RUTH, BAD NEWS WITH A GOOD NEWS BACKING

 BAD NEWS WITH A GOOD NEWS BACKING

The Book of Ruth

The book is a love story of a daughter in law for her mother in law

It is a story that begins in disappointment and sadness but ends with

Good news.

Israel was in and out conflict with Lord because of their disobedience and

The worship of Idol gods. After Joshua death, God installed Judges to 

Rule Israel. They would be obedient until the Judge died and then disobedient. Since there was no king every man did as they saw fit.

Ruth 1:1-2

1 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. 2 The man's name was Elimelech, his wife's name Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there. 

The names of Israelites had meaning which may indicates God divine 

Plan,

        Bethlehem     House of Bread

        Elimelech      God is my king

        Naomi           pleasant or beautiful

        Mahlon          sick 

        Kilion             destruction, failing, blurring of the eyes

        Ruth              Friend

Just looking at the names, The God is my king, with his beautiful wife and sickly sons abandon the House of Bread and went to Moab the place of

Idol gods. 

A BAD MOVE ALLOWED BY GOD

As the head of the household, God was not the king of Elimelech’s life. He made a decision to move his family to land where the people worshipped

Idol gods. He chose the physical food over the spiritual food of the Lord.

The Moabites were descendants of Lot's incestuous union with his first born daughter. They were enemies of Israel thus enemies of God.

Elimelech’s decision to move his family to Moab was due to his lack of

Faith in God and his unwillingness to endure the punishment of God and

To wait  for Him to bring Israel out of the famine.

Every man of worth wants to take care of his family. Elimelech made a bad

Decision to move his family to an idol god worshipping nation. He further 

Complicated the decision by allowing his sons to marry Moabite women.

It was normal for fathers to find women in their on tribe for their sons to

Marry. They were prohibited from marrying outside of Israel. 

After ten years in Moab, Elimelech died and his two sons died and were buried in Moab. All that was left of the family was Naomi the beautiful and the two Moabite widowers, Orpah and Ruth.  What a sad story, but God does not end it there.

THE DECISION TO RETURN TO GOD

Ruth 1:6-9

6 When she heard in Moab that the Lord had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. 7 With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah. 

8 Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back, each of you, to your mother's home. May the Lord show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead and to me. 9 May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband."

No matter what is going on in your life, others may be hurting as well. 

We would do well to consider others and offer words of encouragement.

The God we serve knows our needs but puts us in contact with others

Who needs the strength of our faith. 

TRUE LOVE REQUIRES A SACRIFICE

Ruth 1:15-18

 "Look," said Naomi, "your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her." 

16 But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me." 18 When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her. 

There is no mention of Noami and her daughters in laws having an escort

Back to Bethlehem which is estimated to be 50 miles. There is no place like

Home. Naomi wanted to return to her hometown where she had relatives.

But she did not forget that her daughters in law home was Moab, so she

Urged them to stay near their people. She was determined to go by herself

Rather than drag her daughter in laws with her. 

One act of kindness from you draws another to you. Ruth's love for Noami was equally as strong as Noami’s. Perhaps through Noam, Ruth learned about The true living God. Ruth confessed her faith in Noami’s God forsaking all the idol gods of her nation. Her faith was strong enough to carry her into a new chapter of her life. While Ruth was not an Israelite in name, she was by her new birth.

Romans 8:38-39

 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 

39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

WE MUST BE WILLING TO WORK TO SERVE GOD, AN ACT OF LOVE

1:19 So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, "Can this be Naomi?" 

Ruth 1:22-2:1  So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning. 2:1 Now Naomi had a relative on her husband's side, from the clan of Elimelech, a man of standing, whose name was Boaz. 2.And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, "Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor."

When you serve others, you never know what doors God will open for you. The trip to Bethlehem was profitable to both women. Ruth was willing to go to work to serve and provide for her mother in law. God immediately connected Ruth with Naomi’s kinfolk. God loves a cheerful giver. Israel had a law of a kinsman redeemer which Naomi became a part of.

THE DIVINE DIRECTIONS OF GOD

Ruth 2:3-7

As it turned out, she found herself working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech. 

4 Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, "The Lord be with you!" "The Lord bless you!" they called back. 

5 Boaz asked the foreman of his harvesters, "Whose young woman is that?" 6 The foreman replied, "She is the Moabitess who came back from Moab with Naomi. 7 She said, 'Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.' She went into the field and has worked steadily from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter."

There will be times when we will not know where to go, or which turn to make. The God we serve has already mapped out the most profitable route. There were probably many fields Ruth could have gone to work,

But God guided her to Naomi’s relative who happened to be unmarried. 

Ruth’s hard work and devotion spoke for her. The foreman of the field

Keep an eye on her, Perhaps her youth and  beauty caught the eye of Boaz

An older man. The name Ruth means friend. Ruth was truly a friend of her

Mother in law. To all who believe in Him. Jesus calls a friend. The Lord always has a watchful eye on those who serve faithfully.

YOUR REPUTATION PRECEDES YOU

Ruth 2:8-13

8 So Boaz said to Ruth, "My daughter, listen to me. Don't go and glean in another field and don't go away from here. Stay here with my servant girls. 9 Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the girls. I have told the men not to touch you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled." 

10 At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She exclaimed, "Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me — a foreigner?" 

11 Boaz replied, "I've been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband — how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you didn't know before. 12 May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge." 

When you serve the Lord faithfully, God will spread the word about your generosity. When you serve those who cannot repay you, you store up

Treasures in heaven from which you are richly rewarded. 

Those who humble themselves find favor with the Lord. When you bow before the Lord, He will lift you to heights you cannot reach on your own

A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN

Ruth 2:19-21

 Her mother-in-law asked her, "Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!"

Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. "The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz," she said. 

20 "The Lord bless him!" Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. "He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead." She added, "That man is our close relative; he is one of our kinsman-redeemers." 

Ruth 3:8-13

8 In the middle of the night something startled the man, and he turned and discovered a woman lying at his feet. 9 "Who are you?" he asked.

"I am your servant Ruth," she said. "Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a kinsman-redeemer." 

10 "The Lord bless you, my daughter," he replied. "This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. 11 And now, my daughter, don't be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All my fellow townsmen know that you are a woman of noble character. 12 Although it is true that I am near of kin, there is a kinsman-redeemer nearer than I. 13 Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to redeem, good; let him redeem. But if he is not willing, as surely as the Lord lives I will do it. Lie here until morning." 

The Lord will lead you to a place made specifically for you. God allowed the

Famine that caused Naomi’s husband to take his family to Moab.

He allowed the son of Noami to marry Ruth and die, God made the promised land productive so Ruth would end in Bethlehem.  God led Ruth to the field of Boaz . Under Noami’s guidance God set up a marriage between Boaz and Ruth. None of this is coincidental. It was all God’s design and plan.

GOD HAS A PURPOSE FOR YOUR LIFE THAT EXCEEDS YOUR EXPECTATIONS 

Boaz married Ruth. The two had a son Obed who was the father of Jesse,

The father of King David. Ruth became the grandmother of King David  and is in the Genealogy of Jesus. 

God’s plan for your life includes some trials and tribulations. It includes what seems bad that turns out for your good. Everyone's journey to Christ

Takes different roads but ends in his presence. Like the man on the cross

Next to Jesus who confessed his faith before he died. It was a series of bad decisions that somehow led to Jesus.

SUMMARY

BAD MOVES ARE ALLOWED BY GOD

MAKE A DECISION TO TURN TO GOD

TRUE LOVE REQUIRES A SACRIFICE

SERVING GOD IS AN ACT OF LOVE

YOU ARE UNDER THE DIVINE DIRECTION OF GOD

YOUR REPUTATION PRECEDES YOU

YOU ARE A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN

GOD HAS A PURPOSE FOR YOUR LIFE THAT EXCEEDS YOUR EXPECTATIONS