Sermon Tone Analysis
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Finding Your People
Having left judah withher husband, due to a famine, Naomi heard that the Lord had come to the adi of Judah.
She prepared to return.
there was no question that her daughters would return with her.
On the road to Judah, Naomi releases her daughters in law form any responsibility to her.
She knew that their future would be bleak as Moabites in Judah, without husbands.
Naomi wished her daughters safety and security, and kissed them, and they wept.
This verse is important.... it speaks to who Naomi was, because these two were willing to give up everything to remain with her and for nothing to change.
By going back they would have family, friends, and a future possibly with a new husband.
But they showed commitment to Naomi … it speaks well to who she was.
naomi referenced levirate law.... if she had other male children, they would be obligated to marry the widowed daughter in laws.... but she had no other children, no husband, no pregnancy, and was likely not going to!!!
She was noble- go bak home!
Naomi continues pointing out the absurdity and failure if they were to wait on her.
naomi saw her lot as bitter, and that God was allowing her to suffer without relief and the daughter inlaws at least had the opportunity to remarry.
Note the hopelessness of the situation.
Be clear to understand that Ruth was not only renouncing her people in this statement, she was renouncing her gods and going with Naomi- and Yahweh.
Note that she revealed she could not relate to God apart from relating to His people (Naomi’s people).
Also note that Ruth here invokes the name of Yahweh for the first time.
Don’t miss that the life of Naomi, her commitment and character, had affected Ruth to make such a large commitment.
It was a common practice in the ancient Near East to change a name to reflect changed circumstances.
Her name was changed from “Pleasant” to “Bitter”.
“Almighty” is the name before God revealed Himself to Moses in Exodus 3..... the statement Naomi makes concerning God dealing bitterly with her is not accusation, it is a statement of circumstance.
The key to all of this passage is found in the book of Deuteronomy 23.3
You see, a long time before, because of a famine in the land, Naomi and her husband moved to the land of Moab.
A forbidden people and a forbidden place.
Permanent exclusion from the people of God for Moabite people!
And the two sons, living in that land- married Moabite women.
And honestly, they weren’t permitted back in to Judah.
They were Moabites.
But what Ruth did is unique.
look again at Ruth 1.16-17
She left it all.
Her place.
Her friends.
Her family.
Her gods.
Her future.
And never considered what would happen if the people in Judah said, “no”.
How does that happen?
How did that happen?
I want to shift gears for a moment… When you read the genealogy of Christ in Matthew 1 you find some strange things.
Four of the five women listed in Christ’s genealogy have very shady reputations.
Tamar (committed incest with her father in law); Rahab (a gentile prostitute); Ruth ( an outcast Gentile Moabitess); and the wife of Uriah (an adulteress).
How did these people, gentile, prostitutes, outcasts, etc., how did they wind up in the genealogy of Jesus Christ?
A simple answer: grace.
The grace of God.
And so, when we ask the question, “How is an outcast gentile Moabitess going to be accepted in the midst of the people of God dwelling in Judah? the answer is grace- both the grace of God and the grace of the people of God.
The Grace of God should be reflected in the people of God.
And that answer is critical to understanding this passage.
We might say, of course, God is going to extend his grace to Ruth.
He’s God!!!
And you’d be right.
But remember what I just said: The grace of God AND the grace of the people of God.
The people of God.
Yes, God is gracious- but t he people of God do not have the same reputation.
Do you know that?
I’ll stop here, for just a minute, so you can think.
Have the people of God always displayed the grace of God in their actions?
You’d probably agree with me.
No.
And now, let’s get to the point of this message: Ruth 2was about to risk- let’s focus on the word “risk” for a minute.
Risk was going to gamble herself, her history, her friends, her family, her gods… on relationships.
One with God- and one with the people of God.
Remember that 16th verse:
Every relationship requires risking something.
Ruth was risking everything to be in relationship with Naomi, her God, and her people.
You know, gods in this time period were geographical.
That is to say, every area had their own gods.
Judah, where Naomi was returning to, had Yahweh.
Moab, where she had dwelt with her husband, had another god.
When Naomi sent her 2 daughter inlaws home- she blessed them with the name of her god(yahweh).
She didn’t say, may your gods deal kindlywith you… she said, may Yahweh deal kindly with you.
And she had the confidence to know beyond geographical boundaries, her god- Yahweh- could do that.
Butwhen Ruth said , “Your God will be my God”, she only knew about that Yahweh in one way: her experience with Naomi, and her husband, and her 2 sons before their death.
And when she said, “Your God will be my God”, she said that on the downpayment that was her relationship with her mother in law, Naomi.
But When she said, “Your people will be my people”, the only way she could find if that was true, was to test the waters to see if God’s people were like Naomi as well.
Were they like Naomi, as naomi was like God????
Ruth focuses on 2 things: Naomi’s God and Naomi’s people.
Remember the question, what is the greatest commandment?
Love God.
Love People.
There’s a reason.
You can love God.
And your actions with people can reveal you to be a hypocrite in the 10th degree.
People will not be impressed nor attracted to that.
You can love your neighbor by being a good person, and never mention God in the process.
People and organizations do it every day.
It will not attract a soul to Jesus.
But when you love God and it is tangibly evident in the way you love people- people will want to know you AND eventually know Jesus.
Christian Relationships Should Be A Down Payment On God’s Promises
What kind of a friend are you?
There’s a story in 2 Samuel I’d like to share at this point.
You all know I love the stories of King David in 1 2 Samuel.
Near the end of his life, DAvid’s son, Absalom, rose up against him.
David was asked, what are you going to do?
And incredibly, he chooses to take all of his household and leave town.
There was a new king in Israel, and it was David’s rebellious son, Absalom.
As they were leaving, many stayed to serve the new king.
For all intents and purposes, it looked like David had lost the kingdom to his own son who had rebelled against him.
Just before the rebellion, a man had come to Israel to be with David.
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