Ruth 1

We'll be doing a series through this short book.

As you're turning there, let me give a brief introduction.

You might wonder, what does the Book of Ruth have to do with Advent and Christmas?

Well, the Book of Ruth is set in a dark time,

a time where ordinary people lived in fear of violent attacks,

where once-stable family units broke apart,

where refugees and immigrants struggled to survive in foreign lands,

where cross-cultural relationships were marked by suspicion,

where God's people endured their own depression and grief and loneliness

and bore the burden of each other's depression and grief and loneliness.

It is a world, of course, very much like ours.

But in the midst of this dark and broken world,

what we see in the Book of Ruth is God's merciful intervention

on behalf of three otherwise unknown individuals,

an elderly, embittered widow,

a young, daring immigrant,

and a successful, well-respected man.

But God's provision for these three otherwise unknown individuals

is part of a larger story of His provision for His people as a whole.

We see God bringing life and hope to a broken family,

and through this family we see God bringing life and hope to a broken people.

The first words of the book,

Ruth chapter 1 verse 1,

Ruth 1:1

are in the days when the judges ruled.

The last word of the book is David.

So what we see is through Naomi and Ruth and Boaz,

these three people,

God was establishing His kingdom in Israel.

And as we look back on the story from 3,000 years later,

we see that God was also preparing the way for Jesus the Messiah

because Ruth and Boaz were ancestors not just of King David,

but ultimately of King Jesus.

And so we've entitled this Advent sermon series,

Prelude to the King.

Now to help you get the most out of this series,

I want to recommend a book by Paul Miller called

A Loving Life in a World of Broken Relationships.

It's based on the book of Ruth.

It has 23 short chapters,

sort of reflections and meditations on the book of Ruth,

walking slowly through it.

So it's a great Advent devotional or sermon series companion.

There are some copies on the back table.

There are some copies on the book stall.

If you order it on Amazon,

you have to pay $8,

but you can get it here for $5.

And I think if you read it over the next few weeks,

I think it can help you keep focused on what's really important

in the midst of a season of the year

that can easily become busy and distracting and stressful.

So it's also available if you want it on Kindle or ebook or MP3.

You can go online and buy it there.

But it's called A Loving Life by Paul Miller.

Anyway, so I highly recommend that.

And you can pick one up afterwards if you're interested.

All right, Ruth chapter 1.

Ruth 1 · chapter mention

We are reading the whole chapter today.

So let us read together.

Ruth chapter 1.

Ruth 1 · chapter mention

In the days when the judges ruled,

there was a famine in the land,

and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab,

he and his wife and his two sons.

The name of the man was Elimelech,

and the name of his wife, Naomi,

and the names of his two sons were Malon and Kilion.

They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah.

They went into the country of Moab and remained there.

But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died,

and she was left with her two sons.

These took Moabite wives.

The name of the one was Orpah,

and the name of the other Ruth.

They lived there about ten years,

and both Malon and Kilion died,

so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

Then she arose with her daughters-in-law

to return from the country of Moab,

for she had heard in the fields of Moab

that the Lord had visited his people and given them food.

So she set out from the place where she was

with her two daughters-in-law,

and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.

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

Go return, each of you, to her mother's house.

May the Lord deal kindly with you

as you have dealt with the dead and with me.

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.

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 will I be buried.

May the Lord do so to me

and more also,

if anything but death

parts me from you.

And when Naomi saw

that she was determined

to go with her,

she said,

No more.

So the two of them went on

until they came to Bethlehem.

And when they came to Bethlehem,

the whole town was stirred

because of them.

And the women said,

Is this Naomi?

She said to them,

Do not call me Naomi.

Call me Mara.

For the Almighty has dealt

very bitterly with me.

I went away full

and the Lord has brought me back,

empty.

Why call me Naomi

when the Lord has testified against me

and the Almighty has brought

calamity upon me?

So Naomi returned.

And Ruth, the Moabite,

her daughter-in-law with her

who returned from the country of Moab.

And they came to Bethlehem

at the beginning

of barley harvest.

The book of Ruth begins

in a dark time.

In the days when the judges ruled,

if you turn back one page

to the end of the book of Judges,

the last verse says,

In those days,

there was no king in Israel.

Everyone did what was right

in his own eyes.

And the last five chapters of Judges

describe a time of political

and moral chaos.

Chapter 17 begins

with a young man

who stole money from his mother

and hired a superstitious priest

who is motivated purely

by financial gain.

Chapter 18 describes violent gangs

who preyed on unsuspecting people.

Chapter 19 describes the brutal beating,

rape, and murder

of an innocent woman

resulting in a brutal civil war,

chapters 20 and 21.

It was a dark time in Israel.

The leaders were corrupt

or non-existent.

The nation was literally

being torn apart.

And so we come to the book of Ruth

in the days when the judges ruled.

There was a famine in the land.

Now when the people of Israel

prepared to enter the land of Canaan,

God made promises to them

that if they would obey his commands,

he would bless them

with fruitfulness and prosperity.

But if they rejected his commands

and persisted in unfaithfulness,

God warned.

Leviticus 26,

I will make the heavens like iron

and the earth like bronze.

And your strength shall be spent in vain

for the land shall not yield its increase.

And the trees of the land

shall not yield their fruit.

You see, the famine

was merely an outward sign

that all was not well

among the people of God.

Ironically,

the famine struck Bethlehem in particular.

Some of the names in Ruth,

we'll see as we go along,

are important.

Bethlehem means house of bread.

It was a dark time in Israel

when the house of bread had no bread.

And what we see in verses 1 through 5

is it was also a dark time

for Naomi and her family.

Because of the famine,

Elimelech and his family

left the promised land for Moab.

The Moabites were Israel's pagan neighbors

to the southeast.

When the Israelites had tried

to pass through Moab

on their way to the promised land,

the Moabite king opposed them,

bribed Balaam to prophesy against them.

When that didn't work,

the women of Moab

seduced many of the Israelite men.

There was bad blood

between Israel and Moab.

And it sounds like not good news

when the people of Israel

are forced to take refuge in Moab

in order to survive.

But Elimelech's family

didn't just sojourn in Moab.

For a short time,

it says, verse 2,

they remained there.

Verse 4,

they lived there about 10 years.

We see a similar pattern

as back in Genesis

with Abraham's nephew Lot.

He first moved his tent

near Sodom and Gomorrah,

but pretty soon

was dwelling in Sodom.

And what we see here

in this chapter

is the people of God

gradually losing

their distinctive identity

in the world,

blending into the surrounding

pagan world.

Elimelech's name means

my God is king.

His son's names,

Malon and Kilion,

mean weak and frail.

And what we see

is that they assimilated

not just to the Moabite culture,

which would have been fine,

but also to Moabite religion.

The two sons took Moabite wives,

verse 4,

who presumably continued

worshiping Moabite gods.

Naomi didn't seem to care

very much about that.

Verse 15,

Naomi makes an offhand comment.

She says,

your sister-in-law has gone back

to her people and her gods.

Now, like many offhand comments,

it reveals some of where

Naomi's heart was.

And Naomi's heart was basically,

well, she has her Moabite gods,

I have my Israelite god,

it's not really a big deal.

Religion is mostly a function

of culture and ethnicity,

and she doesn't really care

that much about it.

So they leave the promised land,

they begin to lose

their distinctive identity

as God's people in Moab,

and finally the family

literally starts dying off.

First, Elimelech,

my God is king,

died.

Then the two sons die,

both of them childless.

Naomi is now extremely vulnerable

because in the ancient world,

a woman's identity

depended on

her connection to a man

and her legacy

depended on the children

that she bore.

But for Naomi,

she now had neither of those.

She had no man to protect

and provide for her,

no child or grandchild

to give her hope

for a bright future.

In the eyes of the world

she lived in,

and in her own eyes,

Naomi had nothing.

No security,

no identity,

no future,

and no hope.

Naomi was dying.

Her life,

her family,

was falling apart

just like the nation of Israel.

Now maybe you can identify

with Naomi

in some way or another.

Maybe you've come here

from a foreign land.

You feel misunderstood

or ignored.

Maybe it seems like

no one will ever hire you

for a decent job

and you feel powerless.

Maybe you're homeless

and you cry yourself

to sleep at night.

Maybe you're married

but it's not a happy marriage

and the problems

only seem to get worse.

Maybe like Naomi,

you're a widow

or a widower

and you feel an empty hole

as you lay alone

in bed every night.

Maybe you've lost a spouse

because they cheated on you

or divorced you

or abandoned you.

Maybe you've always wanted

to have kids

but you're infertile

or you haven't found

a suitable person to marry.

Maybe you've lost

not just a spouse

but a child.

And it seems like

the darkness haunts you

and won't ever leave.

It feels like nothing

will ever really change.

If that is you

in one way or another,

I pray that God

will speak to you

through this passage

and through this book.

If that's not you,

if you're successful

and secure,

well-respected

and well-off,

there is also a message

for you,

particularly in the character

of Boaz

who we'll meet next week

in chapter 2.

But today I want to focus

in on Naomi

whose journey

to Moab and back

is the main storyline

of chapter 1.

And in today's passage,

what we see,

we see two ways

that God extends

his steadfast love

toward us

when our lives

are falling apart.

The first thing

that we see

is that God's kindness

leads us

to repentance.

Verse 6,

we see the first ray

of hope

for Naomi.

She heard

in the fields

of Moab

that the Lord

had visited

his people

and given them food.

The famine

was over.

Once more,

there was bread

in Bethlehem.

And somehow,

the good news

of the Lord's

undeserved kindness

to his people

found its way

to her

all the way

in the far country

of Moab.

In the book of Ruth,

there are only two verses

that speak explicitly

about God's action.

One here at the beginning,

another at the end.

Here it says,

the Lord visited

his people

and gave them food.

Chapter 4,

verse 13,

it says,

the Lord gave

Ruth conception

and she bore a son.

And in both cases,

what we see

is the Lord

provided in ways

that no one

could see at first.

The seed began

to grow

below the ground.

A child began

to develop

within the womb.

The end result

would be obvious,

but the beginnings

were hidden.

Jesus said,

the kingdom of God

is like a mustard seed.

The smallest

of all seeds.

You'd hardly

even notice it.

But when it's planted,

it becomes

the largest

of all garden plants

and the birds

of the air

take refuge

in its branches.

The point is,

God often works

in ways

that are initially

hidden from us.

He works

behind the scenes

and within the hearts

of women and men,

often when we least

expect it.

The book of Ruth

contains no dramatic

miracles,

no dreams

or visions,

no prophetic words.

The main characters

are two ordinary women

who have no

political authority,

no military power,

no economic leverage,

no social prominence.

Widows were some

of the most powerless

and disenfranchised

people in the ancient world.

And yet we see

the Lord particularly

caring

for Naomi

and somehow

ensuring

that even far away

in the fields

of Moab,

she heard the news

of the Lord's

merciful provision

for his people

back home.

And Naomi's response

when she heard this news

was to return.

Now this word return,

I don't know

if you noticed it,

it's the key verb

in this chapter.

It appears 12 times.

Verse 6,

she arose to return.

Verse 7,

they went on the way

to return.

Verse 8,

Naomi says,

go return.

They say,

no,

we will return

with you.

Verse 11 and 12,

turn back,

same Hebrew word.

Verse 15,

return with her.

Verse 16,

Ruth says,

don't urge me

to return.

Verse 21,

the Lord has brought

me back,

same word.

The Lord has returned

me.

And verse 22,

so Naomi returned.

Now you might wonder,

why does the author

use this verb

so often?

Right?

You could tell the story

without repeating

the verbs 12 times.

But the same verb

is used throughout

the Bible,

especially in the prophets

to speak of repentance.

We read earlier,

Isaiah 30,

in returning and rest

you shall be saved.

In quietness and trust

shall be your strength.

Or Hosea 14,

1,

return Israel

to the Lord your God.

Your sins have been

your downfall.

Take words with you

and return

to the Lord.

If you consider

the Bible as a whole,

it's one big story

of exile

and return.

In the very beginning

of the Bible,

God placed his people

in a garden

of his provision,

in a temple

of his presence.

But people rebelled

against his authority

and distrusted

his goodness

and so they were exiled.

They were sent away

from that garden.

They became wanderers

in the wilderness,

condemned to die.

The very same pattern

happened with the people

of Israel.

God brought them

into the land of Canaan,

a land of his provision,

with a temple

of his presence.

But they rebelled

against his authority

and distrusted

his goodness.

The land was defiled

and eventually

they were sent

into exile far away.

Jesus told

a famous parable

that tells the same story.

There was a man

who had two sons.

The younger son

demanded his inheritance

from his father,

left home,

journeyed into a far country,

squandered his property

there in reckless living

and found himself

destitute,

lonely,

and hungry.

You see,

according to the Bible,

this is our human condition.

We have all rebelled

against God's authority

and distrusted

his goodness

and the result is

we find ourselves

far from our true home,

spiritually empty,

profoundly alone.

You see,

by settling and staying

in the land of Moab,

Naomi had distanced herself

from the Lord's people

and from the Lord's provision.

And in his kindness,

the Lord was calling Naomi

to return home,

to come back to the Lord

and come back to his people.

Now you might say,

well,

well,

wait a minute.

I mean,

how can you fault Naomi

for leaving

in the midst of a famine?

I mean,

she was only

going along with her husband

and providing for her children.

I mean,

and how can you fault her

for staying there

while there was still

a famine going on?

Well,

fair enough.

I think Naomi's family

was bearing

some of the consequences

of the spiritual

degeneration

of their community

as a whole,

of Israel as a whole.

But you know,

when Naomi comes back

in verse 21,

Naomi makes no excuses.

She says,

I went away

and the Lord

has brought me back.

You see,

it's the kindness

of the Lord

that brings us

to repentance,

to return home

to him.

It's his merciful

intervention

that brings us home

to his presence

and to his people.

In Jesus' parable,

why does the younger son

return home?

It's because far off

in the pig pen

where he's hungry

and alone,

he remembers

the kindness

of his father.

He says,

even my father's

hired servants

have plenty of food

to eat.

And so he arose

and started

the long journey home.

maybe like Naomi

or like the prodigal son,

you've lived far away

from God

or from the church

for a long time.

Maybe you left the church

in a time of famine,

in a time of spiritual dryness,

in a time when the church

didn't live up

to what it should.

Maybe your life

has come crashing down

around you

and now you're alone,

vulnerable,

desperate,

abandoned.

You feel like you have

no future

and no hope.

But can you see

God's kindness

extended to you

even through

ordinary circumstances

of life,

a meal paid for

by a stranger,

unexpected good news

from far away

or perhaps

one dependable person

who sticks with you

through thick and thin

when everyone else

seems to have scattered.

The Lord

in his kindness

is calling you

to return,

to repent,

to come back home

to him

and to his people.

Leave your idols behind,

leave your life

in Moab behind.

Come back home

to Jesus

and to his church.

What we see is

Naomi was willing

to leave behind

everything

and everyone

that she had grown

close to

in the land of Moab.

She had lost

her husband

and two sons

but she still had

her Moabite

daughters-in-law

and it's clear

that they had developed

a close emotional bond.

Even after

their husband's death,

her daughters-in-law

continued living with her.

That was a bit unusual.

But in verses

eight and nine,

we see that Naomi

considered their future

more highly

than her own.

She sent them off

with a generous

blessing

and prepared

to set out

on the long journey

to Bethlehem

alone.

Imagine

in those days

an elderly widow

setting out

on a seven

to ten

day journey

journey

which required

crossing a national

border,

fording a major

river,

climbing over

two thousand feet

elevation

in order to reach

her hometown

up in the hills,

Bethlehem.

She had only

made this journey

once before

in her life.

It was a great risk

to travel

such a distance

alone.

In verse

ten,

they both said,

no,

we will return

with you

to your people.

They lifted up

their voice

and wept

twice,

verse nine,

verse fourteen,

but Naomi

insisted,

verse eleven

through thirteen,

she said,

I want you

two to leave,

I want you

two to have

what I will

never have.

I want you

two to have

freedom.

I want you

two to have

security.

I want you

two to have

a happy marriage.

And hope

for the future.

If you come

with me,

you will share

in my grief

and my loneliness

and my poverty

for the rest

of my life.

But if I let

you go,

you will have

a bright future.

So go.

Naomi was

willing to let

go of everything

and everyone

that she had

known in Moab

to embrace

a bitter present

and an uncertain

future.

But she was

determined to

return home.

God's kindness

led Naomi

to repentance.

To leave

behind her life

in Moab

and return

home to the

Lord's people.

Now you might

ask,

what about

Naomi's bitter

complaints?

If Naomi is

returning home

to the Lord

and his people,

what?

verse 13,

it is exceedingly

bitter to me

for your sake

that the hand

of the Lord

has gone out

against me.

It could also

be translated,

it is more

bitter for me

than for you

that the hand

of the Lord

has gone out

against me.

Verse 20,

she says,

don't call me

Naomi,

don't call me

pleasant or

lovely,

call me bitter.

I mean,

imagine someone

walking into

church that

you recognize

from 10 years

ago and

they say,

don't call me

pleasant,

call me bitter

because the

Lord has dealt

very bitterly

with me.

I went away

full and the

Lord has brought

me back empty.

Why call me

pleasant?

When the

Lord has

testified against

me,

the Almighty

has brought

calamity upon

me.

Some people

have defended

Naomi's

complaint.

After all,

she had lost

her husband

and two

sons.

She wasn't

complaining about

something trivial

or petty.

And Naomi

rightly recognized

that all things

come through

the sovereign

hand of God

and nothing

happens merely

by chance.

One person

said,

by holding

Yahweh

responsible for

her losses,

Naomi

affirmed

the Lord's

participation

in the

events.

Thus,

despite

appearances,

things were

not out of

control.

If he is

at least

involved,

Yahweh,

the Lord,

might very

well straighten

things out.

Bitter

complaint

cloaked

firm

faith.

Now,

other people

have criticized

Naomi's

complaint.

She does

indeed affirm

that God

is sovereign,

but she

certainly

doesn't rest

content

in that

truth.

Verse,

Naomi's

grieving

is also

twisted by

self-pity

and self-centeredness.

Verse 21,

she says,

I went away

full and the

Lord has brought

me back

empty.

She completely

ignores and

disregards her

loyal daughter-in-law

who has sacrificed

everything to

come with her.

She acts like

Ruth doesn't

even exist.

Now,

it's important

to realize

that Naomi

returns home

to the Lord

and to his

people

with bitterness,

with self-pity.

Because in

his kindness,

the Lord

calls us to

return to him

as we are.

He doesn't

say,

clean yourself

up and

then come

home to me.

When the

prodigal son

came home,

he stunk.

He was

dirty.

He was

not well-dressed.

He was

not used to

living in

his father's

house,

having been

gone for

so long.

If a

shepherd goes

and finds

a lost

sheep

that has

been stuck

in a

thicket of

thorn bushes,

that sheep

is going

to be

pretty prickly

until the

thorns get

combed out.

And that

may take

some time.

And Jesus,

the good

shepherd,

doesn't say,

stop being

so prickly.

He says,

come to me

and I will

give you

rest.

The content

of Naomi's

complaint is

mixed.

There's

honesty,

there's

bitterness,

there's

recognition of

God's

sovereignty,

there's a

discontentment

with it.

What do we

take from

that?

God's

love?

Let me

speak to you

for a minute

if you've

experienced

bitter

loss.

The Bible

makes room

for bitter

complaint.

Read many

of the

Psalms,

or the

book of

Lamentations,

or the

prophet

Jeremiah.

How long,

O Lord,

how long?

Why do you

hide your

face?

Why do you

forget our

affliction and

oppression?

You have

caused my

beloved and

my friend

to shun me,

and darkness

is my only

companion.

For some

of us,

these words

make us

uncomfortable.

If someone

comes into

church talking

like Naomi,

we want to

get out of

the conversation.

Or we

respond with

advice.

Well,

what can you

do differently

from now on?

Well,

you got

yourself into

this in the

first place.

Or

explanations.

Well,

every cloud

has a silver

lining.

Sometimes

advice and

explanations are

not helpful,

especially in

the moment.

That's what got

Job's friends

in trouble.

Now,

the bitter

complaints in

the Bible

are not

the last

word.

The Psalms

as a whole

take us

on a

journey from

bitter complaint

to joyful

praise.

Lamentations

is full of

complaint and

confession of

sin,

but smack in

the middle is a

resounding

declaration of

God's

faithfulness.

The steadfast

love of the

Lord never

ceases.

But, you

know,

sometimes you

need to go

through bitter

complaint in

order to

arrive at

joyful praise.

And sometimes

we need to

make space for

each other to

grieve bitterly

before God as

a necessary step

on the way to

praising God

with freedom

and joy.

In the

storyline of

Ruth, God

hears and

responds to

Naomi's

complaint in

three ways.

First, Ruth

and Orpah

weep with

her.

That's

verse 14.

When she

first says

how bitter

she is.

And that is a

Christian response

to weep with

those who

weep.

Second,

God sends

Ruth to

love Naomi

with steadfast

and sacrificial

love.

And as we'll

see, that's

what actually

begins to

transform Naomi.

From a

bitter,

self-pitying

person into

a joyful and

thankful person.

And third,

at the end of

the book,

chapter 4,

verse 15,

Naomi receives

a gentle

rebuke.

The women

of Bethlehem

say,

your daughter-in-law

who loves you

is worth more

to you than

seven sons.

They try to

reorient her

perspective.

Say, you

haven't

realized that

there's someone

right beside you

who's been

very loyal to

you.

Grieving people

sometimes need

rebuke,

just like the

rest of us.

But in Ruth,

at least,

it goes from

weeping to

loving and

later on

rebuking.

That's the

first thing we

see, that

God's kindness

leads us to

repentance, to

return home to

God and his

people.

That's the

first way God

extends his

steadfast love

toward us when

our lives are

falling apart.

His kindness

leads us to

repentance.

But second,

God's steadfast love

doesn't leave us

alone.

In his mercy,

the Lord provided

a loyal companion

for Naomi,

who would be a

living demonstration

of his promise

to never leave

her and never

forsake her.

Now, we've seen

Naomi considered

Orpah and Ruth's

future more highly

than her own.

She was willing

to let them go.

She was willing

to embrace a

bitter present and

an uncertain future

on her own so

that they could

enjoy a bright

future and hope

and flourishing.

Naomi was willing

to let go of

everything and

everyone that she

had known in the

land of Moab.

But what we see

here in Ruth,

verse 16 to the

end, is that

Ruth's love and

loyalty to Naomi

and to the Lord

surpassed even

Naomi's love and

loyalty to Ruth.

Now, if you look at

the dialogue,

starting at verse

8 and going to

verse 17, the way

it unfolds shows

how unusual

Ruth's response

is, right?

First, Naomi

blesses her

daughters-in-law

and send them

off.

And they say,

oh no, we'll

come with you.

And then Naomi

says, you have

absolutely no

future prospects

with me.

Then we see

Orpah turn back.

Orpah does the

sensible,

reasonable,

expected thing.

She stays in the

same place where

she's lived all

her life with the

people she's known

who speak her

language where she

will almost certainly

find another

husband.

Naomi says,

follow her

example.

And this back

and forth and

back and forth

leads to the

climax of this

chapter, verse 16

and verse 17,

where Ruth says

this, do not urge

me to leave you

or return from

following you.

For where you go,

I will go.

And where you

lodge, I will

lodge.

Your people shall

be my people and

your God, my God.

Where you die, I

will die.

And there will I

be buried.

May the Lord do

so to me and

more also if

anything but death

parts me from

you.

Ruth makes it

very clear.

She says, I'm

not just coming

with you for the

ride to make

sure you get

home safely.

I'm not clinging

on to you because

it's mutually

beneficial to both

of us.

I will join your

people and I will

worship your God.

I will not only

stay there for the

rest of your life,

I will stay there

for the rest of my

life.

That's where I'll be

buried.

And I am making a

solemn oath, a

promise before

Yahweh, the God of

Israel, the Lord of

heaven and earth.

I won't leave you

because I won't leave

him.

Ruth's statement has

five parts.

In the ESV, in the

Bibles, in the

pews, it's five

sentences.

And the central

statement is your

people shall be my

people and your God

my God.

That's the heart of

Ruth's promise to

Naomi.

It's not just about

Ruth's love for

Naomi and her care

and concern for her.

It's about Ruth

declaring her loyalty

to the Lord and to

his people even at

the cost of leaving

everything else

behind.

See, Ruth's love and

loyalty to Naomi and

to the Lord surpassed

even Naomi's love and

loyalty toward Ruth.

Let me give you three

contrasts.

Naomi was willing to

let go of everything she

had known for the last

ten years in Moab in

order to return home to

where she had grown up.

Ruth was willing to

let go of everything she

had known for her

whole life in order to

go to a land where she

had never lived.

Like Abraham.

Ruth left behind her

homeland and her pagan

religious background in

order to be loyal to the

God of the Bible.

Now, unlike Abraham,

as far as we know,

Ruth had received no

specific promises for

her personal future.

Ruth had received no

personal word from God.

She had no spouse to

accompany her, no army to

defend her, no possessions

to support her.

And yet Ruth went.

Because she had heard

about the Lord and his

promises and his

kindness.

And how he had promised

through this people,

through the nation of

Israel to bless every

nation on earth.

One day.

And she said, I will give

up everything to be part

of that people.

To be included in that

promise.

Jesus said to his

disciples, any one of

you who does not

renounce all that he

has cannot be my

disciple.

But Jesus also

promised, truly I say

to you, there was no

one who has left behind

house or wife or

brothers or parents or

children for the sake

of the kingdom of God

who will not receive many

times more in this time

and in the age to come

eternal life.

Jesus says in order to

follow him we have to be

willing to give up

everything without

holding anything back.

And yet he promises us

that in the end God

will never be in anyone's

debt.

That God will repay us

far more than we can

ever give to him.

In his mercy and in his

generous love.

Ruth let go of

everything she had known

to go to a foreign land

and yet, interestingly, in

a sense, she was

arriving at her true

home.

Verse 22 says, Naomi

returned and Ruth, the

Moabite, her daughter-in-law

with her, who returned

from the country of Moab.

You might read that and

think, but Ruth has never

been to Bethlehem.

How can she be returning

there?

But she's coming to her

true home.

She's coming to the Lord

and to his people, to the

place where she's meant to

be all along.

So that's the first thing.

Ruth left everything to go

to a foreign land for the

sake of God and his

promises.

Second contrast between

Ruth and Naomi.

Naomi was an elderly woman

with no foreseeable

prospect of marriage or

posterity anywhere.

She was willing to live

the rest of her life on

her own, in her loneliness,

in her poverty, so that

Ruth and Orpah could enjoy

marriage and a bright

future in Moab.

Now, Ruth, as a young

woman with great prospects

for a bright future in

Moab, who chose to give up

those very real prospects in

order to devote herself to

caring and providing for an

old woman in a place where

she had no prospects of

marriage and family.

Ruth is one of the few

examples of people in the

Old Testament voluntarily

embracing the likely prospect

of singleness long-term,

without sex, without marriage,

without children, for the sake

of obedience to the Lord and

service to his people.

The Apostle Paul would later

say singleness is a gift and

it's a call to undivided

devotion to the Lord.

Jesus himself said some have

renounced marriage for the sake

of the kingdom of heaven.

Now, the social dynamics are

different today, but some of you

may be called to embrace the

likely prospect of singleness,

either for a long time or

perhaps even for your whole

life.

For the sake of obedience to

Jesus and devoting yourself to

his kingdom purposes in the

world.

That's the second contrast.

Naomi sacrificed a bright

future.

Ruth sacrificed a bright future

and marriage to care for a

dying widow.

Third, Naomi sent off her

daughters-in-law with a

blessing.

And in return, she received

multiple public displays of

affection and expressions of

love.

Ruth pronounced her unswerving

loyalty to Naomi.

And what did she receive in

return?

Only silence.

Verse 18.

And when she arrived with Naomi

in Bethlehem, Naomi acted as if

Ruth did not even exist.

Have you ever made costly

sacrifices for someone and they

didn't even say thank you?

This is what happened to Ruth.

And she didn't become resentful.

She didn't give up and return back

to Moab.

She persevered in her steady,

devoted, unswerving loyalty to

Naomi.

Ruth left everything she had known

to go to a foreign land.

She sacrificed a future of

marriage and family to care for a

dying widow.

She did it with no thanks.

No recognition.

At least not yet.

In the midst of Naomi's darkness,

God sent Ruth.

When Naomi's life had almost

completely fallen apart, God sent

Ruth to be a living demonstration

of his steadfast, enduring love.

God's kindness leads us to

repentance.

God's steadfast love doesn't leave

us alone.

Perhaps God has sent someone into

your life as a living reminder,

a living demonstration of his

steadfast love in the midst of your

darkness and brokenness.

To be a living reminder that he has

not left you alone.

But the message we proclaim in the season

of Advent is that God's steadfast love

has not left us alone.

Ruth left her homeland in Moab.

Jesus left his glory in heaven.

God so loved the world that he gave his

one and only son that whoever believes

in him would not perish but have

eternal life.

Jesus came to us, took on our frail

humanity, lived his whole entire life

among us.

It says he came to his own and his own

to not receive him.

He came to us in our bitterness,

in our self-pity, and he loved us

with steadfast, sacrificial, unfailing

love.

And even death could not destroy his love.

First John says this is love, not that

we have loved God, but that he loved us

and sent his son as an atoning sacrifice

for our sins.

Jesus Christ is like the elder brother

in the story of the prodigal son.

Except he's a very different elder brother.

The elder brother in that story stays home

and is angry and is just as far away from

the father as the younger one.

But Jesus Christ is the elder brother

who left his home and came to find us

in the midst of the far country

and show us his kindness

and bring us home to the father with him.

And so after his resurrection,

Jesus said to Mary Magdalene,

Jesus said, go tell my brothers,

I'm ascending to my father and your father.

To my God and your God.

Ruth said to Naomi, your people will be my people.

Your God will be my God.

Jesus Christ says to us,

because of what I have done for you,

my father is now your father.

My God is now your God.

Lord, because I live, you also shall live.

Let us pray.

Father, we thank you

that in the midst of the darkest seasons of our lives,

in the midst of our brokenness,

and in the midst of our sin,

our rebellion against you,

that you have come to find us.

To bring us the good news of your kindness

and faithfulness

to bring us home to you.

We thank you that you receive us

along with our bitter complaints,

along with our unresolved issues.

we thank you that you love us.

We thank you that you love us

with a steadfast,

undying,

unfailing,

relentless love.

Lord, we pray

that you would fill our hearts,

you would fill the empty places in our hearts

with your steadfast and unfailing love,

with your loyal companionship.

Lord, we pray that you would bring us back home to you,

and we pray that we would know

that you have not left us alone.

And we pray that we would be your people in this world

who reflect your steadfast love.

So that others might see

who you are,

what kind of a God you are.

We pray these things in the name of Jesus Christ.

Amen.