Word.
Ruth 1:1–6 (CSB)
1 During the time of the judges, there was a famine in the land. A man left Bethlehem in Judah with his wife and two sons to stay in the territory of Moab for a while. 2 The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife’s name was Naomi. The names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They entered the fields of Moab and settled there. 3 Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 Her sons took Moabite women as their wives: one was named Orpah and the second was named Ruth. After they lived in Moab about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was left without her two children and without her husband.
6 She and her daughters-in-law set out to return from the territory of Moab, because she had heard in Moab that the Lord had paid attention to his people’s need by providing them food.
Pray
The Christmas season is often portrayed as a time of excitement, happiness, and peace.….it’s portrayed as a time when families magically get along as they wear their matching pajamas and feast around a table overflowing with desserts. But…unless you live in a hallmark movie … the Christmas season is usually marked by stress, forced family activities and holiday cheer.
We can try and mask or ignore reality but the holiday season doesn’t press pause on the difficulties and realities of life. Most of the time it heightens and magnifies our brokenness. In fact according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 64% of people report being affected by holiday depression.
Maybe our cultures desire to “bring Christmas early’ is symptomatic of trying to escape the reality of our brokenness. But....no one can really escape reality for long....and …in a world that aches with sin…and the consequences of our sin…pretending that everything is endless cheer is both deceptive and exhausting.
Tell me....Do you ever have moments in your life when you look around and it seems like no matter where you look things are going crazy and are out of control? If so…and if you can relate ....then....How can you trust that God is good, that He loves you, and has not left you when the consequences of your decisions have led to despair and depression? What do we do when we are faced with …not only the world’s brokenness and depravity ....but our own brokenness and depravity?
Well....this morning…we’re going to see the truth that God is faithful.....And ....because God is faithful...we can trust that He works even in the darkest of times. In fact....a dark time of distress and despair is how the book of Ruth begins. Let’s take a look
Ruth 1:1–2 (CSB)
1 During the time of the judges...
The time of the judges can be considered Israel’s dark ages. It was the period of time after Israel had settled in the promised land and before the monarchy was established. It was a time that is best described as chaotic…dangerous…it was a time of social and religious disorder. It was a period filled with violence, idolatry, moral depravity, and civil war. In fact…the book of Judges describes it like this....
Judges 17:6 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever seemed right to him.
During the “time of the Judges” there was a repeated cycle of man’s rebellion and God’s redemption. At the beginning of each cycle God’s people would rebel against God....then God would hand them over to their oppressors …after some time God’s people would repent...then God would send a deliverer....he would send a Judge...to give the people a period of rest . But inevitably they would once again rebel against God....and the cycle would repeat. By the end of the book of Judges we see.... in graphic detail .....that Israel had comprehensively lost its way and had become every bit as bad as the Godless nations that surrounded them. Everyone just did what felt right to them.
If we’re honest ........this sounds a lot like the time and space in which we currently live....Today we are also surrounded by false religions, biblical ignorance, political corruption, and violence. Our culture still praises and promotes everyone doing what is right in his or her own eyes…and that’s exactly what’s going down in Bethlehem! Look back at v1
Ruth 1:1 During the time of the judges, there was a famine in the land.
One might describe the context of Ruth as hopeless....but ....as the saying goes… “When it rains it pours. You see....unfaithfulness to God resulted in famine....which is ironic.....given that Bethlehem.... literally means “House of Bread” ....You see.... this house of bread..... had no bread. It would be like starving to death in a Golden Coral!
Now…understand that famines are God's way of bringing His people back into submission to HIS rule and reign... And in our text ...we see.... not only a physical famine....which means there was no food..... but ...they were also experiencing a spiritual famine .....which was a result of them being so full of themselves and the worship of idols that they felt they no longer needed God. This reality is seen more clearly as the camera zooms in on a specific man and his family. Look back at our text
Ruth 1:1 ...A man left Bethlehem in Judah with his wife and two sons to stay in the territory of Moab for a while. The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife’s name was Naomi. The names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They entered the fields of Moab and settled there.
Now..... Elimelech and his family…well they were in a tough situation! There’s no food anywhere.....and his family is hungry! And in their difficulty Elimelech has a choice to make…he has a road to choose. .…He could seek after God…He could repent and pray....He could stay in Bethlehem and mourn his sin and the sin that surrounded him. Essentially he could trust God to provide for him and his family.... Or... he could uproot His family ....move to Moab.... where God had forbidden them to go.....design is own solution and trust in himself to fix his problem.
Now....Elimelech…he had no business leaving Bethlehem to go anywhere…least of all Moab. You see....Moab was known for several things and none of them were good. The Moabites had originated out of an incestuous relationship between a guy named Lot and his older daughter (Gen. 19:30–38). Moab’s king had hired a guy to curse Israel (Num. 22–24); and when Israel was in the wilderness Moab’s women had been a stumbling block as they seduced Israel’s men to worship false gods (Num. 25); Not only that but Moab was one of Israel’s oppressors (Judg. 3).
Now…you tell me.....Does this sound like the place to go in order to raise a Godly family? I don’t think so!!!!…yet..... Elimelech ....this husband and father took his family away from God’s people and God’s presence to a place where God’s people and God’s presence was not......he left the Promised Land in search of what seemed like greener grass.
Can you relate to these circumstances? Have you ever found yourself in a season of turmoil and distance from God? Maybe it was a time where you were just not sure of anything....a time when you struggled to make ends meet? Maybe you’re there right now! Tell me... Are you tempted to turn away from the Lord? Are you tempted to chase greener grass? Friends....the road to Moab may look like it is paved with greener grass but....the truth is....it’s a dead end!
You see......It seemed like Elimelech was doing the right thing....I mean....he provided for his family ....but only financially.....and for many husbands and fathers… this is enough. “It’s my job to provide! I put food on the table …I put a roof over your heads.” And....This is what Elimelech did…there was no food so he moved to where there was food…he put food on the table. And many might say.....he did his job.
But listen to me…if you are a husband and/or a father.....our job is not only to provide food for our families physical bodies but also spiritual food for their souls. We are to provide a church community where our wives and kids can can sit under Biblically faithful teaching and grow to love Jesus....live like Jesus…and lead others to Jesus.
Elimelech....he followed God culturally…In Hebrew... his name literally means “My God is King” but it appeared that God was not really the king of his heart…there was no king in Elimelech’s life and therefore he did what he felt was right. Instead of following the path of repentance and faith....instead of trusting the Lord to provide for his family’s needs.....he chose to trust in himself. And he moved his family without considering his full job description as a husband and a father. In other words.....He did the bare minimum....He put food on the table but neglected his families spiritual needs. He neglected his responsibility to lovingly, responsibly, diligently, humbly, faithfully, and Biblically lead his family.
Men....I pray that today would be a defining moment in your life......if you have been living and leading like Elimelech....doing the spiritual minimum…giving lip service to God but not living for God. This morning I invite you to turn back to God. I pray that you would trust in God to provide and trust in the empowering work of His Spirit to enable you to fulfill your high calling of Husband and Father.
Now…its not only husbands and fathers who face life defining moments....all of us do! And.... Brothers and Sisters....when you are faced with a fork in the road.. …Which path will you choose? Will you choose what seems most likely to provide you with comfort and security? or ....will you trust God even when what He requires is not easy?
For Elimelech and Naomi…they chose comfort and security….At first it seemed as if they had made the sensible choice. While the rest of God’s people were back home suffering and hungry, they had plenty of food in Moab…but this road …which was supposed to lead to comfort and security…turned out to be a dead end..... look at v3
Ruth 1:3 Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, died, and she was left with her two sons.
Elimelech moved to avoid difficulty and death…he wanted comfort …he wanted security. But he just ended up dying and leaving his family with nothing! And now...... after his death.... Naomi and the boys are faced with the same decision…they have a familiar choice to make....They could repent and go back home to their own land and to their own God....or.... they could stay where they were..... away from the people and the presence of God. Well....it’s no surprise that the boys followed in the footsteps of their old man. They followed their dads faithless example.
Ruth 1:4 Her sons took Moabite women as their wives: one was named Orpah and the second was named Ruth.
These boys learned from their old man to do what they felt was best for them....they learned to pursue comfort and security.....you see.....they felt more at home in the land of compromise than in the land of promise. And....As a result.... Naomi’s sons took Moabite women as wives, even though the law of Moses had specifically commanded them not to do so (Deut. 7:3).
This speaks to the reality that when you live in continued…willful disobedience....it gets easier to disobey God. The first time you choose to step outside of God’s revealed will…it may very well come after a lengthy period of wrestling with your conscience. But once you’re on the outside…when you are living in continuous willful disobedience....it’s easier to just continue disobeying God than it is to repent....you see....our pride prevents us from returning home and admitting that we messed up. I don’t know why but it seems easier to bear the pain of continued emptiness than to confess that we have been pursuing fullness in all the wrong places.
And .....In the case of Naomi.....Even after her husband died she was still reasonably well situated in life. She had her sons, after all. They were young and married and had every prospect of providing future descendants to take care of her in her old age. And for ten years, everything seemed like it was going according to plan....so she stayed...but things get worse....v5
Ruth 1:5 both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was left without her two children and without her husband.
In the space of half of a verse..... Naomi’s whole world came crashing down! Naomi....which in Hebrew means “sweet”…was experiencing the exact opposite …she was experiencing bitterness! She was left alone to deal with not only the consequences of her own sin…but also the consequences of her husband’s and her sons’ bad choices.
Understand...... that because she had no husband…and because she had no son …it meant that she had no food and I don’t believe there were any government sponsored welfare programs in Moab. Naomi was now a stranger in strange land…an aging…single woman of no significance in a family oriented culture with no one to care for her or about her. Who would support a foreign widow in her old age?
I can only imagine that this was not the fairytale story that Naomi longed for! She wanted a husband and family and grandkids. But now…her husband is dead…her sons are dead…and not to mention.... her two daughter’s in law were barren…unable to have kids! What would she do?
And friend…maybe you can relate to Naomi. Maybe you too have lost a spouse…a child…or a dream. Maybe you have lost hope…or even your love for God. Maybe in your distress and in your difficulty you chose to run away from God ....maybe you chose to look for bread in your own version of Moab. Friend....if you have made some bad choices and it feels like your life is falling apart....listen to me...…God has not forsaken you…He is still good…He loves you....and he has not left you in your despair and depression.
In fact....God is faithful and He is committed to saving for Himself a people of His own....which means ....that even in the despair of your consequences…you can trust in His mercy and grace.....You can trust that He works even in the darkest of times.
Now…yet again…Naomi is faced with the same fork in the road. Will she stay in Moab? Or will she swallow her pride and go back home. This is a defining moment in her life.....and this time she has reached the complete end of herself.....and friends…unfortunately ....sometimes that’s what it takes for us to swallow our pride and return to God.
Ruth 1:6 She and her daughters-in-law set out to return from the territory of Moab, because she had heard in Moab that the Lord had paid attention to his people’s need by providing them food.
Finally......God’s blessing had returned to Bethlehem. The famine ....which the people in Bethlehem had been experiencing because of their sins.....had finally ended. Given the setting... in the days of the judges....this can only mean that God’s people repented....they returned to God and stopped worshipping idols…and as a result... rain had fallen....crops had grown…and the bread basket was full again....which speaks to the truth that while God’s judgement on sin is sure and reliable....His grace get’s the last word ......for it is God’s desire to restore wandering sinners to himself! And friends…that is good news for you and for me!
For Naomi.....after experiencing the bitter emptiness of the land of compromise.....the time was long overdue for the prodigal daughter to swallow her pride and go home. Will she experience the same grace and provision of God that Bethlehem did?
Remember......Naomi.....along with her husband and children, had set out on a road of disobedience, and they had experienced the reality of God’s judgment. Elimelech, Mahlon, and Chilion were all dead as a result. They no longer had the hope and reality of repentance.
Understand....Naomi wasn't innocently caught up events that were outside of her control. She couldn't blame her husband for everything…especially when she had the opportunity to go back home after he died.... she was responsible for at least some of her troubles. Yet .....somehow in the midst of Naomi's deep tragedy she was able to see the possibility that she could come back home to her people,....that she could come back home to her God. And that somehow, some way God could make sense of her mess.
This doesn't mean that she wasn't hurt…this doesn’t mean she wasn’t bitter…or tired....But…rather in her dark reality there was a glimmer of light .....there was this glimmer of hope .....hope that was not a result of her circumstances....or because of her ability to fix things for herself …she already saw how poorly that worked out for her the first two times. Rather....she had reached the end of herself and as a result....her hope was in God alone.
Now…we have to pause and take note that God’s actions of blessings and curses are not normally as physical and tangible in our lives as they were during the Old Testament period in which Naomi lived. We don’t see God’s favor and disfavor as directly expressed in terms of abundant prosperity when we are faithful and exile when we are unfaithful.
This was unique to Israel.....but their experience was a foreshadowing of the final rewards and judgments that we will experience on the last day when Christ returns. You see....the spiritual realities to which those signs pointed remain the same. The way of unfaithfulness to God continues to be the way of death.....while repentance and faith in Jesus leads to life.
Which road will you choose? Friend.....It didn’t matter how far Naomi had wandered away from home....the beginning of her road to return and repentance was only one step away. In the same way...... there is hope for you too....listen to me....if you have wandered and rebelled…even if you have been persistent in your rebellion....there is still a way home for you.
Maybe like Elimelech and Naomi you experienced hardship and you though that the grass was greener on the other side of the fence. Maybe you gave into the temptation to abandon the bread of heaven for the fast food the world offers. Maybe you chose the land of compromise instead of faithfully following Jesus and persevering in the Land of promise.
Let’s be honest....the provision of the world is tempting.... it’s tempting to run away from that which is difficult....it’s tempting to give in to the ways of the world and to our fleshly desires....the world offers immediate gratification. What the world offers seems to be much more real…much more tangible and more easily available than the promises of God.
And I think we....like Elimelech and Naomi…in difficulty we struggle to trust in God’s goodness and we run to our own version of Moab. And....this morning I pray that you would see the emptiness of Moab’s fields and in return hope in God for he alone is faithful....and He is committed to save for himself a people of his own. And.....He does this not by searching for perfect people.....but rather by reaching down to rebellious sinners …like you and like me....and transforming us from the inside out.
Brothers and Sisters.....as we will see next week …Naomi doesn’t make the journey back to Bethlehem alone.....So too God has not left us to make the journey home alone. In Christ, God comes running to meet us.
Unlike.....Elimelech who left the place of famine to seek a false blessing in Moab......Jesus left the comfort of heaven to bring us a true blessing on earth. Unlike Elimelech and Naomi who sent themselves into exile from the land of promise, trying to build their own kingdom rather than waiting for God to do it.......Jesus willingly went into exile from his Father’s presence so that he might rescue us from our own kingdom-building and grant us a true and living future in his kingdom.
You see.....as we trust in God…even as he empties us and brings us to the end of ourselves... however painful it is ......we can live with hope because Jesus too....knew what it was like to be stripped of all of his possessions…he knew what it felt like to be left alone and abandoned by his friends as he hung on a cross. Every tear of loss that God inflicts on us is a tear whose cost he himself understands.
Brothers and Sisters....we can be sure that the pain we experience as a result of God’s discipline is never harsh.....instead its purpose is to show us the emptiness of the path that we have chosen for ourselves so that we might return back to God.
You see....God takes the proud and brings them low…but by God’s grace and kindness....once we recognize our brokenness and our depravity....he lifts us up ..and welcomes us home with open arms. Mission Church …God is good and His mercy and his grace is overwhelmingly great!
This morning if you find yourself in the fields of Moab.....if you have been running away from God....attempting to find fulfillment in what the world provides….. this morning you are invited to stop.....turn around…repent.... return back to God....or perhaps trust in Him for the first time…friend …he loves you....and through the life, death, and resurrection of His Son Jesus…He has made a way for you to be rescued from sin and death and to be reconciled to Himself. Stop trusting in yourself and turn to God today and find rest and peace in His unending grace and mercy!
Lets Pray
Invitation
Brothers and sisters, as we draw near to the Lord’s Table to celebrate the Communion of the body and blood of Christ, we are grateful to remember that our Lord instituted this ordinance:
So that we would remember his dying for our sakes and the pledge of his undying love to us;
As a bond of our union with him and each other as members of his body the church;
As a seal of his grace to us and a renewal of our obedience to him;
For the blessed assurance of his presence with us who are gathered here in his name;
As an opportunity for us who love Jesus to feed spiritually on him who is the Bread of Life; and
As a reminder that He is going to return for us.
Fencing
This sacred time at the Lord’s Table is for believers who have rested all their hope on the death and resurrection of Christ. If you are not yet a believer, you should refrain from partaking until you come to faith in Christ—and then joyfully partake along with the body of Christ. I also encourage those of you who are believers to examine your hearts so that you can partake in a worthy manner. If your heart is harboring unrepentant sin, refrain until you can come freely to partake. Also, if you are harboring bitterness or unforgiveness towards another brother or sister in Christ, refrain until you can come freely to partake. As the bread and the cup are served, we ask that you hold them so that we all partake together.
This morning, rather than taking the elements individually, I would like for us to eat this meal together. So, with this in mind...I would like to invite you to the table now, and when you get back to your seat, please hold on to the elements until we take them together
The Bread
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
Prayer for the Bread
Christ Jesus, when you came into the world, you said to the Father: “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.” Then you said, “Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book” (Heb. 10:5–7). You came in the incarnation, and by a single offering of your body on the cross you achieved what all the offerings on Jewish altars could never accomplish—the complete forgiveness of our sins. Bread of Heaven, as we now partake of the symbol, ravish our hearts and refresh our souls. Amen.
Partaking of the Bread
Jesus said: “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me” (1 Cor. 11:24b).
The Cup
25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
Prayer for the Cup
Our gracious God, we thank you this day for the new covenant, the covenant sealed through the blood of Jesus Christ, your Son. And we drink this cup in remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice for our sins, asking him even now, through the Spirit, to commune with us as we commune with each other. With grateful hearts, O Christ, we drink of you and to you. Amen.
Partaking of the Cup
Jesus said, “Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me” (1 Cor. 11:25b).
Amen!