What
to Do When the Lord’s Hand is against You?
Ruth
1-4
Jim
Davis
The book of Ruth is about the conversion
of a Moabite woman to the God of Israel in the worst of times. The
historical background of the book of Judges is the setting for book of
Ruth. It was a period in Israel’s history comparable to what we know as
the Dark Ages. The historical background of Ruth was comparable to the
Great Depression in the 1930s where a living had to be eked out in menial
servile ways. It was a time when every person did what was right in their
own eyes. The severe judgment of God came as he brought famine and hardship
in an effort to bring Israel to repentance.
The times were the result of the judgment
of God upon the faithlessness. Naomi’s family is caught up in these
troublesome times. They move to the country of Moab during famine. There
Naomi’s husband dies, and within a ten year period her two sons marry Moabite
women. Her sons also die leaving three women in desperate circumstances.
Naomi recognizes all her troubles as the result of God’s powerful hand.
Later Naomi said that God had sent her away to the land of Moab full but
she came back empty.
Ruth 1:20-21
20 "Don't call me Naomi," she
told them. "Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter.
21 I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me
Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon
me." NIV
She expresses her feelings to her daughter-in-laws
as they seek to return to Israel with her.
Ruth 1:11-13
11 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? 12 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-
13 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!" NIV
God hand brought them back to Israel
empty handed. God does have the whole world in his hand. He often
rules the world’s affairs in such a way to bring the lost into his special
area of activity within the kingdom of Christ.
Naomi not only recognizes God’s hand
has gone out against her, but she also recognizes her helplessness in the
circumstances God has created for her. Naomi has no husband to
provide for her or her daughter-in-laws. Even if she did find a husband
she is too old to have children for them to marry.
In ancient times when a woman’s husband died
the next of kin would marry her and rear up children by her so that she
would have children to provide for her. Naomi was too old to provide children
for Ruth and Orpah to marry.
It was such a dark period in Israel’s history.
There were not many faithful trustworthy men who were willing to live up
to their responsibility to the next of kin. These women were left in cruel
desolate circumstances wondering what they should do when there was seemingly
nothing else they could do.
Seeing
the Place of Frustration as the Sphere of God’s Purpose
"The
way out of life's frustrations is found not by resenting our limitation
but by accepting the place of frustration as the sphere of God's purpose."
(James Reid, Facing Life with Christ, Cokesbury Press, 1940)
The greatest personal stories in the
Bible are about individuals who lived in the worst of times, often when
the entire world was against them, but they saw their frustration as the
sphere of God’s purpose for their lives.
They didn’t give up, but rather committed themselves to obedience to God
laws. They found themselves emancipated while living in the very circumstances
the world used to enslave them without their circumstances changing.
The 12th-century Persian poet Omar Khayyam,
who said that we as humans are "but helpless pieces of the game [God] plays.
Upon this checkerboard of nights and days;
Hither and thither moves and checks and slays,
and one by one back in the closet lays."
People who have this attitude fail to
understand the exciting truth that God has given us freedom and the resources
we need to change and overcome and be emancipated in every circumstance
we face. Naomi decides to place herself within the sphere of God’s
specific activity. But even there the circumstances seemed astoundingly
bleak.
Ruth 1:6-18
6 When she heard in Moab that
the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them,
Naomi and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. 7 With
her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and
set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.
8 Then Naomi said to her two
daughters-in-law, "Go back, each of you, to your mother's home. May the
LORD show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead and to me. 9
May the LORD grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another
husband."
Then she kissed them and they
wept aloud 10 and said to her, "We will go back with you to your people."
11 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? 12 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- 13 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!"
14 At this they wept again.
Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-by, but Ruth clung to her.
15 "Look," said Naomi, "your
sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her."
16 But Ruth replied, "Don't
urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go,
and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your
God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May
the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates
you and me." 18 When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with
her, she stopped urging her. NIV
She pleads with them to go and find
husbands in Moab. Orpah follows her advice, but Ruth chooses to
go back to Israel with Naomi.
Seeking
Refuge under God’s Wings
The intriguing aspect of the story is
not about Naomi, but about her daughter-in-law’s conversion to the God
of Israel. We usually don’t see this book as a story of Ruth’s
conversion, but it is. She was a Moabite, from a race of people the Israelites
despised. Yet, she chose to go back to Israel, she chose to commit herself
to her mother-in-law in what to her was a strange land.
This is an account of a Moabite woman
turning from her gods to the God of Israel. Ruth says, "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."
"These words clearly imply, though they
do not state outright, that Ruth, a Moabite who once worshiped the gods
of the Moabites, now believes in and lives by the standards of Yahweh,
the Lord, Israel’s God. There
is no doubt that this narrative tells us that Ruth converted to faith in
the true God, even though this is nowhere explicitly stated." (Gordon D.
Fee & Douglas Stuart, How to Read The Bible For All It’s Worth, pg.
87, 88).
You can never go wrong when you commit
yourself to God in service to his people. Ruth not only commits
herself to God but takes upon herself the responsibility of the next of
kin. It was a man’s responsibility but she took it upon herself to provide
for her mother-in-law. Later a faithful Israelite commended Ruth for her
actions.
Ruth 2:11-12
11 Boaz replied, "I've
been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the
death of your husband-how you left your father and mother and your homeland
and came to live with a people you did not know before. 12 May the LORD
repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by
the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge."
NIV
There is something more intriguing in
the verses. Boaz says, "May you be
richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have
come to take refuge." Obviously she is seeking to place
herself within the sphere of God’s activity. God is her refuge in difficult
times. However, Ruth not only commits herself to God but also to his people.
She was richly rewarded by God because she sought to place under his protective
wings.
Naomi heard that God was providing food
for his people in Israel, so she heads back to place herself in the midst
of God’s activity. God had sent her away into Moab full but brings
her back Israel through her emptiness. God was seeking to
bring her back under his protective care. Today God’s activity in our world
is designed to bring the world into his sphere of activity within the kingdom
of Christ. It is there that he not only wants you to commit yourself to
him, but also to his people through caring Christian fellowship, when we
do so, we place ourselves under his protective wings.
Finding
Refuge Amidst God’s Faithful Children
God does great things for those who seek to
place themselves in the sphere of his activity as they seek to follow his
laws. There is no way you can experience God’s protection until you follow
his laws aim at providing for you in your circumstances.
Ruth 1:19-22
19 So the two women went on
until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole
town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, "Can this be
Naomi?"
20 "Don't call me Naomi," she
told them. "Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter.
21 I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty.
Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought
misfortune upon me."
22 So Naomi returned from Moab
accompanied by Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem
as the barley harvest was beginning. NIV
What do you do when there is nothing
else you can do? Place yourself in the sphere of God’s activity and allow
his law to direct you in a life of obedience. Naomi was returning
to Israel because she heard that God was providing for his people there.
When you place yourself in the sphere of God’s activity you can
trust God to provide.
Ruth 2:1-4
Now Naomi had a relative on
her husband's side, from the clan of Elimelech, a man of standing, whose
name was Boaz.
2 And Ruth the Moabitess said
to Naomi, "Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind
anyone in whose eyes I find favor."
Naomi said to her, "Go ahead,
my daughter." 3 So she went out and began to glean in the fields behind
the harvesters. As it turned out, she found herself working in a field
belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech.
4 Just then Boaz arrived from
Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, "The LORD be with you!"
"The LORD bless you!" they called
back. NIV
God directed Ruth’s steps to the field
of Boaz. She went out seeking to provide
for herself and her mother-in-law according to the instructions of the
law. She looked for someone who was faithfully adhering
to God’s provisional law for the poor. In those days there were no government
social programs to care for the poor and desolate. God had placed the responsibility
on his people individually.
Leviticus 19:9-10
9 "'When you reap the harvest
of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the
gleanings of your harvest. 10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time
or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the
alien. I am the LORD your God. NIV
There's a cartoon of two turtles. One says,
"Sometimes I'd like to ask why he allows poverty, famine, and injustice
when he could do something about it." The other turtle says, "I'm afraid
God might ask me the same question." (Peter John Kreeft, quoted in Lee
Strobel, The Case for Faith, Zondervan, 2001), p. 50)
God was able to direct Naomi and Ruth’s
lives into the path of a faithful man. It was all because they followed
the provisions the law made for the poor. Gleaning was a menial job. It
was somewhat worse than working for less than minimum wages. It
was only a means of survival. Laborers were hired to harvest the fields,
but Ruth went into the fields to gather what the harvesters left behind.
There was no pay involved; she could keep the grain she gathered. I think
the concept of the law of gleaning is where we get the idea that God helps
those who help themselves.
Ruth 2:5-23
5 Boaz asked the foreman of
his harvesters, "Whose young woman is that?"
6 The foreman replied, "She
is the Moabitess who came back from Moab with Naomi. 7 She said, 'Please
let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.' She went
into the field and has worked steadily from morning till now, except for
a short rest in the shelter."
When set your course in life to place
yourself in the midst of God’s sphere of activity God will direct each
step you take.
Proverbs 16:9
9 In his heart a man plans
his course,
but the LORD determines his
steps. NIV
Ruth had determined the course she would take
to provide for her mother-in-law, but God directed her steps to the field
of Boaz. It was a place where God would provide.
A moment ago I pointed out in the period
of history these women lived few had a great deal of respect for God’s
laws. It was a time when every one did what was right in his or
her own eyes. That simply meant they were looking out for number one. Times
were so bad it was dangerous to go to just any field.
Ruth 2:5-23
5 Boaz asked the foreman of
his harvesters, "Whose young woman is that?"
6 The foreman replied, "She
is the Moabitess who came back from Moab with Naomi. 7 She said, 'Please
let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.' She went
into the field and has worked steadily from morning till now, except for
a short rest in the shelter."
8 So Boaz said to Ruth, "My
daughter, listen to me. Don't go and glean in another field and don't go
away from here. Stay here with my servant girls. 9 Watch the field where
the men are harvesting, and follow along after the girls. I have told the
men not to touch you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink
from the water jars the men have filled."
10 At this, she bowed down with
her face to the ground. She exclaimed, "Why have I found such favor
in your eyes that you notice me-a foreigner?"
11 Boaz replied, "I've
been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the
death of your husband-how you left your father and mother and your homeland
and came to live with a people you did not know before. 12 May the LORD
repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD,
the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge."
13 "May I continue to find favor
in your eyes, my lord," she said. "You have given me comfort and have spoken
kindly to your servant-though I do not have the standing of one of your
servant girls."
14 At mealtime Boaz said
to her, "Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar."
When she sat down with
the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted
and had some left over. 15 As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to
his men, "Even if she gathers among the sheaves, don't embarrass her. 16
Rather, pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for
her to pick up, and don't rebuke her."
17 So Ruth gleaned in the field
until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted
to about an ephah. 18 She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law
saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave her what
she had left over after she had eaten enough.
19 Her mother-in-law asked her,
"Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who
took notice of you!"
Then Ruth told her mother-in-law
about the one at whose place she had been working. "The name of the man
I worked with today is Boaz," she said.
20 "The LORD bless him!"
Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. "He has not stopped showing his kindness
to the living and the dead." She added, "That man is our close relative;
he is one of our kinsman-redeemers."
21 Then Ruth the Moabitess
said, "He even said to me, 'Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting
all my grain.'"
22 Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law,
"It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with his girls, because
in someone else's field you might be harmed."
23 So Ruth stayed close to the
servant girls of Boaz to glean until the barley and wheat harvests were
finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law. NIV
Ruth ended up marrying Boaz.
She had a child by Boaz and named him Obed. Obed was the father of Jesse
who was the father of king David from whom Jesus Christ descended.
The amazing aspect about the book of Ruth
is that there is not the faintest hint that the total control being exercised
by the Lord in any way limits the freedom of activity of the people involved.
As the story unfolds we see the detailed and
delicate way in which God in fact works all their actions together into
his plan. The more the story hides the hand of God the more it reveals
his presence in every aspect of their lives. God is not working intermittently
in their lives, but his work is an ever present reality.
It is this consciousness on the part of Naomi
that keeps her sweet and kind even though she went away full and came back
empty. Even though the hand of God was against her she realized that the
same hand was seeking to provide for her.
Through the book of judges we observe God
stepping in altering Israel’s destiny by raising up rulers like Jeptha,
Gideon, Samuel. The book of Ruth reveals how an ordinary life is directed
by God. We see nothing miraculous in the story. We simply see the hand
of God directing each step of two people who have set their course to obey
God in every circumstance.
God desires to direct your steps so
that he can provide for your needs.
But he can’t do that until you set a course for your life that will bring
you into the sphere of his activity. He can’t direct your steps until your
course is to obey his laws.
God
Desires to Direct Your Steps
The book of Ruth merely endeavors to
show us how to live in dire circumstances. It shows us how God
directed the steps of ordinary people in extraordinary times. The only
place you can truly experience God is to set the course of your life to
obey him daily. Then you will experience his guidance and provisions as
he directs each step you make.
Matthew 6:28-34
28 "And why do you worry about
clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.
29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed
like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field,
which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much
more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, 'What
shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For
the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that
you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and
all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry
about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough
trouble of its own. NIV
This is what happens when we consciously
place all our pain, bitter experiences and hopelessness within the structure
of God’s sovereignty. This book is written to vindicate the dependability
of God. It provides a basis for our faith.
British playwright wrote, "It's not death,
it's life that defeats the Christian church." Christianity seems helpful
in times of crisis but sometimes not in the everyday events of our lives.
The book of Ruth portrays God’s work in the ordinary events of life.
When Ruth set her course to commit her
life to the Lord and to serve her mother-in-law God did great things for
her. Great things happen to us when we set our course to a part
of God’s kingdom and determine commit ourselves to the service of his people.
1 Corinthians 16:15-16
15 I urge you, brethren--you
know the household of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia,
and that they have devoted themselves to the ministry of the saints--
16 that you also submit to such, and to everyone who works and labors with
us. NKJV
Throughout the Bible we see God’s people
setting a course for their lives to get into the sphere of his activity,
then we see God directing each step they take. This is the kind of faith
we see throughout the New Testament
2 Corinthians 8:1-5
8:1 And now, brothers, we want
you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches.
2 Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme
poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as
much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their
own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this
service to the saints. 5 And they did not do as we expected, but they gave
themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will.
NIV
Conclusion:
God is found in the details of our lives.
Grammy-winning pop diva Lauryn Hill says:
We have an enemy inside of us who tries to convince us that there is something
out there that is better than what God wants for us, but that's not true.
Every day I remind myself that what God is providing is always the best
thing for me. ("Looking for Lauryn," Essence (July 2002), pp. 89-94;
submitted by Melissa Parks, Des Plaines, Illinois) I don't know if Lauryn
knows the full impact of what she is saying from a biblical perspective,
but it is the absolute truth.
Author J. R. R. Tolkien once wrote in a letter:
"No man can estimate what is really happening at the present. All we do
know, and that to a large extent by direct experience, is that evil labours
with vast power and perpetual success—in vain: preparing always only the
soil for unexpected good to sprout in." (Chris Armstrong, "9/11, History,
and the True Story", Christian History Connection, http://ChristianityToday.com/go/newsletters/,
(9-14-02)
There is nothing—no circumstance, no trouble,
no testing—that can ever touch me until, first of all, it has gone past
God and past Christ, and the Holy Spirit right through to me. If it has
come that far, it has come with a great purpose, which I may not understand
at the moment, but as I refuse to become panicky, as I lift up my eyes
to him and accept it as coming from the throne of God for some great purpose
of blessing to my own heart, or to the blessing of others, no sorrow will
ever disturb me, no trial will ever disarm me, no circumstance will cause
me to fret, for I shall rest in the joy of what my Lord is. (Alan Redpath)
