Ruth 1

Good morning. Join me, if you would please, in your Bibles, in the book of Ruth.

The book of Ruth, four short chapters after the book of Judges, just before 1 Samuel.

Before we begin today's study of Ruth 1, I want to give you some brief background on

the book and a brief explanation of the reasoning for spending the next four weeks, Lord willing,

in this book.

And I wrote that sentence before I wrote the rest of the introduction, so we'll see

how brief it is.

Both the authorship and the date of authorship are uncertain concerning Ruth.

I most like the tradition that holds Solomon as its author because, as we will see, he

may have written it as a telling of his family's story.

However, regardless of who or when the book was written, the reason for its writing can

be clearly ascertained.

Verse 1 sets the scene for the book.

In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land.

We have studied in great brevity the book of Judges the past two weeks.

We did an overview of it.

We looked at a single story in it.

Perhaps we'll revisit it sometime soon.

But in that time that we spent in it, I noted a pattern for us in the book.

And you may recall, first the people rebel, then God hands them over to the people of the

land.

Then God shows them mercy by raising up a judge.

And then the judge, by God's help, delivers the Israelites, and they have rest.

And finally, the judge dies, and the people return to their wickedness.

So this occurs over and over and over again.

So when the events we will study over the next month occur, this is God's dealing with

the nation of Israel.

Wickedness, judgment, mercy, rest, wickedness over and over.

In the midst of all the stories of turmoil that occur across a 300-year span in the book

of Judges, we get this little gem of a story.

It happens in the days when the judges ruled.

The bulk of this story takes place across a single harvest season.

And it zooms our attention in on a widow and her daughter-in-law.

And the sovereign kindness of God towards them.

It is proper for us to understand God as sovereign.

Absolutely powerful.

If you don't believe that God is sovereign, I'm not sure that we worship the same God.

The scripture is replete with the expressions of God's absolute power.

It is also proper for us to understand that his sovereignty takes action.

It's not just something he possesses, but he actually works sovereignly.

He is not idle, but he is working at all times in the affairs of men.

This is a great comfort to those who know God and who belong to him.

Take, just as an example, the possibility that you have been troubled in this election season

by who may be our next president.

I think we have reason to be troubled.

Either way, to be frank.

But Daniel chapter 2 and verse 21 says that God changes times and seasons.

Daniel 2 · chapter mention

He removes kings and sets up kings.

As sure as the summer gives way to fall.

Did we all doubt that this year?

I did at times.

And here it is.

Finally, in November, fall seems to have arrived.

God is ordering the matters of the world.

This doesn't always happen in a way that we understand.

But we do well when we remember that God has the good of his people in mind as he acts.

It's not always felt as good.

But if we remember God does, in fact, work for the good of his people, we really do well.

I want to show you this from two places in the Bible.

One in the Old Testament and one in the New.

Briefly, you can mark Ruth and go there or you can just listen to me.

The first is in Psalm 84, verse 11.

Psalms 84:11

This is the last half of it.

There the psalmist says,

No good thing does God withhold from those who walk uprightly.

If we are in Christ, then we walk uprightly before God.

And this psalm tells us that God doesn't withhold anything good from us.

I don't believe that this means that we are just waiting to receive the good things and the bad things are in a different category.

But this means that God, in everything he gives us, is working good.

And I believe this because of a more clear text that we see in the New Testament.

Romans 8, verse 28 and following.

Romans 8:28

There Paul writes,

And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good.

For those who are called according to his purpose.

And then he carefully defines the good that God is working in the first half of verse 29.

For those who before knew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.

We see in these texts that God is working, that we would be more like Christ.

That we could be with Paul in his writing to the Philippians from a Roman jail.

That for him to live is Christ and to die is gain.

We call God's sovereign ordering of the world for the good of his people, his providence.

Most of you likely know that your elders have proposed a name change for our church.

And were present at or have listened to the proposal and accompanying explanation.

But allow me a moment more to repeat some of what was said there concerning the word providence.

In Latin, this word literally means to foresee.

Pro, before.

Vite, to see.

If you put those together, you have simply the English word provide.

However, to foresee doesn't quite get at how the word is used.

It will be helpful for you to think of the English idiom, I'll see to it.

If I say this, I am saying that I will accomplish what needs to be accomplished.

I'll do everything that's necessary to do the thing I'm promising to do.

And this is what is meant by God's providence.

God will see to it.

What is the it that he will see to?

All the good that he has promised us in order that we would look like Jesus Christ.

Recall Romans 8, 28, and 29.

And stay with me just a bit longer and look with me at one more text.

And then we will begin looking at Ruth.

I want you to see a place where we readily see both providential work and the language itself of providence.

This is Genesis chapter 22, verse 7 and 8.

Genesis 22:7

God has commanded Abraham to make a sacrifice of his son Isaac.

And they have traveled to Mount Moriah and have left behind the servants that went with them.

And verse 7 says,

And Isaac said to his father Abraham,

My father, here I am.

He says that my son.

He said, behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?

Abraham said, he responds to Isaac,

God will provide or see.

The literal translation of the Hebrew word is,

God will see for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.

So they went both of them together.

And then in verse 14, there's a ram that's provided to be sacrificed in the place of, instead of Isaac.

And then verse 14, Abraham called the name of that place,

The Lord will provide or see to it.

And it is said to this day on the mount of the Lord,

It shall be provided or seen to.

God provides.

He is providential.

In the giving of the ram as a replacement for Isaac for Abraham's sacrifice.

This episode is typologically rich as we know that the ram foreshadows the provision of Jesus Christ to die in our place.

God's providence includes the means of our salvation,

the subsequent sanctification and glorification,

but it also includes all the minutia in between.

Regardless of what troubles you this day,

if you belong to God in Christ,

if you are one of his people,

you can rest in the fact that God is working all things for your good.

Your highest good.

That you would look more like Christ.

In union with your creator.

A life that is full of peace that surpasses understanding,

regardless of your circumstances.

Thankfulness in your heart.

Confidence in your future glory.

Now, I have folded in the front of my Bible an origami sparrow.

Thanks to YouTube, I learned how to make this origami sparrow.

It serves to remind me to look at the birds of the air.

They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns,

and yet my heavenly Father feeds them.

Am I not more valuable than they?

Matthew 6 and verse 26.

Now, assuming that you can see what I am holding,

this little origami sparrow,

you can see in this creased paper,

this form of a sparrow,

but how it takes this form is not discernible.

Maybe you are one of those people who do origami,

and you know how this was created.

The average person has no idea how this shape was made.

I had grand plans to unfold it and refold it for you,

but I am so nervous I will not get it back together,

that I am not going to.

It might go terribly wrong if I were to do that,

but if you were to take it,

and carefully unfold it,

and fold it back again,

perhaps you would begin to understand

how it has come to take this shape.

How we understand providence can be a bit like

this origami sparrow.

We often don't understand how God is working

in the circumstances of our lives,

but often, not always,

but often we are allowed glimpses

of how all that he does is for our good

and for his glory.

We get to look back and say,

oh, I see now what he was doing

on my behalf and for his glory.

The book of Ruth is a love story.

I want to be clear on the front end.

It is that, but it is not only that.

It is also a story about suffering

and survival.

So much more is packed into it

than the story between Ruth and Boaz.

The theme of it is not wait on your Boaz,

to be clear.

Ruth presents to us the providential work of God

unfolded and should be of great comfort

and encouragement to our souls.

God works in the lives of the characters

of this narrative,

in congruence with their human agency,

to bring about astonishing things.

Let me show you that by looking at the first five verses

of chapter one,

and then I'm going to rush us to the end.

We're going to look at the end

before we read the entirety of chapter one together.

So let me just show you the first five verses

of chapter one.

chapter one.

In the days when the judges ruled,

there was a famine in the land,

and a man of Bethlehem in Judah

went to sojourn in the country of Moab,

he and his wife and his two sons.

The name of the man was Elimelech,

and the name of his wife Naomi,

and the names of his two sons

were Malon and Chulion.

They were Ephraphites from Bethlehem in Judah.

They went into the country of Moab

and remained there.

But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi,

died, and she was left with her two sons.

These took Moabite wives.

The name of the one was Orpah,

and the name of the other, Ruth.

They lived there about ten years,

and both Malon and Chulion died

so that the woman was left

without her two sons and her husband.

So it begins tragically, right?

Nothing very good is going on

in these first five verses,

and we'll see a bit today

and then in the coming weeks

how the story unfolds,

if you're familiar with it.

But I want to take you to the end,

the first part of this double ending

of the book,

to chapter 4 and verse 17.

We see that there's a child

born to Ruth.

So to be clear,

a child was born to Ruth.

Verse 17 says,

And the women of the neighborhood

gave him a name,

saying,

A son has been born to Naomi.

They named him Obed.

He was the father of Jesse,

the father of David.

So incapped, right?

Here's a thing going on

at the beginning,

this great tragedy,

and we can see

where it's headed already.

In the days when the judges ruled,

there was a promise of a king

whose reign would last forever.

This promise is temporally fulfilled

in King David

and eternally fulfilled

in King Jesus.

What an incredible providence.

We get to see the full display of it

in these four chapters.

We have the joy of spending

the next four weeks

considering it.

So let's look at Ruth,

Ruth 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1 together.

Before I read it in its entirety,

let me remind you, beloved,

this is God's word to us,

written for his glory

and our good.

And so we would all do well

to listen to it

in order to believe its promises

and obey its commands.

In the days when the judges ruled,

there was a famine in the land

and a man of Bethlehem in Judah

went to sojourn

in the country of Moab,

he and his wife

and his two sons.

The name of the man was Elimelech

and the name of his wife, Naomi,

and the names of his two sons

were Malon and Chilion.

They were Ephraphites

from Bethlehem in Judah.

They went into the country of Moab

and remained there.

But Elimelech,

the husband of Naomi,

died,

and she was left

with her two sons.

These took Moabite wives.

The name of the one was Orpah

and the name of the other Ruth.

They lived there about ten years.

And both Malon and Chilion died,

so that the woman was left

without her two sons

and her husband.

Then she arose with her daughters-in-law

to return from the country of Moab,

for she had heard in the fields of Moab

that the Lord had visited his people

and given them food.

So she set out from the place

where she was with her two daughters-in-law,

and they went on the way

to return to the land of Judah.

But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law,

Go, return each of you

to her mother's house.

May the Lord deal kindly with you

as you have dealt with the dead

and with me.

Lord, grant that you may find rest,

each of you,

in the house of her husband.

Then she kissed them,

and they lifted up their voices

and wept.

And they said to her,

No, we will return with you

to your people.

But Naomi said,

Turn back, my daughters.

Why will you go with me?

Have I yet sons in my womb

that they may become 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 this night

and should bear sons,

would you therefore wait

till they were grown?

Would you therefore refrain from marrying?

No, my daughters,

for it is exceedingly bitter to me

for your sake

that the hand of the Lord

has gone out against me.

Then they lifted up their voices

and wept again.

See, your sister-in-law

has gone back to her people

and to her gods.

Return after your sister-in-law.

But Ruth said,

Do not urge me to leave you

or to return from following you.

For where you go, I will go.

And where 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.

May the Lord do so to me

and more also

if anything but death

parts me from you.

And when Naomi saw

that she was determined

to go with her,

she said no more.

So the two of them went on

until they came to Bethlehem.

And when they came to Bethlehem,

the whole town was stirred

because of them.

And the women said,

Is this Naomi?

She said to them,

Do not call me Naomi.

Call me Mara.

For the Almighty has dealt

very bitterly with me.

I went away full

and the Lord has brought me back empty.

Why call me Naomi

when the Lord has testified against me

and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?

So Naomi returned

and Ruth the Moabite

and her daughter-in-law with her

who returned from the country of Moab.

And they came to Bethlehem

at the beginning of barley harvest.

Now, I just want to observe

two things briefly

from the text today.

As we go on in our study,

I'm sure we'll have to access

chapter one a bit more.

But I want you to see two things.

Number one,

a bitter providence.

A bitter providence.

And number two,

an exceptional faith.

So verse one begins with tragedy,

as I've mentioned already before.

In the days of the judges,

there was a famine in the land.

And a man from Bethlehem in Judah

went to another country,

went to Moab,

which is modern-day Jordan,

so out east of Jerusalem.

he and his wife

and his two sons.

So right at the very outset

of the book,

a famine is taking place.

And for the sake of survival,

one would presume

they leave their land

and they go off

to another land.

And then we begin,

we learn at the beginning

of verse two,

the names of those

in Naomi's family.

Of significance,

Naomi means pleasant.

Perhaps this is why

her daughters-in-law

love her so.

There's a name to her.

Children,

Malon and Chilion.

Malon,

her oldest son,

means sickly.

And Chilion means wasting.

Sickly and wasting.

So,

if we were readers of Hebrew,

this is not off

to a very good start

just in verse two.

And so the tragedy continues

in verse three.

We see that Elimelech,

the husband of Naomi,

dies.

We don't know how much time passes,

but it doesn't seem to be

much time at all

when they've relocated

in Moab

and she's left

with her two sons.

And then in verse four,

these two sons

take Moabite wives,

one named Orpah

and the other named Ruth.

Ruth, interestingly,

is a Hebrew name,

so it could have been a name

that was given to her.

Orpah,

which my computer

tried to autocorrect

to Oprah again

and again

and again.

the people of Israel

had been commanded

not to intermarry

with foreigners.

Not for ethnic purity,

I don't believe,

but because

of the potential

for idolatry.

Listen to this command

from Deuteronomy chapter seven,

verse two and following.

You shall make no covenant

with them

and show no mercy

to them.

You shall not intermarry

with them,

giving your daughters

to their sons

or taking their daughters

for your sons,

for they would turn away

your sons

from following me

to serve other gods.

Then the anger of the Lord

would be kindled against you

and he would destroy you

quickly.

They were commanded

not to intermarry

being compounded upon us.

Like,

think of Jewish readers

of this text.

They're saying

you had to move

from the land

that was promised to you

and then your husband dies

and then your sons

took foreign wives.

What tragedy

is being added upon

and added upon

here

in just these first

few verses.

Now,

some have said

that perhaps

these men died

because of this,

that it was a judgment

on them.

I'm not sure.

Certainly,

Naomi seems to think so

later on

in the text.

The way she's reading it

and understanding it.

Of interest,

the name Orpah

means stubborn.

Maybe she stays with her

for a bit

because she had decided to

and then she turns back

and the name Ruth

means friendship.

So,

Naomi now,

at this point

in our text,

has moved to another country,

a foreign land.

She's lost her husband.

Her sons

have married

Moabite

wives

and then added

to that

both Malon

and Chilion

die.

So,

verse 5 says,

the woman

was left

without her two sons

and her husband.

And I'm just

guessing at this point.

I don't know for sure.

But it seems to me

that the author

could have said

that Naomi

was left

without her two sons

and her husband

but doesn't use

the word

pleasant there

because we don't

want to see her

in a pleasant state.

Right?

Great

tragedy

upon tragedy.

The patristic laws

of the day

meant that

Naomi's livelihood

was tied

to that of her husband

and or

her sons.

So,

with all of them

gone

and hearing the news

that her hometown

is no longer

suffering a famine,

she decides

to return.

We discover

later that

she holds

the rights

of the land

of her husband

slash sons

if a relative

will redeem

the land

which we'll

talk a bit

more about

in the coming

weeks.

The first five

verses of this story,

what you need

to be clear about

are nothing

but

tragedy.

And note

how Naomi

feels

about this.

Look at

verse 19

through 21.

So the two

of them,

this is her

and Ruth,

went on

until they

came

to Bethlehem.

And when they

came to Bethlehem

the whole town

was stirred

because of them

and the woman

said,

is this

Naomi?

She's been

gone now

for years

and years

and so

they're abuzz

about this.

Is this

Naomi?

And her

response to

them is,

do not

call me

Naomi.

Do not

call me

pleasant.

Call me

Mara,

which means

bitter.

For the

Almighty

has dealt

very bitterly

with me.

I went

away full

and the

Lord has

brought me

back

empty.

Why

call me

Naomi

or pleasant

when the

Lord has

testified

against me

and the

Almighty

has brought

calamity

upon me.

Naomi

rightly

recognizes

God's

hand

in her

circumstances

but she

has failed

to remember

God's

promised

goodness.

No one

will argue

that the

loss of a

husband

and two

sons

is in

itself

a good.

But we

now have

the insight

an insight

that Naomi

didn't possess

that helps

us to

call this

a bitter

providence.

Naomi

doesn't call

it providence

at all

in chapter

one.

She is

just

embittered

toward God.

She herself

has become

bitter.

She arrives

home

weak

in faith.

I think

that each

of us

can relate

in some

measure

to Naomi.

You may

have

experienced

this

measure

of loss

or

something

near it.

You may

not be

able to

imagine

what this

kind of

loss

would feel

like.

Either way

in some

measure

we have

felt

what Naomi

feels

in the

phrase

I went

away

full

and the

Lord

has

mopped

me

back

empty.

Now

if you're

here

I think

most of

you resonate

you could

say yes

I have

felt this

way

at times

I have

at times

been embittered

toward God

and I have

been weak

in faith

perhaps you

have no

idea

and I will

just say

to you

and you're

probably a

young person

if that's

true

hang on

things are

going to

happen in

your life

they're going

to tempt

you to

turn away

and have

weak faith

and to

become

embittered

to

experience

things

and say

how could

this

thing

how could

this

possibly

be good

they can

be

beloved

because

God's

promises

are

sure

we need

a rich

we need

a thick

theology

of suffering

to bear up

in this

world

you will

at times

in your

life

have to

really

understand

God's

providence

you don't

need to be

told that

if you just

have enough

faith

the difficult

things in

your life

are going

to go

away

oh no

not at

all

you need

to be

told

that if

you have

enough

faith

you will

understand

that God

is working

all of

these trials

in your

life

for

your good

and his

glory

he is

working

for you

even

when the

providence

tastes

bitter

so hold

believe

persevere

one day

we will

all see

the full

reality

of his

purposes

for us

Paul says

that he

doesn't even

consider

current

suffering

worth

comparing

to the

eternal

weight

of glory

that's

going to

be revealed

to us

Thomas

Watson

the Puritan

preacher

once said

this is the

quotation on

your bulletin

this morning

God is to be

trusted

when his

providences

seem to run

contrary

to his

promises

so this is

a bitter

providence

that we see

in the life

of Ruth

excuse me

of Naomi

not

not meant

to embitter

Naomi

toward God

but it

is a

providence

that would

be

difficult

to bear

up

under

I'm so

grateful

that we

have the

fuller

view

of what

God

is doing

in these

affairs

so we

see a

bitter

providence

we also

see

in chapter

one

an

exceptional

faith

we turn

your attention

to verse

sixteen

and seventeen

so Orpah

has gone

back

returned to

her people

and to

her

people's

gods

but Ruth

says this

do not

urge me

to leave

you

or return

from following

you

for where

you go

I will

go

and where

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

may the

Lord

do so

to me

and more

also

if anything

but death

parts me

from you

may God

kill me

if anything

but death

parts me

from you

I suggest

to you

even though

we have

seen the

weakness

of Naomi's

faith

something

of her

faith

is compelling

to Ruth

across those

years that she

was part

of her family

perhaps

the journey

itself

something

about

Naomi's

faith

has

compelled

Ruth

to turn

her attention

to Yahweh

Ruth

has been

exposed

to the

worship

of Yahweh

in Naomi's

house

and we

see here

this expression

of desire

to worship

the God

of Israel

she declares

that Naomi's

God will be

her God

in verse 16

and then notice

in verse 17

she calls him

Lord

perhaps

just maybe

we witness

the conversion

of Naomi

in between

verse 16

and 17

as she is

being

pressed to

depart

and a

devotion

to Naomi

and Israel

and God

well up

inside her

perhaps

whether or not

that's what

happens here

we can

see her

faith

in this

text

so why

do I

call it

exceptional

well first

all faith

is exceptional

faith

because the

natural bend

of mankind

is not

towards God

but away

from him

we are all

born in sin

with the

inclination

to sin

this is the

direction

that every

one of us

is headed

in

all faith

is given

as a gift

therefore

all faith

is

exceptional

you or I

possess faith

this morning

we should

humbly

praise God

for it

because it

was given

to us

by him

additionally

in addition

to that

reality

Ruth

was a

Moabite

here

what

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 23 · chapter mention

chapter 23

and verse

3 says

concerning

her

no

Ammonite

or Moabite

may enter

the assembly

of the

Lord

even

to the

tenth

generation

none

of them

may enter

the

assembly

of the

Lord

forever

this was a

judgment

because of

what the

Ammonites

and the

Moabites

had done

they had

dealt

treacherously

with Israel

now I cannot

be sure

that Ruth

was familiar

with this

text

but I imagine

that she

was

she had

spent some

years

under the

tutelage

of Naomi's

house

exceptional

faith

no

Moabite

may enter

the assembly

of the

Lord

even

to the

tenth

generation

none

of them

forever

may enter

the assembly

of the

Lord

and yet

she declares

in verse

16

Naomi's

God

will be

my

God

and then

she calls

him

Lord

she

believed

she

believed

that

God

could

be

her

God

we

have

seen

that

God

sets

her

in the

middle

of his

redemptive

narrative

as the

great

grandmother

of King

David

he certainly

does

accept her

perhaps

even in

spite of

what her

former

husband

had done

he

grafts

her

in

to this

family

and does

a significant

thing

with her

she's the

great

grandmother

of King

David

and then

more clearly

in the line

of King

Jesus

and Matthew's

genealogy

of Jesus

and I think

you'll appreciate

flipping with me

to Matthew

Matthew 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

this is the

most extensive

genealogy

that we have

in the

gospel

accounts

I'm just

going to

read

one verse

and

half

of another

so Matthew

Matthew 1:5

chapter 1

verse 5

and then

verse 6

and we

see the

addition

of two

women

in verse 5

this

additional

piece

there's a

pattern

being followed

of so

and so

was the

father of

so and so

was the

father of

so and so

but then

we see

this addition

of who

their

wife

was

so verse 5

says

and Sammon

the father

of

Boaz

play prominently

in the book

of Ruth

by Rahab

who was

the Jericho

prostitute

who helped

the spies

in Joshua

6

and Boaz

the father

of Obed

by Ruth

and Obed

the father

of Jesse

and Jesse

the father

of David

the king

and then Matthew

goes on

to talk about

this is where

the Christ

this is the

lineage of

the Christ

and we see

this beautiful

insertion

of her

in this

genealogy

this Moabite

woman

should have

been outside

of the

graces

of God

God

kindly

brings

in

she expresses

her devotion

to Naomi

and comes

and says

your God

will be my

God

and she

calls him

Lord

exceptional

faith

isn't it

cool

that we

get to

zoom back

and see

the story

in its

entirety

and then

try to

understand

them

living

in

this

day

we see

an improper

application

of an

understanding

of God's

good promises

and his

sovereign work

in them

on behalf

of Naomi

she is

embittered

towards

God

glad to

see the

resolve

of the

story

even in

brief

this

morning

and then

we get to

view this

exceptional

faith

of Ruth

as she

travels

back

with

Naomi

to

Bethlehem

the

story

of

Ruth

is a

story

of

providence

unfolded

for our

good

and for

God's

glory

let's

pray

together