Tuesday, September 14, 2010

God Is At Work - The Story of Ruth Part III - A Strange Proposal, Part 1 of 31

TEXT: "One day Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to Ruth, 'My daughter, I must find a home for you where you will be well provided for.  Now Boaz, with whose women you have worked, is a relative of ours.  Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor.  Wash and perfume yourself, and put on your best clothes.  Then go down to the threshing floor, but don't let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking.  When he lies down, note the place where he is lying.  Then go and uncover his feet and lie down.  He will tell you what to do' " (Ruth 3:1-4).

IDEA: To trust in the Lord may not mean that we do nothing and God does everything.

PURPOSE: To help listeners understand what it looks like to trust in the Lord.

When we say that we must "trust the Lord," what does that mean or not mean?

For instance, if a young woman says that she is "trusting the Lord for a husband," what might she have in mind?

I. In the story of Ruth, Naomi trusts each of her daughters-in-law to the Lord and his kindness to provide husbands for them after they are widowed (Ruth 1:8-9).

A. How do you imagine Naomi thought that God would make this happen?

B. Was she really trusting her daughters-in-law to the Lord?

II. In chapter 3, Naomi prompts Ruth to enter into a risky scheme to get a husband (Ruth 3:1-4).

A. Do you think that Naomi was changing her game plan and taking matters into her own hands?

B. What would you think about someone who suggested this approach today?

III. A significant theological question emerges from this text: How does God work and how do we work to accomplish God's will?

A. Here Naomi's plan and human means carry out something that was originally thought to be in the Lord's province. Was Naomi trusting the Lord when she acted to answer her own prayers?

B. Naomi models one way in which God works and we work to become workers together with Him.