Bitterness Abounds
Notes
Transcript
Ruth Review
Ruth Review
Today we come to the part of this amazing story of redemption where the location has changed.
Remember:
There had been a famine in Judah where Bethlehem is found
Naomi husband decides on his own accord to move to Moab a place of immoral living
They travelled with there two sons
Naomi husband dies and she is left a widow
then her sons marry Moabite women - Ruth and Orpah
10 years go by and there are no children — no heirs - no grand kids for Naomi
Then the sons both die - Naomi is alone with her daughter in laws in a foreign land
Naomi is the foreigner
Naomi has grown bitter
Naomi learns that the famine is over in Bethelem and decides to return
LAST WEEK we learned that Naomi and the girls start the journey
both daughter in laws are on the journey — we can assume they travelled a short distance
Naomi stops and tells the girls to return to Moab
both ladies say NO they will stay with Naomi
BUT Naomi spells out the cost --- too old for a husband and another child; and even if possible they wouldn’t want to wait 16-18 to marry
the daughter in law weigh the cost and Orpah turns back changing her mind
BUT RUTH — she stays and makes that amazing statement
Ruth 1:16–17 (ESV)
16 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.”
I love the statement — it just warms my heart to hear the Loyalty and Love for another
It appears that even in bitterness that it effected Naomi also
Ruth 1:18 “18 And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.”
So today we look at the bridge section of Ruth
The bridge to Boaz — the bridge from bitterness to blessing
the bridge from the old life to new life
today we see the life that each of us has walked
that bridge to Redemption - the bridge that leads to the Redeemer.
PRAYER:
Lets pray --- Dear Lord, open our hearts this morning to see the path.
to look back and see the path that lead us to the bridge, and then to look ahead to the glorious light that is YOU.
the bridge that you provided from that CROSS. the bridge over troubled water to a NEW LIFE in your PRESENCE
Lord may we see from our hearts the that your Love LEADS Over All
Return to Bethlehem
Return to Bethlehem
19 So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” 20 She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” 22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.
Well they arrived!!!
Ruth has accepted God as her God — Ruth chose the New Life
our journey returns to Naomi’s bitterness — the deep distress that is in her heart
Friends --- In the Bible — we learn the importance of names
in our world today we chose names based on family lineage, to honor a person, or even because of a TV show.
i am disappointed that i don’t know many
Foghorn Leghorns
or
Tiggers --- cuz they are bouncy bouncy
BUT think of names today
Elton John — tiny dancer
George Strait the Troubadour
Elvis - the king
MILO - means amazing entertainer
Michael - means talented Dad Joker
even Steve Miller joined in:
Some people call me the space cowboy, yeah
Some call me the gangster of love
Some people call me Maurice
'Cause I speak of the pompatus of love
Just a quick visit to the 70s/80s
Names in the Jewish Culture both identified them as Hebrew
kids where given a Jewish name to set them apart
Names were given to identify the self
strength, intelligent, attributes that the parents desired in their children
But in Israel a name had meaning based on cultural/religious meaning
God called told Joseph to name him Jesus (for he will save his people from their sins)
an angel appears to Zechariah tells him to name the baby John
Esau and Jacob
JEWISH Names represent --- identity not simply because they are a convenient way to allow us to be distinguished one from another.
It is because they define us.
The names we are given at birth aren’t accidental
They are to some extent prophetic.
They capture our essence.
They are the keys to our soul.
This is why it is important in Bible study to pay attention to name changes
Saul to Paul for example
Even God was given many names to define the attributes of Himself to His people
The LORD is Peace. Jehovah-Shalom.
Jesus’s last name is not Christ
Christ is a name, a title that means the Anointed One — The Messiah.
it is important to note in verse 20
Naomi didn’t just change her name, she was STRESSING the change in her IDENTITY
and Naomi meant pleasant
and in verse 20 she wants to be known as MARA — meaning bitter
This was not a I’m sad or I’m happy its not an I FEEL IDENTITY FOR THE DAY OR HOUR
but the name was deeply connected to the Jewish culture of meaning in names.
Wow — hard for us to imagine today. Changing our name to reflect our identity
Fullness
Fullness
Noami blames God --- which so often is the source of bitterness
God is the God of peace but when we walk away from His presence one of the results is that
His peace is overshadowed by bitterness
Ruth 1:21 “21 I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?””
I want to challenge you to look again at this verse, but look at it in light of your past
We have all been here at some point in our past.
We have all been part of the WHY
Why did God allow this?
Why did God take this thing?
Why did God give this thing?
Why am i going through this thing?
Friends i want to encourage you to CHANGE THAT.
it will not be easy for the world, satan, wants you to do that exact thing
Start to seek HIS peace, Live in His Trust , and remember He loves you
Lets not be hard on Naomi
she was raised in a WORKS culture
follow the Law or you will not be blessed
Naomi knew that God was in control
That God works all things
she was simply missing the LONG GAME
that God works all things for GOOD
Hard to even blame her for the short game — 10 plus years have gone by
Her bitterness was deep
Her request to change her name was foundational in her belief of herself and of her God.
Lesson in Love
Lesson in Love
My Great Grandmother used to say “JUST BELIEVE”
that is my message for you today
Write this down, put it on your daily task list, journal it
JUST BELIEVE
Opening Up Ruth (Emptiness from the Lord Prepares the Way for Fullness from the Lord (vv. 19–22))
Our journey through life as Christians involves learning to trust the Lord’s loving providence in life’s changing scenes.
We need to recognize that even the bitter experiences of life that leave us feeling empty are within his control and are designed for our good.
John Berridge, an eighteenth-century Christian, wrote to a friend
, ‘Sitting comfortably on the beach is very sweet after a stormy voyage; but I fancy you will find it more difficult to walk closely with Jesus in a calm than in a storm,
in easy circumstances than in difficult ones.
A Christian never falls asleep in the fire or in the water, but grows drowsy in the sunshine.”
’Imagine a magazine interview with Naomi today,
approximately 3000 years after the events of Ruth
INTERVIEWER: Naomi, do you regret those bitter experiences you tasted?
Are you angry with the Lord because of them?
NAOMI: No. I am not bitter. I have no regrets over the Lord’s dealings with me.
I regret my sin, but not what the Lord has done.
I can see now that even those bitter experiences were part of his transforming kindness to me
he used me in his great plan to show his transforming kindness to all believers in every age.
Friends
God understands
He knows us — each individual here to day,
He knows us — our human nature
and He STILL LOVES US.
God works all things for the good
Lets walk with Jesus in the storm — focused on Him, trusting and believing in HIM
Lets walk with Jesus in the calm — Praising Him for His Peace
Lets remember that Jesus paid the price for the BRIDGE
The BRIDGE to our adoption, our forgiveness, and our eternal salvation.
I will walk beside the Lord always, and surrender to Him to carry and protect me in any Storm
Lets Pray