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What influences the way you think of God? (In pairs). There are lots of things, some good some not so good. One of the things that we allow to affect our thinking about God is our circumstances. So when things are going well we conclude that God is good, or that we’re being blessed. When things are bad we are a bit like the main character in the film Bruce Almighty viewing God as a mean kid with a magnifying glass and us as the ant.
The problem with letting circumstances determine our view of God is that it will vary wildly; it makes God’s character changeable when the Bible tells us he does not change. The other difficulty is that we are prone to taking for granted God’s provision for us on a daily basis. So we discount the food, job, family, shelter, and hundreds of other provisions because of this is or that.
Ruth is a book which confronts these issues, it deals with big problems and questions and corrects faulty theology and teaches us to look for God’s working in the everyday and those around us. It reminds God’s people he has not forgotten them and calls them to covenantal faithfulness, expressed in the community.
(1-5)Give us the background to the story; it is set in the time of the judges. A time when Israel wasn’t in great shape spiritually, when everyone did as he or she saw fit, when generations arose which had forgotten God and his word to them, when Israel is sporadic in its faithfulness and covenant keeping. Against such a backdrop we meet this family from Bethlehem who are typical of the time.
What are the two problems we see in v1-5? The first is Famine and the second death and destitution.
(1)There is famine in Judah so Elimelek takes his family from Bethlehem to live temporarily in Moab. Bethlehem means ‘house of bread’, the irony being that in the house of bread there is no bread - the author emphasises the famines affect. But Bethlehem is also significant as a birth place as we’ll see in chapter 4.
In the subsequent verses you see tragedy and hope, but hope dashed by more tragedy. Elimelek dies but the hope is in the marriages and the possibility of offspring to provide for Naomi the widow. But both sons die without children and (5)the picture is bleak for Naomi, she is left "without". Without a husband, without children, without any means of provision or protection or hope for a future.
The book is about a faithful God’s provision to his faithless people, about a grace and loving kindness that is underserved and abundant.
1. A Wretched Return
(6)We see a glimmer of hope what is it? There is food again in Judah. More specifically
"the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them". There is now
bread in the house of bread so Naomi, ever the pragmatist, goes back to Bethlehem. The chapter
is shot through with the theme of return; the word in various forms appears 12 times. But as
Naomi returns to the covenant community there is still a distance between her and God. Her
understanding of God seems to waver between two poles.
She lurches from praying that her daughters-in-law - as she urges them to leave - would know and experience the 'hesed’ - unwavering, steadfast loyal love of God, to in the same exhortation (13)saying God has been against her. A charge that she reiterates when she gets back to Bethlehem and tells them to call her 'Mara' (bitter) not Naomi (pleasant) (21) because the Almighty has made my life very bitter, he has brought her back empty and he has afflicted and brought misfortune on her.
Added to all that as she seeks to send them back to Moab it is not just to the people but to their gods. Naomi's view of God is confused and is not grounded in the law(Gen-Deut), its revelation of God and his character.
Her circumstances had made her bitter; her circumstances had determined her view of God. The question is which is right is God 'hesed' - steadfastly faithful beyond what people deserve or is he responsible for her bitterness, has he left her bereft and without hope?
Naomi has come back physically but spiritually she is still far from God, she views him as sovereign yet graceless, powerful yet compassionless and as judge yet merciless.
I wonder how much of that is the result of her being part of this judges generation who in summary are described as "After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel." Naomi certainly doesn’t know God as the books of the law reveal him.
We need to check how we think of God and what is influencing our theology. Circumstances change God does not. Beware bitterness and resentment - Naomi here in chapter 1 is not a model to follow when things are hard, as the rest of the book shows.
2. A God of faithfulness
The book of Ruth doesn’t have a dramatic rescue, there is no equivalent of the crossing of
the Red Sea or the miraculous rescue of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from the fiery furnace,
or Daniel’s from the lions den. Instead we see God work through people and small everyday
providence to provide graciously and abundantly for bitter Naomi.
The provision comes from an unlikely source which even Naomi herself initially discounts.
We see a glimpse of God’s grace in (6)as he provides food for his rebellious, hardhearted and faithless people. But there is a hint of what is to come in the barrenness of this opening chapter. It is found in Naomi’s prayer for her daughters-in-law where we see God as he reveals himself in the rest of the book. (8-9)"May the LORD show you kindness, as you have shown kindness to your dead and to me."
That word kindness is the Hebrew word ‘hesed’ is one of the key words in the book and it conveys a whole bundle of ideas all rolled up in one. To show ‘hesed’ is to show love, covenantal faithfulness, mercy, grace, kindness, and loyalty to someone. It means to act in a way that goes beyond duty. In this first chapter God’s kindness to Naomi is visible in the kindness of Ruth the Moabitess as she will not leave Naomi despite the bleak outlook but (16-18)adopts her people and her God. God is steadfastly loving and faithful to Naomi through the steadfast loving faithfulness of Ruth and later Boaz who reflect God’s character.
The great irony is that as Naomi describes herself as empty, beside her stands Ruth who has made Naomi's people and God hers and will be the means through which God provides and shows his ‘hesed’ love for her.
It is through his ‘hesed’ people that God so often displays his faithfulness and mercy to us.
Ruth 1 does much to set the scene of what follows but it also challenges us about our view of God. Don’t let circumstances influence your view of God or when difficulties come you will find yourself bitter and conflicted in your faith. Naomi does not deserve God’s kindness to her, yet he pursues and provides for her. Get to know God as he reveals himself so that in trouble he is your rock.
Because God is faithful. He acts in love beyond what we deserve, beyond what duty calls for. In his mercy he takes all things and makes them work for good. Naomi at the end of the cook has a very different appreciation and view of God because she knows him as her provider, she knows him as her steadfastly faithful God. And that provision is brought about by the steadfast love of those around her, by their faithfulness to God.
We need to correct our thinking so we don’t think like Naomi, and we need to learn to act like Ruth as she binds herself to Naomi and shows her steadfast love and care which mirror the character of God.
As we live out the faithful steadfast love of God that he has shown us then others will experience that faithful steadfast love through us.