Friday, November 12, 2010
God Is At Work - The Story of Ruth Part IV - The Providence of God, Part 13 of 23
TEXT: “Then the women said to Naomi, ‘Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a near kinsman; and may his name be famous in Israel! And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him.’ Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom, and became a nurse to him. Also the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, ‘There is a son born to Naomi.’ And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David” (Ruth 4:14-17).
IDEA: God can take bad situations and make them good again.
PURPOSE: To help listeners understand that, for God's people, the best is always yet to come.
Mart, have you ever attended a baby shower?
Alice, tell us what goes on at a baby shower.
I. In the story of Ruth, we have a gathering "for women only" somewhat resembling a baby shower today:
Then the women said to Naomi, "Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a near kinsman; and may his name be famous in Israel! And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him." Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom, and became a nurse to him. Also the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, "There is a son born to Naomi." And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.
What strikes you in this incident as similar to a baby shower today?
What strikes you as different?
Naomi, the grandmother, and not Ruth, the mother, is the center of the shower. What would you guess is the reason? There are several possibilities.
Do you think that possibly because Ruth has a new husband and a new baby, the women of the town came to Naomi's house because they know her so much better, or perhaps because she needs companionship? They had wept with Naomi when she wept and they now rejoice with her when she rejoices.
God allowed Ruth to conceive, but the baby really solved Naomi's emptiness. The women praise God for preventing the end of Naomi's husband's (Elimelech's) line. Contrast this to Ruth 1:11-12.
Naomi's personal tragedy launched the story. Now her personal triumph climaxes it. It is a kind of inclusio.
These women who had greeted Naomi's return to Bethlehem now reappear. As they had absorbed her cries of emptiness (Ruth 1:20-21), now they announce her day of fullness (Ruth 4:17).
What do they talk about? They don't talk about how cute the baby is, but about the baby's significance to Naomi.
They say that the baby is her "kinsman-redeemer." (This is the only time in Scripture that the term does not refer to an adult.) The infant is presumably the one whom Boaz has promised would carry on Elimelech's name and inherit his property (Ruth 5:9-10, 15).
The child, therefore, would solve two problems raised at the beginning of the story (Ruth 4:15).
Naomi's family line once headed for extinction would continue for at least another generation. Naomi had complained that her life had been emptied by God, but now she will experience His filling.
The child will also sustain you in your old age (Hebrew: "He will feed your gray hairs.") The search for food consumed a large portion of the story, but now this boy could be counted on to provide for his grandmother in her future.
They talk about her wonderful daughter-in-law (Ruth 4:15). The reason that Naomi could count on her grandson to support her was because of Ruth's loyalty.
Ruth loves Naomi. That loves shines through the entire story.
She is better than "seven sons." That is high tribute! It was the ideal number of sons in a family.
Why do you think they say this about a woman, Ruth?
