Old Familiarities vs New Challenges

19 February 2012

Rev Ting Moy Hong

Ruth 1:1-18:

Ruth 1

Naomi Loses Her Husband and Sons

 ¹ In the days when the judges ruled,^[a] there was a famine in the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. ² The man’s name was Elimelek, his wife’s name was 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.  ³ Now Elimelek, Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. ⁴ They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, ⁵ both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.

Naomi and Ruth Return to Bethlehem

 ⁶ When Naomi heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, she 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 you kindness, as you have shown kindness to your dead husbands 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 goodbye 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 turned against me!”
 ¹⁴ At this they wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, 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 even death separates you and me.” ¹⁸ When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.

*God was nevertheless with them
v19-  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?”

*We may go through familiar places but we have grown and changed our perceptions towards the world
*The whole town STIRRED  because of them
*Sinical question "Can this be Naomi? (Her name was meant pleasant)
*Naomi looks aged and unhappy
*She return as no long the same Naomi
*They pose her a new challenge
*People will gossip and the challenge is her response
*Mara- a deep sense of bitterness for us and Naomi
v20-21- 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.”
 
she addressed God as the Almighty= El Shaddai- brought bitterness but yet she is familiar with Him
*She is faced with the challenge of how she would handle the Shaddai that has afflicted her
*Another person that has affected badly by Shaddai- Joab
*2/3 of the psalms are psalms of lamentation (complains) and refer God as Shaddai
*Experiences allows us to think again whether we really know Him and allows us to suffer and make us bitter
*Almighty God suppose to bring us happiness but we may wonder if He can also bring us affliction
*Ruth wants to go the Naomi's returning home in Bethelehem
*Familiar with Naomi but not Ruth, the Moabite (non-Jew)
*Moabite wants to be and was given the choice to be with a Jew
*Makes the Jews rethink those who are not our kind
*Familiarity leads stability but we must accept the differences out of our comfort zone too
*We must allow Him to bring challenges to question whether we really believe Him.

If not, we will continue to be in a familiar zone

*The greatest challenge for Naomi is really herself
*We may be familiar with our talents and capabilities but maybe, we are the chosen ones
*We should allow God into our lives and ask Him what He wants us to do in our lives
*WE need to let God stretch us then can we change
*God is more interested in you than your works
*Naomi has a new understanding on the person she call- Shaddai
*This Shaddai will change us in ways beyond our understanding
Ruth 2:1-3:

Ruth 2

Ruth Meets Boaz in the Grain Field

 ¹ Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelek, whose name was Boaz.  ² And Ruth the Moabite 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, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek.

- Seasons come , seasons go but life goes on
 *We might not know because we can't see God's plan yet
*The invisible hand of God is at work before you know it
 *We need to open our eyes in His works
*We need God to let us be out of our comfort zone
*So our hearts need to be prepared

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**