Thursday, June 17, 2010
God Is At Work - The Story of Ruth Part I - The Worst of Times, Part 14 of 32
TEXT: "Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had visited his people in giving them bread. Therefore she went out from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, 'Go, return each to her mother's house. The Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find rest in the house of her husband.' Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. And they said to her, 'Surely we will return with you to your people.' But Naomi said, 'Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? Turn back, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband tonight and should also bear sons, would you wait for them till they were grown? Would you restrain yourselves from having husbands? No, my daughters; for it grieves me very much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me!' Then they lifted up their voices and wept again, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. And she said, 'Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.' But Ruth said, 'Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; for wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me' (Ruth 1:6-17)."
IDEA: Commitments cost.
PURPOSE: To help listeners realized that real commitment that flows from love does so in spite of consequences.
What are the major commitments we make in a lifetime?
Do they all "make sense"?
In the story of Ruth, Ruth makes an enormous commitment against "common sense." Read Ruth 1:6-17 above.
I. Naomi tries to talk sense to her Moabite daughters-in-law (Orpah and Ruth) to keep them from going back to Bethlehem with her.
Both of the women want to go back with her to Bethlehem, but Naomi tries desperately to talk them out of it. What are her three arguments?
You have a much better chance of getting into another marriage here in Moab.
If they stay with her, they will have a future without husbands and without hope (Ruth 1:11). In that culture, hope and a future were linked to having husbands.
Naomi was too old to have more children, so there was no hope of keeping their husbands' names alive even if the daughters stay with her.
Even if she could have sons, would the two women really be willing to wait for the boys to grow up and marry them (Ruth 1:12-13)?
Naomi believes that God is against her. It is futile for the two daughters-in-law to link their lives to hers. For some reason God doesn't like her any more (Ruth 1:13).
Her arguments make sense. As a result Orpah turns around and heads back home to Moab.
This gives Naomi a final argument to use with Ruth: "take a lead from Orpah and go home with her" (Ruth 1:14, 15).
II. Ruth goes against common sense to make one of the best know statements of commitment in Scripture (Ruth 1:16-17):
These are the first words we hear from Ruth's lips.
They have poetic beauty and they express extraordinary courage and commitment.
Like all great commitments it doesn't make "sense." Few deep commitments can be explained simply on the basis that they are logical choices. They are made with both the head and the heart.
