Father, we ask that your Holy Spirit would move in a very powerful way in the center of each of our hearts.
Father, you know what's going on.
Father, some of us might be just really doing spectacular and we praise you for it.
Some of us, Father, might be really struggling.
Some of us, Father, might no longer struggle, but we become very cynical.
And Father, we always know that we have a hard time reading our hearts truly
and just even being honest with ourselves, honest with each other and honest with you.
So we ask, Father, that your Holy Spirit help us to be honest about the state of our lives and the state of our hearts.
And as your Holy Spirit leads us to a sense of honesty about ourselves,
may your Holy Spirit lead us to Jesus, lead us to what he's done for us on the cross,
and help us to hear your word, Father, in light of these two realities.
And may your word be written on our hearts.
And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Please be seated.
So we're going to be going through the book of Ruth.
You can sort of open that if you want.
It's a hard book to find in the Bible because it's very, very short.
But here's the thing about what we're going to sort of look at in Ruth and all,
is there's a big gap for a lot of us between what our hopes are and what our expectations are,
what our desires are, and what reality is like.
Like for a lot of us, I guess I should be looking at it from your point of view,
our expectations, our hopes are like this.
And for a lot of us, our reality is way underneath the hopes and expectations we have.
And for a lot of us, you know, we sort of have this expectation that life's going to be like this,
but the reality is like this.
We thought by now we'd be married.
We thought by now we'd have kids.
We thought by now we'd have more than one kid or we'd have lots of kids.
We thought by now we'd be a lot better off.
We thought by now we'd know more about Jesus.
We thought by now we'd have a lot more peace in our lives.
We thought by now we'd have more friends.
We thought by now we'd be living somewhere nicer than where we're living.
And sometimes it's just a bit of a small type of thing,
but for many of us it can be actually quite crushing.
Because, and it's not even that our desires and our hopes were sinful.
I don't know that, you know, by now we hoped, I don't know,
we'd be the head of a drug cartel or something,
and now we're disappointed that we're not.
I mean, you know, if that was your hope, God will always crush that hope, okay?
If not before the grave, then after,
because it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
But anyway, that's going to get us on a rabbit trail.
But, you know, for a lot of us it's just we have really good hopes,
that, you know, that we'd be making a bit more money,
or that we'd have job security, or that we have a job, you know?
And so we hope for this.
We expect this.
And this is especially hard.
If you're a guest here this morning,
and you're still trying to figure out this Jesus thing,
it's a very hard thing for a lot of Christians, you know?
Because for Christians we sort of have this expectation
that we should just be better, like a better Christian,
like better dealing with our sin, you know?
Better just dealing with problems.
And the reality is it's way below that.
And for a lot of us what that does is it creates a type of bitterness.
It creates cynicism.
For many of us we feel trapped, especially for Christians,
but not just for non-Christians.
We feel trapped.
We don't know what to do with it.
And so the scripture text that we're looking at today
is a very powerful story about expectations and hope like this,
reality right like that,
and what it's like to be in between expectations that are high,
reality like this,
and what does it look like in terms of a relationship with God.
So that's what the text is going to talk about.
So it would be a great help to me if you open your Bible.
We're going to actually have the text up there
because we're going to read through the story of Ruth, chapter 1.
But even though the Bible text will be up there,
if not this week, other weeks,
it's just really helpful to bring your own Bibles
because as you'll see there's some very powerful verses
that can be very helpful for many people,
just sort of make a bit of a note beside that in their Bible
so they can find it later.
But the text will be up there
because I want you to be able to see
and not only hear as I read,
but see the text as well.
So just so you know,
as we're about to begin this text,
in terms of a bit of a,
of, you know, placing it somewhere,
the Book of Ruth is,
if you have Netflix or if you're a fan of British TV,
there's one story in four episodes.
So you can go home and binge all four episodes later on.
We're just going to look at one episode.
We're looking at one story,
one episode that all together,
there's going to be four of them
and you need to watch and know all four of them
before you fully get all of the things
that there are in the story.
We're just looking at one episode today
and it's chapter 1.
And here's how it goes.
In the days when the judges ruled,
there was a famine in the land
and a man of Bethlehem and Judah
went to sojourn in the country of Moab,
he and his wife and his two sons.
So just sort of pause here
because for a lot of you in the room,
I've already lost you.
Judges, Moab, yada, yada, yada, yada, yada.
Okay, so just to put it in a little bit of a place,
what we now know of as the Bible
was actually written over many, many, many, many centuries.
In fact, over a millennium in different times
and with different authors.
And what this story is,
it's part of a...
The story that we're going to read,
what the author has just told us is that,
first of all, there's a Hebrew technical thing,
but he's telling us it's a true story.
I just have to take my word for it.
In the original language,
there's a technical thing that he begins by saying,
I'm going to tell you a true story.
And he sets it about 1,100 years B.C.
I know, that's a long time.
That's Iron Age I.
Okay, so wheels have been invented.
But, you know, and writing's been invented.
But 1,100 B.C., it's the time of the judges.
And in the flow of how the Bible develops,
sort of there's an overarching story.
And what there is is,
you come up to the time of Abraham,
and then there's promises
that God's going to make a nation out of them,
et cetera, et cetera.
The tribes of Israel,
Israel starts to grow as a nation.
They're in Egypt,
trapped in bondage and slavery.
And there's a man by the name of Moses
who leads the people of Israel out of slavery.
But he doesn't actually lead them into the promised land.
That's another story.
But a man by the name of Joshua
leads them into the promised land.
And after Joshua dies,
is the time of the judges.
And the time of the judges
is from the time of Joshua's death
until Israel gets its first king.
And the time of the judges,
what we would now call it,
it's a failed state.
Okay?
Like when people talk about Libya today,
it's a failed state.
What characterizes Libya?
Lots of warlords.
And that's what characterizes Israel.
Very shortly after Joshua dies,
Israel in effect becomes a failed state.
There's lots of chieftains,
tribal warlords,
armed to the teeth.
And it's a very, very, very dark time
in Israel's history.
And if you read the book of Judges,
what happens is periodically
God tries to pierce the darkness
by raising up a particular warlord
to try to bring a bit of harmony
and type of peace and prosperity.
But generally,
the time of the judges is a failed state.
So that's what the author is telling you.
I'm going to tell you a story
that happens during a time
when Israel is a failed state,
ruled by many, many different chieftains
all fighting each other.
Okay?
Oh, the other thing I'll mention to you this.
It's going to be really important to the story.
So the Israelites have stories
to understand how the different nations come about.
And Moab is an historic enemy of Israel.
And their understanding of how Moab came to be
was that there was a man named Lot.
He got...
I'm not making this up.
This is actually in the Bible.
It's in the book of Genesis.
A man named Lot got drunk
and had sex with his daughter.
And as a result of having sex with his daughter
after he was drunk,
the child that was born
became the founder of the people of Moab.
And the people of Moab
become a traditional enemy
of Israel,
even though Israel is a failed state.
Another thing about Moab
is the gods that they worship
include the god Moloch,
which is a god that demands infant sacrifice.
And it would have been...
Many of the gods in Moab
would have required
that the way you go to worship...
Like, you know, you've heard this before.
If I was an ancient Moabitess
and I said to Louise,
I'm off to the temple to worship,
it would mean I'm having sex
with a temple prostitute.
That's how you worship.
And so that's the situation of this.
So all the way through when you hear Moab,
that's the context.
This is a woman who's grown up
worshiping Moloch,
these fertility religions,
ancient enemy of the Israelite people.
And so now you have a bit of a context.
I'll go back and...
So anyway,
so I'll go back and read it again.
Maybe it won't be quite as yada yada
now that you hear it.
Okay, so in the days...
Verse 1,
in the days when the judges ruled
to fail state,
there was a famine in the land
and the man of Bethlehem...
And here, by the way,
there's a great irony
because all Jewish people reading this
would know what Bethlehem means.
Bethlehem means house of bread.
And in the house of bread,
there's a famine.
So a man of Bethlehem,
the house of bread,
he leaves to sojourn
in the country of Moab,
he and his wife
and his two sons.
The name of the man
was Elimelech
and the name of his wife,
Naomi,
and the name of his two sons
were Malon and Kilian.
They were Ephrathites
from Bethlehem in Judah
and they went into the country
of Moab
and remained there.
And just sort of paused there
because there's something else
which is significant.
I'm called George
because my dad's name is George.
And my sister and my brother,
they aren't named after any relative.
They're just...
My parents like the sound
of their names.
But in this culture,
names always mean something.
And it's a bit of a...
It's a big statement.
And in the original language,
this guy, Elimelech,
and his wife, Naomi,
they named their two sons,
I am not making this up,
weak and fragile.
Wouldn't that suck?
Hi, I'm weak.
This is my brother, fragile.
And so for the Jewish readers,
it's entering into the fact
that what's going on here?
This guy's named his kids
weak and fragile.
And sojourn means
that they go to be
a resident alien
for a season in Moab.
They leave the promised land
to go into a place
of Israel's enemies.
But as the language moves,
you see that they begin
just by going to be
their resident aliens,
like just to be migrant workers
for a short season,
but they end up staying.
They end up making it their home.
Verse 3.
But Elimelech, by the way,
which means my God is king,
the husband of Naomi died.
Remember I said
this is a difference between
and she was left
with her two sons.
These took Moabite wives.
The name of one was Orpah
and the name of the other
was Ruth.
And they lived there
about 10 years.
And both Malan and Killian died
so that the woman was left
without her two sons
and her husband.
Now here's her expectations,
Naomi's expectations and hopes
were probably to have
a lot more than two children.
to spend a long life
with her husband
and to just sort of
weather the famine
and be able to return
to where she knew everybody
and everybody knew her name
in a good sense.
And now here she is.
She's more than 10 years
living in a country
that worships other gods
and practices child sacrifice
and fertility religion.
Her boys have married
Moabite women,
which maybe isn't that bad
from her point of view.
Maybe it's all right.
The text doesn't tell you
whether she thinks
it's good or bad.
And then 10 years,
at least 10 years later,
both of her sons die
and they have never had children.
And in the ancient world,
this is just disaster
upon disaster
upon disaster.
Her hopes and expectations
are here.
The reality,
well, I'd have to get off the stage
and get down on the ground
because that's how low
the reality is.
She's been crushed by life
and she's now probably
in her mid-50s,
which is really old
in the ancient world.
And her life
has not even remotely
turned out the way
that it should.
Now, I just want to make
a bit of a pause here
about the story
before we keep on reading it.
To modern people
reading this story,
there's some stuff in it
that sounds really crazy
and sexist, right?
Like, if Disney
was doing this story today,
well, he'd pray love.
Your husbands die,
you'll pick up some Buddhism
and drink some wine
and do a bit of traveling
and pick up a lover,
begin a new life.
You know?
But gosh, the idea
that just because your man
is no longer in your life,
your life is over,
like, how crazy is that?
Well, so why is it
that we would even be looking
at a story
where the great tragedy
is for a woman
to no longer be connected
to a man?
Like, what on earth
could a story like this,
which is written
1,100 years before Jesus,
that has such a patriarchal
and sexist context
and culture,
why on earth
would any smart person
even bother reading
such a story?
Well,
there's a couple of reasons.
the first reason,
if you're here as a guest,
is that Jesus tells me
to read it.
As crazy as it sounds,
if you go back
and you read the book of Luke
and you see what Jesus says
after he's died
and after he's risen
from the dead,
Jesus says that everything
in those 39 books
that we now call
the Old Testament,
39 books that were written
before Jesus came,
that all of them
speak about him,
that all of them
in some way prepare us
to hear and understand
the gospel.
And so this is really important
because when Jesus tells us
that when we read
these stories,
it's preparing us
to hear the gospel
and to know more
about what God is like.
It means that it
deconstructs,
to use postmodern language,
it deconstructs
the patriarchal culture
and the sexist culture.
Jesus doesn't say,
listen to these earlier books
because dang it,
men,
it'll teach you
how to treat your woman.
You know,
it'll put women
in their place.
No, that's not what he says.
He says,
you read all these books
that were written before me.
God is the ultimate author of it
and all of these books
will help you
to understand
who I am
and what I've just accomplished
for you
when I've died for you
on the cross.
And so when we read
this story,
we're not reading it
to say,
oh, isn't that terrible
about how,
it doesn't,
and here's the other thing
which is really,
really,
really important,
just as important
as that last one.
You see,
the Christian faith
is all about
this spectacular story
that God tells us
and how particular individuals
like you and me
enter into God's story.
It's not about
abstract principles.
It's not about
some abstract truth.
But the fact of the matter is
that, you know,
if Jesus tarries
and my great-great-grandchildren
if I'm blessed
to have great-great-grandchildren
and they look back
on my life,
they're going to say,
you know,
if I was to try to tell them,
assuming I'm still alive
and I get to tell them
my great-great-grandchildren,
I mean,
I'm going to have to tell them
all the time,
well, it's not like that.
Like back then,
in my story,
it's not like now.
I'd have to keep telling them that
because I have a particular life.
I speak English.
I live in Ottawa.
I have a particular job.
There's particular ways.
I have to tell them
in Costco,
you know,
when you go to Costco,
you leave your cart
on one side
and you walk the other side
but you can go to Loblaws.
That's what makes
a life a life,
isn't it?
Human beings don't live
abstract lives.
We live embodied,
embedded lives
in a particular story.
And so one of the wonderful things
is the Bible is going to tell us
all these things
and they're particular stories.
It's not just some abstract Ruth.
It's not a fairy tale Ruth.
It's not a Disney Ruth
and they're not a Disney Naomi.
It's, well,
it's a Naomi and a Ruth
who lived in a failed nation state
who go to live
to a particular country
that worship gods
in a particular way
that have particular social customs.
And you know what?
If God's story
is going to intersect with them
in their particular real life,
there is hope
that he will connect with me
in my real and particular life.
And so reading the Old Testament
helps us to start
to understand that,
that it's important,
my particular life.
And I'm going to learn
to follow Jesus
in postmodern,
post-capitalist,
prosperous,
none,
N-O-N-E,
Ottawa.
Now, okay,
well, that's,
now, you know,
we've spent a bit of a time
just trying to get into this
and now we see
what's going to happen.
So what's going to happen
to Naomi?
Her life is collapsed.
In the ancient world,
if you're not connected
to a man
and to a family system,
you have nothing.
You are poorer
than poorer than poor.
You are poorer than dirt.
You have no protector.
You have no social structure.
There's no,
the social security network
in the ancient world
was connected to family
and kinship
and it was connected
through men
and so what on earth
is Naomi going to do?
Well, that's what the rest
of this episode is about
and the rest of the whole,
all four episodes.
are about.
But what immediately happens?
Well, let's look.
Verse 6.
Then,
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.
So she set out from the place
where she was
with her two daughters-in-law
and they went on the way
to return to the land of Judah.
But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law,
May the Lord deal,
sorry, I skipped a bit,
but Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law,
Go, return each of you
to her mother's house.
May the Lord deal kindly with you
as you have dealt with the dead
and with me.
The Lord grant that you may find rest
in each of you
in the house of her husband.
Then she kissed them
and they
lifted up their voices
and wept.
Now, this is quite a remarkable
little thing
and it introduces a word
that's not translated into English.
It's actually one of the most important words
in the entire Old Testament.
Those 39 books
that were written
before the time of Jesus
and I can't get the,
you know,
in the original language
often with Hebrews
it sounds like they're going to spit,
like they're trying to,
you know,
get their phlegm going,
you know,
but it's chesed.
And it's this concept
that God has this love
that's unfailing,
that's unstoppable,
that's kind,
that's loyal,
that's connected
to an unending covenant,
an unending relationship
that he makes
with human beings
and it's chesed love.
And this is quite
a remarkable statement.
Naomi basically says,
listen,
my life is ruined.
My life is over.
I am really low
and you shouldn't be connected
to me anymore.
You're still young.
You still got your looks.
You should go back
to your tribal places of origins
and in the original language,
mother's house
is a code word for marriage.
Go back to where
you can find somebody to marry
and where you can find a husband.
And what she does
is she pronounces,
it's quite remarkable
because in the ancient world,
basically they saw
there's this close connection
between the gods,
the people,
and the land.
And they were inseparable.
Each land had its people
that belonged to the land
and each people and land
had their own gods.
And she says,
she pronounces this blessing on them.
She says,
it costs to myself,
I will be by myself,
my life is ruined.
I don't want to have you,
I don't want to drag you down anymore.
So I'd like you to go back,
go to your place,
find a husband,
and may the Lord,
may his hesed love.
That's what it means,
it says,
translated here is kindly.
And even though the Lord
isn't the Lord of Moab,
she has this remarkable insight
that somehow or another
the Lord,
Yahweh,
is in fact also God in Moab.
And may the God
that is the true God,
may his relationship
be loyal,
steadfast,
unfailing love
and kindness
and goodness
and favor to you.
So it's actually
quite a remarkable thing
to pronounce this blessing
and to take this cut
to our own health
and prosperity
and it's quite remarkable.
But they react to it
by weeping.
They react to it
by weeping.
So how do they respond?
They said in verse 10,
and they said to her,
that's Ruth and Orpah,
they said,
no,
we will return with you
to your people.
But Naomi said,
turn back,
my daughters.
Why will you go with me?
What we see here
is she's going to give
a bit of a reality check.
Okay?
Okay, right now
we're having a fun time
around the campfire,
me and the two of you
and we're all talking
about old times
and eating a little bit
of hummus
and some tabbouleh
and I don't know,
maybe got some goat
or something like that.
We're having a great old time
around the campfire.
This is reality check time.
Okay?
Girls,
you know,
in a sense she says,
women,
this is reality check time.
Verse 11,
turn back,
my daughters.
Why will you go with me?
Have I yet sons in my womb
that they may become
your husbands?
Turn back,
my daughters.
Go your way,
for I am too old
to have a husband.
If I should say,
I have hope.
Even if I should have
a husband this night
and conceive that night
and bear sons,
would you therefore
wait till they are grown?
Would you therefore
refrain from marrying?
No,
my daughters,
for it is exceedingly
bitter to me
for your sake
that the hand of the Lord
has gone out against me.
Now just pause here
for a second.
This is a really
important pause here.
Remember I said
this is a story
that we have expectations,
we have dreams,
we have hopes,
we have desires
and they always
go like this.
Her reality
is way,
way,
way down here
and how is she
living between
reality and hope?
And at first
it looked like
she is super Christian,
super godly,
profound insight
about the nature
of God,
way ahead of her culture,
way,
way ahead of her culture
and her time
and completely
and utterly
self-sacrificial
but now we see
a different side
to her,
don't we?
I mean she,
on one hand
she's still
being sacrificial,
she gives them
all a reality check
but look at
verse 13 again,
the last few verses,
words,
know my daughter,
it is exceedingly
bitter
to me
that the hand
of the Lord
has gone out
against me.
my life sucks
because the Lord
has done this
to me.
That's why
my life sucks.
The Lord
is the one
who's done this
and I am filled
with bitterness.
I'm filled
with bitterness.
It's a lament.
Now we're going
to return to this
in a second.
We need to see
how is it
that the women
respond
to this
lament,
her blaming God
and her desire
that they leave home.
Well,
verse 14 tells us,
then they lifted up
their voices
and wept again
and Orpah
kissed her mother-in-law
but Ruth
clung to her
and
she said
in verse 15,
Naomi says,
Ruth,
see your sister-in-law
has gone back
to her people
and to her gods.
Return
after your sister-in-law
and we'll pause
in a moment here.
We'll say in a moment
what it is
that
how Ruth's
going to respond
to this
but we see
that
Orpah
takes her advice
and leaves
and Ruth
clings to her
and this is also
a bit of a technical word.
It's a covenant word.
If you go back
and you read
the early part
of the book
of Genesis
in Genesis chapter 2
when Adam and Eve
in a sense
get married by God
it says
that a man
shall
cleave
or cling
or be connected
to his wife
and that's the exact
same word here.
It's not a sexual word.
It's not talking
about them entering
into a lesbian relationship.
It's
non-sexual
but it's not
that she physically
actually holds
on to her.
she might be
but it's more
than that.
She says
one moment
Orpah's leaving
I am actually
going to commit
myself to you
in a way
which is really
really deep.
I am going to
reject my mother's house
I'm going to
reject my tribal
backgrounds
I'm going to
reject my dreams
I'm going to
reject my hopes
and I want to
cling to you.
I mean
Ruth would have
had dreams
and hopes
and expectations
like that.
Many of us
who are here
have struggled
with the fact
that they'd love
to have children
and can't have them
or can only have one
and Ruth would have
had all those
desires
and now
she's going to
leave and go
to a foreign
people
to a foreign
land
she's going to
leave her God
she's going to
leave her religion
she's going to
leave her understanding
of the world
and she says
I want to
cling to an
old
bitter
woman
with no hope
and that's why
Naomi says
in verse 15
see your sister-in-law
has gone back
to her people
and to her God's
return after your
sister-in-law
and in these
verses 16 to 17
are some of the
most beautiful
words in the
entire Bible
they really are
and we'll look
at them again
more in a moment
but just listen
to these words
but Ruth said
to her
to Naomi
do not urge
me to leave
you
or to return
from following
you
for where
you go
I will go
and where
you lodge
I will lodge
your people
shall be my
people
and your God
my God
where you die
I will die
and there
will I be
buried
may the Lord
do so to me
and more also
if anything
but death
parts me
from you
and when Naomi
saw that she
was determined
to go with her
she said no more
it's a very
very powerful
thing
look at those
just those
verses again
we're going to
talk about it
a little bit
more in a moment
the full
implication of it
but Ruth says
do not urge
me
verse 16
to leave you
or to return
from following you
for where you
go I will go
and where you
lodge I will
lodge
and if you
look at it
later on
in your own
Bibles
and you write
it out
there's five
sentences
and the five
sentences
it actually
has a particular
form in the
original language
and for grammar
geeks it goes
A B C
then B
with a little
you know
apostrophe
and C
with an apostrophe
and the very
very center
of this
powerful phrase
is your people
shall be my
people
your God
my God
and then
she emphasizes
this
that she's
completely
and utterly
casting herself
upon God
by emphasizing
that when you
die
I'm not going
to go back
to Moab
when you die
I'm going to
stay where you
are
I'm going to
stay with
your people
I'm going to
stay with
your God
even after
you die
I have no
exit plan
I have no
plan B
even after
you die
I will stay
there
and then
in the original
language
it's obvious
that she in a
sense
invokes a
covenant
she in a
sense
says
in a sense
if I
depart from
this
well
God
should do
whatever
he should
the Lord
should do
whatever
he needs
to do
with me
if I
abandon
this
plan
I will
never
abandon
or forsake
or leave
you
I will
never
do
that
I have
no
exit
plan
it's
almost
unheard
of
in the
year
1100 BC
this is
a
conversion
it's
unheard
of
in
1100 BC
unheard
of
well
does this
comfort
Naomi
does it
sort of
bring her
some
relief
between
her
hopes
and
expectations
and
the
reality
is it
some
hope
for her
to
live
in
that
in
between
area
between
these
two
things
does it
comfort
her
from
her
accusations
and
her
bitterness
and her
complaints
against
God
no
actually
Naomi
accepts
what
Ruth
says
but
the
bitterness
and the
hardness
of living
in the
desert
continues
look at
what
happens
in
verse
19
so the
two
of them
went on
until they
come to
Bethlehem
and when
they
came to
Bethlehem
the
whole
town
was
stirred
because
of
them
it's
the
talk
of
the
town
and the
woman
said
is this
Naomi
and the
reason
in the
original
language
the reason
they have
to say
it is
this
the
ten
plus
years
she's
been
gone
have
not
been
kind
to
her
she
looks
old
and
worn
down
and
beat
up
so
much
so
that
when
they
say
is
this
Naomi
they're
actually
saying
looks
and
was
healthy
and
young
and
full
of
hopes
and
dreams
and
now
she's
hunched
and
bent
over
and
wrinkly
and
crabby
and
bitter
looking
and
I'm
not
even
sure
if
it's
the
same
person
in
verse
20
Naomi
says
to
them
do
not
call
me
Naomi
which
means
pleasant
call
me
Mara
which
means
bitter
for
why
listen
to what
she
says
four
different
things
why
should
you
call
me
bitter
the
almighty
has
dealt
very
bitterly
with
me
God
has
dealt
he's
almighty
who
knows
what
he
could
have
done
with
my
dreams
and
my
hopes
and
my
long
but
he
has
dealt
very
bitterly
with
me
verse
21
I
went
away
full
and
the
Lord
Yahweh
he
brought
me
back
empty
why
call
me
pleasant
when
the
Lord
has
testified
against
me
in
other
words
he's
the
judge
he's
the
witness
against
me
he's
the
prosecution
I
have
no
defense
attorney
and
he's
found
me
guilty
for
some
particular
reason
and
what
on
earth
can
I
do
against
him
and
the
almighty
has
brought
calamity
upon
me
they're
not
going
to
turn
this
into
a
praise
song
what
can
I
say
it
is
filled
it's
a
lament
and
filled
with
bitterness
now
there's
lots
of
irony
here
so
Naomi
returned
and
Ruth
the
Moabite
they
remind
you
once
again
that
Ruth
is
in
fact
a
Moabite
her
daughter
in
law
with
her
they
returned
from
the
country
of
Moab
once
again
emphasizing
that
Ruth
is
from
Moab
and
for
a
harvest
but
just
as
all
the
harvest
is
about
to
come
in
so
what
do
we
make
and
what
do
we
think
about
this
to
try
to
try
to
try
in
terms
of
a
bit
of
the
content
well
you know
some of
you might
say
okay
wow
Naomi
just
blames
God
for
everything
and
just
imagine
if
you
were
there
you're
the
Christian
counselor
and
you
have
to
sit
with
Naomi
you're
her
small
group
leader
you know
you're
her
mentor
you're
her
friend
and
like
what
would
you
do
here's
the
first
thing
which
is
very
remarkable
could
you
put
up
the
first
point
please
rather
than
erasing
Naomi's
lament
the
Lord
has
recorded
it
in
the
Bible
for
you
to
know
and
for
me
just
think
about
that
for
a
second
nothing
in
this
story
God
doesn't
say
whoa
pipsqueak
Naomi
like
I
didn't
tell
you
to
leave
and
go
to
the
enemies
I
didn't
tell
you
to
leave
the
promised
land
and
whoa
like
why
are
you
blaming
me
for
this
and
there's
no
sort
of
very
wise
smart
Christian
counselor
that
comes
up
and
immediately
starts
to
say
well
you
know
you
should
think
about
this
and
you
should
think
about
this
and
if
you
reframe
this
and
have
some
healing
of
memories
here
and
maybe
there's
some
intergenerational
healing
you need
no
and
it
isn't
as if
God
says
whoa
boy
I
better
make
sure
nobody
ever
finds
out
about
these
complaints
for
those
of
us
with
a
high
view
of
the
Bible
and
I
have
a
high
view
of
the
Bible
because
Jesus
has
a
high
view
of
the
Bible
that's
why
I
have
a
high
view
of
the
Bible
even
though
in
contemporary
Canadian
culture
it makes
me
sound
like
I'm
a
like
a
knuckle
dragging
fundamentalist
with
an IQ
of a
turnip
I
believe
the
Bible
is
God's
word
written
because
that's
what
Jesus
tells
me
to
believe
and
he's
the
one
who
conquered
sin
and
death
and
rose
triumphant
and so
I
believe
him
but
if
you
have
a
high
view
of
the
Bible
we
believe
that
ultimately
God
is
the
author
of
this
passage
of
scriptures
that
means
God
on
purpose
had
it
recorded
isn't
that
astounding
for a
second
just
think
about
that
God
chose
to
have
this
written
so
that
we
would
hear
it
wasn't
because
he
screwed
up
and
said
oh
gosh
I
meant
to
have
that
edited
out
how'd
that
get
in
there
no
he
intended
it
to be
in
there
for
you
and
me
to
hear
this
and
you
know
one
of
the
things
which
is
so
wonderful
and
this
by
the
way
I'm
a
classic
guy
you
tell
me
your
problem
and
instantly
I
go
into
problem
solving
mode
all
those
marriage
books
and
guy
things
guilty
as
charged
I
have
a
hard
time
just
sort
of
being
you
know
my
wife
will
tell
you
I
have
a
hard
time
remembering
okay
if
Louise
complains
against
me
and
criticizes
me
or
says
something
about
me
she's
doing
this
so
she
can
connect
closer
with
me
I
have
to
keep
telling
myself
that
I
don't
usually
feel
it
right
away
because
I'm
a
guy
okay
so
for
you
guys
if
you
don't
know
that
if
your
wife
says
something
that's
because
she
actually
wants
to
connect
with
you
not
push
you
away
so
I
go
into
problem
solving
thing
but
here's
the
thing
which
is
about
this
story
in
a
sense
shows
us
the
right
way
to
respond
to
the
lament
it's
what
Orpah
and
Ruth
did
all
you
can
do
is
cry
all
you
can
do
is
stay
connected
to
the
person
and
what
this
text
is
saying
is
listen
George
I
know
you
have
hopes
like
this
I
know
you
have
expectations
like
this
I
know
you
have
desires
like
this
I
know
you
get
some
of
them
from
the
Bible
some
of
them
are
good
things
some
of
them
you
get
from
Disney
and
superhero
movies
and
I
know
your
reality
is
way
down
and
I
know
God
says
I
know
it's
really
hard
to be
in
between
here
and
what
the
text
is
telling
us
is
George
don't
I
know
I
know
I
know
the
lament
of your
heart
and the
complaints
you
have
and
be
honest
with
me
I
already
know
be
honest
with
me
and
talk
to
me
be
honest
with
me
and
in
terms
of
us
dealing
with
each
other
I
mean
the
fact
of
God
hasn't
told
you
why
somebody
who
wanted
to
have
a
job
and
why
they
got
laid
off
or
somebody
who
wanted
to
have
a
relationship
and
here
they've
reached
a
certain
age
and
that
never
happened
or
whatever
it
is
God
hasn't
made
you
God
big
news
he
hasn't
made
me
God
I
don't
know
and
a lot
of
times
all
you
can
do
this
text
is
saying
it's
alright
to
lament
and
complain
to
God
and
for
us
we
don't
have
to
explain
we
don't
have
to
be
frightened
but
maybe
that's
why
we
had
the
Romans
text
read
weep
with
those
who
weep
rejoice
with
those
who
rejoice
it's
in
the
Bible
and
that's
all
sometimes
that's
all
we
can
do
just
have
to
be
sometimes
living
our
life
we're
in a
desert
and
we're
in a
desert
for
a
long
what
she
says
and
it's
not
saying
that
all
of her
interpretation
is
correct
but
it
is
really
modeling
in a
very
powerful
way
that
you
just
be
honest
but
some
of us
might
be
saying
George
I'm
a little
bit
puzzled
by
that
was
really
interesting
I have
to
confess
it's
a bit
of a
surprise
to me
because
usually
I
think
of
Christians
I
think
they
have
to
be
just
accepting
or
don't
really
want
to
talk
about
when
things
go
terribly
bad
in
their
life
and
Christians
just
think
they're
successful
and
they
think
their
poop
smells
better
than
other
people's
poop
and
all
of
that
type
of
stuff
and
it
doesn't
if
you're
a
guest
it's
just
as
bad
as
everybody
else's
in
terms
of
smell
and
so
it's
a bit
of a
surprise
to me
here
to
discover
that
this
Bible
text
is
saying
that
it's
alright
to
voice
your
complaints
to
God
but
I'm
a little
bit
puzzled
like
is
Naomi
a
good
person
or
a
bad
person
you know
one
of
the
things
which
is
really
interesting
is
that
as
our
ages
become
relativistic
you know
what's
right
for you
is
right
for
you
but
can
be
wrong
for
me
and
what's
right
for
me
can
be
right
for
me
but
wrong
for
you
and
it's
just
every
one
of
the
interesting
things
is
that
as
our
cultures
become
more
relativistic
we become
more
judgmental
we divide
the world
into good
people
and bad
people
could you
put up
the next
point
here's
the thing
about
the
text
everyone
is
ambiguous
when you
get to
know
them
we're
a room
full
of
ambiguous
people
whoa
what does
ambiguous
here
mean
I don't
mean
ambiguous
because
you
can't
you
know
I
guess
one
form
of
ambiguous
is
when
you
really
need
glasses
and
you
can't
tell
if
it's
a
guy
or
girl
in
front
of
you
or
your
wife
or
a
tree
and
so
visually
you're
pretty
ambiguous
I
mean
ambiguous
in
terms
of
the
meaning
and
interpretation
of
our
lives
that
in
fact
the
matter
is
that's
one of
the
things
which
is
so
crazy
about
trying
the
whole
modern
move
to
try
to
base
your
identity
on
your
feelings
is
always
doomed
to
failure
because
the
fact
of
the
matter
is
that
no
human
being
is
one
feeling
one
unchanging
feeling
some
days
I
want
to
be
like
Francis
of
Assisi
some
days
I
want
to
be
like
Colin
Kaepernick
some
days
I
want
to
be
like
Tom
Brady
more
like
Tom
Brady
I
don't
know
and
some
other
days
I
want
to
be
like
Einstein
and
other
days
I
just
want
to
be
a
faithful
pastor
and
other
days
I
want
to
be
that
and
the
fact
of
the
matter
is
that
we're
ambiguous
and
what's
one
of
the
common
things
that
people
go
on
in
terms
of
like
maybe
it's
in
marriages
and
relationships
how
many
times
has
my
wife
said
to
me
what
are
you
thinking
the
answer
in
terms
of
how
many
is
too
many
times
to
count
and
it's
not
because
there's
anything
wrong
with
her
but
she
just
goes
like
George
what
were
you
thinking
like
what
meaning
what
identity
what
purpose
were
you
following
there
I
thought
you
were
like
this
so
you
do
this
what
were
you
thinking
and
everybody
is
like
that
you
know
the
staff
has
been
this
we
have
these
multiple
meanings
multiple
interpretations
and yet
we
are
addicted
to
wanting
to
label
people
as
good
people
or
bad
people
and
that's
separate
from
the
fact
that
you're
really
bad
because
you
vote
for
Trump
or
you're
really
bad
because
you
still
like
Trudeau
or
you're
really
bad
because
you're
in
favor
of
climate
change
you're
against
climate
change
or
that
you
have
a
hipster
beard
or
you
don't
have
a
hipster
beard
or
whatever
the
heck
it
is
because
your
shoes
are
the
wrong
color
like
we
live
as
our
age
becomes
more
relativistic
we
become
far
more
judgmental
you
hardly
do
anything
and
you
can
start
up
a
Twitter
storm
of
100,000
I've
asked
my
friends
who are
into
it
why
does
anybody
care
I
told
one
100,000
people
mad
at
me
on
Twitter
I
wouldn't
even
know
and
if
I
did
know
I
wouldn't
care
maybe
I
would
care
I
don't
know
I
don't
want to
put
myself
up
as
being
virtuous
because
I'm
a
good
person
you're
all
bad
no
that's
not
the
point
the
point
is
that
this
one
of
the
things
which
is
so
powerful
about
this
text
is
this
text
says
yes
is
is Naomi
good or
bad
yes
why
because
she's
ambiguous
why
because
on one
hand
she has
this
spectacular
insight
to the
nature
of God
better
than
Socrates
better
than
Plato
better
than
Aristotle
better
than
all
these
other
philosophers
who are
going to
come
hundreds
of
years
later
she
has
this
profound
insight
about
the
Lord
and
then
in
the
very
next
breath
she's
telling
him
he's
a
no
good
bleepity
bleep
she's
ambiguous
and it's
really
hard
by the
way
for
Christian
commentators
to
not
want
to
keep
we
want
to
try
we're
worried
about
her
ambiguity
and
so
we
want
to
make
her
look
better
than
she
is
or
worse
than
she
is
because
gosh
it's
hard
living
with
ambiguity
but
here's
the
fact
matter
if
everybody
if
you
get
to
know
them
more
and
more
isn't
that
the
problem
the
more
you
get
to
know
for
Christians
the
Bible
the
Bible
preserves
an
ambiguous
character
and
doesn't
rescue
us
or
doesn't
cater
to
our
addiction
to
judging
to
make
her
good
or
bad
now
some
of you
might
say
gosh
the
time's
well
we'll
keep
we have
to
finish
this
because
there's
one
more
thing
if
the
Bible
doesn't
say
the
Bible
doesn't
end
by
saying
so
rejoice
in
being
ambiguous
and
become
as
ambiguous
as
you
possibly
can
no
the
Bible
doesn't
go
there
the
Bible
has
some
other
things
just
in
closing
which
are
very
important
can you
put up
the next
point
when the
Lord
offers
you
the
gospel
he
offers
unfailing
love
with
no
exit
strategy
when
the
Lord
offers
you
the
gospel
because
ultimately
Christians
believe
that
the
gospel
this
news
that
God
the
Lord
has
done
everything
that
needs
to be
done
to make
you
right
with
him
with
nothing
left
off
out
that
the
power
completely
comes
from
him
it's
what
his
son
has
accomplished
is
finished
it's
complete
it's
irreplaceable
it's
unique
and
he
accomplishes
something
with
his
sinless
life
and
his
suffering
temptation
and
his
death
upon
the
cross
and
his
resurrection
he
accomplishes
something
in
eternity
which
becomes
real
in
history
and
when
God
gives
you
this
news
that
if
you
abandon
yourself
to
Jesus
and
give
yourself
to
Jesus
he
gives
you
something
there's
a
power
that
comes
from
God
upon
you
that
will
change
you
for
all
eternity
and
he
offers
you
unfailing
love
with
no
exit
strategy
and
we
can
see
a
little
bit
about
this
in
verses
16
and
17
because
you
see
what
it
is
I
try
to
describe
love
to
you
this
unfailing
covenantal
relational
unstoppable
love
with
no
exit
strategy
and
I
maybe
didn't
do
a
very
good
job
of
describing
to
you
that
but
here's
so
what's
wonderful
God
uses
Ruth
to
describe
that
to
us
because
that's
what
goes
on
here
isn't
it
let's
look
at
look
at
verses
16
and
17
again
if
you
could
put
those
up
that
would
be
great
remember
so
in
verse
13
this
idea
of
chesed
love
comes
up
and
you're
wondering
what
is
this
exactly
what
it
is
that
God
offers
to
us
that
Ruth
offers
to
Naomi
God
says
in a
sense
to
you
and
me
do
not
urge
me
to
leave
you
or
to
go
away
from
you
and
then
God
in a
sense
when
he
offers
you
and
me
the
gospel
this
is
where
you
go
I
will
go
and
where
you
lodge
I
will
lodge
you
know
obviously
he
says
he
takes
me
as
his
people
he
will
be
my
God
he
will
be
my
God
until
I
die
so
in
Ruth's
case
sorry
back up
I
haven't
done
this
good
job
let's
start
all
over
again
you
know
Ruth
says
do
not
urge
me
to
leave
you
to
return
from
following
you
for
where
you
go
I
will
go
and
where
you
lodge
I
will
lodge
she
says
wherever
you
are
I
will
be
your
people
shall
be
my
people
and
your
God
my
God
where
you
die
I
will
die
and
there
will
I
be
buried
and
may
the
Lord
do
so
to
me
and
more
also
if
anything
but
death
parts
me
from
you
Ruth
offers
to
Naomi
a
love
with
no
exit
strategy
no
conditions
and
she
offers
it
to
Naomi
when
Naomi
is
old
and
bitter
with
no
future
and
no
hope
and
it's
just
this
no
exit
strategy
whatsoever
no
plan
B
only
this
one
plan
I
will
be
yours
forever
she
embodies
if
you
want
to
try
to
understand
a
little
tiny
bit
about
what
it
means
to
receive
the
gospel
to
trust
Jesus
then
this
is
what
God
is
saying
to
you
George
a
month
from
now
you
might
do
some
horrendous
evil
that
shocks
everybody
I
already
know
about
it
it's
dealt
with
in
Jesus
you
might
experience
unbelievable
failure
at least
in your
own
eyes
I
already
know
about
it
and
George
when
I
pledge
my
love
to
you
when
I
pledge
that
I
will
be
your
God
and
you
will
be
my
son
by
adoption
and
grace
I
will
be
your
God
forever
and
ever
and
ever
I
have
no
conditions
for you
to meet
into
the future
and
I
have
no
exit
strategy
in
terms
of
my
relationship
with
you
I
will
never
leave
you
or
I
will
never
forsake
you
and
this
is
what
I
have
accomplished
for
you
in
the
person
of
my
son
I
offer
you
George
I
offer
you
chesed
love
and
we
also
see
here
a
very
small
way
but
a
very
powerful
way
the
very
nature
of
what
it
is
that
God
does
for
us
if
you
could
put
up
the
final
point
Andrew
please
the
unambiguous
Lord
offers
his
unambiguous
gospel
to
ambiguous
you
to
ambiguous
you
the
unambiguous
Lord
offers
his
unambiguous
gospel
to
ambiguous
you
what
happens
here
in this
exchange
between
Naomi
and
Ruth
Naomi
has
her
bitterness
her
defeat
her
impending
death
no
resources
nothing
hope
and
Ruth
looks
at
Naomi
and
Ruth
has
hope
she
has
a
future
she
has
possibilities
she
has
options
and
Ruth
in a
sense
places
she
dies
to all
of these
things
she
says
I
will
set
all
of
these
things
aside
all
of
the
destiny
that
I
could
possibly
have
I
will
set
aside
and
I
will
take
upon
myself
this
relationship
with
you
where
you
have
nothing
to
give
me
and
I
sacrifice
everything
I
have
for
you
and
that's
what
Jesus
does
for us
on
the
cross
see
that's
why
Jesus
says
when
you
read
these
stories
even
these
stories
of
being
in
stories
that
help
me
to
understand
in
very
particular
ways
what
it
is
that
I
have
just
done
for
you
on
the
cross
and
in
the
cross
I
look
at
you
and
I
look
at
your
failure
I
look
at
your
emptiness
I
look
at
your
need
I
look
at
your
bitterness
I
look
at
your
lack
of
honesty
to
me
I
look
at
how
in
a
sense
how
unlovely
you
are
and
I
sacrifice
all
that
I
have
for
you
that
you
may
lovely
be
for
those
of us
who are
Christians
just
pray
that
this
will
grip
you
and
for
those
of
you
who
aren't
Christians
and
you
want
to
know
how
to
cross
the
divide
just
pray
God
may
you
be
my
God
may
your
people
be
my
people
may
Jesus
be
my
Savior
Lord
there's
no
better
time
than
today
to
say
such
a
desert
where
the
difference
between
our
hopes
and
the
reality
is
very
great
and
Father
we
thank
you
so
much
that
you
love
us
in
the
desert
we
love
you
so
much
that
you
desire
us
to
be
honest
with
you
Father
and
to
be
able
to
lament
before
you
we
thank
you
Father
that
you're
not
peevish
that
you're
not
easily
angered
that
you're
not
easily
that
you
don't
give
up
on
us
we
thank
you
that
in
Jesus
you
would
give
us
an
unfailing
unconditional
love
unfailing
love
with
no
exit
strategy
so
Father
we
ask
that
those
for
all
for
each
of
us
that
you
would
make
us
disciples
of
Jesus
who
are
gripped
by
the
gospel
gripped
by
the
gospel
that
we
stand
on
it
that
it
shapes
us
that
it
guides
us
that
it
propels
us
that
it
draws
us
so
that
we
might
learn
to
be
free
and
whole
as
we
live
for
your
glory
both
here
in
Ottawa
and
to
the
ends
of
the
earth
and
we
ask
this
in
the
name
of
Jesus
and
all
God's
people
said
Amen