God's Sovereign, Saving, Steadfast Love | Ruth 1:1-21
Why focus on the book of Ruth? For one, the book of Ruth follows the book of Judges. And for all the ways Judges displays the depths of darkness and dysfunction of a world where God is utterly disregarded, Ruth displays the light and beauty of God’s providence. In his exposition of the book of Ruth, entitled Sex, Race, and the Sovereignty of God, John Piper writes,
Everywhere I look . . . the issue for real people in real life is, “Can I trust and love the God who has dealt me this painful hand in life?”
—John Piper
That is the question the book of Ruth intends to answer. The purpose of the book of Ruth is to frame the tragedies and heartaches in the lives of God’s people under God’s sovereign, saving, and steadfast love. So, the story of Ruth is mainly an expression of the glory of God’s greatness and goodness even in the darkest of times. And the fruit, we are praying may come from sowing the seeds of the doctrine contained here, is a stronger fabric to our faith, tougher fiber to our hope in God, and greater ballast in the boat of our individual and corporate spirituality, that would keep us from being swamped when the storms of life threaten to blow our lives away. Piper writes,
The painful things that come into our lives are not described by God as accidental or as out of control. This would be no comfort. That God cannot stop a germ or a car or a bullet or a demon is not good news; it is not the news of the Bible. God can. And ten thousand times he does. But when he doesn’t, he has his reasons. And in Christ Jesus, they are all loving. We are taught this sovereignty so that we will drink it in till it saturates our bones. He is getting us ready to suffer without feeling unloved.”
—John Piper
That’s what we’re asking God to do as we give attention to His Word to us in Ruth – that we might be a people who can suffer without becoming bitter and hopeless regarding God’s loving purpose for us, and His divine goodness to us.
Another reason for focusing on the book of Ruth is because, in the context of the redemptive storyline of the Bible, Ruth the foreigner, Ruth the widow, Ruth the immigrant, Ruth the unlikely convert is a profoundly important link in the generational chain of the Messiah. Jesus was born to Joseph who traced his line to David, who was the grandson of Ruth and Boaz.
In other words, the story of Ruth is an Advent story – a redemption story – pointing to Jesus, the coming King. With that in mind, give your attention to Ruth 1:1-21.
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 Mahlon and Chilion. 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 was Ruth. They lived there about ten years, and both Mahlon and Chilion 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 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 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?”
—Ruth 1:1-21
There are 4 things I believe the author of the book of Ruth means for us to notice in chap. 1. 1) a nation in crisis (1:1), 2) a family in pain (1:3-5), 3) a woman’s troubled faith (1:6-13, 19-21), and 4) a remarkable conversion (1:16-17). First,
A Nation in Crisis
V. 1 says, “In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land.”That is the setting – the time of the judges. Over the past several weeks you have seen how terribly disordered things were at that time. According to Judges 2,
Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died . . . they buried him . . . And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel. And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD . . . and they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods . . . and bowed down to them . . . and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth . . . so the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel . . . He sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies . . . the LORD was against them for harm, as the LORD had warned, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress.
—Judges 2:8-15
One word categorically describes the people of Israel during the days of the judges. Apostasy. It’s meaning is captured in phrases like, “They abandoned the LORD.” “They went after other gods . . . and bowed down to them.” “They abandoned the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth.” That’s apostasy. And the fruit born of their apostasy is summed up in v. 15, “They were in terrible distress.”
A one sentence summary description of the days when the judges ruled is found in Judges 21:25 – we heard it last week -
In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
—Judges 21:25
One word that describes a people who will submit to NO authority but their own, and live by No rules except, their own – is anarchy. The days of the judges were characterized by apostasy and anarchy. And then to add even more severity to the situation, Ruth 1:1 says,
In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land.
—Ruth 1:1
So, the story of which we are about to enter takes place during a time of great spiritual darkness, intense social chaos, and profound physical desperation. And in desperate times, desperate people do desperate things. And it was desperation, then, that caused Elimelech, to choose to relocate to Moab with his wife Naomi and their two sons.
Now before we move on, let’s just register that the reason the people of Israel were in a time of terrible distress is because the hand of the LORD was against them. And the reason the hand of the LORD was against them is because they had abandoned the LORD and were running after other gods. And reason they went after other gods is because their generation did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel in the past. And the reason they did not know LORD or His mighty works is because there was a more serious famine in the land - a famine for this book. One generation is all it took - one generation failed to pass on to the next generation the food that this world knows not of – the bread of life, the sound of God’s voice, the revelation of the truth of God’s person and presence and power.
Let this passage of Scripture serve a reminder that it is our highest calling to tell – in word and deed - the Biblical truth of God, His mighty works, and how His mercy triumphs over sin and unfaithfulness – and to explain – through our own failures and weakness - the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ. D.A. Carson has famously said,
“The first generation loves the gospel. The second generation assumes the gospel. The third generation loses the gospel.”
—D. A. Carson
In other words, we are never more than one generation (or two) from idolatry, unbelief, apostasy and anarchy. God help us to take this to heart. A 2nd thing to observe,
A Family in Pain
Look at vv. 3-5.
But Elimelech the husband of Naomi died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives . . . They lived there about ten years, and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman (Naomi) was left without her two sons and her husband.
—Ruth 1:3-5
It is a sensitive thing to enter into the emotions of families touched by death. A friend of mine lost his 54-year-old wife to an accidental drug overdose. I remember getting the news in the morning, right after it happened so I called him – and he wailed on the phone. He wailed in the pain of grief.
Laurie and I have two family friends who have both lost sons who died in their twenties. One died in an accident. The other died suddenly from an undiagnosed virus. Both families were shaken deeply and suffered unspeakably from these losses.
Members of this church family have walked through the valley of the shadow of death. And you know it is bitter. For others of you, your pain may not be the pain of death, but it is, nevertheless, a pain of loss. In fact, for people who have experienced betrayal, or divorce, or abuse, or abandonment, or an emotionally dead marriage, or a chronic illness, or loved ones who are living out apostasy or anarchy right before your eyes, or a hundred other reasons to hurt, there is a hole, there is an ache that leaves you, at times, asking, “Can I really trust and love the God who has dealt this painful providence to me?”
And so here is Naomi – a symbol for everyone who is left to endure the nightmares of life’s most violent storms. V. 5 is so stark – “The woman was left without her two sons and her husband.” That is a family in pain. Third, observe,
Naomi’s Troubled Faith
In vv. 6-14 and 19-21 we have an opportunity to look into Naomi’s heart in the midst of this world-shattering chapter of her life. And what we see is evidence of faith – imperfect faith, weakened faith, unsettled faith, but faith nevertheless. In v. 8 she says to Ruth and Orpah,
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.
—Ruth 1:8-9
Naomi’s reference to the LORD is the covenantal name “Yahweh” – it refers to God as THE relationship keeping God. And the word “kindness” is the Hebrew word “hesed.” It’s that quality which moves a person to act for the benefit of another without respect to the advantage it might bring to the one who expresses it. In other words, Naomi is referring to God as a God of mercy, kindness, and steadfast love. Naomi understands God that way and wishes for Him to express Himself to her daughters-in-law that way. So, she is praying a blessing over these two women. In v. 13, however, Naomi says,
It is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me . . . (v. 20) Do not call me Naomi. Call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and LORD has brought me back empty.
—Ruth 1:13, 20
What the eyes of Naomi’s faith CAN see is that God is the ONE behind all her misery. God stops the rain. God brings famines. God took her husband. God took her sons. And from the limited perspective of her theological system, it’s all her fault. Self-condemnation is all over her. “The hand of the LORD has gone out against me.” Why is she so convinced that God is punishing her?
Was it Moab? “Why did we move to Moab with all its idols and potential compromise? We knew we were playing with fire.” Was it her son’s pagan wives? V. 4 says her sons Mahlon and Chilion “took” Moabite wives. That word “took” means, literally, to pick up and carry away. It is not the typical word used to describe a tender, respectful, gentle approach to a woman. It has the connotation of fulfilling a lustful desire. Was Naomi’s perception of being the object of God’s anger due to her son’s sinful desires? Or did it have to do with the infertility of her daughters-in-law? Look again at v. 4.
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 Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.
—Ruth 1:4
Do you see that? Ten years of marriage for Mahlon and Chilion, and NO children. What goes through the mind of a woman who knows that conception is from the Lord, and she isn’t conceiving?
After my friend, I referred to earlier, lost his wife to a drug overdose, I went to spend time with him. We sat in his living room late into night while he talked and talked. He was glad to share his sweet memories. But often he would turn to his regrets. “If only I had . . .” or “Maybe if I had just . . .” Oh the haunting and self-punishing thoughts that go through the minds of those suffering through the dark providences of life. It is quite natural for the eyes of our souls – when we walk through the most painful things – to be overwhelmed with our own countless sins and failures. And it’s at those times, when pain and grief and guilt are screaming in our face, that we are most vulnerable to losing our grip on the gospel. We have a hard time seeing the glory of the Lord’s sovereign, saving, and steadfast love. Naomi acknowledged that God was on move. V. 6 -
She had heard in the fields of Moab that the LORD had visited his people and given them food.
—Ruth 1:6
But what she couldn’t see was how God had used her weak and troubled faith as a testimony that possessed enough truth about who God was that it contributed to the personal and saving faith of Ruth. Through what other human source could this life-transforming gospel have come? Elimelech was dead when Ruth entered the picture. Naomi and her sons were it. Flawed vessels? Absolutely. But Ruth, the Moabitess – born and raised in pagan idolatry, and possessing zero knowledge of God – experienced conversion by the power of God, revealing the priceless treasure of the glory of God, through a broken-hearted vessel, named Naomi.
Could there be folks here today who are persuaded that your loved one’s disinterest in and/or lack of commitment to Jesus are a direct result of your personal failure to bring this about. And God is pretty disappointed with you for your dismal performance and less than stellar display of Christ-like character. And further, your loved one’s spirituality, or lack thereof, is evidence that He is punishing you for it. Hey! If that’s you, stop and take a good look at Naomi and Ruth, and realize that God’s saving grace is WAY bigger than your, or anybody else’s, ability to make the spiritually dead live, or the spiritually blind see, or the spiritually flat-lined feel desire, and love for God in the person of Jesus Christ. The sovereign, saving, steadfast love of God was dynamic and active in plain sight. Ruth had become a disciple. But Naomi didn’t recognize it – yet.
There is something else Naomi could not see – i.e. how God was using Ruth as a living demonstration of His covenant-keeping love and kindness to Naomi. V. 14 –
Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
—Ruth 1:14
“Clung” is a marriage word. It means, “to cleave”. It’s different than the word “took” in v. 4, in that it is loving and promise-keeping and genuine and deep with affection. The point is that Ruth was a manifestation of God’s grace-filled, marriage-like cleaving to Naomi. Naomi says to Ruth, “Leave. Leave. Go back. I have nothing to offer you. There is no future for you with me. I bring nothing to the table in this relationship.” Exactly. And that’s true for every one of us. Ruth was (and is) a powerful illustration of a God who pursues us even when we’re saying, “leave me alone.” She shows us what God is like when He takes hold of us, before we take hold of Him. She is a demonstration of 2 Tim. 2:12, which says,
If we are faithless, he remains faithful – for he cannot deny himself.
—2 Timothy 2:12
Ruth shows us a God who, once He has made us His own, will never leave us nor forsake us – a God who pursues us with goodness and mercy all the days of our life – and works all things (the best and worst) together for our eternal well-being. God’s sovereign, saving, steadfast love was being revealed to Naomi, through Ruth, in plain sight. But Naomi couldn’t see it – yet.
There’s a third thing Naomi could not see, i.e. how God was working in and through all the details of her personal trials and tribulations to fulfill His greater purpose in redemptive history.
“Who would have imagined that in the worst of all times – the period of the judges – God was quietly moving in the tragedies of a single family to prepare the way for the greatest king of Israel?”
—John Piper
God never wastes our pain. He uses all the everyday experiences in the lives and losses of everyday people to accomplish His eternal purpose. 4th –
Ruth’s Remarkable Conversion
That evidence is most plainly demonstrated in Ruth’s own words recorded in vv. 16-17.
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 1:16-17
These words are mind-boggling when you consider that Ruth’s experience in life is nearly the same as Naomi’s – only worse. She had NO heritage of faith in the God of the Bible. Her husband had died. She had been married for ten years without having a child. Ruth had her own griefs and guilt. Staying with Naomi wasn’t going to kick her life up a notch. It would inevitably mean leaving family and everything familiar. It would most likely mean a life of widowhood – and thus a life without masculine protection or provision in a world extremely unsafe for women. It meant relocating to an unknown land, unfamiliar people with new customs and language. It meant living among folks who would always see her as someone who is “not from here.” “You’re not one of us.”
Just think of how far Ruth had come in order to make this kind of commitment. And where did this resolve come from? Not blood relation. Not the power of the will of the flesh. This resolve – no, this faith - could only be born of the Spirit of God. “Your God will be my God and may the LORD do so to me, and more, if I break my commitment. I will not return to my past. I will never go back. I don’t know what the future holds. But I have come to know the ONE who holds the future.”
Do you have that kind of resolve? Resolve that is result of new birth? Is there no turning back for you? Is the God of Ruth and Naomi your God? Or are you still running after other gods – bowing down to the Baals and serving the Ashteroth of the 21st century? Have your eyes been opened by the power of the God to behold the beauty and wisdom of God – revealed in the once for all wrath-bearing, guilt-removing, sin-forgiving, debt-canceling, enslavement-to-sin delivering death of His own son, Jesus, where God certified and guaranteed, His sovereign, saving, and steadfast love for those who will entrust themselves to Him and Him alone? If so, then you know He is with you in every dark valley. And every pain, whether we are protected from them or not, is only a servant to accomplish his purpose. And there is nothing good that He will not provide, even if we have to wait for the last day for every hurtful loss to be repaid and every reason to be made plain.