Ruin
Series: Ruth
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 5th July 2020
Passages:
00:00:00 --> 00:00:05 Good morning and welcome to St. Paul's this morning across the live stream.
00:00:06 --> 00:00:12 It's now three months since we stopped gathering on site for our Sunday services.
00:00:12 --> 00:00:16 So if this is the first time you've tuned in, it's great to have you here.
00:00:16 --> 00:00:18 And welcome to all the St. Paul's family out there.
00:00:18 --> 00:00:20 If you don't know who I am, I'm Steve Jeffrey.
00:00:20 --> 00:00:22 I'm the senior pastor of St. Paul's.
00:00:22 --> 00:00:29 And so it's wonderful for me to be able to kick off this brand new series in Ruth with us this morning.
00:00:30 --> 00:00:35 It is the first time in just over 100 years that we have not been able to hold public services
00:00:35 --> 00:00:42 and to not be able to do so for three months, not be able to meet face to face due to this pandemic has been an unusual season.
00:00:43 --> 00:00:52 We are now, however, starting to slowly regather, having been scattered for three months.
00:00:52 --> 00:00:55 We've been, if you like, away scattered.
00:00:55 --> 00:00:58 We're now slowly regathering and coming back again.
00:00:58 --> 00:01:05 This theme, which has been the theme for us over these three months of going away and coming back,
00:01:05 --> 00:01:09 is in fact part of the rhythm of normal life.
00:01:09 --> 00:01:14 What we do so much of it in terms of going away and coming back,
00:01:14 --> 00:01:16 we don't even think that's in fact what we're doing.
00:01:17 --> 00:01:19 We go to school and we come home again.
00:01:19 --> 00:01:24 We go to the playground, to the shops, to restaurants, to work, and then we come back home.
00:01:24 --> 00:01:28 We depart for a holiday and then we come back home.
00:01:29 --> 00:01:33 We have 20-year-olds who move out and then they come back home.
00:01:33 --> 00:01:35 This constant pattern.
00:01:35 --> 00:01:39 In fact, I can't believe I'm actually saying this,
00:01:39 --> 00:01:46 but perhaps this opera, Home and Away, is tuning into something for us in life,
00:01:46 --> 00:01:47 part of the rhythms of life.
00:01:48 --> 00:01:51 Home and away, it's what they do.
00:01:51 --> 00:01:58 Of course, sometimes the going away is forced on us by circumstances
00:01:58 --> 00:02:01 and coming back is not always possible.
00:02:02 --> 00:02:05 For instance, the transition into a care facility,
00:02:06 --> 00:02:10 refugees fleeing a terrible situation in their home,
00:02:11 --> 00:02:14 and even death itself is a going away but not coming back.
00:02:14 --> 00:02:22 This theme, this pattern, if you like, of going away and coming back
00:02:22 --> 00:02:26 runs through many of the stories of the Bible.
00:02:26 --> 00:02:31 In fact, one of the grand narratives of the whole Bible,
00:02:32 --> 00:02:36 which begins with people being scattered from God because of sin,
00:02:36 --> 00:02:44 but ends with people being gathered back to God because of his rescue plan
00:02:44 --> 00:02:47 and salvation plan for them into their eternal home,
00:02:47 --> 00:02:49 is the grand narrative of the Bible.
00:02:49 --> 00:02:53 So many stories of salvation of the Bible carry this theme.
00:02:54 --> 00:03:01 Abraham went down to Egypt because of a famine and later returned home.
00:03:01 --> 00:03:08 The whole family of Israel went down to Egypt because of a famine
00:03:08 --> 00:03:12 and then returned back to the promised land, their home.
00:03:13 --> 00:03:18 Later on in their history, Israel again will go into exile
00:03:18 --> 00:03:23 because of a spiritual famine, and God will bring them back home again.
00:03:25 --> 00:03:27 And of course, what Adrian read out to us,
00:03:27 --> 00:03:32 one of the more famous passages in the New Testament of the prodigal son
00:03:32 --> 00:03:37 who went down away from his home to a foreign land,
00:03:38 --> 00:03:42 got hit with a famine, and then came back home again.
00:03:43 --> 00:03:48 So the whole Bible story is about people leaving paradise with God
00:03:48 --> 00:03:52 and then God bringing them back, saving his people
00:03:52 --> 00:03:53 and returning them back to himself.
00:03:53 --> 00:03:59 And that means that as we open up the very first chapter of the book of Ruth
00:03:59 --> 00:04:06 with this description of people leaving home and coming back again
00:04:06 --> 00:04:11 because of a famine should alert us to something is big in the wind.
00:04:13 --> 00:04:16 Something significant is happening in this book.
00:04:16 --> 00:04:20 It's not just a Old Testament rom-com.
00:04:20 --> 00:04:24 There's something deeper, bigger happening in the book of Ruth.
00:04:26 --> 00:04:29 It's the old pattern of God working some act of salvation
00:04:29 --> 00:04:33 when his people leave their land and his presence,
00:04:33 --> 00:04:35 and then he brings them back.
00:04:36 --> 00:04:40 So if you've got your Bibles there, I'd love it if you could turn to Ruth chapter 1
00:04:40 --> 00:04:42 and also the St. Paul's app.
00:04:42 --> 00:04:48 If you click into there, you'll see an outline for today's message.
00:04:48 --> 00:04:51 I've really got two major points with a few little sub points in there,
00:04:51 --> 00:04:58 but two major points, really simple, going away and coming back.
00:04:58 --> 00:05:01 I considered calling it home and away,
00:05:02 --> 00:05:05 but we'll just go with going away, coming back.
00:05:06 --> 00:05:08 So going away to ruin is my first point.
00:05:08 --> 00:05:13 Israel's ruin, according to verse 1 of chapter 1,
00:05:13 --> 00:05:18 the very first verse of this book is this story of Ruth
00:05:18 --> 00:05:23 takes place during the time of the judges of Israel.
00:05:24 --> 00:05:31 This was a 400-year period after Israel entered the promised land under Joshua
00:05:31 --> 00:05:34 and before there were any kings in Israel.
00:05:35 --> 00:05:40 It's roughly about 1500 BC to 1100 BC.
00:05:41 --> 00:05:47 And so verse 1 is not just a date stamp on the book
00:05:47 --> 00:05:50 so we can locate it historically.
00:05:51 --> 00:05:54 It is, in fact, a theological description
00:05:54 --> 00:05:59 of the times in which these events of the book of Ruth take place.
00:06:01 --> 00:06:05 When I preached through the book of Judges about two years ago,
00:06:05 --> 00:06:09 I said you could summarise the message of the book of Judges
00:06:09 --> 00:06:12 as despicable people doing deplorable things.
00:06:13 --> 00:06:15 That's the summary of this time.
00:06:15 --> 00:06:18 It records a history of murder and assassination
00:06:18 --> 00:06:23 and massacres of immorality and lawlessness and unfaithfulness.
00:06:23 --> 00:06:26 In fact, right towards the end of the book of Judges,
00:06:26 --> 00:06:30 chapter 21, verse 25, it says,
00:06:30 --> 00:06:34 in those days Israel had no king
00:06:34 --> 00:06:39 and so everyone did as they saw fit.
00:06:40 --> 00:06:42 Pretty much a description of modern society, really.
00:06:43 --> 00:06:46 Everyone does as they see fit.
00:06:47 --> 00:06:50 But for Israel, it was a very dark time.
00:06:50 --> 00:06:53 The people would sin.
00:06:54 --> 00:06:56 God would hand them over to their sin.
00:06:57 --> 00:06:58 He would send enemies against them
00:06:58 --> 00:07:00 and the people would cry out for help.
00:07:00 --> 00:07:04 And then God would mercifully raise up a judge,
00:07:04 --> 00:07:07 a rescuer for his people and deliver them,
00:07:07 --> 00:07:09 bring them back to himself.
00:07:11 --> 00:07:14 A repeated pattern of the nation going away from God
00:07:14 --> 00:07:17 and God bringing them back home to himself.
00:07:17 --> 00:07:20 And by the end of the book of Judges,
00:07:21 --> 00:07:24 we have a picture of a nation
00:07:24 --> 00:07:27 that has really just completely lost its way.
00:07:29 --> 00:07:31 What the book of Ruth does for us
00:07:31 --> 00:07:34 is it gives us a glimpse
00:07:34 --> 00:07:38 into the hidden work of God
00:07:38 --> 00:07:40 during the worst of times.
00:07:40 --> 00:07:43 The book of Ruth is a zooming in
00:07:43 --> 00:07:45 on the book of Judges, if you like,
00:07:45 --> 00:07:50 and one family during these dark days.
00:07:51 --> 00:07:53 From the narrative of the nation
00:07:53 --> 00:07:54 in the book of Judges,
00:07:55 --> 00:07:58 we now focus on one family.
00:07:59 --> 00:08:02 We go from a nation in ruin
00:08:02 --> 00:08:05 to a family in ruin.
00:08:09 --> 00:08:13 And to, in fact, a life in ruin.
00:08:13 --> 00:08:19 It was during these dark days and difficult days
00:08:19 --> 00:08:21 that a man moved his family out of Israel.
00:08:22 --> 00:08:24 A move that saw his family come to ruin.
00:08:25 --> 00:08:25 Verse one again.
00:08:26 --> 00:08:28 In those days when the judges ruled,
00:08:28 --> 00:08:29 there was a famine in the land.
00:08:30 --> 00:08:32 And so a man named,
00:08:32 --> 00:08:35 a man from Bethlehem in Judea,
00:08:35 --> 00:08:39 together with his wife and his two sons,
00:08:39 --> 00:08:43 went to live for a while in the country of Moab.
00:08:45 --> 00:08:48 Now the ultimate irony has occurred.
00:08:49 --> 00:08:51 Bethlehem, which means
00:08:51 --> 00:08:57 house of bread is a place of no food.
00:08:57 --> 00:09:01 Verses one to five in chapter one
00:09:01 --> 00:09:03 just moves so fast.
00:09:04 --> 00:09:06 But ultimately they paint a picture of ruin.
00:09:07 --> 00:09:09 First, there is a famine in Judah.
00:09:09 --> 00:09:12 Then there's a decision to relocate for this family
00:09:12 --> 00:09:15 to Moab, a pagan land with its foreign gods.
00:09:16 --> 00:09:18 Then grief upon famine strikes
00:09:18 --> 00:09:22 as Elimelech, the husband to Naomi, dies.
00:09:23 --> 00:09:25 Then in verse four,
00:09:25 --> 00:09:29 Naomi and Elimelech's two sons
00:09:29 --> 00:09:31 take Moabite wives,
00:09:32 --> 00:09:35 one named Orpah, the other named Ruth.
00:09:35 --> 00:09:37 And again, the hand of God falls.
00:09:38 --> 00:09:41 Verse five sums up Naomi's tragedy.
00:09:42 --> 00:09:44 After 10 years of childless marriages,
00:09:44 --> 00:09:48 both Marlon and Kilion also died.
00:09:49 --> 00:09:51 And Naomi was left without her two sons
00:09:51 --> 00:09:53 and her husband.
00:09:54 --> 00:09:57 She's a foreigner, a foreign woman.
00:09:59 --> 00:10:01 In a patriarchal society,
00:10:01 --> 00:10:04 Naomi is bereft.
00:10:06 --> 00:10:08 Along with her husband and sons,
00:10:09 --> 00:10:11 she attempted to escape the famine
00:10:11 --> 00:10:13 in Bethlehem.
00:10:13 --> 00:10:15 I'm sorry, but all that has happened
00:10:15 --> 00:10:18 is for her a descent into emptiness.
00:10:20 --> 00:10:22 A grasp for hope,
00:10:22 --> 00:10:23 a grasp for future,
00:10:24 --> 00:10:26 resulted in emptiness.
00:10:27 --> 00:10:30 The move to Moab has been disastrous.
00:10:30 --> 00:10:32 Naomi has hit rock bottom.
00:10:32 --> 00:10:32 She is empty.
00:10:33 --> 00:10:34 She's bereft.
00:10:34 --> 00:10:35 She's destitute.
00:10:35 --> 00:10:37 She went there in a search of life
00:10:37 --> 00:10:39 and she has become empty.
00:10:39 --> 00:10:44 And the implicit question
00:10:44 --> 00:10:46 in these very first verses
00:10:46 --> 00:10:49 is what future does Naomi have?
00:10:49 --> 00:10:52 Can she possibly recover from this?
00:10:53 --> 00:10:56 Will she remain destitute and empty?
00:10:58 --> 00:11:00 And then we are told in verse six,
00:11:00 --> 00:11:01 Naomi gets a word.
00:11:02 --> 00:11:03 And at first,
00:11:04 --> 00:11:06 it appears to be a word of hope.
00:11:06 --> 00:11:09 But is it hope for Naomi?
00:11:10 --> 00:11:10 It says,
00:11:10 --> 00:11:12 the Lord has come to the aid of his people
00:11:12 --> 00:11:14 by providing food for them.
00:11:16 --> 00:11:18 How was she to feel about that?
00:11:21 --> 00:11:24 The Lord came to the aid of his people
00:11:24 --> 00:11:26 in Bethlehem.
00:11:26 --> 00:11:31 But she wasn't one of them.
00:11:32 --> 00:11:33 She wasn't there.
00:11:35 --> 00:11:37 Was her going away a terrible mistake?
00:11:38 --> 00:11:40 She didn't just leave Bethlehem,
00:11:40 --> 00:11:43 but also the people of God
00:11:43 --> 00:11:44 and her God
00:11:44 --> 00:11:46 and all of her hope as well.
00:11:47 --> 00:11:50 She had brought shame to herself,
00:11:50 --> 00:11:51 to her people,
00:11:52 --> 00:11:53 to her God.
00:11:53 --> 00:11:56 And so,
00:11:56 --> 00:11:58 does she deserve
00:11:58 --> 00:11:59 what our society
00:11:59 --> 00:12:01 would call
00:12:01 --> 00:12:03 getting cancelled?
00:12:07 --> 00:12:09 Up to the end of verse five,
00:12:10 --> 00:12:11 Naomi
00:12:11 --> 00:12:14 is just like
00:12:14 --> 00:12:15 the prodigal son
00:12:15 --> 00:12:17 in Luke 15
00:12:17 --> 00:12:19 that Adrian read out to us.
00:12:19 --> 00:12:21 He thought
00:12:21 --> 00:12:23 life would be better
00:12:23 --> 00:12:25 in a faraway country
00:12:25 --> 00:12:27 away from the rule
00:12:27 --> 00:12:28 and the oversight
00:12:28 --> 00:12:29 and the provision
00:12:29 --> 00:12:31 of his father.
00:12:32 --> 00:12:33 But like Naomi,
00:12:33 --> 00:12:34 he too
00:12:34 --> 00:12:35 hits rock bottom
00:12:35 --> 00:12:36 and he is bereft,
00:12:36 --> 00:12:37 he is empty,
00:12:37 --> 00:12:38 he is hungry,
00:12:38 --> 00:12:39 he is lonely.
00:12:39 --> 00:12:45 What the story
00:12:45 --> 00:12:46 of the prodigal son
00:12:46 --> 00:12:48 is meant
00:12:48 --> 00:12:49 to be
00:12:49 --> 00:12:50 portraying to us
00:12:50 --> 00:12:52 is the theme
00:12:52 --> 00:12:52 of the Bible.
00:12:53 --> 00:12:54 It is a vivid picture
00:12:54 --> 00:12:56 of humanity's ruin
00:12:56 --> 00:12:58 as they walk
00:12:58 --> 00:12:58 away from God.
00:13:00 --> 00:13:01 The Bible
00:13:01 --> 00:13:01 says
00:13:02 --> 00:13:04 we have all,
00:13:04 --> 00:13:05 like sheep
00:13:05 --> 00:13:06 have gone astray,
00:13:06 --> 00:13:06 we have all
00:13:06 --> 00:13:08 wandered away
00:13:08 --> 00:13:08 from God
00:13:08 --> 00:13:11 who has made us,
00:13:11 --> 00:13:12 made all things
00:13:12 --> 00:13:13 and provides
00:13:13 --> 00:13:14 all good things
00:13:14 --> 00:13:15 for us
00:13:15 --> 00:13:15 and the Bible
00:13:15 --> 00:13:16 calls it sin.
00:13:16 --> 00:13:17 It's the attitude
00:13:17 --> 00:13:17 that says
00:13:17 --> 00:13:18 we don't need God
00:13:18 --> 00:13:19 in our life,
00:13:19 --> 00:13:21 we don't want God
00:13:21 --> 00:13:21 in our life
00:13:21 --> 00:13:24 and that attitude
00:13:24 --> 00:13:25 results in actions
00:13:25 --> 00:13:26 and thoughts,
00:13:26 --> 00:13:27 behaviours
00:13:27 --> 00:13:29 that sees us
00:13:29 --> 00:13:31 as individuals,
00:13:31 --> 00:13:32 as societies
00:13:32 --> 00:13:33 living
00:13:33 --> 00:13:34 as we
00:13:34 --> 00:13:35 see
00:13:35 --> 00:13:36 fit
00:13:36 --> 00:13:37 in our
00:13:37 --> 00:13:37 own
00:13:37 --> 00:13:38 eyes.
00:13:41 --> 00:13:42 Living
00:13:42 --> 00:13:42 as we
00:13:42 --> 00:13:43 see fit
00:13:43 --> 00:13:43 in our
00:13:43 --> 00:13:43 own
00:13:43 --> 00:13:44 eyes
00:13:44 --> 00:13:44 without
00:13:44 --> 00:13:45 God
00:13:45 --> 00:13:47 and it
00:13:47 --> 00:13:47 always
00:13:47 --> 00:13:48 feels
00:13:48 --> 00:13:49 free
00:13:49 --> 00:13:50 for a
00:13:50 --> 00:13:50 season
00:13:50 --> 00:13:52 in the
00:13:52 --> 00:13:52 same way
00:13:52 --> 00:13:52 that jumping
00:13:52 --> 00:13:53 out of an
00:13:53 --> 00:13:54 aeroplane
00:13:54 --> 00:13:55 feels free
00:13:55 --> 00:13:57 for a
00:13:57 --> 00:13:57 season
00:13:57 --> 00:13:58 until you
00:13:58 --> 00:13:59 realise
00:13:59 --> 00:13:59 that you
00:13:59 --> 00:13:59 don't have
00:13:59 --> 00:13:59 a
00:13:59 --> 00:14:00 parachute.
00:14:03 --> 00:14:04 In Luke
00:14:04 --> 00:14:05 15 verse
00:14:05 --> 00:14:06 14 we
00:14:06 --> 00:14:06 read of the
00:14:06 --> 00:14:07 prodigal son
00:14:07 --> 00:14:07 in Jesus'
00:14:07 --> 00:14:08 parable,
00:14:08 --> 00:14:09 after he
00:14:09 --> 00:14:10 had spent
00:14:10 --> 00:14:11 everything
00:14:11 --> 00:14:12 there was
00:14:12 --> 00:14:12 a severe
00:14:12 --> 00:14:13 famine in
00:14:13 --> 00:14:13 the whole
00:14:13 --> 00:14:14 country
00:14:14 --> 00:14:15 and he
00:14:15 --> 00:14:15 began
00:14:15 --> 00:14:16 to be
00:14:16 --> 00:14:17 in need.
00:14:18 --> 00:14:18 His bid
00:14:18 --> 00:14:19 for freedom
00:14:19 --> 00:14:21 resulted
00:14:21 --> 00:14:21 in
00:14:21 --> 00:14:22 slavery.
00:14:24 --> 00:14:24 Verse
00:14:24 --> 00:14:24 15,
00:14:25 --> 00:14:25 so he
00:14:25 --> 00:14:26 went and
00:14:26 --> 00:14:27 he hired
00:14:27 --> 00:14:27 himself
00:14:27 --> 00:14:28 out
00:14:28 --> 00:14:29 and the
00:14:29 --> 00:14:29 word
00:14:29 --> 00:14:30 literally
00:14:30 --> 00:14:30 means
00:14:30 --> 00:14:31 he
00:14:31 --> 00:14:32 attached
00:14:32 --> 00:14:32 himself
00:14:32 --> 00:14:34 to a
00:14:34 --> 00:14:35 citizen
00:14:35 --> 00:14:36 of that
00:14:36 --> 00:14:37 country
00:14:37 --> 00:14:39 who sent
00:14:39 --> 00:14:40 him to
00:14:40 --> 00:14:40 his fields
00:14:40 --> 00:14:41 to feed
00:14:41 --> 00:14:41 the pigs.
00:14:43 --> 00:14:44 This
00:14:44 --> 00:14:44 young guy
00:14:44 --> 00:14:45 has to
00:14:45 --> 00:14:46 sell
00:14:46 --> 00:14:46 himself
00:14:46 --> 00:14:47 as a
00:14:47 --> 00:14:48 slave
00:14:48 --> 00:14:49 to work
00:14:49 --> 00:14:49 in a
00:14:49 --> 00:14:50 foreign
00:14:50 --> 00:14:51 pig pen.
00:14:54 --> 00:14:55 Life
00:14:55 --> 00:14:55 hits rock
00:14:55 --> 00:14:56 bottom.
00:14:56 --> 00:14:57 His bid
00:14:57 --> 00:14:57 for the
00:14:57 --> 00:14:57 better life
00:14:57 --> 00:14:58 the free
00:14:58 --> 00:14:59 life ends
00:14:59 --> 00:14:59 up in
00:14:59 --> 00:14:59 slavery
00:14:59 --> 00:15:00 instead.
00:15:00 --> 00:15:01 You see
00:15:01 --> 00:15:01 when you
00:15:01 --> 00:15:02 break your
00:15:02 --> 00:15:02 attachment
00:15:02 --> 00:15:03 with God
00:15:03 --> 00:15:03 you will
00:15:03 --> 00:15:04 end up
00:15:04 --> 00:15:05 attached to
00:15:05 --> 00:15:05 another
00:15:05 --> 00:15:05 and that
00:15:05 --> 00:15:06 attachment
00:15:06 --> 00:15:07 will not
00:15:07 --> 00:15:08 be
00:15:08 --> 00:15:09 sonship
00:15:09 --> 00:15:10 and freedom
00:15:10 --> 00:15:11 it will
00:15:11 --> 00:15:11 be
00:15:11 --> 00:15:12 slavery.
00:15:12 --> 00:15:13 It will
00:15:13 --> 00:15:14 desire
00:15:14 --> 00:15:15 you.
00:15:16 --> 00:15:16 You will
00:15:16 --> 00:15:17 have to
00:15:17 --> 00:15:18 live for
00:15:18 --> 00:15:18 it.
00:15:19 --> 00:15:20 It may
00:15:20 --> 00:15:21 be romance,
00:15:21 --> 00:15:21 it may be
00:15:21 --> 00:15:22 a career,
00:15:22 --> 00:15:22 it may be
00:15:22 --> 00:15:23 reputation,
00:15:23 --> 00:15:23 comfort,
00:15:23 --> 00:15:24 leisure,
00:15:24 --> 00:15:24 culture,
00:15:24 --> 00:15:24 it might be
00:15:24 --> 00:15:25 family.
00:15:25 --> 00:15:26 The attachment
00:15:26 --> 00:15:26 might be
00:15:26 --> 00:15:27 crude,
00:15:27 --> 00:15:27 it might
00:15:27 --> 00:15:28 be
00:15:28 --> 00:15:28 refined.
00:15:30 --> 00:15:31 If we
00:15:31 --> 00:15:32 break loose
00:15:32 --> 00:15:32 from God
00:15:32 --> 00:15:34 we will
00:15:34 --> 00:15:34 be attached
00:15:34 --> 00:15:35 to another
00:15:35 --> 00:15:37 and that
00:15:37 --> 00:15:38 other will
00:15:38 --> 00:15:38 require you
00:15:38 --> 00:15:39 to sacrifice
00:15:39 --> 00:15:40 everything for
00:15:40 --> 00:15:40 it.
00:15:45 --> 00:15:46 In the
00:15:46 --> 00:15:46 end,
00:15:46 --> 00:15:47 whether crude
00:15:47 --> 00:15:48 or refined,
00:15:48 --> 00:15:49 this attachment
00:15:49 --> 00:15:50 will send us
00:15:50 --> 00:15:51 to the
00:15:51 --> 00:15:51 pig pen.
00:15:55 --> 00:15:56 One of the
00:15:56 --> 00:15:56 key
00:15:56 --> 00:15:57 challenges
00:15:57 --> 00:15:58 early in
00:15:58 --> 00:15:58 the book
00:15:58 --> 00:15:59 of Ruth
00:15:59 --> 00:16:00 is trying
00:16:00 --> 00:16:01 to work
00:16:01 --> 00:16:02 out
00:16:02 --> 00:16:03 how we
00:16:03 --> 00:16:04 meant to
00:16:04 --> 00:16:05 feel about
00:16:05 --> 00:16:05 the characters
00:16:05 --> 00:16:06 of this
00:16:06 --> 00:16:06 book.
00:16:07 --> 00:16:08 Because
00:16:08 --> 00:16:08 traditionally
00:16:08 --> 00:16:09 it's taken
00:16:09 --> 00:16:10 as a bit
00:16:10 --> 00:16:10 of an
00:16:10 --> 00:16:10 Old Testament
00:16:10 --> 00:16:11 rob-com
00:16:11 --> 00:16:12 where
00:16:12 --> 00:16:13 just people
00:16:13 --> 00:16:14 of virtue.
00:16:18 --> 00:16:18 And yet
00:16:18 --> 00:16:19 God had
00:16:19 --> 00:16:19 warned
00:16:19 --> 00:16:20 Israel
00:16:20 --> 00:16:20 in
00:16:20 --> 00:16:21 Deuteronomy
00:16:21 --> 00:16:22 32
00:16:22 --> 00:16:24 that he
00:16:24 --> 00:16:24 would send
00:16:24 --> 00:16:25 them
00:16:25 --> 00:16:25 famine
00:16:25 --> 00:16:27 if they
00:16:27 --> 00:16:28 worshipped
00:16:28 --> 00:16:28 idols
00:16:28 --> 00:16:29 as they
00:16:29 --> 00:16:30 did in
00:16:30 --> 00:16:30 the days
00:16:30 --> 00:16:30 of the
00:16:30 --> 00:16:31 judges.
00:16:34 --> 00:16:34 You see
00:16:34 --> 00:16:35 Elimelech
00:16:35 --> 00:16:37 had a
00:16:37 --> 00:16:37 choice to
00:16:37 --> 00:16:38 make.
00:16:39 --> 00:16:39 He had a
00:16:39 --> 00:16:40 road to
00:16:40 --> 00:16:41 choose
00:16:41 --> 00:16:41 which one
00:16:41 --> 00:16:42 he would
00:16:42 --> 00:16:42 go.
00:16:42 --> 00:16:42 He could
00:16:42 --> 00:16:43 stay in
00:16:43 --> 00:16:44 Bethlehem
00:16:44 --> 00:16:46 the empty
00:16:46 --> 00:16:46 bread
00:16:46 --> 00:16:47 basket
00:16:47 --> 00:16:48 of Judah
00:16:48 --> 00:16:50 mourning
00:16:50 --> 00:16:51 the sin
00:16:51 --> 00:16:51 that
00:16:51 --> 00:16:52 surrounded
00:16:52 --> 00:16:52 him
00:16:52 --> 00:16:53 in his
00:16:53 --> 00:16:54 society
00:16:54 --> 00:16:54 and
00:16:54 --> 00:16:55 trusting
00:16:55 --> 00:16:55 God
00:16:55 --> 00:16:56 for the
00:16:56 --> 00:16:56 provision
00:16:56 --> 00:16:57 for his
00:16:57 --> 00:16:57 family.
00:16:59 --> 00:17:00 Alternatively
00:17:00 --> 00:17:02 he could
00:17:02 --> 00:17:03 leave the
00:17:03 --> 00:17:04 promised land
00:17:04 --> 00:17:04 behind
00:17:04 --> 00:17:06 in pursuit
00:17:06 --> 00:17:07 of greener
00:17:07 --> 00:17:07 fields.
00:17:07 --> 00:17:13 theologically
00:17:13 --> 00:17:13 these are
00:17:13 --> 00:17:14 not equal
00:17:14 --> 00:17:14 choices.
00:17:16 --> 00:17:17 This is
00:17:17 --> 00:17:17 not simply
00:17:17 --> 00:17:19 Elimelech
00:17:19 --> 00:17:20 choosing to
00:17:20 --> 00:17:20 move to
00:17:20 --> 00:17:22 another city
00:17:22 --> 00:17:23 because he's
00:17:23 --> 00:17:23 got a job
00:17:23 --> 00:17:24 offer there.
00:17:24 --> 00:17:27 God had
00:17:27 --> 00:17:28 rescued his
00:17:28 --> 00:17:29 people from
00:17:29 --> 00:17:29 slavery in
00:17:29 --> 00:17:30 Egypt.
00:17:30 --> 00:17:31 He brought
00:17:31 --> 00:17:32 them to
00:17:32 --> 00:17:33 the land of
00:17:33 --> 00:17:33 Canaan,
00:17:33 --> 00:17:34 the promised
00:17:34 --> 00:17:34 land.
00:17:35 --> 00:17:35 This was the
00:17:35 --> 00:17:36 land that God
00:17:36 --> 00:17:37 would dwell with
00:17:37 --> 00:17:37 his people in
00:17:37 --> 00:17:38 harmony as they
00:17:38 --> 00:17:39 lived out their
00:17:39 --> 00:17:40 relationship with
00:17:40 --> 00:17:41 him as a
00:17:41 --> 00:17:41 redeemed
00:17:41 --> 00:17:42 people.
00:17:44 --> 00:17:44 However,
00:17:44 --> 00:17:45 these people
00:17:45 --> 00:17:46 rebelled against
00:17:46 --> 00:17:47 him as we see
00:17:47 --> 00:17:47 again and again
00:17:47 --> 00:17:48 in the book of
00:17:48 --> 00:17:48 Judges.
00:17:49 --> 00:17:50 There was no
00:17:50 --> 00:17:52 king in
00:17:52 --> 00:17:54 Elimelech's
00:17:54 --> 00:17:56 life and
00:17:56 --> 00:17:56 therefore,
00:17:56 --> 00:17:57 like so many
00:17:57 --> 00:17:57 of his
00:17:57 --> 00:17:58 countrymen,
00:17:58 --> 00:17:59 he chose to
00:17:59 --> 00:18:00 do what was
00:18:00 --> 00:18:01 best in his
00:18:01 --> 00:18:02 own eyes.
00:18:04 --> 00:18:05 It's the same
00:18:05 --> 00:18:05 choice that each
00:18:05 --> 00:18:06 of us face in
00:18:06 --> 00:18:07 life.
00:18:07 --> 00:18:08 I live for
00:18:08 --> 00:18:10 myself and
00:18:10 --> 00:18:11 do what I
00:18:11 --> 00:18:12 think is best
00:18:12 --> 00:18:13 with my life
00:18:13 --> 00:18:14 or I follow
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15 the created
00:18:15 --> 00:18:16 God and what
00:18:16 --> 00:18:17 he determines
00:18:17 --> 00:18:18 is best
00:18:18 --> 00:18:20 for life.
00:18:21 --> 00:18:21 And the
00:18:21 --> 00:18:22 Bible is
00:18:22 --> 00:18:22 explicit.
00:18:22 --> 00:18:24 when you
00:18:24 --> 00:18:25 choose to
00:18:25 --> 00:18:26 live life
00:18:26 --> 00:18:27 our way,
00:18:27 --> 00:18:28 when we
00:18:28 --> 00:18:28 do that,
00:18:30 --> 00:18:30 eternal
00:18:30 --> 00:18:32 ruin is
00:18:32 --> 00:18:33 the future.
00:18:35 --> 00:18:35 So is
00:18:35 --> 00:18:37 Naomi's
00:18:37 --> 00:18:38 emptiness
00:18:38 --> 00:18:41 God's
00:18:41 --> 00:18:41 judgment on
00:18:41 --> 00:18:42 her life?
00:18:42 --> 00:18:42 love.
00:18:46 --> 00:18:46 The
00:18:46 --> 00:18:46 interesting
00:18:46 --> 00:18:47 thing about
00:18:47 --> 00:18:47 this text
00:18:47 --> 00:18:48 is it
00:18:48 --> 00:18:48 doesn't
00:18:48 --> 00:18:48 tell us.
00:18:50 --> 00:18:50 It's not
00:18:50 --> 00:18:51 made explicit
00:18:51 --> 00:18:52 in this
00:18:52 --> 00:18:52 text in
00:18:52 --> 00:18:53 the way
00:18:53 --> 00:18:54 that it
00:18:54 --> 00:18:55 is in
00:18:55 --> 00:18:55 so many
00:18:55 --> 00:18:56 other places
00:18:56 --> 00:18:57 including the
00:18:57 --> 00:18:57 book of
00:18:57 --> 00:18:57 Judges.
00:18:58 --> 00:18:58 The people
00:18:58 --> 00:18:58 did that
00:18:58 --> 00:18:59 and God
00:18:59 --> 00:18:59 says I'm
00:18:59 --> 00:19:00 going to
00:19:00 --> 00:19:00 judge you.
00:19:00 --> 00:19:00 He doesn't
00:19:00 --> 00:19:01 do that
00:19:01 --> 00:19:01 here.
00:19:04 --> 00:19:04 And yet
00:19:04 --> 00:19:08 Naomi is
00:19:08 --> 00:19:09 in no
00:19:09 --> 00:19:09 doubt about
00:19:09 --> 00:19:10 the source
00:19:10 --> 00:19:10 of her
00:19:10 --> 00:19:11 ruin.
00:19:12 --> 00:19:13 Verse 13
00:19:13 --> 00:19:15 she says
00:19:15 --> 00:19:16 the Lord's
00:19:16 --> 00:19:17 hand has
00:19:17 --> 00:19:18 turned against
00:19:18 --> 00:19:18 me.
00:19:19 --> 00:19:20 Then again
00:19:20 --> 00:19:21 at the end
00:19:21 --> 00:19:21 of the chapter
00:19:21 --> 00:19:22 she says
00:19:22 --> 00:19:22 the same
00:19:22 --> 00:19:23 thing.
00:19:23 --> 00:19:23 In verse
00:19:23 --> 00:19:24 20
00:19:24 --> 00:19:24 the Almighty
00:19:24 --> 00:19:25 has made
00:19:25 --> 00:19:26 my life
00:19:26 --> 00:19:26 very bitter.
00:19:27 --> 00:19:27 I went
00:19:27 --> 00:19:28 away full
00:19:28 --> 00:19:29 but the
00:19:29 --> 00:19:29 Lord has
00:19:29 --> 00:19:30 brought me
00:19:30 --> 00:19:31 back empty.
00:19:31 --> 00:19:32 The Lord
00:19:32 --> 00:19:33 has afflicted
00:19:33 --> 00:19:33 me.
00:19:33 --> 00:19:34 The Almighty
00:19:34 --> 00:19:34 has brought
00:19:34 --> 00:19:35 misfortune
00:19:35 --> 00:19:37 upon me.
00:19:37 --> 00:19:39 she says
00:19:39 --> 00:19:39 it's God
00:19:39 --> 00:19:40 who's done
00:19:40 --> 00:19:40 it.
00:19:43 --> 00:19:43 Now
00:19:43 --> 00:19:44 frankly
00:19:44 --> 00:19:45 I would
00:19:45 --> 00:19:46 take Naomi's
00:19:46 --> 00:19:47 theology
00:19:47 --> 00:19:48 here any
00:19:48 --> 00:19:49 day over
00:19:49 --> 00:19:50 the sentimental
00:19:50 --> 00:19:50 views of
00:19:50 --> 00:19:51 God which
00:19:51 --> 00:19:52 dominate the
00:19:52 --> 00:19:52 books of
00:19:52 --> 00:19:53 many Christian
00:19:53 --> 00:19:54 bookshelves.
00:19:57 --> 00:19:57 Naomi is
00:19:57 --> 00:19:58 sure of
00:19:58 --> 00:19:59 three things
00:19:59 --> 00:19:59 in this
00:19:59 --> 00:20:00 text.
00:20:00 --> 00:20:01 God exists,
00:20:02 --> 00:20:02 God is
00:20:02 --> 00:20:03 sovereign and
00:20:03 --> 00:20:04 God has
00:20:04 --> 00:20:05 inflicted her.
00:20:05 --> 00:20:06 God the
00:20:06 --> 00:20:06 Almighty
00:20:06 --> 00:20:07 reigns in
00:20:07 --> 00:20:08 all the
00:20:08 --> 00:20:09 affairs of
00:20:09 --> 00:20:09 people.
00:20:09 --> 00:20:10 He rules
00:20:10 --> 00:20:10 the nation
00:20:10 --> 00:20:11 and he
00:20:11 --> 00:20:12 rules the
00:20:12 --> 00:20:12 families and
00:20:12 --> 00:20:13 he rules
00:20:13 --> 00:20:14 Naomi's
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 life.
00:20:15 --> 00:20:16 He gives
00:20:16 --> 00:20:16 rain, he
00:20:16 --> 00:20:17 takes it
00:20:17 --> 00:20:17 away, he
00:20:17 --> 00:20:18 gives life,
00:20:18 --> 00:20:18 he takes
00:20:18 --> 00:20:19 it away.
00:20:19 --> 00:20:20 In him
00:20:20 --> 00:20:21 we live,
00:20:21 --> 00:20:22 we move,
00:20:22 --> 00:20:23 we have
00:20:23 --> 00:20:24 our being.
00:20:25 --> 00:20:25 He is the
00:20:25 --> 00:20:26 all encompassing,
00:20:27 --> 00:20:28 the all
00:20:28 --> 00:20:28 pervading
00:20:28 --> 00:20:30 reality of
00:20:30 --> 00:20:30 life.
00:20:33 --> 00:20:33 And Naomi
00:20:33 --> 00:20:34 was right
00:20:34 --> 00:20:36 and we
00:20:36 --> 00:20:36 should join
00:20:36 --> 00:20:38 her in
00:20:38 --> 00:20:38 this
00:20:38 --> 00:20:39 conviction.
00:20:40 --> 00:20:41 God the
00:20:41 --> 00:20:41 Almighty
00:20:41 --> 00:20:43 reigns in
00:20:43 --> 00:20:44 all the
00:20:44 --> 00:20:45 affairs of
00:20:45 --> 00:20:45 people.
00:20:47 --> 00:20:48 So Naomi
00:20:48 --> 00:20:49 is right
00:20:49 --> 00:20:50 here to
00:20:50 --> 00:20:50 believe in
00:20:50 --> 00:20:51 a sovereign
00:20:51 --> 00:20:52 almighty God
00:20:52 --> 00:20:53 who governs
00:20:53 --> 00:20:54 the affairs
00:20:54 --> 00:20:54 and the
00:20:54 --> 00:20:55 nations and
00:20:55 --> 00:20:56 the families
00:20:56 --> 00:20:57 and gives
00:20:57 --> 00:20:57 each day
00:20:57 --> 00:20:59 its parts
00:20:59 --> 00:21:00 of both
00:21:00 --> 00:21:01 pain and
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02 pleasure.
00:21:02 --> 00:21:03 He does
00:21:03 --> 00:21:03 both.
00:21:07 --> 00:21:08 But what
00:21:08 --> 00:21:09 Naomi needs
00:21:09 --> 00:21:11 is to
00:21:11 --> 00:21:12 open her
00:21:12 --> 00:21:13 eyes a
00:21:13 --> 00:21:14 little bit
00:21:14 --> 00:21:15 more to
00:21:15 --> 00:21:16 the signs
00:21:16 --> 00:21:17 of his
00:21:17 --> 00:21:18 merciful
00:21:18 --> 00:21:19 purposes in
00:21:19 --> 00:21:20 her life.
00:21:22 --> 00:21:23 If she
00:21:23 --> 00:21:23 doesn't,
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 then her
00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 theology just
00:21:27 --> 00:21:27 becomes
00:21:27 --> 00:21:29 determination
00:21:29 --> 00:21:30 fatalism,
00:21:30 --> 00:21:31 fatalism,
00:21:32 --> 00:21:33 an almighty
00:21:33 --> 00:21:34 being who's
00:21:34 --> 00:21:35 not personal,
00:21:35 --> 00:21:35 not relational
00:21:35 --> 00:21:36 and certainly
00:21:36 --> 00:21:38 not good.
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 While she
00:21:41 --> 00:21:42 can't see it
00:21:42 --> 00:21:43 straight away,
00:21:43 --> 00:21:44 it's in
00:21:44 --> 00:21:45 fact in
00:21:45 --> 00:21:46 heading home
00:21:46 --> 00:21:47 that we
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 see God's
00:21:48 --> 00:21:50 merciful purposes
00:21:50 --> 00:21:50 for her being
00:21:50 --> 00:21:51 worked out in
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 her life.
00:21:54 --> 00:21:54 That's the
00:21:54 --> 00:21:55 second point I
00:21:55 --> 00:21:56 want to get
00:21:56 --> 00:21:56 to.
00:21:56 --> 00:21:57 In
00:21:57 --> 00:21:58 verses 7
00:21:58 --> 00:21:59 to 18
00:21:59 --> 00:22:00 of chapter
00:22:00 --> 00:22:01 1,
00:22:01 --> 00:22:02 the writer
00:22:02 --> 00:22:03 here devotes
00:22:03 --> 00:22:05 a large
00:22:05 --> 00:22:06 chunk of
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07 space to
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 the journey
00:22:08 --> 00:22:08 home.
00:22:08 --> 00:22:09 Five verses
00:22:09 --> 00:22:10 is all it
00:22:10 --> 00:22:10 took.
00:22:10 --> 00:22:11 Five verses
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 to describe
00:22:12 --> 00:22:13 the descent
00:22:13 --> 00:22:14 to Moab,
00:22:14 --> 00:22:15 the tragedy
00:22:15 --> 00:22:15 that struck,
00:22:16 --> 00:22:16 but more
00:22:16 --> 00:22:17 than double
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 that on the
00:22:18 --> 00:22:18 journey back
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 to Bethlehem.
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 And most
00:22:22 --> 00:22:22 of these
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 verses here
00:22:23 --> 00:22:24 are in
00:22:24 --> 00:22:25 fact Naomi's
00:22:25 --> 00:22:26 efforts to
00:22:26 --> 00:22:27 try and
00:22:27 --> 00:22:28 dissuade
00:22:28 --> 00:22:29 her daughter-in-laws
00:22:29 --> 00:22:31 from returning
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 with her.
00:22:34 --> 00:22:34 And so
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 what therefore
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 stands out
00:22:36 --> 00:22:36 in these
00:22:36 --> 00:22:38 verses is
00:22:38 --> 00:22:39 Ruth's
00:22:39 --> 00:22:40 faithfulness
00:22:40 --> 00:22:40 to Naomi.
00:22:42 --> 00:22:42 In fact,
00:22:42 --> 00:22:43 one of God's
00:22:43 --> 00:22:44 mercies to
00:22:44 --> 00:22:45 Naomi.
00:22:46 --> 00:22:47 It's quite
00:22:47 --> 00:22:48 amazing.
00:22:49 --> 00:22:50 Verse 14
00:22:50 --> 00:22:51 says that
00:22:51 --> 00:22:52 Orpah kissed
00:22:52 --> 00:22:54 Naomi goodbye
00:22:54 --> 00:22:55 but Ruth
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 clung to
00:22:56 --> 00:22:56 her.
00:22:58 --> 00:22:58 And that
00:22:58 --> 00:22:59 is all the
00:22:59 --> 00:23:00 more amazing
00:23:00 --> 00:23:01 after Naomi's
00:23:01 --> 00:23:02 grim description
00:23:02 --> 00:23:03 of what their
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 future life
00:23:04 --> 00:23:04 with her
00:23:04 --> 00:23:05 would be
00:23:05 --> 00:23:06 like.
00:23:06 --> 00:23:07 Ruth stays
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 with her
00:23:08 --> 00:23:09 in spite of
00:23:09 --> 00:23:10 an apparent
00:23:10 --> 00:23:11 hopeless future
00:23:11 --> 00:23:13 of widowhood
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 and childlessness.
00:23:16 --> 00:23:17 Naomi paints
00:23:17 --> 00:23:18 a future
00:23:18 --> 00:23:18 that is
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 black.
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 And Ruth
00:23:22 --> 00:23:24 took her
00:23:24 --> 00:23:25 hand
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 and walked
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 into it
00:23:27 --> 00:23:28 with her.
00:23:30 --> 00:23:31 What a
00:23:31 --> 00:23:31 blessing.
00:23:33 --> 00:23:33 And the
00:23:33 --> 00:23:34 amazing words
00:23:34 --> 00:23:35 of Ruth
00:23:35 --> 00:23:35 are found
00:23:35 --> 00:23:36 in verse
00:23:36 --> 00:23:36 16.
00:23:36 --> 00:23:37 Have a look
00:23:37 --> 00:23:37 at it
00:23:37 --> 00:23:37 with me.
00:23:37 --> 00:23:40 Don't
00:23:40 --> 00:23:41 urge me
00:23:41 --> 00:23:41 to leave
00:23:41 --> 00:23:42 you or
00:23:42 --> 00:23:42 to turn
00:23:42 --> 00:23:43 back from
00:23:43 --> 00:23:44 you.
00:23:44 --> 00:23:44 Where you
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 go, I
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 will go.
00:23:46 --> 00:23:46 Where you
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 stay, I
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 will stay.
00:23:48 --> 00:23:48 Your people
00:23:48 --> 00:23:49 will be my
00:23:49 --> 00:23:49 people.
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50 Your God
00:23:50 --> 00:23:50 will be my
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 God.
00:23:51 --> 00:23:52 Where you
00:23:52 --> 00:23:53 die, I
00:23:53 --> 00:23:53 will die
00:23:53 --> 00:23:54 and there
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 I'll be
00:23:55 --> 00:23:55 buried.
00:23:55 --> 00:23:55 May the
00:23:55 --> 00:23:56 Lord deal
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 with me.
00:23:58 --> 00:23:58 Be it
00:23:58 --> 00:23:59 ever so
00:23:59 --> 00:24:00 severely
00:24:00 --> 00:24:02 if even
00:24:02 --> 00:24:02 death
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 separates you
00:24:03 --> 00:24:03 and me.
00:24:05 --> 00:24:05 Now the
00:24:05 --> 00:24:06 more you
00:24:06 --> 00:24:07 ponder these
00:24:07 --> 00:24:07 words, the
00:24:07 --> 00:24:08 more amazing
00:24:08 --> 00:24:09 they become.
00:24:10 --> 00:24:10 Ruth's
00:24:10 --> 00:24:11 commitment to
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 her destitute
00:24:12 --> 00:24:12 mother-in-law
00:24:12 --> 00:24:13 is simply
00:24:13 --> 00:24:14 astonishing.
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 It is a
00:24:15 --> 00:24:16 picture of
00:24:16 --> 00:24:17 commitment
00:24:17 --> 00:24:18 which is
00:24:18 --> 00:24:19 God's
00:24:19 --> 00:24:19 commitment
00:24:19 --> 00:24:20 to Naomi.
00:24:21 --> 00:24:22 It means
00:24:22 --> 00:24:23 for Ruth
00:24:23 --> 00:24:23 here, leaving
00:24:23 --> 00:24:24 her own
00:24:24 --> 00:24:25 family, her
00:24:25 --> 00:24:25 own land.
00:24:25 --> 00:24:26 It means
00:24:26 --> 00:24:27 as far as
00:24:27 --> 00:24:27 she knows, a
00:24:27 --> 00:24:28 life of
00:24:28 --> 00:24:29 widowhood and
00:24:29 --> 00:24:29 childlessness
00:24:29 --> 00:24:30 because Naomi
00:24:30 --> 00:24:31 has no man
00:24:31 --> 00:24:32 to give her.
00:24:33 --> 00:24:33 And if she
00:24:33 --> 00:24:34 marries another
00:24:34 --> 00:24:35 non-relative
00:24:35 --> 00:24:36 Naomi, her
00:24:36 --> 00:24:37 commitment to
00:24:37 --> 00:24:38 Naomi's
00:24:38 --> 00:24:38 family is
00:24:38 --> 00:24:39 cut at
00:24:39 --> 00:24:39 that point.
00:24:40 --> 00:24:40 It ceases.
00:24:41 --> 00:24:42 It's lost.
00:24:43 --> 00:24:44 It means
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 going to an
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 unknown land
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 with a new
00:24:47 --> 00:24:48 people, with a
00:24:48 --> 00:24:48 new custom,
00:24:48 --> 00:24:49 with a new
00:24:49 --> 00:24:49 language.
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 And it was
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 in fact a
00:24:53 --> 00:24:53 commitment even
00:24:53 --> 00:24:54 deeper than
00:24:54 --> 00:24:54 marriage.
00:24:56 --> 00:24:57 Where you
00:24:57 --> 00:24:59 die, I
00:24:59 --> 00:25:00 will die
00:25:00 --> 00:25:01 and there
00:25:01 --> 00:25:02 I will be
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 buried.
00:25:04 --> 00:25:04 May the
00:25:04 --> 00:25:05 Lord deal
00:25:05 --> 00:25:05 with me
00:25:05 --> 00:25:06 be it
00:25:06 --> 00:25:07 ever so
00:25:07 --> 00:25:07 severely
00:25:07 --> 00:25:09 if even
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 death
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 separates
00:25:11 --> 00:25:12 you and
00:25:12 --> 00:25:12 me.
00:25:14 --> 00:25:14 In
00:25:14 --> 00:25:15 other words,
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 Ruth says,
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 I will
00:25:18 --> 00:25:18 never
00:25:18 --> 00:25:20 return home.
00:25:21 --> 00:25:22 Even
00:25:22 --> 00:25:22 when you
00:25:22 --> 00:25:24 die, my
00:25:24 --> 00:25:24 commitment to
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25 you is not
00:25:25 --> 00:25:25 finished.
00:25:25 --> 00:25:30 the most
00:25:30 --> 00:25:31 amazing
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32 commitment of
00:25:32 --> 00:25:32 all is in
00:25:32 --> 00:25:33 verse 16.
00:25:34 --> 00:25:35 Your God
00:25:35 --> 00:25:37 will be my
00:25:37 --> 00:25:37 God.
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 Naomi has
00:25:40 --> 00:25:41 just said
00:25:41 --> 00:25:41 in verse
00:25:41 --> 00:25:42 13,
00:25:42 --> 00:25:43 saying,
00:25:43 --> 00:25:44 the Lord's
00:25:44 --> 00:25:45 hand has
00:25:45 --> 00:25:47 turned against
00:25:47 --> 00:25:47 me.
00:25:50 --> 00:25:50 Naomi's
00:25:50 --> 00:25:51 experience of
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 God in
00:25:52 --> 00:25:52 this moment
00:25:52 --> 00:25:53 was bitterness.
00:25:55 --> 00:25:55 And in
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56 spite of
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 this, Ruth
00:25:57 --> 00:25:59 forsakes her
00:25:59 --> 00:25:59 religious heritage
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 and makes the
00:26:00 --> 00:26:01 God of
00:26:01 --> 00:26:03 Israel her
00:26:03 --> 00:26:03 God.
00:26:04 --> 00:26:06 Somehow or
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 other, Ruth
00:26:07 --> 00:26:08 had come to
00:26:08 --> 00:26:09 trust in
00:26:09 --> 00:26:10 Naomi's God
00:26:10 --> 00:26:11 in spite of
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12 Naomi's
00:26:12 --> 00:26:13 bitter
00:26:13 --> 00:26:13 experiences.
00:26:13 --> 00:26:14 That did
00:26:14 --> 00:26:14 not turn
00:26:14 --> 00:26:15 her away.
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 Ruth's
00:26:18 --> 00:26:18 faith in
00:26:18 --> 00:26:20 God sees
00:26:20 --> 00:26:22 beyond the
00:26:22 --> 00:26:22 present
00:26:22 --> 00:26:23 setbacks,
00:26:24 --> 00:26:25 the present
00:26:25 --> 00:26:25 bitter
00:26:25 --> 00:26:26 setbacks,
00:26:27 --> 00:26:28 freedom from
00:26:28 --> 00:26:28 the securities
00:26:28 --> 00:26:29 and the
00:26:29 --> 00:26:29 comforts of
00:26:29 --> 00:26:29 the world
00:26:29 --> 00:26:31 and the
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 courage to
00:26:32 --> 00:26:32 venture to
00:26:32 --> 00:26:33 the unknown
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 and the
00:26:34 --> 00:26:34 strange.
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 So what
00:26:42 --> 00:26:44 called Naomi
00:26:44 --> 00:26:44 home?
00:26:48 --> 00:26:49 Even in
00:26:49 --> 00:26:49 Naomi's
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50 bitter talk
00:26:50 --> 00:26:50 about God
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 punishing her,
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 there is an
00:26:52 --> 00:26:52 acknowledgement
00:26:52 --> 00:26:54 here of
00:26:54 --> 00:26:55 his sovereign
00:26:55 --> 00:26:55 grace.
00:26:56 --> 00:26:57 In verse
00:26:57 --> 00:26:57 21,
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 she
00:26:59 --> 00:27:00 acknowledges,
00:27:01 --> 00:27:02 the Lord
00:27:02 --> 00:27:03 has brought
00:27:03 --> 00:27:04 me back.
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 Her
00:27:07 --> 00:27:07 husband made
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 the decision
00:27:08 --> 00:27:09 to leave,
00:27:09 --> 00:27:10 but the
00:27:10 --> 00:27:11 Lord has
00:27:11 --> 00:27:11 brought her
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 back.
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 And while
00:27:14 --> 00:27:14 in this
00:27:14 --> 00:27:15 moment she
00:27:15 --> 00:27:15 thinks she's
00:27:15 --> 00:27:16 coming back
00:27:16 --> 00:27:16 empty,
00:27:17 --> 00:27:18 I mean she's
00:27:18 --> 00:27:18 roost with
00:27:18 --> 00:27:19 her, she
00:27:19 --> 00:27:19 obviously not
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 focused on
00:27:20 --> 00:27:20 that very
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 much,
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 she thinks
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 she's coming
00:27:23 --> 00:27:23 back empty
00:27:23 --> 00:27:24 but it is
00:27:24 --> 00:27:25 God who
00:27:25 --> 00:27:26 provides the
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27 delicate touch
00:27:27 --> 00:27:29 of hope at
00:27:29 --> 00:27:29 the end of
00:27:29 --> 00:27:30 verse 22.
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 And this is an
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 amazing word of
00:27:33 --> 00:27:33 hope,
00:27:33 --> 00:27:34 they arrived
00:27:34 --> 00:27:36 in Bethlehem
00:27:36 --> 00:27:37 as the
00:27:37 --> 00:27:39 barley harvest
00:27:39 --> 00:27:39 was beginning.
00:27:43 --> 00:27:44 You see,
00:27:44 --> 00:27:44 it wasn't
00:27:44 --> 00:27:45 just
00:27:45 --> 00:27:46 emptiness
00:27:46 --> 00:27:47 that brought
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 her back,
00:27:48 --> 00:27:49 it was
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 news that
00:27:50 --> 00:27:51 brought her
00:27:51 --> 00:27:51 back.
00:27:51 --> 00:27:52 It was in
00:27:52 --> 00:27:53 fact good
00:27:53 --> 00:27:54 news that
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 brought her
00:27:55 --> 00:27:55 back home.
00:27:57 --> 00:27:57 News about
00:27:57 --> 00:27:59 something that
00:27:59 --> 00:27:59 God had
00:27:59 --> 00:28:01 done brought
00:28:01 --> 00:28:02 her back.
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 The Lord
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05 had visited
00:28:05 --> 00:28:06 his people
00:28:06 --> 00:28:07 and he had
00:28:07 --> 00:28:08 ended the
00:28:08 --> 00:28:08 famine.
00:28:08 --> 00:28:09 It was good
00:28:09 --> 00:28:10 news that
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 called her
00:28:11 --> 00:28:12 back home.
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 She wasn't
00:28:15 --> 00:28:15 just coming
00:28:15 --> 00:28:16 back to
00:28:16 --> 00:28:16 Bethlehem,
00:28:17 --> 00:28:17 she was
00:28:17 --> 00:28:18 coming back
00:28:18 --> 00:28:18 to her
00:28:18 --> 00:28:19 God.
00:28:22 --> 00:28:23 You see,
00:28:23 --> 00:28:24 like the
00:28:24 --> 00:28:24 book of
00:28:24 --> 00:28:25 Judges,
00:28:26 --> 00:28:26 the book
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 of Ruth
00:28:27 --> 00:28:28 is just
00:28:28 --> 00:28:28 pure
00:28:28 --> 00:28:30 gospel,
00:28:31 --> 00:28:31 pure,
00:28:32 --> 00:28:33 good,
00:28:33 --> 00:28:34 news.
00:28:35 --> 00:28:36 It reveals
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 the God
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38 of mercy
00:28:38 --> 00:28:39 and long
00:28:39 --> 00:28:39 suffering
00:28:39 --> 00:28:40 patients who
00:28:40 --> 00:28:41 continually
00:28:41 --> 00:28:42 works in
00:28:42 --> 00:28:43 and through
00:28:43 --> 00:28:43 and for
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 his people.
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 It was a
00:28:47 --> 00:28:48 truth at a
00:28:48 --> 00:28:49 national level
00:28:49 --> 00:28:50 and we will
00:28:50 --> 00:28:51 see in the
00:28:51 --> 00:28:51 coming weeks
00:28:51 --> 00:28:52 that it is
00:28:52 --> 00:28:53 true at a
00:28:53 --> 00:28:54 personal,
00:28:54 --> 00:28:55 family,
00:28:55 --> 00:28:56 individual level
00:28:56 --> 00:28:56 too.
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59 God is at
00:28:59 --> 00:29:00 work in the
00:29:00 --> 00:29:00 worst of
00:29:00 --> 00:29:00 times.
00:29:00 --> 00:29:02 God
00:29:02 --> 00:29:03 and what's
00:29:03 --> 00:29:04 more,
00:29:04 --> 00:29:05 this sovereign
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 God keeps
00:29:06 --> 00:29:06 doing it
00:29:06 --> 00:29:07 despite his
00:29:07 --> 00:29:09 people constant
00:29:09 --> 00:29:10 resistance to
00:29:10 --> 00:29:11 his purposes.
00:29:13 --> 00:29:13 God
00:29:13 --> 00:29:14 relentlessly
00:29:14 --> 00:29:15 offers his
00:29:15 --> 00:29:16 grace to
00:29:16 --> 00:29:17 people who
00:29:17 --> 00:29:18 neither deserve
00:29:18 --> 00:29:18 it,
00:29:19 --> 00:29:19 they're not
00:29:19 --> 00:29:20 seeking it,
00:29:21 --> 00:29:21 not even
00:29:21 --> 00:29:22 appreciating it,
00:29:22 --> 00:29:23 even after
00:29:23 --> 00:29:23 they've been
00:29:23 --> 00:29:24 saved by it.
00:29:24 --> 00:29:29 So after
00:29:29 --> 00:29:30 ten years
00:29:30 --> 00:29:31 abandoning her
00:29:31 --> 00:29:33 God and
00:29:33 --> 00:29:33 her people
00:29:33 --> 00:29:35 and her
00:29:35 --> 00:29:35 land,
00:29:36 --> 00:29:37 what sort
00:29:37 --> 00:29:37 of welcome
00:29:37 --> 00:29:39 do you think
00:29:39 --> 00:29:39 Naomi should
00:29:39 --> 00:29:41 receive
00:29:41 --> 00:29:42 returning home?
00:29:42 --> 00:29:48 what about
00:29:48 --> 00:29:49 the prodigal
00:29:49 --> 00:29:49 son in
00:29:49 --> 00:29:50 Luke 15?
00:29:51 --> 00:29:52 How would
00:29:52 --> 00:29:52 you respond
00:29:52 --> 00:29:53 to a
00:29:53 --> 00:29:54 child who
00:29:54 --> 00:29:55 has basically
00:29:55 --> 00:29:55 wished you
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 were dead,
00:29:56 --> 00:29:57 didn't want
00:29:57 --> 00:29:57 anything to
00:29:57 --> 00:29:58 do with you
00:29:58 --> 00:29:58 except the
00:29:58 --> 00:29:59 inheritance?
00:30:00 --> 00:30:01 Nothing with
00:30:01 --> 00:30:01 you again,
00:30:01 --> 00:30:02 ever.
00:30:05 --> 00:30:05 The father
00:30:05 --> 00:30:06 in the
00:30:06 --> 00:30:07 parable of
00:30:07 --> 00:30:08 the prodigal
00:30:08 --> 00:30:09 son in
00:30:09 --> 00:30:09 Luke 15,
00:30:09 --> 00:30:12 it is obvious
00:30:12 --> 00:30:12 that he is
00:30:12 --> 00:30:13 not sitting
00:30:13 --> 00:30:13 in his
00:30:13 --> 00:30:14 living room
00:30:14 --> 00:30:14 with his
00:30:14 --> 00:30:15 feet up
00:30:15 --> 00:30:16 waiting for
00:30:16 --> 00:30:17 his wayward
00:30:17 --> 00:30:18 son to
00:30:18 --> 00:30:18 come crawling
00:30:18 --> 00:30:19 through the
00:30:19 --> 00:30:20 door and
00:30:20 --> 00:30:21 his hands
00:30:21 --> 00:30:21 and knees
00:30:21 --> 00:30:22 groveling
00:30:22 --> 00:30:23 and begging
00:30:23 --> 00:30:24 for restoration.
00:30:25 --> 00:30:26 Verse 20
00:30:26 --> 00:30:27 tells us
00:30:27 --> 00:30:29 that this
00:30:29 --> 00:30:29 man,
00:30:29 --> 00:30:30 this father
00:30:30 --> 00:30:31 ran to
00:30:31 --> 00:30:31 meet his
00:30:31 --> 00:30:32 son,
00:30:33 --> 00:30:33 embraced
00:30:33 --> 00:30:34 him,
00:30:35 --> 00:30:35 kissed
00:30:35 --> 00:30:36 him again
00:30:36 --> 00:30:37 and again
00:30:37 --> 00:30:37 and again,
00:30:38 --> 00:30:39 reinstates
00:30:39 --> 00:30:39 him to
00:30:39 --> 00:30:41 full
00:30:41 --> 00:30:42 membership
00:30:42 --> 00:30:42 of the
00:30:42 --> 00:30:43 family
00:30:43 --> 00:30:45 and calls
00:30:45 --> 00:30:46 for a
00:30:46 --> 00:30:47 celebration
00:30:47 --> 00:30:50 and we
00:30:50 --> 00:30:50 are told
00:30:50 --> 00:30:51 in Luke
00:30:51 --> 00:30:52 15 that
00:30:52 --> 00:30:52 the only
00:30:52 --> 00:30:53 emotion
00:30:53 --> 00:30:54 the father
00:30:54 --> 00:30:54 felt was
00:30:54 --> 00:30:55 compassion.
00:30:56 --> 00:30:56 This father
00:30:56 --> 00:30:57 thinks nothing
00:30:57 --> 00:30:58 of his
00:30:58 --> 00:30:58 personal loss,
00:30:59 --> 00:30:59 nothing of
00:30:59 --> 00:30:59 his financial
00:30:59 --> 00:31:00 loss,
00:31:00 --> 00:31:01 nothing of
00:31:01 --> 00:31:02 the damage
00:31:02 --> 00:31:02 to his
00:31:02 --> 00:31:03 reputation
00:31:03 --> 00:31:03 in the
00:31:03 --> 00:31:04 community,
00:31:05 --> 00:31:05 nothing of
00:31:05 --> 00:31:05 his own
00:31:05 --> 00:31:06 personal
00:31:06 --> 00:31:07 shame.
00:31:07 --> 00:31:09 what an
00:31:09 --> 00:31:10 extraordinary
00:31:10 --> 00:31:11 welcome
00:31:11 --> 00:31:11 and we
00:31:11 --> 00:31:12 are told
00:31:12 --> 00:31:13 in Luke
00:31:13 --> 00:31:13 15 the
00:31:13 --> 00:31:14 reason why
00:31:14 --> 00:31:15 Jesus told
00:31:15 --> 00:31:16 this story
00:31:16 --> 00:31:17 is because
00:31:17 --> 00:31:17 he was
00:31:17 --> 00:31:17 saying,
00:31:18 --> 00:31:18 I am
00:31:18 --> 00:31:19 the father
00:31:19 --> 00:31:22 who welcomes
00:31:22 --> 00:31:22 the son.
00:31:22 --> 00:31:24 when sinners
00:31:24 --> 00:31:25 turn from
00:31:25 --> 00:31:26 their sin
00:31:26 --> 00:31:26 and accept
00:31:26 --> 00:31:27 my fellowship
00:31:27 --> 00:31:28 as the
00:31:28 --> 00:31:29 joy of
00:31:29 --> 00:31:30 their lives,
00:31:30 --> 00:31:31 they have
00:31:31 --> 00:31:31 come home
00:31:31 --> 00:31:32 to God
00:31:32 --> 00:31:33 through me
00:31:33 --> 00:31:34 and God
00:31:34 --> 00:31:36 is glad
00:31:36 --> 00:31:36 and he
00:31:36 --> 00:31:37 celebrates.
00:31:39 --> 00:31:40 It's a
00:31:40 --> 00:31:40 wonderful
00:31:40 --> 00:31:41 picture of
00:31:41 --> 00:31:42 the grace
00:31:42 --> 00:31:42 and the
00:31:42 --> 00:31:43 mercy and
00:31:43 --> 00:31:43 the love
00:31:43 --> 00:31:44 of the
00:31:44 --> 00:31:44 compassion
00:31:44 --> 00:31:45 of God.
00:31:45 --> 00:31:46 The God
00:31:46 --> 00:31:46 of the
00:31:46 --> 00:31:47 Bible
00:31:47 --> 00:31:48 is not
00:31:48 --> 00:31:49 into the
00:31:49 --> 00:31:49 cancel
00:31:49 --> 00:31:50 culture
00:31:50 --> 00:31:51 that we
00:31:51 --> 00:31:52 currently
00:31:52 --> 00:31:53 exist in
00:31:53 --> 00:31:54 where you
00:31:54 --> 00:31:55 make one
00:31:55 --> 00:31:55 mistake
00:31:55 --> 00:31:57 on social
00:31:57 --> 00:31:57 media
00:31:57 --> 00:31:59 and you
00:31:59 --> 00:32:00 are what?
00:32:00 --> 00:32:01 Your
00:32:01 --> 00:32:01 reputation
00:32:01 --> 00:32:02 is ruined.
00:32:03 --> 00:32:04 You will
00:32:04 --> 00:32:04 never live
00:32:04 --> 00:32:05 it down.
00:32:07 --> 00:32:07 A shame
00:32:07 --> 00:32:08 that will be
00:32:08 --> 00:32:08 brought back
00:32:08 --> 00:32:09 up again
00:32:09 --> 00:32:10 and again
00:32:10 --> 00:32:11 and again.
00:32:11 --> 00:32:14 the Bible
00:32:14 --> 00:32:15 tells us
00:32:15 --> 00:32:15 as far
00:32:15 --> 00:32:16 as Psalm
00:32:16 --> 00:32:18 103
00:32:18 --> 00:32:19 tells us
00:32:19 --> 00:32:19 in the
00:32:19 --> 00:32:19 Bible
00:32:19 --> 00:32:20 as far
00:32:20 --> 00:32:20 as the
00:32:20 --> 00:32:21 east
00:32:21 --> 00:32:22 is from
00:32:22 --> 00:32:22 the west
00:32:22 --> 00:32:24 so far
00:32:24 --> 00:32:24 has God
00:32:24 --> 00:32:25 removed
00:32:25 --> 00:32:26 our sin
00:32:26 --> 00:32:26 from us
00:32:26 --> 00:32:27 and Isaiah
00:32:27 --> 00:32:27 tells us
00:32:27 --> 00:32:29 he's forgotten
00:32:29 --> 00:32:29 them
00:32:29 --> 00:32:31 never to be
00:32:31 --> 00:32:31 brought up
00:32:31 --> 00:32:32 again
00:32:32 --> 00:32:33 against us.
00:32:34 --> 00:32:34 The whole
00:32:34 --> 00:32:35 story of the
00:32:35 --> 00:32:36 Bible
00:32:36 --> 00:32:36 is about
00:32:36 --> 00:32:37 the human
00:32:37 --> 00:32:37 race
00:32:37 --> 00:32:38 going away
00:32:38 --> 00:32:38 from God
00:32:38 --> 00:32:39 and his
00:32:39 --> 00:32:39 great plan
00:32:39 --> 00:32:40 of salvation
00:32:40 --> 00:32:41 of bringing
00:32:41 --> 00:32:41 them back
00:32:41 --> 00:32:42 again
00:32:42 --> 00:32:42 and at
00:32:42 --> 00:32:43 the centre
00:32:43 --> 00:32:43 of that
00:32:43 --> 00:32:44 plan
00:32:44 --> 00:32:44 is the
00:32:44 --> 00:32:44 Lord
00:32:44 --> 00:32:45 Jesus
00:32:45 --> 00:32:45 Christ
00:32:45 --> 00:32:46 because
00:32:46 --> 00:32:47 it is
00:32:47 --> 00:32:47 good news
00:32:47 --> 00:32:48 about Jesus
00:32:48 --> 00:32:49 that calls
00:32:49 --> 00:32:50 us back
00:32:50 --> 00:32:50 home to
00:32:50 --> 00:32:51 God.
00:32:52 --> 00:32:53 The good
00:32:53 --> 00:32:53 news that
00:32:53 --> 00:32:54 calls us
00:32:54 --> 00:32:54 back
00:32:54 --> 00:32:54 is about
00:32:54 --> 00:32:55 something
00:32:55 --> 00:32:56 else
00:32:56 --> 00:32:56 that God
00:32:56 --> 00:32:57 has done
00:32:57 --> 00:32:59 in Bethlehem
00:32:59 --> 00:33:00 again
00:33:00 --> 00:33:01 but for
00:33:01 --> 00:33:02 all of
00:33:02 --> 00:33:02 humanity.
00:33:07 --> 00:33:08 And it's
00:33:08 --> 00:33:09 infinitely better
00:33:09 --> 00:33:10 news than
00:33:10 --> 00:33:11 Naomi heard
00:33:11 --> 00:33:12 from Bethlehem
00:33:12 --> 00:33:13 that turned
00:33:13 --> 00:33:14 her around
00:33:14 --> 00:33:15 and back
00:33:15 --> 00:33:15 home.
00:33:18 --> 00:33:19 The core
00:33:19 --> 00:33:19 message of
00:33:19 --> 00:33:20 Christianity
00:33:20 --> 00:33:21 is that
00:33:21 --> 00:33:22 in Jesus
00:33:22 --> 00:33:24 God
00:33:24 --> 00:33:25 comes to
00:33:25 --> 00:33:25 running
00:33:25 --> 00:33:26 runs to
00:33:26 --> 00:33:26 us and
00:33:26 --> 00:33:27 meets us.
00:33:28 --> 00:33:29 The king
00:33:29 --> 00:33:29 of the
00:33:29 --> 00:33:30 universe
00:33:30 --> 00:33:32 in all
00:33:32 --> 00:33:33 his splendor
00:33:33 --> 00:33:34 and glory
00:33:34 --> 00:33:36 came to
00:33:36 --> 00:33:36 the dirt
00:33:36 --> 00:33:37 of Bethlehem.
00:33:40 --> 00:33:40 Came to
00:33:40 --> 00:33:41 the dirt
00:33:41 --> 00:33:42 of Bethlehem,
00:33:42 --> 00:33:43 lived a
00:33:43 --> 00:33:44 life of
00:33:44 --> 00:33:44 obscurity
00:33:44 --> 00:33:45 amongst us,
00:33:45 --> 00:33:46 worked as
00:33:46 --> 00:33:47 a carpenter.
00:33:47 --> 00:33:48 God the
00:33:48 --> 00:33:49 son left
00:33:49 --> 00:33:50 his place
00:33:50 --> 00:33:51 of abundance
00:33:51 --> 00:33:53 and takes
00:33:53 --> 00:33:54 on our
00:33:54 --> 00:33:55 emptiness
00:33:55 --> 00:33:56 so that we
00:33:56 --> 00:33:57 can have
00:33:57 --> 00:33:58 his place
00:33:58 --> 00:33:58 of abundance.
00:33:58 --> 00:34:00 Jesus
00:34:00 --> 00:34:00 left his
00:34:00 --> 00:34:01 place of
00:34:01 --> 00:34:01 blessing
00:34:01 --> 00:34:02 and abundance
00:34:02 --> 00:34:03 of glory
00:34:03 --> 00:34:03 in heaven
00:34:03 --> 00:34:04 entered
00:34:04 --> 00:34:04 himself
00:34:04 --> 00:34:05 for us
00:34:05 --> 00:34:06 not just
00:34:06 --> 00:34:06 in the
00:34:06 --> 00:34:06 dirt of
00:34:06 --> 00:34:07 Bethlehem
00:34:07 --> 00:34:08 but by
00:34:08 --> 00:34:08 shedding
00:34:08 --> 00:34:09 his blood
00:34:09 --> 00:34:09 on a
00:34:09 --> 00:34:10 cross
00:34:10 --> 00:34:10 outside of
00:34:10 --> 00:34:11 Jerusalem.
00:34:12 --> 00:34:13 As Jesus
00:34:13 --> 00:34:13 was dying
00:34:13 --> 00:34:14 on the
00:34:14 --> 00:34:14 cross
00:34:14 --> 00:34:15 he cried
00:34:15 --> 00:34:16 out
00:34:16 --> 00:34:18 in every
00:34:18 --> 00:34:18 other
00:34:18 --> 00:34:19 instance
00:34:19 --> 00:34:21 in the
00:34:21 --> 00:34:21 New
00:34:21 --> 00:34:21 Testament
00:34:21 --> 00:34:23 whenever
00:34:23 --> 00:34:24 he speaks
00:34:24 --> 00:34:25 to his
00:34:25 --> 00:34:25 father he
00:34:25 --> 00:34:26 calls him
00:34:26 --> 00:34:27 father
00:34:27 --> 00:34:28 only on
00:34:28 --> 00:34:28 the cross
00:34:28 --> 00:34:29 he says
00:34:29 --> 00:34:30 my God
00:34:30 --> 00:34:31 my God
00:34:31 --> 00:34:32 why have
00:34:32 --> 00:34:32 you forsaken
00:34:32 --> 00:34:33 me?
00:34:33 --> 00:34:33 He went
00:34:33 --> 00:34:35 into exile
00:34:35 --> 00:34:36 removed
00:34:36 --> 00:34:37 away from
00:34:37 --> 00:34:37 the presence
00:34:37 --> 00:34:38 of the
00:34:38 --> 00:34:38 father
00:34:38 --> 00:34:39 so that
00:34:39 --> 00:34:40 we can
00:34:40 --> 00:34:40 be brought
00:34:40 --> 00:34:41 back in.
00:34:41 --> 00:34:41 He was
00:34:41 --> 00:34:42 cancelled
00:34:42 --> 00:34:43 so that
00:34:43 --> 00:34:43 we can
00:34:43 --> 00:34:44 be forgiven.
00:34:44 --> 00:34:45 He took
00:34:45 --> 00:34:46 our sin
00:34:46 --> 00:34:47 he faced
00:34:47 --> 00:34:47 our bitterness
00:34:47 --> 00:34:50 and in
00:34:50 --> 00:34:51 doing so
00:34:51 --> 00:34:52 he turned
00:34:52 --> 00:34:52 away from
00:34:52 --> 00:34:52 us
00:34:52 --> 00:34:54 so that
00:34:54 --> 00:34:54 we might
00:34:54 --> 00:34:55 be blessed.
00:34:56 --> 00:34:57 He took
00:34:57 --> 00:34:57 our
00:34:57 --> 00:34:58 spiritual
00:34:58 --> 00:34:58 famine
00:34:58 --> 00:34:59 so that
00:34:59 --> 00:35:00 we might
00:35:00 --> 00:35:00 have
00:35:00 --> 00:35:00 his
00:35:00 --> 00:35:01 spiritual
00:35:01 --> 00:35:01 feast.
00:35:05 --> 00:35:05 You see
00:35:05 --> 00:35:06 the good
00:35:06 --> 00:35:07 news here
00:35:07 --> 00:35:08 is that
00:35:08 --> 00:35:09 don't ever
00:35:09 --> 00:35:09 think the
00:35:09 --> 00:35:10 sin of
00:35:10 --> 00:35:10 your past
00:35:10 --> 00:35:11 means there's
00:35:11 --> 00:35:12 no hope
00:35:12 --> 00:35:12 for the
00:35:12 --> 00:35:12 future.
00:35:14 --> 00:35:14 God
00:35:14 --> 00:35:15 knows
00:35:15 --> 00:35:16 exactly
00:35:16 --> 00:35:17 what you
00:35:17 --> 00:35:18 are like
00:35:18 --> 00:35:18 and what
00:35:18 --> 00:35:19 I am
00:35:19 --> 00:35:19 like
00:35:19 --> 00:35:20 deepest
00:35:20 --> 00:35:21 down in
00:35:21 --> 00:35:21 the
00:35:21 --> 00:35:22 recesses
00:35:22 --> 00:35:22 of our
00:35:22 --> 00:35:22 hearts
00:35:22 --> 00:35:24 and yet
00:35:24 --> 00:35:24 he still
00:35:24 --> 00:35:25 welcomes
00:35:25 --> 00:35:25 us.
00:35:25 --> 00:35:25 His love
00:35:25 --> 00:35:26 is
00:35:26 --> 00:35:26 unconditional.
00:35:27 --> 00:35:28 It isn't
00:35:28 --> 00:35:28 based on
00:35:28 --> 00:35:29 what we
00:35:29 --> 00:35:29 are like
00:35:29 --> 00:35:30 it is
00:35:30 --> 00:35:30 based on
00:35:30 --> 00:35:31 what he
00:35:31 --> 00:35:31 is like
00:35:31 --> 00:35:31 and he
00:35:31 --> 00:35:33 calls us
00:35:33 --> 00:35:34 home to
00:35:34 --> 00:35:34 him.
00:35:35 --> 00:35:36 Come home
00:35:36 --> 00:35:37 to the
00:35:37 --> 00:35:38 God
00:35:38 --> 00:35:39 who made
00:35:39 --> 00:35:40 you and
00:35:40 --> 00:35:41 loves you
00:35:41 --> 00:35:42 and is the
00:35:42 --> 00:35:43 only one
00:35:43 --> 00:35:43 who can
00:35:43 --> 00:35:43 fill the
00:35:43 --> 00:35:44 emptiness
00:35:44 --> 00:35:45 the
00:35:45 --> 00:35:46 emptiest
00:35:46 --> 00:35:47 and meet
00:35:47 --> 00:35:48 your deepest
00:35:48 --> 00:35:48 need of
00:35:48 --> 00:35:49 your heart.
00:35:49 --> 00:35:51 God's
00:35:51 --> 00:36:14 providence in
00:36:14 --> 00:36:15 Naomi's
00:36:15 --> 00:36:16 life
00:36:16 --> 00:36:19 is
00:36:19 --> 00:36:19 hard
00:36:19 --> 00:36:21 and
00:36:21 --> 00:36:21 sometimes
00:36:21 --> 00:36:22 God's
00:36:22 --> 00:36:22 providence
00:36:22 --> 00:36:23 in our
00:36:23 --> 00:36:23 life
00:36:23 --> 00:36:24 is
00:36:24 --> 00:36:24 hard.
00:36:26 --> 00:36:27 He
00:36:27 --> 00:36:27 had
00:36:27 --> 00:36:28 dealt
00:36:28 --> 00:36:29 bitterly
00:36:29 --> 00:36:29 with
00:36:29 --> 00:36:30 Naomi
00:36:30 --> 00:36:31 at
00:36:31 --> 00:36:32 least
00:36:32 --> 00:36:33 in the
00:36:33 --> 00:36:33 short
00:36:33 --> 00:36:34 run
00:36:34 --> 00:36:38 in the
00:36:38 --> 00:36:38 short
00:36:38 --> 00:36:38 run
00:36:38 --> 00:36:38 it only
00:36:38 --> 00:36:39 felt like
00:36:39 --> 00:36:39 bitterness
00:36:39 --> 00:36:40 for her
00:36:40 --> 00:36:42 but not
00:36:42 --> 00:36:42 long term.
00:36:44 --> 00:36:45 Some might
00:36:45 --> 00:36:46 say it was
00:36:46 --> 00:36:46 a punish
00:36:46 --> 00:36:46 for the
00:36:46 --> 00:36:47 sin of
00:36:47 --> 00:36:47 going to
00:36:47 --> 00:36:48 Moab
00:36:48 --> 00:36:48 and marrying
00:36:48 --> 00:36:49 foreign
00:36:49 --> 00:36:50 women.
00:36:51 --> 00:36:51 Maybe.
00:36:53 --> 00:36:53 Maybe.
00:36:54 --> 00:36:54 Not
00:36:54 --> 00:36:55 necessarily.
00:36:55 --> 00:36:55 Maybe.
00:36:57 --> 00:36:58 Psalm 34
00:36:58 --> 00:36:59 verse 19
00:36:59 --> 00:37:00 says the
00:37:00 --> 00:37:00 righteous
00:37:00 --> 00:37:01 person may
00:37:01 --> 00:37:02 have many
00:37:02 --> 00:37:02 troubles
00:37:02 --> 00:37:03 but the
00:37:03 --> 00:37:04 Lord delivers
00:37:04 --> 00:37:05 him from
00:37:05 --> 00:37:05 them all.
00:37:07 --> 00:37:07 That is
00:37:07 --> 00:37:08 the Bible
00:37:08 --> 00:37:08 never promises
00:37:08 --> 00:37:09 that believers
00:37:09 --> 00:37:10 will escape
00:37:10 --> 00:37:11 difficulty in
00:37:11 --> 00:37:12 life as
00:37:12 --> 00:37:12 well.
00:37:15 --> 00:37:15 But
00:37:15 --> 00:37:16 suppose
00:37:16 --> 00:37:18 Naomi's
00:37:18 --> 00:37:18 calamity
00:37:18 --> 00:37:20 was in
00:37:20 --> 00:37:21 fact owing
00:37:21 --> 00:37:22 to her
00:37:22 --> 00:37:22 and her
00:37:22 --> 00:37:22 husband's
00:37:22 --> 00:37:23 disobedience.
00:37:24 --> 00:37:24 What if
00:37:24 --> 00:37:25 it was?
00:37:26 --> 00:37:27 That
00:37:27 --> 00:37:28 makes this
00:37:28 --> 00:37:29 story
00:37:29 --> 00:37:30 remarkable.
00:37:31 --> 00:37:32 It
00:37:32 --> 00:37:32 makes it
00:37:32 --> 00:37:33 if you
00:37:33 --> 00:37:33 like
00:37:33 --> 00:37:34 doubly
00:37:34 --> 00:37:35 encouraging
00:37:35 --> 00:37:37 because it
00:37:37 --> 00:37:38 shows
00:37:38 --> 00:37:39 that God
00:37:39 --> 00:37:40 is willing
00:37:40 --> 00:37:41 and able
00:37:41 --> 00:37:42 even to
00:37:42 --> 00:37:43 turn
00:37:43 --> 00:37:44 his
00:37:44 --> 00:37:45 severe
00:37:45 --> 00:37:46 judgments
00:37:46 --> 00:37:47 into
00:37:47 --> 00:37:48 our
00:37:48 --> 00:37:49 joys.
00:37:51 --> 00:37:52 Bitterness
00:37:52 --> 00:37:53 just for a
00:37:53 --> 00:37:53 moment.
00:37:56 --> 00:37:57 And what
00:37:57 --> 00:37:57 this Bible
00:37:57 --> 00:37:58 is saying,
00:37:58 --> 00:37:58 what this
00:37:58 --> 00:37:59 passage is
00:37:59 --> 00:37:59 saying is
00:37:59 --> 00:38:00 come back.
00:38:01 --> 00:38:01 Jesus
00:38:01 --> 00:38:02 is saying
00:38:02 --> 00:38:03 to you
00:38:03 --> 00:38:04 whatever
00:38:04 --> 00:38:04 you've
00:38:04 --> 00:38:05 done,
00:38:05 --> 00:38:06 whatever
00:38:06 --> 00:38:06 you've
00:38:06 --> 00:38:07 become,
00:38:09 --> 00:38:09 come back
00:38:09 --> 00:38:10 home to
00:38:10 --> 00:38:10 your God.
00:38:12 --> 00:38:12 I want to
00:38:12 --> 00:38:13 pray with
00:38:13 --> 00:38:13 you right
00:38:13 --> 00:38:13 now.
00:38:14 --> 00:38:15 And I'm
00:38:15 --> 00:38:15 just going to
00:38:15 --> 00:38:16 pray really
00:38:16 --> 00:38:16 slowly.
00:38:17 --> 00:38:17 And maybe the
00:38:17 --> 00:38:18 prayer that I
00:38:18 --> 00:38:19 pray, you
00:38:19 --> 00:38:19 might want to
00:38:19 --> 00:38:20 echo it in
00:38:20 --> 00:38:20 your heart and
00:38:20 --> 00:38:21 come back to
00:38:21 --> 00:38:22 God now.
00:38:22 --> 00:38:22 Let's do
00:38:22 --> 00:38:23 that.
00:38:23 --> 00:38:29 our
00:38:29 --> 00:38:30 gracious God,
00:38:31 --> 00:38:32 I just
00:38:32 --> 00:38:33 want to
00:38:33 --> 00:38:33 thank you
00:38:33 --> 00:38:34 for your
00:38:34 --> 00:38:35 love and
00:38:35 --> 00:38:35 your
00:38:35 --> 00:38:35 compassion.
00:38:37 --> 00:38:39 I want to
00:38:39 --> 00:38:39 thank you
00:38:39 --> 00:38:41 for giving
00:38:41 --> 00:38:42 us,
00:38:43 --> 00:38:44 giving me
00:38:44 --> 00:38:45 life.
00:38:45 --> 00:38:49 sorry that
00:38:49 --> 00:38:50 I, that
00:38:50 --> 00:38:51 we have
00:38:51 --> 00:38:52 lived it for
00:38:52 --> 00:38:53 ourselves and
00:38:53 --> 00:38:54 not for you.
00:38:56 --> 00:38:56 Thank you
00:38:56 --> 00:38:57 that Jesus
00:38:57 --> 00:38:58 dealt with my
00:38:58 --> 00:38:59 sin at the
00:38:59 --> 00:39:01 cross, that
00:39:01 --> 00:39:02 he was turned
00:39:02 --> 00:39:03 away, that
00:39:03 --> 00:39:05 he was made
00:39:05 --> 00:39:07 destitute so
00:39:07 --> 00:39:08 that we can be
00:39:08 --> 00:39:09 brought back
00:39:09 --> 00:39:09 in.
00:39:10 --> 00:39:10 He was
00:39:10 --> 00:39:11 emptied so
00:39:11 --> 00:39:12 that we could
00:39:12 --> 00:39:13 be filled.
00:39:14 --> 00:39:15 He took my
00:39:15 --> 00:39:17 sin so
00:39:17 --> 00:39:18 that I could
00:39:18 --> 00:39:18 be forgiven.
00:39:20 --> 00:39:21 So please
00:39:21 --> 00:39:22 forgive me
00:39:22 --> 00:39:24 and accept
00:39:24 --> 00:39:25 me because
00:39:25 --> 00:39:25 of him
00:39:25 --> 00:39:28 and help
00:39:28 --> 00:39:29 me to start
00:39:29 --> 00:39:29 living for
00:39:29 --> 00:39:30 you.
00:39:31 --> 00:39:32 Amen.