Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Anger
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Conscientiousness
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Introduction
Main Idea: Suffering and affliction are going to happen.
It is how we respond to it that is important.
Are you growing bitter?
or are you growing better?
Illustration: Confession.
You guys might not think the same about me after this, but you need to know.
I sometime like chick flicks.
I love a good love story.
(Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Failure to Launch … lol)
I know why too.
At the core, the gospel is ultimately at love story.
We’re going to be looking at the book of Ruth for the next 4 weeks.
And the book of Ruth is a love story.
(So ladies you’re going to be getting an extra chick flick fix this month).
The book of Ruth is a love story, but its a lot more than that.
This little book shows us some amazing things about God, how he works, and what that means for us.
Let’s take a look at this story.
Main Idea: Suffering and affliction are going to happen.
It is how we respond to it that is important.
Are you growing bitter?
or are you growing better?
From Bad to Worse
This story begins bad.
The “days when the judges ruled” was a bad time in Israel’s history.
We are told that there was no king or solid government, and everyone pretty much did whatever they wanted (Judges 21:25).
It was anarchy and chaos, and God had to keep sending them “Judges” who who bail them out of serious trouble.
There was famine in the land.
Even though the name of the town is “house of bread”, there is a huge food shortage.
We don’t know what this is like.
We get hangry if we are a little late for dinner.
We get frustrated waiting for the microwave.
But famine in the third world is scary—especially in the ancient world.
It could mean starvation and death.
Then we meet this guy Elimelech who has some choices to make.
And though his name means “God is king”, he decides to leave Israel and travel to Moab.
In his mind, he was probably doing the right thing.
“My kids gotta eat right?!”
But let’s ask a question.
Did God call him to leave and go to Moab?
Not that we can tell.
Perhaps he should have stayed and trusted God?
The problem with this decision is that the Moabites were a godless, idolatrous people.
The Israelites were not to associate with them and especially not to marry them.
So we see Elimilech providing for his family financially, but in order to do so he was removing them from God’s land, God’s people, and the church.
Side note: Men, it is your responsibility to provide for your family spiritually.
Being the head of the house means that we are responsible for the well being of our family—physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
That means making sure you and they are connected into the family of God.
Side note 2: Don’t name your kids Weak and Useless.
It’s not good for their self-esteem
Let’s see what happens next:
So even though Elimelech took matters into his own hands, he and his sons end up dead.
And the worst part is that his wife and now daughter-in-laws are now in serious trouble.
There was no life insurance policy to help them out.
There was no welfare or food stamps they could rely on.
Because of how things were in the Ancient Near East, if you were a widow you were pretty much doomed unless you had family that could take you in.
(This is why we see the widow issues in Acts like we did).
So the situation begins bad and gets a lot worse in this story.
This is the stage that is set for our main characters, Naomi and Ruth.
Let’s read on ...
2. Growing Bitter or Better
So Naomi is left in a really, really bad position.
Her husband and sons are dead.
She is in a real way hopeless.
Even today, if someone losses their spouse and children it is nearly impossible to move on in life.
She would have been devastated even today.
But now she’s as we used to say, “Up the creek without a paddle.”
So she reaches out to her daughter-in-laws and tells them to jump overboard.
“Save yourselves!
Forget me, I’m hopeless.”
The best for her was going to go beg in her home town-maybe they would help?
They resist, but she explains that they would have a much better change with their family.
No one in their right minds would ever take them into marriage there.
illustration: I can see the E-Harmony profile now: Women from an idolatrous wicked people that began by incest seeking marriageable man who would be willing to take care of her and her bitter old mother-in-law.
One of the ladies takes the advice, the other remains loyal to her (this is a remarkable act of loyalty!)
But they make it.
So they head back to Israel—with little hope.
And the journey is several weeks long through dangerous desert lands.
This was probably on foot and there wasn’t even United Airlines to take care of them.
But they make it.
Then we see where Naomi is.
… She says, “Do not call me Naomi (which means “kindness” but call me Mara (which means “bitter”).
Naomi has grown bitter and angry in the face of all that she faced—and it would be hard to blame her right?
But this is the question I want to face today.
HOW DO WE RESPOND TO STRUGGLES, SUFFERING, AND AFFLICTION?
Naomi had a choice and her choice was one of defeat and bitterness.
I’ve met so many people that are exactly where she was.
They’ve been burned, they’ve lost so much, and now they are angry about it.
On the other side of this are people I know that are secretly terrified that all that they have pinned their hopes on will fail them.
So they live life in fear and frustration.
So we need to ask our selves a question: Does suffering cause us to grow bitter?
or does is cause us to grow better?
3. A Proper Theology of Suffering
Naomi makes a theological statement.
She says, “the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.
I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty.”
She is declaring that God, the Almighty, is in control of all things—he is sovereign—and because of this He is ultimately responsible for situation.
Is that true?
Let’s question this.
Would God cause a famine in the land of his own people?
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