Song Of Faithfullness Series

Allan Petersen, in The Myth of the Greener Grass, tells the story of a

group of a dozen married women having lunch together. One woman

asked, "How many of you have been faithful to your husbands

throughout your marriage?" Only one woman out of the twelve raised her

hand. At home that evening, one of the women who didn't raise her hand

told her husband about the lunch, the question, her reaction. "But," she

quickly added, "I have been faithful."

"Then why didn't you raise your hand?" Her response? "I was

ashamed.” We live in an age where faithfulness in marriage is

disappearing act.

Turn with me to the Book of Ruth. This morning we begin a 4

week series entitled R&B: The Songs of Love. It’s taken from the book

of Ruth. Of course, R&B doesn’t really stand for rhythm and blues, but

Ruth and Boaz, the 2 love birds in this timeless love story.

The period of time when these events took place is during the

time of the Judges. RUTH 1:1, “IN THE DAYS WHEN THE JUDGES

RULED.” There is the book of Joshua, then the book of Judges, then

the book of Ruth. If you know your biblical history, you know that the

book of Joshua is about crossing over into & conquering the promised

land. The book of Judges is the 400 year period after that, from 1400

B.C. to 1000 B.C., when there were no kings, but men and women raised

up by God to give guidance and wisdom to the people of God. It’s at the

end of this 400 year period that this story takes place, because, as we’re

going to find out, Ruth and Boaz have a son that is just a few

generations away from the great King David.

And so, let’s dig in. There are so many great themes in the book

of Ruth, and we’ll discuss all of them these next 4 weeks. But the one

theme that runs throughout the book is the theme of love. Is there a

more basic ingredient of life than love? Every person who breathes the

breath of life wants to love and be loved.

Love, whether it exists in a friendship or a marriage, defines the

quality of life. And in a way, every relationship has a certain song to it.

When I was a freshman in college, my best friend and I were wild and

crazy guys, and when I think of that relationship, I think of this song

(SONG#1 BORN TO BE WILD: 10 SECONDS). When I dated this girl in

college, I was absolutely smitten and I think of this song (SONG #2 THE

FIRST TIME EVER I SAW YOUR FACE: 10 SECONDS). I met Sue ten

years later, and the ringtone I have on my phone for her is (SONG #3

PRETTY WOMAN: 10 SECONDS).

Relationships that work the best have certain songs that are

heard loud and clear. And one of those songs is the song of faithfulness.

The Hebrew word in the OT is EMUNAH, and is found in verses like

PSALM 33:4, “FOR THE WORD OF THE LORD IS RIGHT AND TRUE;

HE IS FAITHFUL IN ALL HE DOES.” The Greek word in the NT is the

word PISTOS, which at its core means trust or trustworthy. It’s one of the

fruit of the Spirit… FAITHFULNESS: A CONVICTION BASED IN

TRUTH THAT SHOWS UP IN ACTION. It describes someone that can

be relied upon to do the right thing at the right time.

IN EVERY RELATIONSHIP, PARTICULARLY MARRIAGE,

THERE ARE TIMES WHEN THOSE IN THE RELATIONSHIP MUST BE

FAITHFUL, REGARDLESS OF THE CHALLENGE. (leave up a bit)

RELATIONSHIPS ARE CHALLENGING aren’t they? The

closer you are to someone, the more challenging and frustrating they can

be. There are times I’m so frustrated with Sue, I want to set her hair on

fire. You with me, here? And it’s a 2 way street. She’s actually

attempted 3 times to set my hair on fire! When I smell lighter fluid, I run!

And on top of that, life is tough. Circumstances beyond our control put

incredible pressure on us and threaten to undermine our love and our

relationships.

That’s certainly the case in our story this morning. Let’s read

VV. 1-7 (ON SCREEN) As we read this passage, notice the challenges

the characters face--

1: famine; 2: travel w/kids; 3: livelihood in a foreign country; 4:

husband dies; 5: sons/husbands die; 6: travel of 3 widowers; 7: livelihood

in a foreign country; 8: barren womb; no children. That’s a lot of

adversity; a lot of challenge.

Let me unwrap that a bit more. When Ruth got to Bethlehem,

she would have been characterized as an unclean Gentile. Furthermore,

there was no Social Security, no food stamps, no Mission Arlington or