When Tragedy Strikes

it's my joy to be with you all again to bring God's word to you we're going to be starting a

new sermon series in the book of Ruth and that's all I'm going to say at this moment before I

introduce the book I want to start with a question this question is specifically for the kids among

us now this is a silent question so I'm just asking you to think you don't have to say anything

out loud but my question is this why do your parents read out loud to you

why do your parents read out loud to you why do they take time sometimes to share stories with

you some that are old from their own childhood and some perhaps that are new that they didn't know

when they were your age there's a lot of different answers we could think of perhaps some of it's just

the joy of being together and sharing a quiet time outside of all the rush of life perhaps some of it's

the excitement that we get from the idea of a journey and a challenge but I hope among all of

that there's another reason as well and it's true both for children and adults who read stories and

it's this that when we read a story we get to experience things that we ourselves have never done

and especially when we're young it's an opportunity for us to learn about places and people and things

that otherwise we wouldn't know about and most importantly it's a chance for us to become wise

that as your parents read stories to you they're hoping that as you hear about the mistakes of a

character you are learning without having to suffer the consequences yourselves and that as you read about

their successes you are able to see the result of things like hard work and perseverance and so it's out of

your parents love for you that they want you to become wise wiser than your years that they read stories to you

now we as adults often read stories for the same reason it's important for us to know things about

people and cultures that we would not otherwise encounter but as we grow we sometimes read stories

not to know about people who've experienced things differently than us but to read about people who've

experienced the same thing so that we know as we go through something in life that we're not alone

we're not the only person who has seen or done or heard the things that we've gone through in our

lives as we come to the book of ruth someone asked me recently why is it that we're studying the book of

ruth and it's for those same reasons the book of ruth is going to touch on suffering and so there's some of us

in this room who have not experienced a lot of suffering in our lives and there's some of us who have

it's a book about widows it's going to be a book about two widows in particular and there are many

among us here today who are widows

it's a book about people who have to live in a place that they weren't born

and there's many here this morning who live in a place where they were not born

and it's a book about suffering and there's many of us who have not experienced the things

that we encounter in this book but it's a book for everyone who lives in a world that is broken

and bleeding from the results of sin and so that is all of us here and so god

like a good and gracious father or mother wants those of us who have walked through suffering

to know that we're not the only ones

and he wants those of us who have not walked through the kind of suffering that we'll see

in this book to learn and become wise

if you've not suffered the things that we're going to talk about this morning and in the book of ruth

there are two things we need to keep in mind

one if we're not suffering now we're surrounded by people who are

that all you need to do is look around the room and you can see people and faces here among us

who have walked through incredibly difficult things and are walking through some of them right now

and the other thing to keep in mind is that if you're not suffering right now

if the lord gives you the grace to live long enough one day you will

and so god like a loving father wants to prepare us

he wants us to know and understand and be prepared for the things that come along in our lives

and so like a loving father or a loving mother he wants to tell us a story

and so we're going to see that as we come to the book of ruth

i'm going to say two other things as we we start

first of all as we're talking about suffering it's something that's incredibly complicated

complex and it's incredibly messy

and so i am not going to say everything about suffering this morning

if we were to say everything that could be said we would be here into the afternoon

we would skip the announcement from the pulpit search committee and we would be here into the evening

and then we would have to come back again on monday morning to continue

and so i'm not going to say everything but we will just begin and say something

not everything but something

second i know that as we talk about some of these things those of us who have walked through them

it will bring up memories for us

and so i want to remind you as i have before that most importantly as that happens

the lord is for you and he is with you

and of much less importance i am for you and with you as well

and so with that we're going to turn to the book of ruth

we're starting in ruth chapter 1 at verse 1

Ruth 1 · chapter mention

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 read it now starting in verse 1

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 a limeleck and the name of his wife naomi

and the names of his two sons were malin and chilian

they were aetherophytes from bethlehem in judah

they went into the country of moab and remained there

verse 3

but a limeleck 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 10 years

and both malin and chilian died

so that the woman was left

without her two sons

and her husband

verse 6

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

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 loving father

that you want to teach us and instruct us

you want us to become wise

you want to comfort us and encourage us

and you need to challenge us

so we ask that you would do all of those things for us this morning

that you would send your holy spirit among us

so that our eyes would be opened

our ears unstopped

our minds clear

and our hearts would be softened

so that we would see and hear and believe

everything that is written about you

in your word

amen

when i had first

graduated from college

had a few months off

because i of course had the summer break

but i quickly got a job teaching at a small school

in eastern virginia

and one of the first people i met as i began teaching there was a woman whose name was alice chidzero

alice had had a very long history in her life

she was originally from zimbabwe

she had grown up in the british colony of rudicia

during the time when the freedom fighters were fighting for them to be free

and fully become part of zimbabwe

and i didn't know her whole story

but i knew enough to know that she was a woman who had suffered tremendously

and as i started at the school

she was the one who told me on my first day

or second day of helping with the car line

that i was 22 fresh out of college

in her words a kidult

which i wore with honor and as a badge of honor in some ways

as i began to know a little bit more about alice and her story

and she would share sometimes in our chapel services at school

and she would tell dramatic stories about the way that god had provided for her

and his faithfulness to her

and this past january

many of alice's students she had taught at the school for a while

encouraged her over and over again

that she had to write a book to tell her story

and so she didn't consider herself a writer

but after a lot of trepidation and work and struggle she finally did

and so i was able to get a hold of a copy of her book called when the brook runs dry

my journey from africa to america and back a few times

just came out this january and i've been reading it as i prepared for this sermon series

and alice goes through many of the things that we learn just in these first five verses about ruth and naomi

and yet she spends a whole book going through them

her experiences and the things that she felt as she walked through times of tremendous difficulty

and so i'm just going to read you a few quotes as we begin

first of all alice suffers the death of her father and her young daughter

her young daughter has a blood infusion that goes terribly wrong

and so as she thinks through both of those she says this

the nightmare just seemed to be growing bleaker

everything around me felt black

there were no grays

later on alice is going to travel all the way from zimbabwe to the united states

which is where i met her

long before i met her though while she was in the united states

her husband developed a tumor in his brain and he was given only six months to live

after he passed she was unable with her family to afford to ship his body back to zimbabwe

and so after his cremation friends of hers in the united states gathered around to buy a suitcase for her

so that the ashes of her husband could be taken back to his home country

and so in one of the most tragic scenes in the book her her son is walking with her through the airport carrying this suitcase

she says this

it was heartbreaking to think that my son would soon carry his father's remains from the usa to africa

we would fly out of boston on january 11th

now that we were about ready to board the plane i was nervous about going home

i dreaded facing my family and my late husband's family all alone

i felt stripped of my covering

since leaving zimbabwe in 1996 felix that's her husband

had been unable to return home

now we were bringing him home in the form of ashes

of course i knew it was not my fault

but i still felt responsible for not bringing my husband home alive

i think i know

how naomi felt

once again it felt as though i were dreaming

and i would wake up

at some point

the brook had grown dry

and i couldn't fathom how i'd get through the next day

not to mention

the rest of my life

after a while my response seemed mechanical

aside from the times i broke down and wept

two days later jet lagged and weary

and simply filled with grief

we held felix's funeral and his ashes

were buried

if only i could lie down and sleep

and wake up to find that i had dreamt everything

that had happened over the last few months

as a mother of a two-year-old however

i had no choice

but to pull myself

together

i won't ruin the rest of the story for you

but i bring that to us not

out of a sense of just wanting to find the most tragic situation

but to highlight what's happening here in very fast time

in verses one through six

much like alice

ruth and naomi are experiencing the same thing

especially for naomi

she's in a country that's not her own

a country where she's not been born

and in quick succession

she too experiences tremendous loss

and she comes

like alice as well

from a country that knows

its own history of turmoil

we're told in verse one

that this is in the days when the judges ruled

if you remember from the story of the bible

you know that the time of the judges

was after the exodus from egypt

it was after god's dramatic deliverance of his people

after their time in the wilderness

but it was before the reign of the kings

it was before david and solomon and saul

were in israel

and it was a time that was tumultuous

israel was often under the rule of other nations

it was a time of rebellion

where they were constantly going from god

and returning to him

and as you read the book of judges

you notice that

the world around them continues to unravel

as things become more and more chaotic

to the point that there's this question

near the end of the book

this statement that in israel there was no king

which raises a question of

where is the king

and on top of that we see in verse one

there was a famine

and so there's chaos in the home country

and a famine

forcing them to go to a new land

they go from judah to sojourn in the country of moab

now remember the moabites were the people that were descended from lot

lot in genesis was

i believe the nephew of abraham

and he had chosen to

go to the land that was rich and plentiful

rather than the land that god had promised

and so this was now a land where people worship

not yahweh not the one true god

but they worshiped false gods

like baal and chemosh

and so here we have god's people

in god's land

having to leave for a foreign country

for the sake of food

by the way

do you know what the city bethlehem

bethlehem do you know what that word means

means house of bread

and so in the house of bread

there is no bread

and so god's people

are leaving

we find out the name of the husband in verse two

the name is elimelech

and the name of his wife naomi

and then they have these two sons

and they go and they dwell

in moab

by the way the sons names roughly in hebrew

translate to weakling one

and weakling two

and then in verse three

much like we heard from the testimony of alas chidzero

but elimelech the husband of naomi died

and she was left with her two sons

these two 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 malin and chilian died

so that the woman was

left

without her two sons

and her husband

and the author is intentional here

in verses three and five

of using that word twice

the word of left

by the way

just as a teaser

for the rest of our series

we won't talk about this anymore today

but there are many words

in the book of ruth

that only appear twice

and the first occurrence

and the second occurrence

will have great significance

that's all i'm going to say

okay

and so we see this great tragedy

the emotions that alas shares

in her story

we can imagine what's going on

for naomi especially

she's returning to a land

with no sons

and no husband

she's too old

to have more children

to provide for her

most likely her parents have died

unable to remarry

and probably without

any kind of skill

to provide for herself

and so she finds herself here

in the midst

of tremendous

and intense

grief

but much like alas said

naomi too

has to keep moving

and so we see in verse six

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

now as i've thought about

this sermon

and this sermon series

and talking about suffering

as i mentioned before

it's it's an overwhelming

topic to think about

and to talk about

because there's so many things

we can and do

and could and should say

and so with this passage

before us

to be able to say

not everything

but something

we're going to have

one question

and one answer

from these six verses

one question

and one answer

i mentioned the names

of some of these characters

but i did not tell you

the name of a limelight

what it meant

the l at the beginning

is the same l

that shows up

in god's name

el shaddai

which means god the almighty

and so the l means god

the melech shows up

in other biblical names

that we see

like a bimelech

and it means king

and so elimelech

literally translates

to god

is my king

god

is

king

and so indirectly

this text

is asking us

a question

if the house

of bread

has no bread

and god's people

have a famine

but the pagans

don't

and if god

is my king

is dead

is god

still

the king

if god

is my king

is dead

is god

still

the king

is god

still

at work

in the dark

it's a question

that naomi and ruth

have to ask

and it's a question

that we ask

as well

is god

still the king

if my spouse

and i both said

i do

and then a decade

later

one of us

says

i don't

is god

still

the king

if the relationship

that i

hoped and dreamed

would end in marriage

ends in heartbreak

instead

is god

still the king

if a father

has a daughter

and he grows

up with dreams

of walking

her down

the aisle

and he has

to bury her

instead

is god

still

the king

if it feels

like my life

is filled

completely

with scheduling

and attending

doctor's appointments

is god

still the king

if someone

who should have

protected me

and watched out

for me

hurt me

instead

is god

still the king

if i get up

in the morning

and i cry

and i go to bed

at night

and i cry

and i know

all too well

why

or perhaps

even more

frighteningly

i don't know

why

is god

still the king

when my mom

or my dad

has to go off

for another

deployment

and is god

still the king

if a chaplain

comes

and knocks

on my door

and it's a question

that if we're honest

about the reality

of living in this world

that every single

one of us

if we have not

had to answer it

will have to answer it

one day

so that is why

god has given us

here

his word

is god

at work

in the dark

it's a question

that we ask here

in this room

inside the church

and it's a question

that people outside

the church

are asking as well

i've met folks

in this city

and other cities

who

when it seemed

that things were dark

they decided

that god

was not the king

and so they walked

away from him

and his church

can there be

hope

in the dark

i told you

there was going

to be one

question

and one answer

that's our question

but this very same

text is going

to provide us

with our answer

as well

we're going to

go back to verse 1

in the days

when the judges

ruled there was

a famine

in the land

there's only

two other times

that that phrase

appears in the bible

there was a famine

in the land

and both of them

are in the book

of genesis

genesis chapter 12

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

and genesis chapter 26

Genesis 26 · chapter mention

speaking of abraham

and isaac

who had to leave

where they were

because of a famine

and if you're familiar

with those stories

you know that god

took them there

and then he brought

them out

with even more

than they originally

had

and so as an israelite

is listening

he's hearing those

phrases and thinking

what is god going

to do

with this famine

we've seen his

faithfulness

in the past

we've seen the way

that god works

that famines

are something

that he often uses

to bring blessing

on his people

we also see

an inability

to have children

the author doesn't

state this

but we're told

that there was

ten years

that passed

and so the question

that is not

explicitly raised

is where are

naomi's

grandchildren

why did they

not appear

and the original

hearers would have

thought again

back to genesis

of sarah

who was unable

to have children

and yet god

used for a great

lineage

and so we're

seeing small

notes here

of god being

at work

in the midst

of this tragedy

as we hear

echoes

of stories

that have

come before

but then

what is implicit

becomes explicit

in verse 6

then she arose

with her daughters

in law

to return

from the country

of mohab

for she had

heard in the

fields of moab

that who

the lord

had visited

his people

and given

them food

she heard

in the fields

of moab

that the lord

had visited

his people

and given

them food

and so we see

that even

in the midst

of tragedy

god

is still

at work

even in the

darkest of times

god is still

providing for

his people

and protecting

them

he's providing

for ruth

and naomi

as he brings

food to their

homeland

and he's also

guiding them

ruth and naomi

know

what their

next step

is

and so

indirectly

god's

providence

is leading

them back

to the

land

of israel

so we

have our

question

is god

still

the king

the answer

is yes

even

in the

darkest

of times

god

is still

at work

the answer

is yes

even

in the

darkest

of times

god

is still

at work

he's at

work

leading

his people

he's at

work

providing

for them

and he

is at

work

guiding

them

that doesn't

mean that

he's going

to remove

every obstacle

it doesn't

mean that

everything

in this

life is

going

to be

made

whole

but god

is leading

and guiding

and providing

even

when life

goes dark

god is

leading

and guiding

and providing

even

when life

goes dark

the readers

of this story

would not

only know

about god's

acts in the

past in the

book of

genesis

the way

that he

works

and the

patterns

that have

been laid

down in

their stories

but they

would also

remember

that he

was the

god

of the

covenant

now

covenant

is a

big word

there are

many different

ways to

define it

but the way

i'm going to

define it

this morning

is this

the covenant

is god's

promise

it's his

promise that he

made in places

like ezekiel 37

and leviticus 26

and his promise

is this

i will be

your god

and you

will be

my people

and i

will dwell

with you

forever

forever

you

i will

be your

god

you

will be

my people

and i

will dwell

with you

forever

and so we

see here

that same

god

in the

midst of

the death

of loved

ones

coming

and remaining

faithful

to his

people

and so we

as well

can look

to god

knowing

that he

has not

given up

on us

if we

are part

of god's

family

then the

presence

of tragedy

in our

lives

does not

mean that

god

is absent

the presence

of tragedy

in our

lives

does not

mean

that god

is absent

the characters

of this

original story

could look

to the

character

of god

they could

look to

the ways

that he

had provided

in the

past

and they

could look

as well

to verse

six here

that the

lord had

visited

his people

brothers and

sisters

the lord

has visited

us

in a

much more

great

dramatic

and miraculous

way

because unlike

those in the

old testament

who looked

back to god's

redemption

from exodus

we can

look now

and know

even more

about his

character

than they

did

because we

know that

his promise

to be our

god

and be

with us

was fulfilled

in christ

that it was

christ who

came and

took on

the body

of a man

and lived

among his

people

we just

finished the

gospel of

matthew

you remember

in the very

first chapter

of matthew

jesus is given

a name

do you remember

what it is

it's emmanuel

which means

god is

with us

and so we

now can see

even greater

proof

and a down

payment on

god's goodness

and his

love

and like a

good leader

jesus was

willing to

suffer

more

than us

and so the

question of

why

god allows

suffering

is going to

go unanswered

but instead

we have the

assurance that

in the midst

of suffering

he is with

us

he is with

us and we

know that we

can trust him

we know that we

can trust him

because he

and his

providence has

ordained suffering

but he ordained

the most

for himself

that as

painful as it

is to be

separated from

someone that

you've been

intimately connected

with for decades

imagine how

painful it is to

be separated from

someone that

you've been

perfectly connected

to from all

eternity

and so that

christ in his

sufferings is the

greater and

fuller revelation

of god visiting

us as he did

the people of

israel

when i was

growing up

i was at a

small church

in this

denomination

and i knew a

family there

they had a

farm a long

way away and

that was where

i i believe i

rode a horse

for the first

time and got

to experience a

different life

than a general

suburban life

that i grew up

in and that

family had had

a very difficult

past there was a

time before i

met them where

they experienced

a traumatic car

accident so the

mother and the

children the father

was at home

and when the

police informed

him of what had

happened they

said your family

has been in a

devastating car

accident and we

have sent them to

two separate

hospitals because

there's no one

hospital that would

be able to save

all of them

and when we put

them in the

ambulance they

were alive but

we cannot give

you any guarantees

of how they're

doing now and

taking that news

the father had no

idea what to do

he would share his

testimony many times

and he said that

at that moment he

was unsure whether

to visit his wife

whom he'd vowed to

forsake all others

for or to visit the

hospital that his

children were in

because they were

without a parent

and he was afraid

at the same time

that he would visit

the wrong one

that he would go to

the one with the

dead and not the

living and in that

moment he felt

lonelier and more

isolated than he had

ever been and he

realized that there

was no one in the

whole world who knew

what he was facing at

that moment and there

was no one who

understood and then

the next thing he

remembered and thought

was that Jesus

understood remember

that Jesus had given

up even more and

suffered even more

than he was even in

that moment and he

remembered that Jesus

loved him and had

died for him and in

that moment that was

the only thing he had

that Jesus was faithful

to him and in that

moment while no one

else understood Jesus

was with him caring

for him providing for

him and guiding him

and that Jesus

understood when no one

else did

brothers and sisters

Jesus is our great and

mighty king and so we

can follow him and we

can trust him even in the

darkest of times

please pray with me

dear father in heaven

we thank you that you

are the king of kings

and the lord of lords

we thank you that in

your sovereignty you

gave yourself the greatest

suffering in this world

and so even when we don't

know why we know that you

are with us

that you're guiding us

you're protecting us and

you're providing for us

we ask that you would

remind us of that now

here this morning we

ask all of this not

because we have earned

it but because your son

has earned it on our

behalf and so we ask it

in his name amen

god

you