[Rth 1:1-22] Your People Will Be My People and Your God My God

We are excited to add the English section and our new English writer, Rev. John Lim into TLT. He will teach us about the Book of Ruth, one of the most beautiful sagas in the Old Testament, in a four part series. Thank God for him.
 
John is not a common preacher who pays common post-modern lip service. And he is someone we can heartily hear and easily understand. As a field pastor, he is full of inspiration and expounds the Word in an authentic and thoughtful manner.

We deeply appreciate his generosity, and this wonderful opportunity to listen to him!  

티엘티에 새 영어 섹션을 마련하면서..잔 림 목사님의 강해설교를 실리게 된 기쁨을 독자 여러분과 함께 나누며 하나님께 영광 돌립니다. 우선 구약 성경 '룻기'를 4회로 나눠 가르치십니다. 영어권 한국인들과 영어 설교를 즐기시는 분들에게 성경에 대한 소중한 통찰과 영감을 줄 것으로 믿어 의심치 않습니다.
일선 목회자이신 림 목사님은 우리가 흔히 만나기 어려운, 성경적이고 소박하고 이해하기 쉬운 강해 설교자이십니다. 설교 게재를 허락해 주신 목사님께 깊이 감사 드립니다. 아울러 영어 섹션이 활성화 되길 갈망합니다.

John Lim

“Your people will be my people and your God my God.”
Ruth 1:1-22

God has given us this institution called family that we might derive some happiness and joy from our life here on earth. Everyone has a family. All of us come from some family somewhere. In our times of distress and trouble, we seek assurances from our family and hang on to their concerned expressions and smiles. In times of sickness, we feel loved and cared for when they stroke our face and offer comforting words. Family really is the glue that literally holds us together when we are going through some tough times. Because this institution called, ‘family’ plays such an important role in our lives the Bible tells us many stories of families.

From Adam and Eve’s first family to Abraham’s family to David’s family, we are fascinated by these stories of human drama weaved into rich tapestry of history of God’s people. We are spellbound when we encounter those extraordinary stories because we can somehow relate to them because we also come from families and to through similar travails. I want to focus this morning on passing down of faith from one generation to the next as we focus on the 1st chapter in the book of Ruth.

I am inclined to say that most of us if not all of us want to have a good family life or experience. I don’t believe anyone starts a family with the intent of being miserable or unhappy. With that in mind, let us look at this family.

Look at verses 1-2.

“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. 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.” (NIV)

It seems this family started off fairly well. There is nothing unusual or spectacular about this ho-hum family. This family decided to relocate to the land of Moab from their home due to famine in the land. But then, a tragedy strikes.

Look at verse 3.

“Now Elimelech, Naomi’s husband died, and she was left
with her two sons.”

Naomi’s husband, Elimelech died. While this family was struggling in the land of Moab trying to scratch out a living, they came upon a terrible loss. Now with the husband gone, Naomi was left with her two sons. We don’t know how long they had been living there but the two sons came of age and they got married. Look at verse 4a.

“They married Moabite women, one named Orpha and the other Ruth.”

So Naomi’s two sons married and when things seemed to have normalized, yet another tragedy struck Naomi’s life. Look at verses 4b-5.

“After they had lived there about 10 years, both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.”

Within the first five verses of the book of Ruth, we are told of these tragic losses in the family of Naomi. Not only does Naomi lose her husband but her two sons are gone unexpectedly. All the men in her life are now gone.

In the ancient times, men represented security for the women. Without men, there is no more security. It will be a challenge to make a living from now on. Within short span of time, Naomi had lost everything.

Losses can be devastating. I am sure Naomi thought and dreamed of life with her husband and their two sons in the early days of their marriage. She probably thought of all the happiness and joy she would receive from her life with a husband, two sons and maybe even grandchildren. But catastrophic loss upon loss now brought her to a very different and difficult situation in her life from one she might have imagined for herself when she was a teenager.

Where does she go from here? Where do we go from our own low point in life? Where do we turn or to whom do we turn?

However, let us not forget that Naomi is a woman of faith. I believe what happens next in Naomi’s life sheds some light to this question.

Look at verse 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.”

In midst of this crisis of losing her two sons and being left with two daughters-in-law, Naomi heard that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them.

What is meant here is that perhaps the famine has now come to an end and the crops are once again flourishing in the land Naomi and her husband along with two sons had left, behind. So Naomi makes an important decision to move back to the land of her people.

Look at the following verse in 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.”

Now they are at a cross road in their lives. We can see that they probably didn’t have a whole lot by way of their possessions. Probably, their clothes on their backs and perhaps some pots and pans just about made up their entire earthly possession. We can almost see three helpless women about to embark on their long journey back to Judea, having lost their respective husbands. Three women without men in their lives at the lowest point in their lives starting on a journey whose end point is yet to be written.

At this point, Naomi makes another important decision.

Look at verse 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.”

This verse describes the state of Naomi’s mind in midst of sad things that have taken place in her life. She invokes blessing to her two daughters-in-law in the name of the LORD. In spite of her personal tragedies, she urges them to return to their homes.
 

For Naomi, faith in God was just as real and personal as her losses and her disappointments. She is a woman of God in spite of her terrible and tragic losses. By what she says to her daughters-in-law, we see her acknowledgment of God as one who can grant kindness.

She tells her daughters-in-law to go back to their own homes. She recognizes kindness her daughters-in-law have shown to their dead husbands and acknowledges their thoughtfulness in wanting to with her. Even in midst of their collective miserable predicament, Naomi does not forget to commend her daughters in law for what they have shown.

But what is even more interesting is what follows next. Look at verses 9 and 10.

“May the LORD grant that each of you will find rest in the home
of another husband.” Then she kissed them and they wept aloud
and said to her, “We will go back with you to your people.”

Naomi gives her blessings invoking the name of God to Orpah and Ruth. She has given her blessings for them to leave her and go back to their homes without any kind of shame or guilt. She has given them the freedom to go back to their respective homes.

What is truly beautiful and precious in this scene we can almost imagine in our own mind is that Naomi is more concerned about taking care of her two daughters-in-law than about herself. Her faith is real. Her love for her daughters-in-law is selfless and sacrificial. She is able to seek what she thinks is best for them and their future.

This is the love of God shown us through the selfless and sacrificial love of Jesus Christ displayed at Mount Calvary. When Christ died on the cross, he gave of himself for us.

As helpless and vulnerable as she is without any earthly means of provision, she gives one thing she has in her power to them, which is her unfettered blessing for her two daughters-in-law. Just imagine this scene being played out in the plains of Moab.

What a sad scene for us to witness. Three destitute women crying and holding on to each other not knowing what to say or not knowing what to do. Even as Naomi releases them from any kind of obligation, Orpah and Ruth can’t seem to say goodbye to their beloved mother in law.

How refreshing it is to see in this story, a picture of beautiful relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. At the first mention of Naomi saying they should go back, both Ruth and Orpah could have turned their backs and run for their lives back to their homes in proverbial New York minute before Naomi changes her mind. But isn’t it interesting that they both said to her, “We will go back with you to your people.”

Now let’s just think about this very short sentence just a little. For Orpah and Ruth to say, “We will go back with you to your people,” that says a lot.

But now think about this. Two women who grew up in their homes of seeing their own parents and worshipping their own foreign gods came into the household of Naomi who served God of Abraham and Moses. But in their experience with Naomi, is it possible that they were deeply touched by Naomi’s genuine faith and her consistent life based on true faith in true God?

Is it possible that Naomi had led such life as God honoring woman, so much so that her two daughters-in-law wanted to emulate that kind of life?

Though without much earthly possession, Naomi exhibited such spirit and God centered life that Orpah and Ruth must have thought that this God was different from the ones they grew up with. I think it is a marvelous testament of faith that two foreign women who grew up with foreign gods say they want to go with Naomi to Judea and to Naomi’s people.

In the days of worshipping idols and engaging in ungodly practices of their families in Moab, these two Moabite women though released from their obligation to their deceased husbands still wanted to be with Naomi should tell us abundantly about the beauty of Naomi’s faith in God that we also worship today. How we long for such beautiful faith.

Christian faith is one which lifts high the unconditional love of Jesus Christ not based on our works or our effort but graciously given to us without any strings attached. Jesus died on the cross while we were still sinners. He did not die on the cross for those who deserve or for those who really work hard to become good Christians. He simply died on the cross for sinners, us.

What a blessing it would be for a daughter-in-law to have a mother-in-law like Naomi! Her guidance for them comes out of her genuine concern for their well being. She understood her inadequacy of providing for them and so she unselfishly provides them way out from what they might feel obligated.

I think these few verses in this passage is some of the most beautiful exchanges taking place between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of all the literature.

Look at verses 11-13.

“But Naomi said, "Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me?

Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons-- would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them?

No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD's hand has gone out against me!"

Can we almost sense Naomi’s anguish as she continues to exhort them to go back to their homes? Her heart is aching and breaking as she urges them on to go back. Even as she tells them, she is also but a mere human being with incomplete understanding and incomplete faith.

When terrible things happen in our own lives, because we are mere mortals with incomplete understanding and incomplete faith, we are prone to doubt and question and sometimes even get angry with God for things we encounter and face. That is also part of being human and Naomi is no different.

Naomi attributes what has happened to her and her household with tragic losses of three men as coming from the Lord’s hand and though that is true, she is not able to see beyond what she is experiencing at the moment. We could go even a step further and say that we could sense her passive anger towards God for what has happened to not only her but her daughters-in-law.

Naomi is deeply distressed as she sets out for the land of Judea at the cross road of her life and their lives as well. Can you almost see three women holding on to each other, crying and sobbing not knowing what to do or where to go?

Look at verse 14.

“At this they wept again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good bye, but Ruth clung to her.”

Finally, Orpah at the urging of her mother in law accepts the inevitable path she must now take. She had been deeply touched by Naomi’s faith in God throughout those years she spent with her. She wanted to be with her but also perhaps reasoned that what Naomi suggested made sense.

Life of faith is deeply a personal one. It is not something we can teach or give to others. It is intrinsically personal and intimate. Our faith in God is as unique and individualistic as our finger prints and our unique personalities. For Orpah, her journey with Naomi ends here. Presumably, Orpah will go back to her family and while she is still young will be re-married to another Moabite man and live happily ever after.

Perhaps she would pass on what she has seen from Naomi’s life to her own daughters- in-law in being gracious and kind. And that would be commendable. But it is very unlikely she would be able to practice the worshipping of God of Abraham when she goes back. Look at verse 15.

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

You see, I didn’t make up stories about Orpah’s possible future. Orpah is going back to her people and her gods.

But the story does not end for Ruth but continues on. Somehow like a burr on winter coat, Ruth clung to her mother-in-law. Look at verses 16-17.

“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."

This is a profession of faith coming from a Moabite woman, originally an idol worshipping foreigner who had encountered God through Naomi’s faith that she is unwilling to go back to her former life and her own people and their god.

Ruth has now professed her faith in God of Abraham and Moses and aligns herself with Naomi’s God. She has become a new creation. Ruth is like a new believer in Jesus Christ. Her statement of faith is one of strong resolve and commitment based on her own personal conviction.

What a magnificent picture of faith being caught by Ruth. Ruth grew up in a family that worshipped foreign idols. She saw what “religion” meant to her parents. She also saw what that “religion” meant to her people. From all that she had been exposed to, she made up her mind. Upon being introduced to Naomi’s genuine faith in true God, she saw something different. And Ruth by the grace of God also sought this faith and desperately wanted to hold on to it and cherish it even if it meant taking a path less traveled.

Upon seeing Naomi’s faith in God of Israel illustrated through daily activities and up close, she came to that point in her life to have that faith in God. She wanted to incorporate that which she saw in Naomi in her own life. What she witnessed in Naomi was so genuine and beautiful that she wanted that for herself as well. After seeing Naomi’s faith, she couldn’t go back to her parents’ home, back to their idols. Life can no longer be business as usual. After she had encountered something so real and so consistent, how could she go back to the counterfeit?

Ruth made up her mind. She wasn’t going to let Naomi talk her out of it. Think about this. They literally had nothing in their possession.

In verses 16 and 17, Ruth proclaims her faith in God and invokes in the name of the LORD of her intention to be steadfast. Yes, it may have been Naomi’s faith in the beginning but now, Ruth has taken hold of this faith and made it her own. In the family of Naomi, that precious gift of faith has somehow passed on down from a descendant of Abraham to a foreign woman born of idol worshipping family background.

That unshakable faith in God is not an exclusive property for the children of God through Abraham by blood but can be of anyone who believes Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Savior.

Yes, someone may have introduced us to faith in God at certain time in our lives but having taken hold of it, we will not let it go no matter how hard life becomes or how tragic life turns out.

Ruth could have easily turned and moved back to her parents’ home at the urging of Naomi as Orpah had done but she would not or could not after her personal encounter with God of Israel.

We trust in that goodness of God even though we may not understand it right now. Though Naomi experienced such losses in her life, she will yet go on trusting God and that in essence is faith.

Ruth also acted on her faith. She was able to see more than what meets the eyes. At times in our own lives, we are called to stand. Everyone deals with personal tragedies differently. There is no right or wrong way of dealing with those events. But those moments truly reflect where we stand. Ruth in that moment of decision goes with Naomi because of her newly found faith in God compels her to go that route.

Faith from one generation to the next generation is not guaranteed. As parents, we merely pray and hope that our next generation will encounter God in a personal way and make it their own. We may not have much earthly possession to pass down but that indomitable gift of faith is the most important legacy we can give to our next generation. When they take hold of that faith and continue to nurture it, we are overjoyed and thankful for that measure of God’s grace.

And we will see how that faith continues to grow and mature next time I stand here and share with you from the second chapter of Ruth.