Full to Empty

Good morning. It's my joy to bring God's Word to you again today. A reminder that we're in a series on the book of Ruth,

and we are going to be starting here again in Ruth chapter 1, finishing the chapter at verses 19 through 22.

Ruth 1 · chapter mention

I was reminded this week as I spoke with several of you, you shared with me how challenging it is at times to listen to the story of Ruth.

Because as we've talked about, it's a book about suffering, and so for many of us, it brings up memories that are hard and sometimes difficult,

perhaps memories that we would rather not think about if we didn't have to.

And it also got me thinking that some of us grew up in families where hard things were never talked about.

And I was reminded that here, as God's family, we have to talk about hard things.

We have to talk about suffering and the things that happen to us in this world because that is the reality of life.

It's the reality of life in a world that has been broken by sin.

That we live in a place that is bleeding and broken because of the results of our rebellion against God.

And so we want to talk about hard things, not because we enjoy them, but because we know, remember,

we've talked about that God, as a loving Father, longs for us to be wise.

He longs for us to be wise and prepared for the things that will face us as we walk as his children in this world.

And so if you're suffering right now, remember that this book is for you.

It's a reminder of how God thinks about suffering.

And it's a reminder of his steadfast love to us in the midst of it.

And if you're not suffering, remember that if you live in this world long enough, you will one day.

And if you're not suffering right now, all you need to do is look around the room, people beside you and in front of you and behind you.

And you will see people that are suffering right now.

And so as God's people together, as one community, as one family, we want to be able to talk about hard things.

Because God has given us the opportunity to do that in his word.

And so again, we're in Ruth chapter 1, starting at verse 19.

Ruth 1 · chapter mention

Remember that God tells us that his word is more precious than gold.

Even the finest gold.

And that it is sweeter than honey.

Even honey that comes straight from the honeycomb.

And so we're going to go there right now.

We're in Ruth chapter 1, starting at verse 19.

Ruth 1 · chapter mention

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, her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab.

And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.

Please pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word.

Dear Father in heaven,

We thank you that you are a good and loving Heavenly Father.

And so you haven't left us alone as orphans in a merciless universe.

But you've come and you've spoken to us

in words and ways that we can actually understand.

And so we ask that you would come and help us this morning.

That you would clear our minds.

That you would open our eyes.

That you would unstop our ears.

And that you would soften our hearts.

That we could see and hear and believe and understand

everything that is written about you in your word.

We ask this in the name of your Son.

Amen.

If you remember several years ago in February of 2015,

if you were watching popular culture even a little bit,

you are familiar with what is now known as the dress.

And if you remember the dress,

it was an image that showed up on the internet of this one dress from Europe

that was unlike any other picture of any other dress.

Because depending on who you were,

you saw one of two different things.

When some people looked at the dress,

they saw a dress that was blue and black.

And when other people looked at the very same picture,

they saw a dress that was white and gold.

And so it became this internet fascination

as people tweeted and retweeted and posted

about which of the two they could actually see.

And there was debate about

which was the true color of the dress.

And why was it that people were so confused?

About 70% of people would see,

I believe it was the blue and the black,

30% the white or the gold.

I might have that backwards.

You might have to flip that number.

But it wasn't even half and half.

And so it was even more confusing

why some people would see one and some the other.

The story highlights an issue

that we're going to see in this passage as well,

that we can look at the very same thing.

Two people can look at the same event,

the same situation, the same facts,

and come up with a very, very different interpretation.

We can look at the same situation

and come up with a very, very different interpretation.

And if you follow the story of the dress,

which became its own hashtag,

if you want to look it up,

you can just search hashtag the dress.

And scientists tried to figure out

why it was that people saw such different things.

And I don't think it's completely conclusive even now,

but part of it is that this picture was unique

because it was challenging to understand the circumstances.

Was the picture taken outside or inside?

Was it taken in natural light or fluorescent light?

And because it wasn't clear,

different people's minds answered that question

in different ways.

And based on the assumptions,

based on the interpretations that were made,

your mind, without even realizing it,

came to a conclusion.

Took incomplete data and came to a complete conclusion.

We're going to see the same issue happening with Naomi.

Naomi has a set of very challenging circumstances

in front of her.

And she's not completely sure what's going on.

In fact, we might even say she's decided

based on incomplete information what is going on.

She doesn't know the whole story.

She doesn't know exactly what's happening,

why it's happening,

but she has decided to come to a conclusion.

We see in the past,

we know that she had left her homeland.

She left the land of Israel to go to the land of Moab

because there had been a famine.

And while there,

she had lost not only her husband,

but her two sons.

And so we saw in our first week,

in verses 1 through 6,

that even when tragedy strikes,

God is still in charge.

And then we saw last week in verses 6 through 18

that when tragedy strikes,

it's the responsibility of God's people

to come alongside each other.

But here the question is a little bit different.

It's not the question of whether God's in charge.

And it's not the question of whether or how

we should come along those who are suffering.

But instead it's the question of whether God is good.

Whether he's loving.

Whether he's still with us in the midst of suffering

or he's abandoned us.

And so it's not a question about his control,

about what he can do.

In fact, Naomi's going to refer to him here in verse 21

as the Almighty.

She knows that God has all the power.

The question is,

why has he not used it

in a different way?

She comes back to the town of Bethlehem in verse 19.

Remember we saw in our very first week in Ruth

that Naomi had heard that the famine

that had caused her to leave her homeland was over.

And she was heading back with her daughters-in-law

in hopes that there would actually be a place

for food there in her homeland.

And as she comes back,

remember we know that she's been gone for over 10 years.

Because we found out in verse 4

that after the marriage of her sons,

they lived in Moab 10 years before their death.

And so we can understand the surprise and the shock

of other women in the town in verse 18 and 19.

As she comes back, they say,

is this actually Naomi?

It's been over a decade since they've seen her.

And they're experiencing the same reality that she is,

that when she left,

she had a husband.

And when she came back,

she did not.

And so is this the same person

with such a dramatic change in circumstances?

Is this Naomi?

We talked a couple weeks ago

about the importance of names.

Remember the name of Elimelech meant,

my God is king.

The name of Naomi

means pleasant.

It's another irony of names

in the midst of this story.

And she says,

do not call me Naomi,

so do not call me pleasant.

Call me Mara.

Because she no longer feels pleasant,

instead she feels

the meaning of Mara.

You might see a note in your Bible there

that it means bitter.

And so because of the circumstances in her life,

she who was pleasant

is now bitter.

Her response

to the events

is one of bitterness.

And we find out why

in that same verse,

in verse 20.

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 don't call me pleasant.

Call me bitter.

Because once I was full,

but now I'm empty.

Have you ever felt like

you have gone from

full

to empty?

It might be

a photo album

emptiness.

For some of us,

when we look back

at photo albums,

we see pictures of

people who are

no longer with us.

Maybe it's pictures

that are not even

in photo albums,

but frames in our house

that remind us

of what once was,

but isn't anymore.

Maybe it's not pictures

of people who were

once with us,

maybe it's pictures

of people that are.

Maybe you're a parent,

and you look back

at pictures of your children

when they were young,

and you see smiles

on their faces,

and you see them

playing so well together,

and you wonder,

where did those smiles go?

And why can't they

get along anymore?

Why two decades,

three decades later,

have things changed

so much?

Maybe you have

pictures together

of you as a family,

and you used to spend

time in holidays,

and you see those,

and then you think,

why now?

Why now do I only

receive an email

sometimes?

And even then,

it's not always

a kind one.

Maybe it's not

a photo album

emptiness.

Maybe you once

had work that you

felt was purposeful

and powerful.

people called you

with questions,

and they wanted

answers,

but your phone

doesn't ring anymore.

Maybe it's a

financial fullness.

Maybe when things

broke in your house,

there was a time

when you would

just fix it.

You would just

buy a new one.

You wouldn't ask

any questions

because it wasn't

a problem.

But now you wonder

how you're going

to scrape together

the money that you

need for the

problems that you

have.

Maybe it's your body.

You used to be able

to do all sorts of

things and all kinds

of energy you had.

And now you wonder,

where did all that

energy go?

Where am I going

to get the energy

that I need for the

tasks that are ahead

of me?

Wherever you are

in life,

I think many of us

can resonate

with Naomi here.

There's places

where we have felt

full that we are

now empty.

And so that's

where the dress

becomes so important.

How do we

interpret

going from

full to

empty

when we don't

have all the

information?

how are we

going to

interpret

going from

full to

empty?

We see the

answer that

Naomi has

here.

Remember I

noted last week

that she could

have had a

career as a

lawyer.

She does the

same thing

in verse

21.

You notice

the nouns

and the verbs

here.

I went

away

full.

full.

But the

Lord

brought me

back empty.

I went

away full

but the

Lord brought

me back

empty.

So the

fullness

Naomi is

giving to

herself

but the

emptiness

to the

Lord.

And there's

a sense

in which

she's right

in the

sense that

God is

sovereign over

everything.

He controls

the whole

world.

But she

goes beyond

that because

she uses

legal language

here.

the Lord

has testified

against me

and the

Almighty has

brought calamity

on me.

And so it

seems as if

Naomi is

giving an

indirect accusation

against God

here.

That somehow

he has brought

her to court.

He's testified

against her

and he's

decided that

she has been

found wanting.

That he's

going to bring

suffering into

her life

perhaps because

of some

way that she's

failed.

Something she's

done that

is wrong.

She believes

that God

is against

her.

There was a

time when

God was

perhaps for

her but

now he's

dealt her

this hand and

he's dealt

it to her

in such a

way that she

can't even

address him.

You notice

that she

doesn't cry

out to God.

She doesn't

even say

what the

psalmist

says in

Psalm 13.

She doesn't

say how

long oh

Lord.

She doesn't

say why

God.

She speaks

about him

in the

third

person that

he has

done this

to her.

It sounds

in a sense

that either

she believes

that God

has given

her what

she doesn't

deserve or

he has

given her

what she

does deserve

but she

doesn't

know why.

There was

a courtroom

there was

a scene

in which

she was

tried but

she wasn't

even there

to defend

herself.

She wasn't

there to

know what

her crime

was.

So she

fills in

the blanks.

She

fills in

the blanks

for the

information

that she

doesn't

know.

And we

do the

same thing

as well

do we

not?

Perhaps

we've

experienced

suffering

and we

believe that

like Naomi

God is

actually

against us.

That we

have some

secret sin

that we're

unaware of

he's

opposed us

for it.

And it's

important at

this point

to differentiate

between different

types of

suffering.

There is

suffering in

this world

that is the

result of

sin.

There are

times where

we suffer

direct

consequences

for things

that we

have done.

There's

times we

suffer for

things that

other people

have done.

And then

there's times

we suffer

just from

the general

sin and

brokenness

that is in

this world.

And there's

no indication

here in this

passage that

Naomi has

done anything

wrong.

There's no

indication that

she has

sinned in

some way to

bring this

on her.

But instead

this is a

child of

God who

is struggling

to understand,

struggling to

interpret what

is going on

in her world.

And so

perhaps some

of us have

decided that,

that God's

against us.

There are

some of us

who have

decided perhaps

this means

that God

doesn't exist

anymore.

Or that if

he does,

he's not worth

worshiping.

He's not worth

coming to church

for.

That if God

has taken us

from full

to empty,

then why

should we

sing his

praises?

perhaps some

of us

have decided

that God

is sovereign

and so we're

not allowed

to grieve.

We're Romans

828 kind of

people.

We say God

works all

things together

for good.

And so I'm

not going to

try to interpret

this.

I'm just going

to move on.

And there's

some truth to

that.

That's true.

But we also

need to balance

Romans 828

with Psalms

like Psalm 13

where the

psalmist cries

out and says,

how long,

O Lord?

How long

are you going

to forget

me?

That it's

right to

cry out to

God and

tell him

that we're

in pain.

We need

to balance

Romans 828

with Psalm

88,

which is the

psalm of lament

where the

psalmist cries

out to God

and it's the

one psalm of

lament that

doesn't end

with crying

out praises.

Instead it

ends with

friends forgetting

and abandoning.

There's all

kinds of

different ways

that we

respond to

suffering.

So don't

hear what I'm

not saying.

God is

sovereign and

in control

and we

take comfort

in that.

But it's

also good

and right

to cry

out to

him,

to argue

with him,

to ask

him why.

Here Naomi

seems to have

already decided.

Perhaps we

respond like

Naomi in

that we're

bitter.

Bitterness

is deciding

that what

has happened

to us

is unjust.

We don't

deserve it.

And that is

going to be

the focus

of the rest

of our

life.

You can

spot a

bitter person

from a

mile away

not just

because they

lack joy

but because

their bitterness

has become

the thing

that is most

true about

them.

When you

meet them

they're quick

to tell you

about every

bad thing

that's happened

to them.

when they

walk around

all they

can repeat

to themselves

is what's

been done

to them.

Every

unjust

thing that's

happened

and we

see that

becomes

this self

focus.

Naomi

shows this

to us.

She can't

see anything

else that's

going on

around her

because this

bitterness

has consumed

her completely.

It's all

about me

for Naomi

in this

moment.

and it

would be

tempting

to just

criticize her

for that.

And yet

any of us

who have

suffered

something

like this

know how

challenging

it is

in the

moment

to focus

on anything

else.

Maybe

for some

of us

it's not

an

interpretation

but a

lack

of

interpretation.

We've

decided

we're

never

going to

look at

photo albums

again.

so that

we don't

have to

think

about it

and we

don't

have to

face it.

Maybe

we bury

ourselves

in

activities.

We keep

ourselves

so busy

that we

don't have

to think

about it.

We don't

have to

contemplate

going from

full

to empty.

Maybe

for some

of us

we found

ways

to numb

it.

It's

easier

to

have

another

drink,

to take

a drug,

worse

than it

is to

face

the

pain

of

this

world.

And so

this question

of interpretation

stands before

all of us.

When tragedy

strikes,

how are we

going to

make sense

of it?

How do we

interpret

what feels

like at times

swirling

waters

around us?

Remember

we asked

before,

is God

still the

king?

is he

still in

charge?

When the

land of

bread has

no bread

and God

is my

king,

is dead.

We saw

yes,

God is

still the

king,

he's still

in charge.

But here

is God

still good?

Is he

against me?

Has he

forgotten

me?

Is he a

king that's

still in

charge,

but a

king that

is distant

and removed

and far

away?

And so

maybe that's

our response,

that's our

interpretation,

it's anger

at God.

We've

decided that

it wasn't

fair,

it's not

the way

our life

was supposed

to go,

and so

we have

this belief

that God

owes us

something,

and he

hasn't

delivered.

I believe

the dress

was actually

blue and

black.

that there

were some

people who

saw the

correct

interpretation

and some

who saw

the wrong

one,

based on

what they

filled in

with the

data.

One

interesting

thing that

I read

was that

people who

are night

owls and

people who

are early

morning people

have a

tendency to

see it

differently.

Early

risers have

a tendency

to see it

as white

and gold,

and people

who stay

up late

at night

have a

tendency to

see it

as blue

and black,

because those

people have

trained their

eyes to

different types

of light.

So if you

get up early

in the morning

you're more

likely to

assume that

light is

natural light,

and if you

stay up at

night you're

more likely

to assume

it's not.

And based

on what your

mind assumes

you're going

to fill in

that data.

And so

the question

is what's

true and

what's false?

false.

Let's look

again at

Naomi's

statements

here in

this passage.

What's

true and

what's

false?

What's

true is

verse 20.

God is

almighty.

God is

in charge

and in

control of

all things.

Naomi gets

one thing

right,

and the

one thing

she gets

right is

that God

is in

control of

everything.

He is

the almighty.

But she

gets a lot

wrong as

well.

She says

here that

God is

against her,

that he

has dealt

bitterly with

her, and

that he

has brought

her back

empty.

And yet

what else

does Naomi

have?

Remember

we saw

in verse

six that

coincidentally,

or maybe

not so

coincidentally,

just as she

needed to

return,

that's when

the famine

ended in

Israel.

And even

though she

told her

daughters-in-law

to go

back,

God

provided

Ruth for

her.

That God

in his

never stopping,

never giving

up, always

and forever

love,

had provided

Ruth to

show that

same love

to her.

And so

when she

comes back,

she's not

coming back

by herself.

We see

even more

hints here

as well,

because it

tells us

in verse

22,

so Naomi

returned,

and Ruth,

the Moabite,

her daughter-in-law,

with her,

who returned

from the

country of

Moab.

Remember

Ruth?

She was a

Moabite,

not an

Israelite.

and yet

she returned

with Naomi.

And Naomi

has two

problems,

one that

she is

defenseless,

but another

that she's

without food.

And how

does this

chapter

end?

And they

came to

Bethlehem,

the house

of bread,

at the

beginning

of barley

harvest.

of all

the times

that Naomi

could have

come back,

a woman

without

resources

for food,

she comes

back by

God the

Almighty's

providence

in a time

when food

is plentiful.

And as we'll

see in the

next chapter,

this is the

time and the

opportunity

when widows

would be able

to glean

and gather

food from

the fields

without charge.

And so Naomi

has experienced

tremendous

tragedy,

but she

is not

completely

empty.

And God

is not

against her.

In fact,

it is God

in the midst

of all of

this who is

providing and

guiding and

leading Naomi.

And in the

midst of her

self-focus,

and in the

midst of her

bitterness,

God meets

her not

with the

curse she

expects.

He meets

her not

with a

word of

rebuke

for her

unbelief.

He meets

her not

with turning

his face

away from

her.

But God

meets Naomi

in the midst

of her

suffering

with his

grace.

Because God

is not

against her,

but for

her.

he hasn't

given up

on her,

but he's

remembered

her.

Even

when she

can't

see it.

When I was

growing up,

my,

remember I

started a couple

weeks ago by

asking,

why do your

parents tell

you stories?

stories.

When I was

growing up,

my dad would

tell us stories

about his

time as a

Boy Scout.

And the

one that

stuck with me

maybe the

most is he

shared with us

about the

time when he

had to get

his lifeguard

merit badge,

his water

merit badge.

And he

learned about

the reality

of trying

to rescue

someone who's

drowning.

And he

told us that

when someone

is drowning,

their perception

of reality

is skewed.

And that

when you try

to rescue

them,

they'll push

you away.

In their

flailing,

in their

desperation,

they're

tempted to

believe that

the lifeguard

is not for

them,

but against

them.

And so if

you want to

be an

effective

lifeguard,

you actually

have to

approach from

behind so

that someone

who's drowning

can't see

you.

Because

otherwise,

what may

happen is

that both

you and

them will

go down.

Because they're

not going to

help you in

the midst of

that.

Because

overwhelmed by

the threat

that's in

front of them

and the

struggle that's

right before

them, in

the middle

of them,

they're

surrounded by

water.

That's all

they can see.

they can't

understand that

this person

who's come

to them is

trying to

help them.

Brothers and

sisters,

when it

feels like we

are drowning

in life,

it is our

temptation to

push God

away from

us.

But God,

in the middle

of all of it,

showing us

his grace,

is actually

the one

coming to

help us

reach the

top.

God is

the one

who is

coming to

rescue,

even when

it seems

like it's

the opposite.

And so we

began with

this question,

is God

still good

in the midst

of suffering?

is he still

for us?

One pastor

asks this

very question

and he

answers it

this way.

He says,

we don't

know why

God allows

these things

to happen,

but we

know why

not.

We know

it's not

because he's

given up on

us.

And we

know it's

not because

he doesn't

love us.

And the

reason we

know is

that when

we doubt,

we can

look and

see that

he put

his very

son on

the cross

to die

the death

that we

deserved

and to

endure more

suffering

than he

will ever

ask us

to do.

And so

when we're

drowning,

when it

feels like

everything around

us is sinking,

we can

know and

believe and

trust that

it is God

who is

helping us

come to

the top.

Please pray

with me.

Dear

Father in

heaven,

we thank

you that

in the

midst of

our

temptation

to

bitterness

and our

temptation

to despair,

fear,

that you

don't hold

it against

us,

and that

even when

we take

our eyes

off of

you,

you never

take your

eyes off

of us.

We ask

that you'd

remind us

of it,

you'd

encourage

us,

and you'd

enable us

more and

more to

see you

and to

praise you

and to

know you,

even in

the midst

of difficult

circumstances.

We ask

all these

things in

the name

of your

son.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.