Tuesday, July 6, 2010
God Is At Work - The Story of Ruth Part I - The Worst of Times, Part 27 of 32
TEXT: "Naomi 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.' When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her. Now the two of them went until they came to Bethlehem. And it happened, when they had come to Bethlehem that all the city was excited because of them; and the women said, 'Is this Naomi?' So she said to them, 'Do not call me "Naomi"; call me "Mara" for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full and the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has afflicted me?' So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law was with her, who returned from the country of Moab. Now they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest" (Ruth 1:15-22).
IDEA: When the story seems over, it may not be over.
PURPOSE: To help listeners take hope that God's story is never over for those who belong to Him.
Paul Harvey did a series of radio broadcasts and books called "The Rest of the Story." Do you remember them?
As you look back in your life, has there been a time when you felt that you were at "the end of your story" only to have God open a new chapter for you?
I. The story of Ruth comes to an end that seems like a small tragedy within a larger tragedy.
Read Ruth chapter 1:
Naomi feels that life is over for her. She has gone to Moab with her husband and sons because of a famine in Israel, but a decade later her husband and sons died. Her daughter-in-law is only an added burden for her to carry. Her story comes to a bitter end as she returns to her hometown in Bethlehem.
Read Ruth 1:15-22 (above).
Naomi's name means "pleasant" or "my joy." But her life and her name had not lined up with each other. She insisted that her name should be "Mara," which means "bitter." Which name best fit her?
She felt as misnamed as a lost dog mentioned in an ad that had appeared in the Latrobe PA newspaper want-ads: "Lost dog. One eye, one leg missing, no tail, neutered. Answers to the name of 'Lucky.' Call Ron at the Latrobe armory."
Do you blame Naomi for changing her name?
Suppose all we had was this one chapter as the total story. What might you conclude?
If chapter 1 is the end of the story, then the story of Ruth is a lot like the story of Judges that surrounds it. Judges is built on cycles of sin, judgment and deliverance, but the cycle goes downhill and the book of Judges ends in judgment and despair.
The events of Ruth took place during the time of the Judges. At the end of chapter 1, this story also seems like a downward cycle as well. Naomi has gone from Bethlehem to Moab and back to Bethlehem. She feels worse off than when she started. She has little to show for the ten years she was in Moab. Even worse, Naomi returns home with a Moabitess daughter-in-law who insisted on coming with her. To Naomi, Ruth is a burden, not a blessing.
At the end of chapter 1, the book of Ruth seems like one grim little story embedded in a larger grim story. It is a cynic's view of life. Life ends with a whimper instead of a cheer.
II. Did Ruth or Naomi think that there was "the rest of the story" for them?
If you didn't know the rest of the story, what might you have said to Naomi?
Do you think it is merely wishful thinking for Christians to believe that for them the best of the story is yet to come?
