Second Presbyterian Church

"Bitterness:
Preaching from Ruth"
August 1, 2004

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Sermons Homepage » Sermons for 2004 » Sermons for August 2004 » Sermons from the Series on Ruth

#1 in the Series on Ruth
The Rev. Daniel E. Hale, D. Min.

• Ruth 1: 1-22

General Introduction to Ruth

The book of Ruth is one of those delightful Hebrew stories that has much to teach those who read it. It is, first of all, short; there are only four chapters. Secondly the actual story itself is very interesting, even to us today who are no longer accustomed to some of the cultural assumptions that the book makes. In my own mind I place other books and stories of the Old Testament in the same category as Ruth: The books of Jonah and Esther, Joseph and his brothers, Hannah, the mother of Samuel.

One of the interesting aspects of Ruth is its place in the Bible. In our Bible it is placed between the books of Judges and 1^st Samuel. This is done for a couple reasons. The setting in the book of Ruth is described as in the time when Judges ruled Israel (1:1). Secondly, the ending of the book connects the main character, Ruth, as an ancestor of David. And 1^st Samuel begins to describe the transition of Israel as a land ruled by judges into a land that is ruled by a king, Samuel being the last and greatest judge of Israel.

Yet Ruth is not placed in this sequential order in the Hebrew Bible from which our Old Testament is derived. Instead, Ruth is placed in the back of the Old Testament with the books that are understood as the Wisdom literature. In fact the sequence around the book of Ruth is this: Psalms (which is after the major and minor prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, etc.), Proverbs, RUTH, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, and Lamentations.

Since Ruth was an ancestor of King David, as Christians we understand Ruth as an ancestor of Jesus, according to the genealogies of both Luke and Matthew; the latter mentions Ruth by name.

I need to say a word about the Moabites. The Moabites were enemies of the Israelites. Israel had fought the Moabite king, Balak, during Israel's wilderness wanderings. (Numbers 22). In the 19^th Chapter of Genesis, we have a Hebrew version of how the Moabites came into existence. You may remember Lot and his family were rescued from Sodom and Gomorra before the Lord destroyed the two cities. Lot's wife died in the escape that left only Lot and his two daughters. They hid out in the caves near Zoar. The two daughters were fearful of not having children, since they lost their fiancés in the destruction of the cities. So the two daughters plotted and succeeded in getting their father, Lot, drunk and they slept with him, first the oldest and then the youngest. The son of the oldest daughter was named Moab who was the patriarch of the Moabites. In Hebrew "Moab" sounds like "from father." This was not a very flattering story of the Moabites!

The first chapter sets the story. Naomi and her husband Elimelech (God is King) leave the region of Bethlehem (House of Bread, House of Food), because there is a famine and they dwell in Moab. Elimelech died. Naomi's two sons marry Moabite women: Orpah and Ruth. Then Naomi's two sons died, leaving no children. Naomi decides to return home; she convinces Orpah to stay in Moab, but Ruth is adamant and refuses to stay in Moab. At this point we have the most famous lines in the book when Ruth responds to Naomi (e.g. refusing her counsel) and states:

"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."

No more is said, Naomi allows Ruth to accompany her. They arrive in Bethlehem and a big stir arose in the entire town. Why? We are not sure. Perhaps it was unusual to receive travelers from so far away, especially two women who traveled alone.

"Is this Naomi?" the women asked. And Naomi responds, "Do not call me Naomi (which means "pleasant"), but call me Mara (which means "bitter), for the LORD has dealt very bitterly with me."

At this point we seem to have a story that is a tragedy, something like Job. But there is a difference. Unlike Job, Naomi does not question her fate; she accepts it as the way it is. For her the LORD has turned his hand against her.

There is more irony here. The family left Bethlehem empty, but full. They had no food because of the famine, but Naomi had her husband and two sons; they were full. Now she has returned to Bethlehem, because she has heard that the LORD had again provided food in Judah, but she returns empty. Naomi returns with no husband and no sons.

Imagine the tragedy and grief that Naomi must have felt! She had lost her husband. She had lost her two sons. All this took place in a foreign land. She no longer had any way to be secure, since it would have been through her family that Naomi would have been provided for as she grew old. So, she not only had the pain of losing her two sons, but she also faced a future that was no future at all.

And it is precisely at this point where this story about Naomi and Ruth can teach us. Tragedy and calamity can and do happen. We might even rightly say that the LORD allowes it to happen. If we don't believe that, then we don't believe in a sovereign LORD. And if we don't believe in a sovereign LORD, then our religion is inadequate. Our Savior is not sufficient to redeem.

But when calamity does happen and when it feels as total as it must have felt to Naomi, then we know that the future no longer belongs to us. At that point it is as if the future has been taken away from us! When we are at the place where Naomi was when she returned from Bethlehem, then we are at the place where the future no longer exists. This happens all the time to people.

The reality of the matter is that the future, our futures, does not belong to us in the first place! They belong to God. As Christians, this becomes very important to acknowledge. When we trust our future to God, then we are trusting our future to the one who died on the cross for our redemption and whom God raised from the dead: Jesus Christ! Only in Jesus Christ do we dare to be optimistic! Only in Jesus Christ is there a future that reaches into eternity!

Our congregation's future also no longer belongs to us. Our future as a congregation never belonged to us! By the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ we have lasted as long as we have! It is my prayer that we become more and more aware of our future as belonging to God and not to ourselves. After all, this congregation does not belong to us; it belongs to God. Just as we, as individuals do not own ourselves; each of us belongs to God.

But at this point Naomi cannot conceive of a future. No longer call me Pleasant (Naomi), rather call me Bitter (Mara) for the LORD has dealt bitterly with me. We need to remember that when we cannot see, or understand, our future it does not mean God has forsaken us. It just means that we, at this point, do not comprehend our future. The Good News is: God, through Jesus Christ, DOES COMPREHEND and holds our future in our hands!

The final words in this chapter hold some vague promise of a better future. "And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest." Naomi, who is empty, arrived in Bethlehem (= the House of Bread) in time for the barley harvest. Perhaps, the LORD who had emptied Naomi was getting ready to refill her. If so, there was absolutely no way that Naomi could anticipate this!

The Rev. Daniel E. Hale, D. Min.