Ruin

Good morning and welcome to St. Paul's this morning across the live stream.

It's now three months since we stopped gathering on site for our Sunday services.

So if this is the first time you've tuned in, it's great to have you here.

And welcome to all the St. Paul's family out there.

If you don't know who I am, I'm Steve Jeffrey.

I'm the senior pastor of St. Paul's.

And so it's wonderful for me to be able to kick off this brand new series in Ruth with us this morning.

It is the first time in just over 100 years that we have not been able to hold public services

and to not be able to do so for three months, not be able to meet face to face due to this pandemic has been an unusual season.

We are now, however, starting to slowly regather, having been scattered for three months.

We've been, if you like, away scattered.

We're now slowly regathering and coming back again.

This theme, which has been the theme for us over these three months of going away and coming back,

is in fact part of the rhythm of normal life.

What we do so much of it in terms of going away and coming back,

we don't even think that's in fact what we're doing.

We go to school and we come home again.

We go to the playground, to the shops, to restaurants, to work, and then we come back home.

We depart for a holiday and then we come back home.

We have 20-year-olds who move out and then they come back home.

This constant pattern.

In fact, I can't believe I'm actually saying this,

but perhaps this opera, Home and Away, is tuning into something for us in life,

part of the rhythms of life.

Home and away, it's what they do.

Of course, sometimes the going away is forced on us by circumstances

and coming back is not always possible.

For instance, the transition into a care facility,

refugees fleeing a terrible situation in their home,

and even death itself is a going away but not coming back.

This theme, this pattern, if you like, of going away and coming back

runs through many of the stories of the Bible.

In fact, one of the grand narratives of the whole Bible,

which begins with people being scattered from God because of sin,

but ends with people being gathered back to God because of his rescue plan

and salvation plan for them into their eternal home,

is the grand narrative of the Bible.

So many stories of salvation of the Bible carry this theme.

Abraham went down to Egypt because of a famine and later returned home.

The whole family of Israel went down to Egypt because of a famine

and then returned back to the promised land, their home.

Later on in their history, Israel again will go into exile

because of a spiritual famine, and God will bring them back home again.

And of course, what Adrian read out to us,

one of the more famous passages in the New Testament of the prodigal son

who went down away from his home to a foreign land,

got hit with a famine, and then came back home again.

So the whole Bible story is about people leaving paradise with God

and then God bringing them back, saving his people

and returning them back to himself.

And that means that as we open up the very first chapter of the book of Ruth

with this description of people leaving home and coming back again

because of a famine should alert us to something is big in the wind.

Something significant is happening in this book.

It's not just a Old Testament rom-com.

There's something deeper, bigger happening in the book of Ruth.

It's the old pattern of God working some act of salvation

when his people leave their land and his presence,

and then he brings them back.

So if you've got your Bibles there, I'd love it if you could turn to Ruth chapter 1

Ruth 1 · chapter mention

and also the St. Paul's app.

If you click into there, you'll see an outline for today's message.

I've really got two major points with a few little sub points in there,

but two major points, really simple, going away and coming back.

I considered calling it home and away,

but we'll just go with going away, coming back.

So going away to ruin is my first point.

Israel's ruin, according to verse 1 of chapter 1,

the very first verse of this book is this story of Ruth

takes place during the time of the judges of Israel.

This was a 400-year period after Israel entered the promised land under Joshua

and before there were any kings in Israel.

It's roughly about 1500 BC to 1100 BC.

And so verse 1 is not just a date stamp on the book

so we can locate it historically.

It is, in fact, a theological description

of the times in which these events of the book of Ruth take place.

When I preached through the book of Judges about two years ago,

I said you could summarise the message of the book of Judges

as despicable people doing deplorable things.

That's the summary of this time.

It records a history of murder and assassination

and massacres of immorality and lawlessness and unfaithfulness.

In fact, right towards the end of the book of Judges,

Judges 21:25

chapter 21, verse 25, it says,

in those days Israel had no king

and so everyone did as they saw fit.

Pretty much a description of modern society, really.

Everyone does as they see fit.

But for Israel, it was a very dark time.

The people would sin.

God would hand them over to their sin.

He would send enemies against them

and the people would cry out for help.

And then God would mercifully raise up a judge,

a rescuer for his people and deliver them,

bring them back to himself.

A repeated pattern of the nation going away from God

and God bringing them back home to himself.

And by the end of the book of Judges,

we have a picture of a nation

that has really just completely lost its way.

What the book of Ruth does for us

is it gives us a glimpse

into the hidden work of God

during the worst of times.

The book of Ruth is a zooming in

on the book of Judges, if you like,

and one family during these dark days.

From the narrative of the nation

in the book of Judges,

we now focus on one family.

We go from a nation in ruin

to a family in ruin.

And to, in fact, a life in ruin.

It was during these dark days and difficult days

that a man moved his family out of Israel.

A move that saw his family come to ruin.

Verse one again.

In those days when the judges ruled,

there was a famine in the land.

And so a man named,

a man from Bethlehem in Judea,

together with his wife and his two sons,

went to live for a while in the country of Moab.

Now the ultimate irony has occurred.

Bethlehem, which means

house of bread is a place of no food.

Verses one to five in chapter one

just moves so fast.

But ultimately they paint a picture of ruin.

First, there is a famine in Judah.

Then there's a decision to relocate for this family

to Moab, a pagan land with its foreign gods.

Then grief upon famine strikes

as Elimelech, the husband to Naomi, dies.

Then in verse four,

Naomi and Elimelech's two sons

take Moabite wives,

one named Orpah, the other named Ruth.

And again, the hand of God falls.

Verse five sums up Naomi's tragedy.

After 10 years of childless marriages,

both Marlon and Kilion also died.

And Naomi was left without her two sons

and her husband.

She's a foreigner, a foreign woman.

In a patriarchal society,

Naomi is bereft.

Along with her husband and sons,

she attempted to escape the famine

in Bethlehem.

I'm sorry, but all that has happened

is for her a descent into emptiness.

A grasp for hope,

a grasp for future,

resulted in emptiness.

The move to Moab has been disastrous.

Naomi has hit rock bottom.

She is empty.

She's bereft.

She's destitute.

She went there in a search of life

and she has become empty.

And the implicit question

in these very first verses

is what future does Naomi have?

Can she possibly recover from this?

Will she remain destitute and empty?

And then we are told in verse six,

Naomi gets a word.

And at first,

it appears to be a word of hope.

But is it hope for Naomi?

It says,

the Lord has come to the aid of his people

by providing food for them.

How was she to feel about that?

The Lord came to the aid of his people

in Bethlehem.

But she wasn't one of them.

She wasn't there.

Was her going away a terrible mistake?

She didn't just leave Bethlehem,

but also the people of God

and her God

and all of her hope as well.

She had brought shame to herself,

to her people,

to her God.

And so,

does she deserve

what our society

would call

getting cancelled?

Up to the end of verse five,

Naomi

is just like

the prodigal son

in Luke 15

that Adrian read out to us.

He thought

life would be better

in a faraway country

away from the rule

and the oversight

and the provision

of his father.

But like Naomi,

he too

hits rock bottom

and he is bereft,

he is empty,

he is hungry,

he is lonely.

What the story

of the prodigal son

is meant

to be

portraying to us

is the theme

of the Bible.

It is a vivid picture

of humanity's ruin

as they walk

away from God.

The Bible

says

we have all,

like sheep

have gone astray,

we have all

wandered away

from God

who has made us,

made all things

and provides

all good things

for us

and the Bible

calls it sin.

It's the attitude

that says

we don't need God

in our life,

we don't want God

in our life

and that attitude

results in actions

and thoughts,

behaviours

that sees us

as individuals,

as societies

living

as we

see

fit

in our

own

eyes.

Living

as we

see fit

in our

own

eyes

without

God

and it

always

feels

free

for a

season

in the

same way

that jumping

out of an

aeroplane

feels free

for a

season

until you

realise

that you

don't have

a

parachute.

In Luke

Luke 15:14

15 verse

14 we

read of the

prodigal son

in Jesus'

parable,

after he

had spent

everything

there was

a severe

famine in

the whole

country

and he

began

to be

in need.

His bid

for freedom

resulted

in

slavery.

Verse

15,

so he

went and

he hired

himself

out

and the

word

literally

means

he

attached

himself

to a

citizen

of that

country

who sent

him to

his fields

to feed

the pigs.

This

young guy

has to

sell

himself

as a

slave

to work

in a

foreign

pig pen.

Life

hits rock

bottom.

His bid

for the

better life

the free

life ends

up in

slavery

instead.

You see

when you

break your

attachment

with God

you will

end up

attached to

another

and that

attachment

will not

be

sonship

and freedom

it will

be

slavery.

It will

desire

you.

You will

have to

live for

it.

It may

be romance,

it may be

a career,

it may be

reputation,

comfort,

leisure,

culture,

it might be

family.

The attachment

might be

crude,

it might

be

refined.

If we

break loose

from God

we will

be attached

to another

and that

other will

require you

to sacrifice

everything for

it.

In the

end,

whether crude

or refined,

this attachment

will send us

to the

pig pen.

One of the

key

challenges

early in

the book

of Ruth

is trying

to work

out

how we

meant to

feel about

the characters

of this

book.

Because

traditionally

it's taken

as a bit

of an

Old Testament

rob-com

where

just people

of virtue.

And yet

God had

warned

Israel

in

Deuteronomy

32

that he

would send

them

famine

if they

worshipped

idols

as they

did in

the days

of the

judges.

You see

Elimelech

had a

choice to

make.

He had a

road to

choose

which one

he would

go.

He could

stay in

Bethlehem

the empty

bread

basket

of Judah

mourning

the sin

that

surrounded

him

in his

society

and

trusting

God

for the

provision

for his

family.

Alternatively

he could

leave the

promised land

behind

in pursuit

of greener

fields.

theologically

these are

not equal

choices.

This is

not simply

Elimelech

choosing to

move to

another city

because he's

got a job

offer there.

God had

rescued his

people from

slavery in

Egypt.

He brought

them to

the land of

Canaan,

the promised

land.

This was the

land that God

would dwell with

his people in

harmony as they

lived out their

relationship with

him as a

redeemed

people.

However,

these people

rebelled against

him as we see

again and again

in the book of

Judges.

There was no

king in

Elimelech's

life and

therefore,

like so many

of his

countrymen,

he chose to

do what was

best in his

own eyes.

It's the same

choice that each

of us face in

life.

I live for

myself and

do what I

think is best

with my life

or I follow

the created

God and what

he determines

is best

for life.

And the

Bible is

explicit.

when you

choose to

live life

our way,

when we

do that,

eternal

ruin is

the future.

So is

Naomi's

emptiness

God's

judgment on

her life?

love.

The

interesting

thing about

this text

is it

doesn't

tell us.

It's not

made explicit

in this

text in

the way

that it

is in

so many

other places

including the

book of

Judges.

The people

did that

and God

says I'm

going to

judge you.

He doesn't

do that

here.

And yet

Naomi is

in no

doubt about

the source

of her

ruin.

Verse 13

she says

the Lord's

hand has

turned against

me.

Then again

at the end

of the chapter

she says

the same

thing.

In verse

20

the Almighty

has made

my life

very bitter.

I went

away full

but the

Lord has

brought me

back empty.

The Lord

has afflicted

me.

The Almighty

has brought

misfortune

upon me.

she says

it's God

who's done

it.

Now

frankly

I would

take Naomi's

theology

here any

day over

the sentimental

views of

God which

dominate the

books of

many Christian

bookshelves.

Naomi is

sure of

three things

in this

text.

God exists,

God is

sovereign and

God has

inflicted her.

God the

Almighty

reigns in

all the

affairs of

people.

He rules

the nation

and he

rules the

families and

he rules

Naomi's

life.

He gives

rain, he

takes it

away, he

gives life,

he takes

it away.

In him

we live,

we move,

we have

our being.

He is the

all encompassing,

the all

pervading

reality of

life.

And Naomi

was right

and we

should join

her in

this

conviction.

God the

Almighty

reigns in

all the

affairs of

people.

So Naomi

is right

here to

believe in

a sovereign

almighty God

who governs

the affairs

and the

nations and

the families

and gives

each day

its parts

of both

pain and

pleasure.

He does

both.

But what

Naomi needs

is to

open her

eyes a

little bit

more to

the signs

of his

merciful

purposes in

her life.

If she

doesn't,

then her

theology just

becomes

determination

fatalism,

fatalism,

an almighty

being who's

not personal,

not relational

and certainly

not good.

While she

can't see it

straight away,

it's in

fact in

heading home

that we

see God's

merciful purposes

for her being

worked out in

her life.

That's the

second point I

want to get

to.

In

verses 7

to 18

of chapter

1,

the writer

here devotes

a large

chunk of

space to

the journey

home.

Five verses

is all it

took.

Five verses

to describe

the descent

to Moab,

the tragedy

that struck,

but more

than double

that on the

journey back

to Bethlehem.

And most

of these

verses here

are in

fact Naomi's

efforts to

try and

dissuade

her daughter-in-laws

from returning

with her.

And so

what therefore

stands out

in these

verses is

Ruth's

faithfulness

to Naomi.

In fact,

one of God's

mercies to

Naomi.

It's quite

amazing.

Verse 14

says that

Orpah kissed

Naomi goodbye

but Ruth

clung to

her.

And that

is all the

more amazing

after Naomi's

grim description

of what their

future life

with her

would be

like.

Ruth stays

with her

in spite of

an apparent

hopeless future

of widowhood

and childlessness.

Naomi paints

a future

that is

black.

And Ruth

took her

hand

and walked

into it

with her.

What a

blessing.

And the

amazing words

of Ruth

are found

in verse

16.

Have a look

at it

with me.

Don't

urge me

to leave

you or

to turn

back from

you.

Where you

go, I

will go.

Where you

stay, I

will stay.

Your people

will be my

people.

Your God

will be my

God.

Where you

die, I

will die

and there

I'll be

buried.

May the

Lord deal

with me.

Be it

ever so

severely

if even

death

separates you

and me.

Now the

more you

ponder these

words, the

more amazing

they become.

Ruth's

commitment to

her destitute

mother-in-law

is simply

astonishing.

It is a

picture of

commitment

which is

God's

commitment

to Naomi.

It means

for Ruth

here, leaving

her own

family, her

own land.

It means

as far as

she knows, a

life of

widowhood and

childlessness

because Naomi

has no man

to give her.

And if she

marries another

non-relative

Naomi, her

commitment to

Naomi's

family is

cut at

that point.

It ceases.

It's lost.

It means

going to an

unknown land

with a new

people, with a

new custom,

with a new

language.

And it was

in fact a

commitment even

deeper than

marriage.

Where you

die, I

will die

and there

I will be

buried.

May the

Lord deal

with me

be it

ever so

severely

if even

death

separates

you and

me.

In

other words,

Ruth says,

I will

never

return home.

Even

when you

die, my

commitment to

you is not

finished.

the most

amazing

commitment of

all is in

verse 16.

Your God

will be my

God.

Naomi has

just said

in verse

13,

saying,

the Lord's

hand has

turned against

me.

Naomi's

experience of

God in

this moment

was bitterness.

And in

spite of

this, Ruth

forsakes her

religious heritage

and makes the

God of

Israel her

God.

Somehow or

other, Ruth

had come to

trust in

Naomi's God

in spite of

Naomi's

bitter

experiences.

That did

not turn

her away.

Ruth's

faith in

God sees

beyond the

present

setbacks,

the present

bitter

setbacks,

freedom from

the securities

and the

comforts of

the world

and the

courage to

venture to

the unknown

and the

strange.

So what

called Naomi

home?

Even in

Naomi's

bitter talk

about God

punishing her,

there is an

acknowledgement

here of

his sovereign

grace.

In verse

21,

she

acknowledges,

the Lord

has brought

me back.

Her

husband made

the decision

to leave,

but the

Lord has

brought her

back.

And while

in this

moment she

thinks she's

coming back

empty,

I mean she's

roost with

her, she

obviously not

focused on

that very

much,

she thinks

she's coming

back empty

but it is

God who

provides the

delicate touch

of hope at

the end of

verse 22.

And this is an

amazing word of

hope,

they arrived

in Bethlehem

as the

barley harvest

was beginning.

You see,

it wasn't

just

emptiness

that brought

her back,

it was

news that

brought her

back.

It was in

fact good

news that

brought her

back home.

News about

something that

God had

done brought

her back.

The Lord

had visited

his people

and he had

ended the

famine.

It was good

news that

called her

back home.

She wasn't

just coming

back to

Bethlehem,

she was

coming back

to her

God.

You see,

like the

book of

Judges,

the book

of Ruth

is just

pure

gospel,

pure,

good,

news.

It reveals

the God

of mercy

and long

suffering

patients who

continually

works in

and through

and for

his people.

It was a

truth at a

national level

and we will

see in the

coming weeks

that it is

true at a

personal,

family,

individual level

too.

God is at

work in the

worst of

times.

God

and what's

more,

this sovereign

God keeps

doing it

despite his

people constant

resistance to

his purposes.

God

relentlessly

offers his

grace to

people who

neither deserve

it,

they're not

seeking it,

not even

appreciating it,

even after

they've been

saved by it.

So after

ten years

abandoning her

God and

her people

and her

land,

what sort

of welcome

do you think

Naomi should

receive

returning home?

what about

the prodigal

son in

Luke 15?

How would

you respond

to a

child who

has basically

wished you

were dead,

didn't want

anything to

do with you

except the

inheritance?

Nothing with

you again,

ever.

The father

in the

parable of

the prodigal

son in

Luke 15,

it is obvious

that he is

not sitting

in his

living room

with his

feet up

waiting for

his wayward

son to

come crawling

through the

door and

his hands

and knees

groveling

and begging

for restoration.

Verse 20

tells us

that this

man,

this father

ran to

meet his

son,

embraced

him,

kissed

him again

and again

and again,

reinstates

him to

full

membership

of the

family

and calls

for a

celebration

and we

are told

in Luke

15 that

the only

emotion

the father

felt was

compassion.

This father

thinks nothing

of his

personal loss,

nothing of

his financial

loss,

nothing of

the damage

to his

reputation

in the

community,

nothing of

his own

personal

shame.

what an

extraordinary

welcome

and we

are told

in Luke

15 the

reason why

Jesus told

this story

is because

he was

saying,

I am

the father

who welcomes

the son.

when sinners

turn from

their sin

and accept

my fellowship

as the

joy of

their lives,

they have

come home

to God

through me

and God

is glad

and he

celebrates.

It's a

wonderful

picture of

the grace

and the

mercy and

the love

of the

compassion

of God.

The God

of the

Bible

is not

into the

cancel

culture

that we

currently

exist in

where you

make one

mistake

on social

media

and you

are what?

Your

reputation

is ruined.

You will

never live

it down.

A shame

that will be

brought back

up again

and again

and again.

the Bible

tells us

as far

as Psalm

103

tells us

in the

Bible

as far

as the

east

is from

the west

so far

has God

removed

our sin

from us

and Isaiah

tells us

he's forgotten

them

never to be

brought up

again

against us.

The whole

story of the

Bible

is about

the human

race

going away

from God

and his

great plan

of salvation

of bringing

them back

again

and at

the centre

of that

plan

is the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

because

it is

good news

about Jesus

that calls

us back

home to

God.

The good

news that

calls us

back

is about

something

else

that God

has done

in Bethlehem

again

but for

all of

humanity.

And it's

infinitely better

news than

Naomi heard

from Bethlehem

that turned

her around

and back

home.

The core

message of

Christianity

is that

in Jesus

God

comes to

running

runs to

us and

meets us.

The king

of the

universe

in all

his splendor

and glory

came to

the dirt

of Bethlehem.

Came to

the dirt

of Bethlehem,

lived a

life of

obscurity

amongst us,

worked as

a carpenter.

God the

son left

his place

of abundance

and takes

on our

emptiness

so that we

can have

his place

of abundance.

Jesus

left his

place of

blessing

and abundance

of glory

in heaven

entered

himself

for us

not just

in the

dirt of

Bethlehem

but by

shedding

his blood

on a

cross

outside of

Jerusalem.

As Jesus

was dying

on the

cross

he cried

out

in every

other

instance

in the

New

Testament

whenever

he speaks

to his

father he

calls him

father

only on

the cross

he says

my God

my God

why have

you forsaken

me?

He went

into exile

removed

away from

the presence

of the

father

so that

we can

be brought

back in.

He was

cancelled

so that

we can

be forgiven.

He took

our sin

he faced

our bitterness

and in

doing so

he turned

away from

us

so that

we might

be blessed.

He took

our

spiritual

famine

so that

we might

have

his

spiritual

feast.

You see

the good

news here

is that

don't ever

think the

sin of

your past

means there's

no hope

for the

future.

God

knows

exactly

what you

are like

and what

I am

like

deepest

down in

the

recesses

of our

hearts

and yet

he still

welcomes

us.

His love

is

unconditional.

It isn't

based on

what we

are like

it is

based on

what he

is like

and he

calls us

home to

him.

Come home

to the

God

who made

you and

loves you

and is the

only one

who can

fill the

emptiness

the

emptiest

and meet

your deepest

need of

your heart.

God's

providence in

Naomi's

life

is

hard

and

sometimes

God's

providence

in our

life

is

hard.

He

had

dealt

bitterly

with

Naomi

at

least

in the

short

run

in the

short

run

it only

felt like

bitterness

for her

but not

long term.

Some might

say it was

a punish

for the

sin of

going to

Moab

and marrying

foreign

women.

Maybe.

Maybe.

Not

necessarily.

Maybe.

Psalm 34

Psalms 34:19

verse 19

says the

righteous

person may

have many

troubles

but the

Lord delivers

him from

them all.

That is

the Bible

never promises

that believers

will escape

difficulty in

life as

well.

But

suppose

Naomi's

calamity

was in

fact owing

to her

and her

husband's

disobedience.

What if

it was?

That

makes this

story

remarkable.

It

makes it

if you

like

doubly

encouraging

because it

shows

that God

is willing

and able

even to

turn

his

severe

judgments

into

our

joys.

Bitterness

just for a

moment.

And what

this Bible

is saying,

what this

passage is

saying is

come back.

Jesus

is saying

to you

whatever

you've

done,

whatever

you've

become,

come back

home to

your God.

I want to

pray with

you right

now.

And I'm

just going to

pray really

slowly.

And maybe the

prayer that I

pray, you

might want to

echo it in

your heart and

come back to

God now.

Let's do

that.

our

gracious God,

I just

want to

thank you

for your

love and

your

compassion.

I want to

thank you

for giving

us,

giving me

life.

sorry that

I, that

we have

lived it for

ourselves and

not for you.

Thank you

that Jesus

dealt with my

sin at the

cross, that

he was turned

away, that

he was made

destitute so

that we can be

brought back

in.

He was

emptied so

that we could

be filled.

He took my

sin so

that I could

be forgiven.

So please

forgive me

and accept

me because

of him

and help

me to start

living for

you.

Amen.