Always and Forever Love

you this morning to bring God's Word. As many of you have probably figured out at this point, I am

not Joel Smith, and we are not going to be in the Gospel of Mark. So we are going to be back in

in the book of Ruth. We're starting back in Ruth, Ruth chapter 1, verse 6. And as we come to this

Ruth 1:6

passage and I think of the circumstances of this week, I'm reminded of something that can happen

sometimes when someone is getting ordained. As many of you know, I recently went through the

trials of ordination, and part of that involves going forward in front of all the pastors in,

for me, Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming, and allowing them to ask whatever questions they want.

And I knew going in, and thankfully this didn't happen, but that someone might try to ask me a

question to trip me up. And one of the most famous ones is this. When you get to the church history

section, you'll have an older pastor get up, and he'll raise his hand, and he'll say,

who was the head of the church in the fifth century?

And the hope is that the candidate does not begin ringing through his brain to try to remember who

exactly was in charge in the first century. Because the answer in the fifth century is the same as the

21st. The head of the church is the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And so he is our shepherd,

whether we have a senior pastor candidate or not. He's always leading and providing and guiding for

his church. Last week we looked at Ruth chapter one, and we asked a big question. Is God still the king

when tragedy strikes? We could ask the question ourselves of this week, is God still the king

when we thought that there wasn't mold in our church? But there was. And is God still the king

when we thought that we had a new senior pastor and we don't? And the answer this week is the same as

last week. Yes. God is still the king. He's still leading and guiding and providing for his people.

And so we're right back in Ruth chapter one. Remember that Ruth is a book about suffering.

That God, as a wise and loving father, wants to tell us what it's like. He wants to prepare us for real

life in this world. And so he does that both for those who are suffering and those who are not.

For those who are suffering, this book is a book, remember, about widows, which is many of us.

And it's a book about those who live in a country where they weren't born, which is also many of us.

And it's also a book for people who live in a world that is broken and bleeding from sin.

And so that's all of us here this morning. Remember that I reminded us that if we're not suffering,

this book is a reminder for us that we will one day if we live long enough in this world.

And if we're not suffering, it's also a reminder for us that there are many around us right now.

We just have to look around the room who are.

And so God has given us his word to provide for us because he hasn't left us alone.

Like a good father, he's coming to speak to us in words that we can understand.

We're going to be in Ruth chapter one, looking at verses six through 18.

Remember that this is God's word.

And God tells us that his word is more precious than gold, even the finest gold.

And it is sweeter than honey, even honey that comes straight from the honeycomb.

And so we're going to turn to it now.

We're in Ruth chapter one, starting in verse six through verse 18.

Then she arose, that's Naomi, 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.

Verse nine.

The 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.

And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

Verse 15.

And she said,

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 I will 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.

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

Dear Father in heaven,

we thank you that you have a word that brings dead things to life.

And so we ask that you would do that this morning.

That you would use your word to bring us to life.

That you'd show us yourself.

And that you would cast a spotlight on Jesus Christ.

So that we could see him as more beautiful and more glorious than anything else.

We ask all these things in his name.

Amen.

If you were following the commentators and the pundits a couple years ago,

I think it was somewhere in 2016,

there was a columnist who had what she believed was a brilliant idea.

And many others picked up on this idea and started commenting it on themselves,

wondering if it would be a great solution to a problem.

And her suggestion was this.

Why don't we treat our marriages more like car leases?

Why don't we have term marriages?

Why don't we have a 10-year marriage?

And then after the 10 years,

a couple can reconsider whether they want to stay married.

In the minds of this columnist,

this was going to solve many of the problems that people face today.

Because they could decide after 10 years

whether they were still fulfilled.

Whether they were still getting what they want

out of the commitments they made.

And it highlights something that all of us know,

which is that commitment is hard.

And it involves suffering.

And it highlights a temptation that each of us face as well.

That when the going gets hard,

it's easier to go than to stay.

When the going gets hard,

it's easier to go than to stay.

And so,

what is a commitment worth

if it's only for the good times?

What is a commitment worth

if it's only for when you're fulfilled

and not for when you have to sacrifice?

That's a question we're going to see in this passage before us.

Remember that we'd seen last week

that Ruth and Naomi had faced tremendous, tremendous suffering.

What was for Ruth,

excuse me,

for Naomi,

a foreign country.

And so they had heard in verse 6

that the Lord had visited his people

back in their homeland of Israel.

And so they were on their way back,

on the journey back.

And for whatever reason,

Naomi and her two daughter-in-laws

accompany her.

Remember,

she has both Ruth and Orpah.

Judah,

and they're going back with her.

And we see this in verse 7.

So they 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.

And then Naomi reveals something to us

that we hadn't known about her character.

And that is that she would have made

an excellent lawyer.

Because Naomi decides

she is going to present

an irrefutable,

an inescapable,

watertight case

for why Orpah

and Ruth

should go back.

Did you notice

what the most repeated words

were here in this passage?

It's go,

go back,

return.

And it's Naomi

over and over

telling her daughter-in-laws

why they should not

stay with her.

And the argument

actually makes sense.

because there's nothing

they have to gain

by sticking with Naomi.

She blesses them in verse 8.

May the Lord deal kindly with you

as you have dealt with me

in the dead.

And she acknowledges

in verse 9

that just like her,

they are widows as well.

And so their best chance

of remarriage

is going to be

going back to their home country.

That's going to be the place

where they're going to find

what she calls in verse 9,

rest.

And of course they protest

in verse 10,

no, we're going to stay with you.

Maybe some of this

is their emotion still

from the suffering

that they've gone through together.

Maybe some of it's

out of politeness,

but they're not willing

to give up too easily.

And so she just keeps arguing.

She says in verse 11,

I can't give you any sons.

And even if I were

to have a son now,

would you wait all the way

until they grew up?

Would you wait that long

to be fulfilled?

Would you wait that long

to get what you need?

No.

And then in 13,

she lays down the hammer.

For it is exceedingly bitter

to me for your sake

that the hand of the Lord

has gone out against me.

In other words,

if you stay with me,

the Lord's curse

that has fallen on me

is going to fall on you as well.

We'll talk more about Naomi

and her interpretation

of events next week.

But here,

in terms of the daughters-in-law,

we can see that she has delivered

an excellent case.

There is nothing wrong

with Naomi's argument.

And then Orpah realizes that.

In some ways,

Orpah's the sensible character here.

She makes a decision

that she can defend,

that Naomi can defend,

that makes sense for her

to return back to her own country

and her own people.

But it says in verse 14

that Ruth does something

very different.

Did you catch the word

that's used?

It says,

she clung to her.

The word clung here

is the same word

that shows up

in Genesis chapter 2

Genesis 2 · chapter mention

when the author of Genesis

is telling us

what should happen

between a husband and a wife

if they cling to each other.

And so it's not just telling us

that Ruth

is giving Naomi a hug.

but it's telling us

that no matter what,

in spite of

all the arguments,

she is going

to stick with her.

She is going

to stay

with her mother-in-law

no matter what.

And she's going

to stay with her

not because of anything

she, it seems,

has to gain.

It says,

for where you will 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 else

but death

parts me

from you.

Now,

in the ancient Near East

when you took an oath,

you took an oath

in the name

not of someone else's God

but of your God.

And so here,

Ruth is saying,

I am embracing

not just you

but I am embracing

the true God.

Orpah can go back

to the Baals

and Chemosh,

the false gods

that were found

in Moab

but I'm going to be

with you

and I'm going to

accept your God.

Why does she do it?

What does she know

about the Lord?

It's hidden a little bit

but it's all the way back

in verse 8.

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.

And we skip over it

in our English translations

because the word

kindly here

only begins

to express

what's going on here.

This is the word

in Hebrew

that's called

hesed.

It's a description

of the type of love

that God has.

And it's such

an overwhelming

kind of love

that it's hard

even to begin

to give a definition

of it.

I read recently

someone trying

to define

this hesed love

and they gave

ten bullet points

with multiple sentences

to try to explain

what type of love

this is.

And so what do you do

when you come

against an overwhelming

definition?

Well, if you're a teacher,

you know.

You find something

written for children.

And so the best

definition I can give you

of hesed love

comes from

the academic volume

known as

the Jesus Storybook Bible.

And it describes

hesed love

in this way.

It is God's

never stopping,

never giving up,

unbreaking,

always and forever

love.

It is God's

never stopping,

never giving up,

unbreaking,

always and forever

love.

So let's read

verse 8 again.

But Naomi said

to her two daughters-in-law,

Go, return each of you

to her mother's house.

May the Lord

show you

his never stopping,

never giving up,

unbreaking,

always and forever

love,

as you have shown

to the dead

and to me.

So why

does Ruth

here

convert?

Why does she

claim this Lord

as her Lord?

Because she knows

the kind of Lord

he is.

And she knows

the kind of love

that he has

for his people.

She knows

that he has

a never stopping,

never giving up,

unbreaking,

always and forever

love.

But she doesn't

just know that

for herself.

It's because

of that

that she shows

the exact

same love,

the very

same love

to Naomi.

It's because

for whatever reason,

living with this

Israelite family,

married to an

Israelite husband,

somehow,

in some way,

Ruth has learned

about the ways

of the Lord.

And so she

is not willing

to give up

even against

the best

arguments.

arguments.

She's not

willing to

give up

even against

the best

arguments.

But she

doesn't just

commit to

Naomi.

Excuse me,

she doesn't just

commit to

the Lord.

She commits

to Naomi

as well.

Because she

understands that

a commitment

to follow

this Lord,

this Lord of

never stopping,

never giving up,

unbreaking,

always and forever

love,

means that as

she receives

that love,

she shows

the same

love to

others.

And so the

love that she

understands comes

from the Lord,

she is now

showing to

Naomi.

She's committing.

I began by

asking about

highlighting the

difference between

love that is

focused on

self-fulfillment,

love that leaves

when the going

gets hard,

and love that

is on

self-sacrifice.

And it would

be hard to

find a

better example

in the Bible

than this,

of love that

is self-sacrificing

rather than

seeking

self-fulfillment.

And so as

we're talking

about suffering

together,

as we're trying

to say something

about suffering,

knowing that we

cannot say

everything,

Ruth shows

us that

faith means

commit to

those who

suffer,

even when

we have

nothing to

gain.

Faith means

that we

commit to

those who

suffer,

even when

we have

nothing to

gain.

Now,

walking with

those who

suffer involves

sacrifice.

And walking

with those who

suffer means

that we will

suffer as well.

Walking with

those who

suffer involves

sacrifice and

it means that

we will

suffer as

well.

And yet we

do it.

We're able and

willing to show

never stopping,

never giving up,

unbreaking,

always and forever

love,

because we

serve a God

who has done

that for us.

That's what Ruth

is doing here

for Naomi.

me.

And so a

commitment to

the Lord

is a

commitment,

first of all,

to a Savior

who has

suffered,

but it's also

a commitment

to people

who suffer.

Remember I

said that you're

surrounded by

people in this

room who are

suffering,

even if you're

not.

And so all

you have to

do is look

around and

see people who

need your

commitment and

your love and

your care.

remember that

this is a

book about

widows.

And part of

God's chesed

love throughout

the Old

Testament is

his commitment

to the

widow,

because they

are the

most vulnerable.

And so

there's many

applications that

we could draw

from this

passage.

We could draw

those that are

general and

those that are

broad.

The most

specific would

be, though,

this very

thing, the

care for the

widow that

God cares so

much about.

the care for

the widow that

God cares so

much about.

We could

extend it to

anyone who is

experiencing

tremendous loss

and those who

have suffered,

that God's

family is for

them not just

a pie-in-the-sky

hope, but it's

the kind of hope

that has flesh

and blood.

I've been so

encouraged by

all of you.

it's not a

coincidence that

this past week

as I was

preparing to

teach and try

to understand

this passage

that not once

but twice,

without even

trying to,

accidentally,

I found out

about several

of you who

week in,

week out,

day in,

day out,

have committed

to caring for

those in our

church who are

suffering,

those in our

church who are

experiencing loss.

and I found

this out not

necessarily because

those who

suffer told me,

excuse me,

not because those

who are caring

told me,

but because I

heard about it

from those who

are suffering.

And so,

brothers and

sisters,

I'm so encouraged

by you and the

ways that you

are doing

exactly this.

And so,

let's,

as Paul encourages,

stir that up

more and more

to remember,

as those who

have lost someone

will tell us,

often it feels

like they're

allowed one

week or one

month to

grieve.

And then,

suddenly,

everything's

supposed to be

normal again.

And yet,

you know,

if you've

walked that

path,

that it's

something that

lasts for

years.

It's something

that happens

on anniversaries.

Something that

happens on

holidays.

It's something

that requires

this kind of

love for us

to come alongside

of each other,

to show each

other unbreaking,

never stopping,

never giving up

kind of love.

Now,

don't hear what

I'm not saying.

I'm not saying

we don't have

boundaries.

Ruth committed

to one widow.

She didn't commit

to every widow.

And in fact,

Jesus makes the

same point in Luke.

He says that

Elijah could have,

in the Old Testament,

remember,

Elijah came and

helped a widow.

He could have

gone to so many

widows,

but he chose one.

So,

I'm not saying

don't have

boundaries.

I'm not saying

you're not a

limited human

being with

limited resources,

but I am

saying

come alongside.

Come alongside

of each other.

Let's come

alongside of each

other,

not for a week,

not for a month,

but the rest of

the time we're

here together.

I'll give you

a few practical

suggestions that

folks have shared

with me about

things that are

helpful.

people.

If you know

someone and

their spouse or

someone else

passes away and

dies, mark that

on your calendar

for the next

year.

Put a reminder

on your phone

for every year

when that date

comes around.

Send them a

text.

Don't say,

call me if you

need anything.

Make the call.

Hey, would you

like to come

over and join

us for dinner?

Hey, I'm going

shopping.

Can you come

with me?

I bet when you

showed up this

morning you

weren't hoping

to hear about

going shopping

with someone.

So you hear

from the pulpit.

That is part

of the Christian

life.

Inviting people

to go shopping

with you and

over to your

house for dinner

is part of the

Christian life.

And so as we're

walking through

as a congregation

together talking

about what it is

like to suffer,

we're not just

speaking to those

who are suffering

and have suffered,

but to all of us.

That we would

become wise.

Wise not just to

prepare for the

suffering that we

face and not just

to prepare for the

suffering that we

will face, but to

be wise to know

how to care and

love for each

other.

It was Jim

Franks who said

this morning that

the one another

passages are

especially important.

And what he was

talking about is

the passages where

Paul says,

love one another

as Christ has

loved you.

And so we see

then that there

is an answer to

the self-fulfillment

view of

relationships.

There's an answer

to the ten-year

marriage.

The ten-year

commitment.

And it's the

self-sacrificial

view of

relationships.

There are all

sorts of examples

that I could give

you.

The one that

stands out in my

mind is about a

man that I think

many of you

actually may have

heard of.

His name is

Robertson

McQuilkin.

And in the

late 1970s,

early 1980s,

he realized that

his wife was not

able to remember

quite as much as

she had been able

to remember

before.

And slowly,

little by little,

she wasn't able to

do as much as

she'd been able to

do before.

He was the

president of a

prominent and

flourishing

college and

university.

He had tremendous

success before him

in his past that he

could point to,

and tremendous

success ahead of

him.

And he began to

talk with the

board of trustees

about what it

would look like

for him to step

down and care

for his wife.

In 1990,

Christianity Today

ran an article

about his decision

that year to

step down to

begin becoming

the full caretaker

for his wife.

And in 1996,

they ran a

follow-up article

because there had

been so much

response to the

sacrifices that he

had made.

He was featured

on Family Life

Today in a

four-part series,

and then after

his wife passed

away in 2004,

Christianity Today

came back and

did a final

interview with

him.

Because this was

a man who had

friends all around

him saying,

you don't need

to do this.

She won't know

the difference.

And you have a

successful career

still ahead of you.

You're still in

your 50s.

You still have so

much to do.

And yet Robertson

McQuilkin chose

self-sacrifice

over self-fulfillment.

And in that,

people again and

again, he wrote a

book actually, if

you want to learn

more, I wish I

could tell you more

and more about him

this morning if we

had time.

He wrote a book

called A Promise

Kept, if you're

interested and you

can find all sorts

of things about him

on the internet.

But in the final

interview that

Christianity Today

did with him in

2004, they asked

him this question.

What did caring

for your wife teach

you about the

Christian life?

He said this,

I would love her,

but she could not

love me back.

And that is a

painful thing.

As I was leaning

over her one day,

I thought, Lord,

is that the way it

is between you and

me?

You pouring out

your love and care

so consciously,

and what do you

get back?

A brief salute

in the morning,

we connect,

grumbling when I

don't get what I

want, when you

don't do it the

way I like.

How sad.

Sad for him.

Do you hear what

he said at the

beginning?

I would love her,

but she couldn't

love me back.

And that is a

painful thing.

Brothers and

sisters, it is in

Romans chapter 5,

Romans 5:8

verse 8, that Paul

tells us that while

we were still

sinners, Christ

died for us.

When there was

nothing that he

could gain, when

he could not be

fulfilled, he

chose for us an

act not of

self-fulfillment,

but of self-sacrifice,

so that he could

show us never

giving up,

never stopping,

unbreaking,

always and forever

love.

And so, because

Christ has

suffered with and

for us,

we can join,

commit to, and

walk with those

who have suffered.

Lord, please pray

with me.

Dear Father in

Heaven, we

thank you that

you are a

suffering Savior,

that you've

suffered for us,

and that you,

even when we have

nothing to give

you, even when

we're dead in our

sins, you come

to us with

never stopping,

never giving up,

unbreaking,

always and forever

love.

we ask that

you would remind

us of that this

morning, that you'd

pour your spirit

into our hearts to

be able to do

what we could not

do without you,

and that is to

walk here, like

Ruth, with Naomi,

with those who

suffer, that we

would be able to

show to others the

same love that you

have shown to us.

We ask all these

things in the name

of your Son.

Amen.