it's my joy to be with you all again to bring God's word to you we're going to be starting a
new sermon series in the book of Ruth and that's all I'm going to say at this moment before I
introduce the book I want to start with a question this question is specifically for the kids among
us now this is a silent question so I'm just asking you to think you don't have to say anything
out loud but my question is this why do your parents read out loud to you
why do your parents read out loud to you why do they take time sometimes to share stories with
you some that are old from their own childhood and some perhaps that are new that they didn't know
when they were your age there's a lot of different answers we could think of perhaps some of it's just
the joy of being together and sharing a quiet time outside of all the rush of life perhaps some of it's
the excitement that we get from the idea of a journey and a challenge but I hope among all of
that there's another reason as well and it's true both for children and adults who read stories and
it's this that when we read a story we get to experience things that we ourselves have never done
and especially when we're young it's an opportunity for us to learn about places and people and things
that otherwise we wouldn't know about and most importantly it's a chance for us to become wise
that as your parents read stories to you they're hoping that as you hear about the mistakes of a
character you are learning without having to suffer the consequences yourselves and that as you read about
their successes you are able to see the result of things like hard work and perseverance and so it's out of
your parents love for you that they want you to become wise wiser than your years that they read stories to you
now we as adults often read stories for the same reason it's important for us to know things about
people and cultures that we would not otherwise encounter but as we grow we sometimes read stories
not to know about people who've experienced things differently than us but to read about people who've
experienced the same thing so that we know as we go through something in life that we're not alone
we're not the only person who has seen or done or heard the things that we've gone through in our
lives as we come to the book of ruth someone asked me recently why is it that we're studying the book of
ruth and it's for those same reasons the book of ruth is going to touch on suffering and so there's some of us
in this room who have not experienced a lot of suffering in our lives and there's some of us who have
it's a book about widows it's going to be a book about two widows in particular and there are many
among us here today who are widows
it's a book about people who have to live in a place that they weren't born
and there's many here this morning who live in a place where they were not born
and it's a book about suffering and there's many of us who have not experienced the things
that we encounter in this book but it's a book for everyone who lives in a world that is broken
and bleeding from the results of sin and so that is all of us here and so god
like a good and gracious father or mother wants those of us who have walked through suffering
to know that we're not the only ones
and he wants those of us who have not walked through the kind of suffering that we'll see
in this book to learn and become wise
if you've not suffered the things that we're going to talk about this morning and in the book of ruth
there are two things we need to keep in mind
one if we're not suffering now we're surrounded by people who are
that all you need to do is look around the room and you can see people and faces here among us
who have walked through incredibly difficult things and are walking through some of them right now
and the other thing to keep in mind is that if you're not suffering right now
if the lord gives you the grace to live long enough one day you will
and so god like a loving father wants to prepare us
he wants us to know and understand and be prepared for the things that come along in our lives
and so like a loving father or a loving mother he wants to tell us a story
and so we're going to see that as we come to the book of ruth
i'm going to say two other things as we we start
first of all as we're talking about suffering it's something that's incredibly complicated
complex and it's incredibly messy
and so i am not going to say everything about suffering this morning
if we were to say everything that could be said we would be here into the afternoon
we would skip the announcement from the pulpit search committee and we would be here into the evening
and then we would have to come back again on monday morning to continue
and so i'm not going to say everything but we will just begin and say something
not everything but something
second i know that as we talk about some of these things those of us who have walked through them
it will bring up memories for us
and so i want to remind you as i have before that most importantly as that happens
the lord is for you and he is with you
and of much less importance i am for you and with you as well
and so with that we're going to turn to the book of ruth
we're starting in ruth chapter 1 at verse 1
remember that this is god's word
and god tells us that his word is more precious than gold
even the finest gold
and it is sweeter than honey
even honey that comes straight from the honeycomb
and so we're going to read it now starting in verse 1
in the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land
and a man of bethlehem in judah went to sojourn in the country of moab
he and his wife and his two sons
the name of the man was a limeleck and the name of his wife naomi
and the names of his two sons were malin and chilian
they were aetherophytes from bethlehem in judah
they went into the country of moab and remained there
verse 3
but a limeleck the husband of naomi died
and she was left with her two sons
these took moabite wives
the name of the one was orpah
and the name of the other ruth
they lived there about 10 years
and both malin and chilian died
so that the woman was left
without her two sons
and her husband
verse 6
then she arose with her daughters-in-law
to return from the country of moab
for she had heard in the fields of moab
that the lord had visited his people
and given them food
please pray with me as we come to this portion of god's word
dear father in heaven
we thank you that you are a loving father
that you want to teach us and instruct us
you want us to become wise
you want to comfort us and encourage us
and you need to challenge us
so we ask that you would do all of those things for us this morning
that you would send your holy spirit among us
so that our eyes would be opened
our ears unstopped
our minds clear
and our hearts would be softened
so that we would see and hear and believe
everything that is written about you
in your word
amen
when i had first
graduated from college
had a few months off
because i of course had the summer break
but i quickly got a job teaching at a small school
in eastern virginia
and one of the first people i met as i began teaching there was a woman whose name was alice chidzero
alice had had a very long history in her life
she was originally from zimbabwe
she had grown up in the british colony of rudicia
during the time when the freedom fighters were fighting for them to be free
and fully become part of zimbabwe
and i didn't know her whole story
but i knew enough to know that she was a woman who had suffered tremendously
and as i started at the school
she was the one who told me on my first day
or second day of helping with the car line
that i was 22 fresh out of college
in her words a kidult
which i wore with honor and as a badge of honor in some ways
as i began to know a little bit more about alice and her story
and she would share sometimes in our chapel services at school
and she would tell dramatic stories about the way that god had provided for her
and his faithfulness to her
and this past january
many of alice's students she had taught at the school for a while
encouraged her over and over again
that she had to write a book to tell her story
and so she didn't consider herself a writer
but after a lot of trepidation and work and struggle she finally did
and so i was able to get a hold of a copy of her book called when the brook runs dry
my journey from africa to america and back a few times
just came out this january and i've been reading it as i prepared for this sermon series
and alice goes through many of the things that we learn just in these first five verses about ruth and naomi
and yet she spends a whole book going through them
her experiences and the things that she felt as she walked through times of tremendous difficulty
and so i'm just going to read you a few quotes as we begin
first of all alice suffers the death of her father and her young daughter
her young daughter has a blood infusion that goes terribly wrong
and so as she thinks through both of those she says this
the nightmare just seemed to be growing bleaker
everything around me felt black
there were no grays
later on alice is going to travel all the way from zimbabwe to the united states
which is where i met her
long before i met her though while she was in the united states
her husband developed a tumor in his brain and he was given only six months to live
after he passed she was unable with her family to afford to ship his body back to zimbabwe
and so after his cremation friends of hers in the united states gathered around to buy a suitcase for her
so that the ashes of her husband could be taken back to his home country
and so in one of the most tragic scenes in the book her her son is walking with her through the airport carrying this suitcase
she says this
it was heartbreaking to think that my son would soon carry his father's remains from the usa to africa
we would fly out of boston on january 11th
now that we were about ready to board the plane i was nervous about going home
i dreaded facing my family and my late husband's family all alone
i felt stripped of my covering
since leaving zimbabwe in 1996 felix that's her husband
had been unable to return home
now we were bringing him home in the form of ashes
of course i knew it was not my fault
but i still felt responsible for not bringing my husband home alive
i think i know
how naomi felt
once again it felt as though i were dreaming
and i would wake up
at some point
the brook had grown dry
and i couldn't fathom how i'd get through the next day
not to mention
the rest of my life
after a while my response seemed mechanical
aside from the times i broke down and wept
two days later jet lagged and weary
and simply filled with grief
we held felix's funeral and his ashes
were buried
if only i could lie down and sleep
and wake up to find that i had dreamt everything
that had happened over the last few months
as a mother of a two-year-old however
i had no choice
but to pull myself
together
i won't ruin the rest of the story for you
but i bring that to us not
out of a sense of just wanting to find the most tragic situation
but to highlight what's happening here in very fast time
in verses one through six
much like alice
ruth and naomi are experiencing the same thing
especially for naomi
she's in a country that's not her own
a country where she's not been born
and in quick succession
she too experiences tremendous loss
and she comes
like alice as well
from a country that knows
its own history of turmoil
we're told in verse one
that this is in the days when the judges ruled
if you remember from the story of the bible
you know that the time of the judges
was after the exodus from egypt
it was after god's dramatic deliverance of his people
after their time in the wilderness
but it was before the reign of the kings
it was before david and solomon and saul
were in israel
and it was a time that was tumultuous
israel was often under the rule of other nations
it was a time of rebellion
where they were constantly going from god
and returning to him
and as you read the book of judges
you notice that
the world around them continues to unravel
as things become more and more chaotic
to the point that there's this question
near the end of the book
this statement that in israel there was no king
which raises a question of
where is the king
and on top of that we see in verse one
there was a famine
and so there's chaos in the home country
and a famine
forcing them to go to a new land
they go from judah to sojourn in the country of moab
now remember the moabites were the people that were descended from lot
lot in genesis was
i believe the nephew of abraham
and he had chosen to
go to the land that was rich and plentiful
rather than the land that god had promised
and so this was now a land where people worship
not yahweh not the one true god
but they worshiped false gods
like baal and chemosh
and so here we have god's people
in god's land
having to leave for a foreign country
for the sake of food
by the way
do you know what the city bethlehem
bethlehem do you know what that word means
means house of bread
and so in the house of bread
there is no bread
and so god's people
are leaving
we find out the name of the husband in verse two
the name is elimelech
and the name of his wife naomi
and then they have these two sons
and they go and they dwell
in moab
by the way the sons names roughly in hebrew
translate to weakling one
and weakling two
and then in verse three
much like we heard from the testimony of alas chidzero
but elimelech the husband of naomi died
and she was left with her two sons
these two took moabite wives
the name of the one was orpah
and the name of the other ruth
they lived there about ten years
and both malin and chilian died
so that the woman was
left
without her two sons
and her husband
and the author is intentional here
in verses three and five
of using that word twice
the word of left
by the way
just as a teaser
for the rest of our series
we won't talk about this anymore today
but there are many words
in the book of ruth
that only appear twice
and the first occurrence
and the second occurrence
will have great significance
that's all i'm going to say
okay
and so we see this great tragedy
the emotions that alas shares
in her story
we can imagine what's going on
for naomi especially
she's returning to a land
with no sons
and no husband
she's too old
to have more children
to provide for her
most likely her parents have died
unable to remarry
and probably without
any kind of skill
to provide for herself
and so she finds herself here
in the midst
of tremendous
and intense
grief
but much like alas said
naomi too
has to keep moving
and so we see in verse six
then she arose
with her daughters-in-law
to return from the country
of moab
for she had heard
in the fields of moab
that the lord had visited
his people
and given them food
now as i've thought about
this sermon
and this sermon series
and talking about suffering
as i mentioned before
it's it's an overwhelming
topic to think about
and to talk about
because there's so many things
we can and do
and could and should say
and so with this passage
before us
to be able to say
not everything
but something
we're going to have
one question
and one answer
from these six verses
one question
and one answer
i mentioned the names
of some of these characters
but i did not tell you
the name of a limelight
what it meant
the l at the beginning
is the same l
that shows up
in god's name
el shaddai
which means god the almighty
and so the l means god
the melech shows up
in other biblical names
that we see
like a bimelech
and it means king
and so elimelech
literally translates
to god
is my king
god
is
king
and so indirectly
this text
is asking us
a question
if the house
of bread
has no bread
and god's people
have a famine
but the pagans
don't
and if god
is my king
is dead
is god
still
the king
if god
is my king
is dead
is god
still
the king
is god
still
at work
in the dark
it's a question
that naomi and ruth
have to ask
and it's a question
that we ask
as well
is god
still the king
if my spouse
and i both said
i do
and then a decade
later
one of us
says
i don't
is god
still
the king
if the relationship
that i
hoped and dreamed
would end in marriage
ends in heartbreak
instead
is god
still the king
if a father
has a daughter
and he grows
up with dreams
of walking
her down
the aisle
and he has
to bury her
instead
is god
still
the king
if it feels
like my life
is filled
completely
with scheduling
and attending
doctor's appointments
is god
still the king
if someone
who should have
protected me
and watched out
for me
hurt me
instead
is god
still the king
if i get up
in the morning
and i cry
and i go to bed
at night
and i cry
and i know
all too well
why
or perhaps
even more
frighteningly
i don't know
why
is god
still the king
when my mom
or my dad
has to go off
for another
deployment
and is god
still the king
if a chaplain
comes
and knocks
on my door
and it's a question
that if we're honest
about the reality
of living in this world
that every single
one of us
if we have not
had to answer it
will have to answer it
one day
so that is why
god has given us
here
his word
is god
at work
in the dark
it's a question
that we ask here
in this room
inside the church
and it's a question
that people outside
the church
are asking as well
i've met folks
in this city
and other cities
who
when it seemed
that things were dark
they decided
that god
was not the king
and so they walked
away from him
and his church
can there be
hope
in the dark
i told you
there was going
to be one
question
and one answer
that's our question
but this very same
text is going
to provide us
with our answer
as well
we're going to
go back to verse 1
in the days
when the judges
ruled there was
a famine
in the land
there's only
two other times
that that phrase
appears in the bible
there was a famine
in the land
and both of them
are in the book
of genesis
genesis chapter 12
and genesis chapter 26
speaking of abraham
and isaac
who had to leave
where they were
because of a famine
and if you're familiar
with those stories
you know that god
took them there
and then he brought
them out
with even more
than they originally
had
and so as an israelite
is listening
he's hearing those
phrases and thinking
what is god going
to do
with this famine
we've seen his
faithfulness
in the past
we've seen the way
that god works
that famines
are something
that he often uses
to bring blessing
on his people
we also see
an inability
to have children
the author doesn't
state this
but we're told
that there was
ten years
that passed
and so the question
that is not
explicitly raised
is where are
naomi's
grandchildren
why did they
not appear
and the original
hearers would have
thought again
back to genesis
of sarah
who was unable
to have children
and yet god
used for a great
lineage
and so we're
seeing small
notes here
of god being
at work
in the midst
of this tragedy
as we hear
echoes
of stories
that have
come before
but then
what is implicit
becomes explicit
in verse 6
then she arose
with her daughters
in law
to return
from the country
of mohab
for she had
heard in the
fields of moab
that who
the lord
had visited
his people
and given
them food
she heard
in the fields
of moab
that the lord
had visited
his people
and given
them food
and so we see
that even
in the midst
of tragedy
god
is still
at work
even in the
darkest of times
god is still
providing for
his people
and protecting
them
he's providing
for ruth
and naomi
as he brings
food to their
homeland
and he's also
guiding them
ruth and naomi
know
what their
next step
is
and so
indirectly
god's
providence
is leading
them back
to the
land
of israel
so we
have our
question
is god
still
the king
the answer
is yes
even
in the
darkest
of times
god
is still
at work
the answer
is yes
even
in the
darkest
of times
god
is still
at work
he's at
work
leading
his people
he's at
work
providing
for them
and he
is at
work
guiding
them
that doesn't
mean that
he's going
to remove
every obstacle
it doesn't
mean that
everything
in this
life is
going
to be
made
whole
but god
is leading
and guiding
and providing
even
when life
goes dark
god is
leading
and guiding
and providing
even
when life
goes dark
the readers
of this story
would not
only know
about god's
acts in the
past in the
book of
genesis
the way
that he
works
and the
patterns
that have
been laid
down in
their stories
but they
would also
remember
that he
was the
god
of the
covenant
now
covenant
is a
big word
there are
many different
ways to
define it
but the way
i'm going to
define it
this morning
is this
the covenant
is god's
promise
it's his
promise that he
made in places
like ezekiel 37
and leviticus 26
and his promise
is this
i will be
your god
and you
will be
my people
and i
will dwell
with you
forever
you
i will
be your
god
you
will be
my people
and i
will dwell
with you
forever
and so we
see here
that same
god
in the
midst of
the death
of loved
ones
coming
and remaining
faithful
to his
people
and so we
as well
can look
to god
knowing
that he
has not
given up
on us
if we
are part
of god's
family
then the
presence
of tragedy
in our
lives
does not
mean that
god
is absent
the presence
of tragedy
in our
lives
does not
mean
that god
is absent
the characters
of this
original story
could look
to the
character
of god
they could
look to
the ways
that he
had provided
in the
past
and they
could look
as well
to verse
six here
that the
lord had
visited
his people
brothers and
sisters
the lord
has visited
us
in a
much more
great
dramatic
and miraculous
way
because unlike
those in the
old testament
who looked
back to god's
redemption
from exodus
we can
look now
and know
even more
about his
character
than they
did
because we
know that
his promise
to be our
god
and be
with us
was fulfilled
in christ
that it was
christ who
came and
took on
the body
of a man
and lived
among his
people
we just
finished the
gospel of
matthew
you remember
in the very
first chapter
of matthew
jesus is given
a name
do you remember
what it is
it's emmanuel
which means
god is
with us
and so we
now can see
even greater
proof
and a down
payment on
god's goodness
and his
love
and like a
good leader
jesus was
willing to
suffer
more
than us
and so the
question of
why
god allows
suffering
is going to
go unanswered
but instead
we have the
assurance that
in the midst
of suffering
he is with
us
he is with
us and we
know that we
can trust him
we know that we
can trust him
because he
and his
providence has
ordained suffering
but he ordained
the most
for himself
that as
painful as it
is to be
separated from
someone that
you've been
intimately connected
with for decades
imagine how
painful it is to
be separated from
someone that
you've been
perfectly connected
to from all
eternity
and so that
christ in his
sufferings is the
greater and
fuller revelation
of god visiting
us as he did
the people of
israel
when i was
growing up
i was at a
small church
in this
denomination
and i knew a
family there
they had a
farm a long
way away and
that was where
i i believe i
rode a horse
for the first
time and got
to experience a
different life
than a general
suburban life
that i grew up
in and that
family had had
a very difficult
past there was a
time before i
met them where
they experienced
a traumatic car
accident so the
mother and the
children the father
was at home
and when the
police informed
him of what had
happened they
said your family
has been in a
devastating car
accident and we
have sent them to
two separate
hospitals because
there's no one
hospital that would
be able to save
all of them
and when we put
them in the
ambulance they
were alive but
we cannot give
you any guarantees
of how they're
doing now and
taking that news
the father had no
idea what to do
he would share his
testimony many times
and he said that
at that moment he
was unsure whether
to visit his wife
whom he'd vowed to
forsake all others
for or to visit the
hospital that his
children were in
because they were
without a parent
and he was afraid
at the same time
that he would visit
the wrong one
that he would go to
the one with the
dead and not the
living and in that
moment he felt
lonelier and more
isolated than he had
ever been and he
realized that there
was no one in the
whole world who knew
what he was facing at
that moment and there
was no one who
understood and then
the next thing he
remembered and thought
was that Jesus
understood remember
that Jesus had given
up even more and
suffered even more
than he was even in
that moment and he
remembered that Jesus
loved him and had
died for him and in
that moment that was
the only thing he had
that Jesus was faithful
to him and in that
moment while no one
else understood Jesus
was with him caring
for him providing for
him and guiding him
and that Jesus
understood when no one
else did
brothers and sisters
Jesus is our great and
mighty king and so we
can follow him and we
can trust him even in the
darkest of times
please pray with me
dear father in heaven
we thank you that you
are the king of kings
and the lord of lords
we thank you that in
your sovereignty you
gave yourself the greatest
suffering in this world
and so even when we don't
know why we know that you
are with us
that you're guiding us
you're protecting us and
you're providing for us
we ask that you would
remind us of that now
here this morning we
ask all of this not
because we have earned
it but because your son
has earned it on our
behalf and so we ask it
in his name amen
god
you