Ruth 1:1-7

Amen.

Some of you listen to The Archers, don't you?

And it's been running longer than I've been alive.

It started in 1951.

!

And I think that's a really good description of the book of Ruth.

It's a very contemporary drama.

And yet it's got some strange customs that we're going to try and understand.

It's a contemporary drama in a rural setting.

But also with a very happy ending.

And what I want to do this morning is I just want to introduce the family to you

and then talk a little bit about the famine.

Because there's a family here who emigrate because of a famine.

And then I want to talk at the end about the way that the Lord brought this to a happy ending

for Naomi and her daughter-in-law.

So first the family.

You've got the head of the family, Elimelech.

Elimelech's name means, my God is king.

His wife is called Naomi.

They've got two children, Malon and Kilion.

And the story is set there in verse 1.

It's in the day of the judges.

There are big things happening.

And it's the whole period, isn't there, from Joshua, the start of Judges, to Saul, the first king of Israel.

And when you read that book, it's an eye-opening book.

It's a time of spiritual anarchy.

It's some dreadful things happening in the book of Judges.

In fact, you notice the very last verse of the book of Judges.

Can you just flip open the page?

In those days there was no king in Israel.

And everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

It wasn't an easy time to be alive.

And what you have here is life in Gideon's Palestine.

The book of Judges introduces us to some of the great and powerful household names of the Bible.

People like Samson and Delilah.

People like Gideon.

People like Deborah.

And the book of Judges is all about the big national events.

It's how Israel lurched from crisis to crisis to crisis.

That's the book of Judges.

But the book of Ruth hones in on one little family.

One little family in a little town of Bethlehem.

And we're given one little cameo picture of what life was like in the days of the Judges.

One ordinary family.

And straight away, that's an application, isn't it, to you and I?

It's a reminder that God actually cares about you.

There's a hymn that I used to sing when I was a little boy.

God who made the earth, the air, the sky, the sea, who gave the light its birth, careth for me.

It's a reminder that God who rules and reigns in the affairs of nations

is also intimately involved in the ordinary, everyday concerns of your family life.

Jesus said, didn't he, not even a sparrow falls to the ground without him being involved in it.

He's as much concerned with the frustrations and the aspirations of this little family

and your little family as he is concerned with whole civilizations.

He's as much concerned with you this morning as he is with the situation in Ukraine.

Helmut Thielich was a theologian.

Helmut Thielich was a great fan of C.H. Spurgeon, but he didn't share Spurgeon's theology.

And he says this, tell me how lofty God is for you, and I will tell you how little he means to you.

Now I think that's overstating things in a big way.

But he has got a point, doesn't he?

The lofty God has been lofted right out of my private life, he says.

If God has no significance for the tiny little mosaic pieces of my life

and for the things that concern me, then he doesn't concern me at all.

He's got a point there, hasn't he?

Nothing falls outside of the sovereign scope of the providence of God.

The same Jesus who taught you to pray earlier on in the service,

our Father in heaven, also taught you to pray,

your kingdom come.

His kingdom is coming, which is global and universal.

God who made the earth, the air, the skies, the sea,

who gave the light its form, cares for me.

So let's look what secondly happens to this little family.

We're told in verse 1 there's a famine.

It's quite probable it happened in the time of Gideon, Judges chapter 6.

Judges 6 · chapter mention

Seven years that the people of God are under pressure.

They can't harvest crops.

And according to verse 4, it's about ten years before the news got through

that the famine was over.

And so there was no bread in Bethlehem.

What does Bethlehem mean?

Bethlehem means the house of bread.

No bread in the house of bread.

The promised land, do you remember?

A land flowing with milk and honey has no bread.

And the people of God who were meant to be faithful

were no longer faithful to the covenant that God had entered into with them.

And so when you read the book of Deuteronomy,

you'll find that there were blessings and curses

attached to a relationship with God.

And God's people had intermingled and intermarried

with the pagan nations around them.

And God's judgment had come down on the land.

And so there was a famine.

There was no bread in Bethlehem.

The house of bread had no bread.

Things were really tough economically.

Materially, it was a recession.

And so we're told in verse 2, aren't we?

This little family emigrates.

They went to live in the country of Moab.

Notice what it says there?

It says that they sojourned there.

A better translation is they went for a little while.

There are three Hebrew words in this passage to describe the journey.

The first one is, and that verse in verse 1, which is sojourned.

They were there for a little while.

That means they had no intention of staying there permanently.

It was 40 or 50 miles down the road.

It wasn't very far away at all,

but it might have been on a different planet spiritually.

They were only there 40, 50 miles down the road.

They only intended to be there for a little while.

And yet, they'd moved beyond the pale of God's people to live amongst the Moabites.

It seemed like such a sensible thing to do.

After all, Elimelech, he had a wife, he had two young children to care for.

There was famine in the land.

It was common sense.

It seemed the reasonable thing to do.

And yet, from a biblical point of view,

it was a massive vote of no confidence in God.

Elimelech means, do you remember, God is king,

but his actions show that he doesn't believe that.

He doesn't live up to his name.

And instead of trusting in God as his king,

or turning to God as his king,

and pleading with God as his king to provide for his family,

he walks out of the promised land.

And God had expressly forbidden his people

from intermingling and intermarrying with the pagan nations around,

especially the Moabites.

The Moabites are singled out in the book of Deuteronomy.

They're particularly dangerous.

They worship a god called Chemosh.

The Moabites offer human sacrifice.

They offer their children to their gods

as part of their regular worship.

And so economically, materially, it makes common sense.

From that point of view, it made sense to emigrate to Moab,

but spiritually, it's a disaster.

There's no place to raise your kids, Moab.

Somebody has described Elimelech's decision

as the triumph of the pragmatic over faith.

That could be a line that applies to the whole of the book of Judges.

Everyone did what was right in their own eyes.

And Elimelech, he did what he thought was right for his family,

but there was disastrous consequences.

And it didn't happen overnight.

There's three words.

Verse 1, it says that they went to sojourn in Moab

just for a little while.

Then in verse 2,

the word for stay there,

it suggests that they began to put down roots

in Moab.

And then in verse 4,

when Elimelech died,

and Naomi and her two sons settled down,

to the extent of the sons growing up

and marrying Moabitess women,

now they're permanently, aren't they?

They're 40 or 50 miles down the road,

but they're miles away from where they belong.

And that can happen to you.

It can happen to people like me.

Think of,

there's a man in the New Testament called Demas.

And in 2 Timothy 4,

Paul says,

Demas has forsaken me.

He's walked away

having loved the present world.

No doubt Demas

walked out on Jesus

in his heart of hearts.

No doubt Demas

probably intended to return.

But as far as we know,

he never did.

And that's why the writer to the Hebrews

tells us,

take heed,

lest there be in any of you

a sinful heart of unbelief

in departing from the living God.

It happens

bit by bit,

slowly,

imperceptibly.

And that's what Elimelech did.

He walked out

on God.

Let me ask you,

is there any danger

of that happening in your life?

You see,

God had brought the people of God

to the promised land.

He'd given to them a tribe.

Each family had an inheritance.

Each family,

it was divvied up.

They had a parcel of ground

and it was their plot

in the promised land,

God's land.

And they were to bring up

their family

and pass it on to their children

and their children

and they were to look forward

to the Messiah.

It was their inheritance.

But Elimelech's inheritance,

Naomi's inheritance,

they walk out on.

It's left

untended for.

It's uncared for.

It's left to go to

rack and ruin

while they're in Moab.

What about you?

You have an inheritance

in Christ.

You have an inheritance

amongst the saints.

God has brought you

into his kingdom.

And you were in church

this morning.

But we all know,

don't we,

that you can be in church

this morning

and yet be a very,

very long way from God.

God,

it's your inheritance

in Christ

being cared for

and being tended.

You see,

we say to ourselves,

don't we,

and our deceitful hearts

say to ourselves,

I'm just going to

take a step back.

I need a little break

from living all out.

I'm just going to enjoy

the world for a week

or two.

And before you know it,

there you are,

you've stayed there.

And you're in danger

of settling down

and getting a taste

for what the world

has got to offer you.

And maybe you're saying

to yourself,

like Elimelech,

well,

what else can I do?

You've got to live,

haven't you?

Have you?

Elimelech might say to us,

there's a famine in the land,

I've got a wife,

I've got two young kids

to look after.

You've got to live,

haven't you?

Have you?

You see,

the message of the Bible

is there's something

more important than life.

Life itself,

and that is God.

And your relationship

with Him.

You're only here

for three score years

and ten on average.

Your children are going

to die.

Your grandchildren

are going to die.

There is something

more important

than life itself,

and that is being

right with God

and leaving

that kind of legacy

and that kind of

inheritance to your kids

and your grandkids.

Noah and Elimelech,

it tells us,

doesn't it,

that they were

Ephrathites

in verse two.

That means they were

descendants of Caleb.

They belonged to the

kind of aristocracy

of Israel.

They were pretty well off.

There's a hint of that

in verse 21.

Naomi says,

I went away full.

Yeah,

there was a famine

in the land,

but they were quite

comfortably off

in the land.

I went away full,

but I came back

empty,

she says.

It's one thing

to protect

your lifestyle,

but there's something

that is far more

important than being

comfortably off.

There's something

far more important

than being comfortably

off in this world,

and that is being

conformable

to the will of God.

That's more important.

There's a story

about when the

Chinese communists

took over China

in 1949,

and there's a

telegram

that's sent

by a commanding

officer

of the

Salvation Army.

Commander of the

Salvation Army

is in Shanghai.

It's 1949.

The communists

are coming.

He sent a telegram

back to head office

that just had

one sentence,

and this is what

he said.

He said,

I'm sitting

in the premises,

standing

on the promises.

Sitting

in the premises,

standing

on the promises.

Isn't that

what a liminex

should have done?

He's in

the promised land,

and he should

have stayed

there,

shouldn't he?

God has made

these fantastic

promises to

these people

that he would

provide for them

as long as they

remained faithful

to him

and kept his

covenant.

It was the place

where every true

Israelite should be,

sitting in the

premises,

standing on the

promises.

But a liminex

walks away.

He ups and

leaves.

And in so

doing,

he testifies

with his feet

his unbelief.

It's really

easy, isn't it,

for me to be

critical with

hindsight and

the passage of

time and so

on.

But let's be

honest,

we've all

done this.

Isn't that the

kind of mistake

that many people

make,

especially middle

class Christians

in the UK?

are the best

for our

children.

We want them

to have a good

education.

We want them

to have the

best start in

life.

And it's

possible,

just possible,

very possible,

that in

pursuing that

for ourselves

and for our

families,

we do it to

the spiritual

detriment of

our kids.

You've got to

ask yourself,

haven't you,

about Marlon

and Killian.

Married as

they were to

know about

women,

immersed in

Moabite culture.

And you've

got to ask

yourself,

how did

those boys

die?

Because that

is a far

more important

question,

isn't it,

than how

do they

live?

Your

children,

my children

are going

to die.

And your

grandchildren

are going

to die

and so

will mine

if God

gives them.

And the

question is,

will they

die well?

Will they

die trusting

in the God

of Israel?

Will they

die,

as we

sang in

Psalm 91,

sheltering

under the

shadow of

his wings?

Or were

they lost?

You see,

there's no

comparison.

There's no

comparison to

living amongst

God's people

and bringing

your children

up amongst

the people

of God,

under the

word of

God,

to living

in the

world.

There's

just no

comparison.

God's

son.

And yet,

how many

of us

forget that

not only

in the

bringing

up of

children,

but in

so many

other ways

we forget

it.

It's in

the choice

of a

life

partner,

in the

choice

of a

spouse,

or in

thinking

about a

move to

another

part of

the UK

or the

world,

or about

whether we

should

accept

that

promotion

at work

and we

make

important

decisions

without

asking the

questions.

we make

really

important

decisions

without

thinking

about

the

spiritual

consequences.

Will this

lead me

to love

God

and save

him more?

Or will

it bring

a coldness

to my

spirit?

Will this

relationship

that I'm

thinking about,

will it

bring me

nearer to

God,

or will

it drive

me further

away from

God?

if I

take that

job,

well the

money is

great,

but the

hours are

terrible,

and what

will that

job mean

for my

family?

What

will it

mean that

I have

so little

time for

my kids?

Will it

mean that

I have

all my

time at

work and

no time

to serve

and volunteer

at church?

What

will be

the spiritual

consequences

if I make

that move

to Moab

and there's

a really

great house

in Moab

and I can

have a

bigger garden

but there's

no gospel

church

anywhere

near.

It

astonishes

me.

I find it

incredible

that people

will move

house and

never ask

the question

is there

a good

local

gospel

church

that I

can get

really

stuck

in with?

It's

really

easy for

me to be

critical of

Elimelech

but we

all fall

into the

same way

of thinking

can't

we?

And

Elimelech

went to

Moab

to seek

a livelihood

but he

lost a

life.

He

sought a

home and

he found

a grave.

He wanted

a future

for his

family

but he

brought them

almost to

the point

of extinction.

I think

it's

legitimate

to ask

this

isn't

it?

Why was

Moab

so attractive?

What

makes the

world

so attractive

to God's

people?

I think

it's

this

God's

people

are

most

at

danger

they

are

most

vulnerable

when

things

are

dry

in

Bethlehem

when

there's

no

bread

in

Bethlehem

that's

why God's

people

backslide

it's

not

necessarily

that the

world is

such a

great

place

it's

not

necessarily

that the

world has

suddenly become

really

attractive

but it's

that Bethlehem

has become

so dry

they're

getting

nothing

out of

the

ministry

anymore

prophet

Amos

describes

it as

the

famine

not of

bread

but a

famine

of hearing

the word

of God

and that's

how it

often is

in the

UK

at the

minute

there's

a famine

of hearing

of the

word

of God

and God's

sheep

are

hungry

and they

look up

to be

fed

and they

get

nothing

it's

always

the

danger

when that

happens

people will

go elsewhere

to find

their

satisfaction

and meaning

and purpose

in life

and so

if that's

where you

are

spiritually

you might

be sitting

in this

church

this

morning

regularly

under the

preaching

of the

word

but if

there's

a famine

in your

heart

of the

hearing

of the

word

of God

if you

get

nothing

out of

the

ministry

of this

church

let me

say to

you

stay

on the

premises

stand

on the

promises

don't go

running

off

plead

with God

to visit

his people

again just

as he did

in Bethlehem

plead with

God

that he

would turn

our hearts

towards him

that his

word

would come

to us

not in

word

but in

demonstration

of

the

power

of the

Holy

Spirit

so that

the

word

would

come

not just

like

another

sermon

or another

Bible

talk

but it

would be

like

dew

going

on

the

mown

grass

so that

we're

refreshed

plead with

God to

do it

because God

knows the

way to

bring us

back

and that

brings us

to verses

6 and

7

there is a

happy ending

isn't

it

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

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

10 years

later

in the

far

country

Naomi's

ready to

return

and there's

three ways

I think

that the

Lord

brings her

back

brings her

back to

where she

belongs

three things

first of all

there's the

rod of

God's

discipline

you see

God loves

us too

much as

his people

to let

us go

whom the

Lord loves

the book

of Hebrews

says

he chastens

and you

and I

might be

tempted to

say to

Naomi

you know

troubles

and they

are severe

troubles

and I

don't want

to underplay

what Naomi's

going through

she's in a

very difficult

time

but you

and I

might be

tempted to

say to

her

in her

troubles

well God

has got

nothing to

do with

this

Job's

counselors

would have

said that

wouldn't

they

it was

your sin

that got

you into

this

situation

and God

is punishing

you for

your sin

we understand

the gospel

we understand

grace

and we

might be

tempted

to say

to Naomi

no no

no

God has

got nothing

to do

with

this

that

isn't

the way

that Naomi

sees it

look at

verse 13

look at

what she

says

she says

the hand

of the

Lord

has gone

out

against

me

later on

in the

chapter

verse 20

verse 21

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

don't call

me Naomi

which means

pleasant

call me

Mara

which means

bitter

I don't

think for

one moment

Naomi is

bitter

I don't

think Naomi

is a

bitter spirit

I don't

think you

can see

that

I don't

think for

one minute

she's

blaming God

for her

troubles

I don't

think that

I think

she's

speaking

subjectively

about how

she feels

so much

as

objectively

I don't

think she's

speaking

subjectively

about how

she feels

she's

speaking

more objectively

about what's

happened in

her life

she's had a

bitter experience

and she

sees this

as God's

way of

drawing her

back of

dealing with

her

whom the

Lord loves

he disciplines

you must

never

think as a

Christian

that when

things are

going wrong

that God

is punishing

you

there's a

very simple

reason for

that

you could

never ever

suffer in

this world

anything that

you go through

in this world

would be enough

to punish you

for your

sins

you deserve

far more

than all

of that

if you

want to

know what

your sin

deserves

you look

to Jesus

at the

cross

he was

in that

barren

land

he cried

out

my God

my God

why have

you forsaken

me

he cried

out

I thirst

he took

the punishment

that our

sin deserves

and we know

that God

only punishes

sin in

two places

he punishes

sin

in hell

and on

the cross

and if

you won't

go to

the cross

to be

forgiven

you will

have to

bear the

consequences

of yourself

in hell

but in

this life

do not

think that

God is

punishing

me for

my sins

because

the Lord

Jesus

for the

Christian

has taken

that

punishment

on himself

but what

happens

is that

God

does

chasten

us

that's

not quite

the same

thing

do you

remember

how Paul

puts it

in Romans

he says

we rejoice

in our

sufferings

that's

the distinctly

Christian

thing

the natural

thing is

to complain

the natural

thing is

to despair

the noble

thing is

to grin

and bear

it

but the

Christian

thing is

to rejoice

we rejoice

in our

suffering

because in

our

sufferings

knowing

that

suffering

produces

endurance

and endurance

produces

character

and character

produces

hope

and hope

does not

put us

to shame

because

God's

love has

been poured

out into

our hearts

through the

Holy Spirit

and the

writer says

no discipline

seems pleasant

at the time

but painful

but later on

it produces

a harvest

of righteousness

and peace

for those

who've been

trained for it

so God's

word for you

this morning

is this

it is

don't

waste

your

sufferings

be exercised

under the

chastening

hand of God

as Naomi

is disciplined

by God

God is

bringing her

back to

where she

belongs

and a little

bit later

we will see

in this book

a harvest

of righteousness

that appears

in her life

and so

God will

not leave

his

backslidden

people

in the

far

country

and when

he seeks

to win

us

back

sometimes

he does

as he did

with Naomi

personal

disaster

is a

method

that he

uses

the sorrow

of bereavement

and loss

awakens

in her

a longing

to return

but there's

something else

God uses

in the

loneliness

of her

situation

and the

bitterness

of her

experience

she hears

a rumor

look at

verse 6

there's

a rumor

of God's

deliverance

she had

heard

that the

Lord had

visited his

people and

given them

food

how did

she hear

the weather

forecast

run on the

BBC website

like we all

have this

week

was she

reading the

financial times

and she

noticed there

had been an

upturn in the

economy in

Israel

where did

this rumor

come

what did

she hear

look what

she heard

she heard

that the

Lord was

visiting his

people

that the

Lord had

come to

the aid

of his

people

and so

we only

think of

secondary

causes

don't we

if there's

a good

harvest

the farmers

get the

praise

and the

fertilizer

it's a bad

harvest

we blame

the weather

and we

forget that

it is

God our

creator

God who

made the

earth

the

back of

the

loaf

is the

snowy

flour

the

back of

the

flour

is the

mill

the

back of

the

mill

is the

wheat

and the

showers

and the

sun

and the

father's

will

that's

what she

heard

that there

was bread

in Bethlehem

and again

that the

Lord had

visited his

people

and provided

for them

and given

them a

blessing

of the

covenant

he turned

their hearts

back to

himself

and that's

what happened

in the

book of

Judges

it's this

cyclical

process

where the

people

apostatize

and turn

away from

God

they chase

after other

gods

and then

God raises

up a

saviour

a judge

and the

people's

hearts

are turned

back to

him

and that's

how it

goes in

the book

of Judges

and she

had

heard that

God

has intervened

in the

land

and God

was raising

up a

saviour

that he

is visiting

his people

and so

now they

are God's

people

in God's

place

under God's

blessing

and their

faith has

been

reinvigorated

but we

hear an

even more

remarkable

rumour

we hear a

remarkable

rumour

that in

the town

of David

this day

a saviour

has been

born

that God

has sent

his redeemer

into the

world

into this

little town

of Bethlehem

that into

the house

of bread

comes one

who claims

to be the

bread of

life

have you

heard that

rumour

she

heard a

rumour

that God

had visited

his people

and I

wonder whether

you've

responded to

that rumour

wherever you

are in your

life now

whatever your

circumstances

may be

Pascal the

philosopher

said that in

each and every

one of us

there is a

God shaped

hole

which only

Christ can

fill

John Paul

Sartre

was another

atheist

he remained

an atheist

but he

said something

very interesting

he said that

God doesn't

exist I

cannot deny

he said

but that my

whole being

cries out for

God I

cannot forget

and each one

of us has a

hunger for

God

every single

one of us

have been

created

with a

sense of

the divine

God has

put eternity

in your

heart

and that's

what brought

Naomi home

the rod of

God's

discipline

God dealing

with her

in the hard

things

but also

the rumour

that God

isn't a

concept

but he is

the sovereign

God who

has not

spared his

only son

but he's

visited and

redeemed his

people

that he sent

the Lord

Jesus

into the

world to

take the

punishment

for our

sins

and to

give us

a future

and that's

the rumour

that she

heard

and there's

more than

a hint of

that in

the book

of Ruth

because she

is the

grandmother

of David

and David

is the

great ancestor

of David's

greatest son

the Messiah

there's a

direct link

isn't this

from this

story of

Ruth

to the

Lord Jesus

to us

because God

is living

and powerful

and sovereign

and in his

providence

and in his

grace he's

visited this

planet

and there's

no better

news than

that

that God

has come

and visited

his people

and he's

brought to us

the bread of

life without

which our

souls will

perish

and so what's

the third

thing she

does as we

finish

she comes

back to

God

doesn't

she

in genuine

repentance

I was reading

this an article

this week about

kind of the

cheap airlines

you know

easy jet

all those

ones

that are

around for a

little while

but they

never last

and there

was one

airline that

some of you

might remember

was run by a guy

called Freddie

Laker and it

was Laker

Airlines

it went bust

in 1982

it went bust

but there was a

flight that was

still in mid

air

mid flight

it was on its

way from

Manchester to

Switzerland

and the news

broke that the

company had

kind of gone

bust

and the plane

had to turn

around

and go back

to Manchester

can you imagine

the disappointment

for those

passengers

Margaret Thatcher

the Russians

called her

the Iron

Lady

her colleagues

were worried

that her

reforms in

the UK

were going

too far

and she

gave that

famous speech

where she

said to her

colleagues at

the party

conference

you turn

if you want

to but the

lady is not

for turning

but Naomi

is for

turning

and if you

are wise

this morning

you will be

for turning

too

we can't

spot it

really in

the English

but 11 or

12 times

the word

turn

comes up

in chapter

1

it's the

same in the

prophets

in the Old

Testament

they call

God's people

back to

covenant

faithfulness

it's the

word

repentance

she turned

she turned

right around

she admitted

that she got

it wrong

and she came

back to God

and I went

out full of

myself

she says

I went

out full of

my plans

full of my

hopes for the

future

but I've

come back

empty

and you

may be in

church this

morning

but you've

drifted

and you've

gone far

off

but there's

a way back

this morning

and Jesus

said what

profit a man

if he gained

the whole

world and

lose his own

soul

what profit

is there

if you

achieve all

your goals

you fulfill

all your

dreams

and you