unexpected | Ruth

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If it wasn’t for Ruth, Naomi’s story would have come to a tragic ending.  Ruth still shows us an important lesson about hope.

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Ruth 1:15–22 NIV
“Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.” But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her. So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?” “Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.” So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal written by a psychologist highlighted the best practices a parent can have for helping children deal with anxiety in a healthy way. The psychologist, Erica Komisar, notes the dramatic upswing in American children who suffer forms of depression at a rate which is higher than previous generations. She also points to a 2018 study by the American Journal of Epidemiology which shows some trends connected to this increase of depression. One statistic is striking. The study found that of the 5000 children who participated, those who attend some kind of religious service at least once per week score significantly higher on measurements of psychological well-being.
Komisar’s article argues that kids who have a routine exposure to religious experiences are able to process the complexities of life in a healthier way. She also notes a recent study by the American Family Survey which shows nearly half of all adult under age 30 do not identify with any religion. This is a 20% increase from the previous survey. The conclusion, as more and more children grow up in homes which have no exposure to religion, more children struggle to cope with anxiety and depression. It is not that children in religious homes experience less anxiety, it is that they seem better equipped to cope with anxiety in a healthy way.
The recommendation that Komisar makes in her article is that children—even from a young age—are able to connect life with meaning and purpose. The absence of any Divine creator leaves only one alternative; this planet and everything on it has no purpose. Without a Divine creator we are all just cosmic accidents who are nothing more than a collection of cells and particles, and our lives do not mean anything more than that. It’s tough to cope with anxiety when you are brought up in a worldview which sees all of life as pointless and meaningless.
Psychologists may talk about coping mechanisms as a key to positive mental health. I think the story of Ruth gives us a connection for seeing how this works. The story of Ruth provides an example that still applies to our world today. And the story of Ruth points us to Jesus. We have been seeing over the past weeks how the five women who appear in the family tree of Jesus all demonstrate something unexpected. Today is no different. Ruth shows us something unexpected in the coming Messiah we celebrate at Christmas.

The story of Ruth as a parable

We only read a few verses from Ruth today. I want to take moment now and quickly review the entire storyline. What happens in the four chapters of Ruth points us forward to see something about Jesus. It is almost as though we could see the story of Ruth as a parable highlighting the Messiah who comes to redeem the world.
story of Ruth begins and ends with Naomi
The book is named after Ruth, and it is Ruth who shows up in the genealogy of Jesus. But the opening five verses and closing five verses of Ruth show us that Naomi is also a central character in the story—just as central to the story as Ruth.
Elimelech and two sons die in Moab
Here is a two-minute snapshot of the entire story. A Jewish man from Bethlehem named Elimelech has a wife named Naomi—they have two sons. There is a famine in Bethlehem, so Elimelech moves his family to Moab, a region outside of Israel to the southeast. While in Moab, the two sons get married to non-Jewish women from Moab. Ruth is one of those women. After about ten years Elimelech and both if his sons die. Now Naomi and her two daughters-in-law are suddenly widows.
Naomi returns to Bethlehem, Ruth insist on going with Naomi
Naomi decides she will return to her own people in Bethlehem. Ruth insists on going along, even though Naomi urges her to stay in Moab. Back in Bethlehem, a man named Boaz allows this foreigner Ruth to glean the leftover barley from his harvest fields along with the other women from Bethlehem. Boaz is a relative of Elimelech.
Boaz meets Ruth & becomes the kinsman-redeemer for Naomi’s family
A few weeks ago, when we talked about Tamar I brought up the kinsman redeemer laws that existed at that time. When a husband would die before having any children, the extended family had a responsibility to provide a family for the widow. Boaz is within that line of family for Elimelech. Boaz arranges with the elders in the town of Bethlehem to take the family of Elimelech and make them a part of his family. This means that Boaz makes Ruth his wife, so she is no longer a widow with no children. Ruth gives birth to a son named Obed. Obed—by the way—is the grandfather of king David. There is the story of Ruth in two minutes.

Naomi

reminds us of the people of God who have become distant and separated from God
Naomi’s assessment - the Almighty has turned against me
Elimelech had turned away from God, Naomi is paying the price
There are three characters in particular that draw some parallels to the Christmas narrative. Naomi reminds us of God’s people who have become distant and separated from God. I imagine that the early readers of Ruth would not argue with Naomi’s assessment of the situation, which we read today. Naomi claims in her own words that the Almighty has turned against her. Afterall, Elimelech left the promised land of God’s covenant and then married off his sons to non-Jewish women. It is no wonder to Naomi that Elimelech and his two sons die. Naomi and Ruth are victims dragged into circumstances over which they had no control. But it is not coincidental bad luck. Naomi is right. Elimelech had turned away from God, and now Naomi is paying the price.
When we see Naomi in light of the gospel story, we see a reflection of all of us in Naomi. The sin and brokenness into which every one of us is born carries us away from God. We are distant from his holy perfection. We are separated from God with no chance of being brought back on our own. Naomi recognizes that her is life is ruined. Even though she returns to her hometown of Bethlehem, there is no prospect of redemption for her. Naomi will be left a childless widow with no family and no standing.

Boaz

reminds us of the kind and good heavenly Father, provides blessing for others
Boaz comes into the story as the benefactor of goodness. It is Boaz who shows kindness and mercy. It is also Boaz who is careful to follow all the requirements of the law in his town. He is blameless and upright. But at the same time, he is not overbearing in his righteousness.
Boaz is is blameless and upright, but not self-righteous or overbearing
Boaz reminds us of the heavenly Father in the Christmas story. It is God the Father who is perfect and just in all he does. It is God the Father who is upright and blameless in his actions. And it is God the Father who shows kindness and mercy and provides blessing.
Boaz follows the requirements of the law in order to bring redemption to Naomi’s family
In the process of redemption for Naomi’s family, there is still a requirement to the law that must be fulfilled. Boaz takes all the steps so that he does not merely show kindness to Naomi’s family, but he does everything needed to bring complete redemption to Naomi’s family. Naomi is not just provided for by Boaz. She is brought back fully into the inner family circle in Bethlehem. We recognize in this story that Boaz is the one who makes this happen. And Boaz does this in a way which maintains his blameless righteousness.

Ruth

clings to Naomi - becomes one of Naomi’s people in order to provide for Naomi
Now then, how does Ruth figure into this narrative? Ruth becomes the mediator who steps into a family that is not her own. Ruth clings to Naomi and insists, I will be with you and will make myself one of your people and whatever happens to you will happen to me also. Ruth is the one who steps in as an outsider to the family of Elimelech, but takes the place of Naomi when no one else in the family can provide for Naomi.
Boaz redeems Naomi through Ruth - Naomi is the one who is exalted (4:14)
Ruth becomes the one though whom Boaz is able to redeem Naomi’s family. If you go the end of Ruth and read the last chapter, it is not Ruth who is exalted as the one who is redeemed. It is Naomi. Ruth is the one who provides the way for Naomi’s redemption to happen. We see a mirror in this story. Boaz is the one who saves Naomi. But Ruth is the one through whom this salvation is brought.
reminds us of Jesus, the one through whom redemption comes from the Father to the people
Ruth points us forward to Jesus. When Ruth tells Naomi, I will go where you go and I will be one of your people, we see an echo of the coming Messiah foretold. It is Jesus who steps into our place and provides the way for the perfect and holy heavenly Father to deliver redemption. It is Jesus who connects us to the family of God, just as it was Ruth who connect Naomi to the family of Boaz.
As events unfolded in Moab, Naomi thought her life was over. Naomi thought she did not have any chance at redemption. Boaz was the one who turned all that around. And Ruth was the one who stepped in to bring that deliverance to Naomi.

Unexpected hope

Erica Komisar is a psychologist who points to a world of people just like Naomi. Naomi thought everything was lost. Naomi echoes a world without any meaning or purpose. Right when Naomi is at the point of completely giving up, Ruth steps in and gives to Naomi the one thing she never expected. Hope.
“I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty...the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me”
Look again at the words Naomi says when she first returns to Bethlehem. (Ruth 1:20–21 NIV) “Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”
There are no words of hope here from Naomi. No shot at redemption. No silver lining. Naomi has sunk to a place in which she sees her life as completely hopeless. We might be able to understand a little bit. Most of us do not know what it is like to face a life that has become hopeless, but we have all faced little situations and circumstances that appear hopeless. In the two years that I have been back in Michigan, I think I have been to two high school football games at Calvin Christian. I didn’t stay to the end of the game either time. Somewhere in the third quarter it became evident that not only was our home team not going to score any points, it seemed pretty likely that we would go the entire game without even completing a first down. I have to admit; I left the game because it looked hopeless. And also I was cold.
hope keeps us going, without hope we give up
When we give up hope it means we might as well walk away. When something goes wrong and needs repair on my car, I always hope I can figure it out and fix it myself. Sometimes YouTube helps me do that. But other times it becomes evident that I just don’t have the tools or expertise to fix it on my own. I was hoping to take care of it myself. But once that hope clearly won’t ever come together, it’s time to give up doing it myself and hand it off.
As long as there is hope we keep going, we keep trying, we keep finding a purpose and a reason. When hope runs out, it takes all of that away from us. Naomi comes to a point in her life in which she has lost all hope. When she returns to Bethlehem, she makes it abundantly clear that she is throwing in the towel and calling it quits.
Naomi does not expect any hope of being restored unto God
Ruth gives hope to Naomi
And then it happens. One day Ruth goes out to gather barley during the harvest and comes home that night with a story Naomi never expected. She was working in the field of a man named Boaz. And this guy was kind to Ruth and showed favor to her. He made sure no harm came to Ruth and provided for her. And in this moment Naomi receives from Ruth a glimmer of something she never expected to see again. Hope.
Jesus gives hope to our world
We still see it today. Ruth’s place in the story of Jesus reminds us about hope. In Jesus our world has been given something that so many people never expected. Hope. In Jesus we see a gift from God which lays aside all the majesty and glory of heaven and comes down to be among us right here in the middle of our broken and shattered world. In Jesus we receive a gift from God which brings us back again into his family. In Jesus, we are God’s people once more.
I know, we still live in a world that is shattered and broken. There will still be moments of struggle. We still face a world that is full of anxiety. But we also have hope. We have hope because of a God who loves you so much that he was willing to sacrifice whatever it took in order to redeem you. We have hope because this love from God is unbreakable. His promises are secure; his faithfulness never fails. We have hope because our lives are not just random cosmic accidents made up of nothing more than cells and particles, but rather our lives have been created and given by a God who loves us and calls us his very own. In Jesus we have eternal hope.
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