STRENGTH IN RELATIONSHIPS
Text: Ruth 1:1 – 18
Ruth 1:1-18 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and two sons. (2) The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. (3) But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. (4) These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. When they had lived there about ten years, (5) both Mahlon and Chilion also died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband. (6) Then she started to return with her daughters-in-law from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the LORD had considered his people and given them food. (7) So she set out from the place where she had been living, she and her two daughters-in-law, and they went on their way to go back to the land of Judah. (8) But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back each of you to your mother's house. May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. (9) The LORD grant that you may find security, each of you in the house of your husband." Then she kissed them, and they wept aloud. (10) They said to her, "No, we will return with you to your people." (11) But Naomi said, "Turn back, my daughters, why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? (12) Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, (13) would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the LORD has turned against me." (14) Then they wept aloud again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. (15) So she said, "See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law." (16) But Ruth said, "Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. (17) Where you die, I will die—there will I be buried. May the LORD do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!" (18) When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her (NRSV).
In the OT Joseph helped Egypt to be prepared for famine. Naomi and her family were not prepared for all the hardships and death as she and her daughters in law all became widows.
The times in which we live are enough to create concern because of how we on on the threshold of multiple factors that could lead to a famine. There are warning signs everywhere.
?The empty shelves at store; the help wanted signs everywhere;
?the lack of supplies because of shipping issues;
? the rising prices at stores and at the pump;
?the hunger for fellowship created by Covid 19 restrictions;
? the grief caused by loved ones lost to Covid.
Everyone who has ever lost a one can relate to the empty spaces once filled by our loved ones. Naomi, Ruth and Orpah could all relate because of their empty spaces as widows.
We focus on All Saints Day today even though today is Halloween which historically comes from what was once known as All Hallow’s Eve. https://edsitement.neh.gov/closer-readings/origins-halloween-and-day-dead. Before Christianity came on the scene people feared death. In many ways, Naomi and Ruth’s story fits very well with All Saints Day. On All Saints Day we focus on Christian loved ones who have preceded us to heaven where they have joined the church Triumphant.
What would have happened if Naomi and Ruth would have gone their separate ways because they were widows? What happens when we withdraw, throw our hands up and quit? What will happen if we stop meeting together to encourage one another? Can bad habits happen if we “neglect to meet to together to worship and encourage one another”? Hebrews 10:25 helps us to understand how isolation and withdrawal harm and discourage us. Hence the old adage “United we stand, divide we fall”!
“The Promise Keepers note the following in their Point-Man training: 10 percent of all people will change when they hear the truth, 10 percent will never change, and 80 percent will only change in the context of a relationship. (Raymond McHenry. McHenry’s Quips, Quotes & Other Notes. [* "How to Double Your Attendance," Elmer Towns, Church Growth Institute, 1995]. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers1998, p. 23). Those statistics might sound harsh but they also sound hopeful. Can relationships really make a difference? The statistics in this quote say “yes”. What does the Bible say? How does the Bible illustrate how there is strength in relationships? We can turn to the book of Ruth for the answer.
The book of Ruth can help us to see how there is strength in relationships. Naomi is the mother-in-law of both Ruth and Orpah. What is sad is that all three of them have been widowed. Ruth makes us look at how people on different sides of the fence can make a difference because she was not a native. Ruth and Naomi were people who came from different sides of the tracks. Ruth and Orpah were Moabites and Naomi was a Hebrew. Moabites and Hebrews would not usually have anything to do with each other. But, Ruth decides to stand by Naomi when Orpah decides to go back to her old country and old way of life.
What does that say about Orpah? Did Orpah do the right thing going back to her home land? Or, did Orpah abandon someone in need? It would seem that Orpah took the easy way out. Orpah went back to her home land and probably joined her old friends. Would she have been part of the 80% that would change in relationship?
Ruth took a different course. Ruth stayed with her mother-in-law and went home with her. The relationship that Ruth and Naomi shared gave each of them strength. Ruth and Naomi became living proof that people can change in relationship. There was no question that they would be a part of that 80% group!
RELATIONSHIPS CAN GIVE HOPE
What does it do to us when we have to face a huge crisis with little or no hope? Are we really ever separated from God’s love? The Apostle Paul tells us that we are never separated from God’s love (Romans 8:39). What did the famine crisis do to Naomi’s hope?
1) Famine: Famine had forced them to leave Bethlehem in Judah and seek residence in a place known as Moab which was roughly between 70 - 80 miles away, where they might have hope.
2) Isolated: Then, things changed as Naomi heard that the Lord had come to their aid and was providing food in her native land of Judah. In the midst of their circumstances, being widowed, childless and in extreme circumstances how could they not help but feel isolated? Naomi blesses them and encourages them to head back home to their native land where they might find new prospective husbands.
3) Hardship of widows: In that day, women were treated as second class citizens. Therefore, being widowed and childless was sure to add to their hardship. The hardship of the persistent widow that Jesus spoke in a parable is an example of that kind of hardship that widows endured.
4) Faithfulness: Ruth 1: 16 - 18 is a favorite passage used and emphasized in weddings because of the understanding of undying commitment and devotion.
5) Hidden greatness: “Glamour is not Greatness”: Let it never be forgotten that glamour is not greatness; applause is not fame; prominence is not eminence. The man of the hour is not apt to be the man of the ages. A stone may sparkle, but that does not make it a diamond; people may have money, but that does not make them a success. It is what the unimportant people do that really counts and determines the course of history. The greatest forces in the universe are never spectacular. Summer showers are more effective than hurricanes, but they get no publicity. The world would soon die but for the fidelity, loyalty, and consecration of those whose names are unhonored and unsung. - James R. Sizoo Galaxie Software. (2002). 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press. [Source of origin: Bits & Pieces, June 22, 1995, p. 11].
Have you ever discovered how God blessed you because you stopped to help another? Consider this … There is the story of a fellow on his way to a job interview. He had been out of work for many months. On his way to what seemed like a promising interview, he encounters a woman on the side of the road who has just had a flat tire. DILEMMA: If he stops to help out, he is going to be late to his interview. As a Christian, he feels compelled to stop to help so he stops and helps the woman change her tire. Stopping might mean that her would be late. In the meantime, he goes on to the interview. Little did he know that he had helped out the very person who was interviewing him for his job. This fact was not evident until it came time for him to go to the office of the personnel director. (Bruce Larson. The Presence. New York: Harper and Row, 1988, p. 42). Being in a relationship with another or others strengthens hope!
Can you imagine why this story is so important to the Christian faith? How does Boaz fit into this equation?
1) Hero status:: The answer to both of those questions lies in the genealogy of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Someone (John Ahn) makes the point that Ruth is the real hero when Boaz is normally viewed as the hero in this story. Why is Ruth the hero? Ruth is the hero because she is an “… outsider who moves to give life through her willingness to die.” (David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor eds. Feasting On The Word. Year B: Volume 4. John Ahn. “The Exegetical Perspective”. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008, p. 247). Why is this point so important concerning relationships? It is important because Boaz was a Jew who married a Gentile.
2) Divine Genealogy: Though some say that the book of Ruth is like a parable, it is important to know that Ruth’s name shows up in the genealogy of Jesus’s ancestors in Matthew 1:5. Ruth’s son Obed was the father of Jesse who became the father of David. There were fourteen generations from Abraham to David and to the deportation to Babylon there were fourteen more generations and from the deportation to Babylon to the birth of Jesus there were fourteen more generations (Matthew 1:17).
RELATIONSHIPS CAN CHANGE PEOPLE
How could things have changed for the better with the relationship that Ruth and Naomi shared?
1) Solidarity: Would there have been any hope if they had gone their separate ways? How long and how strong would their hope have been separately? Would hope have been weakened over the course of time? Would their hope have been tested beyond its limits being deferred to the point of making their hearts sick (Proverbs 13:12)?
2) Good things working together (Romans 8:28): It seems to be clear that we can see Naomi’s outlook anticipating she will be alone. Naomi felt like the hand of the Lord had turned against her (Ruth 1:13). How many times have we known people who have felt the same way? Being in a relationship with another or other strengthens hope!
Can reconciliation happen outside of relationship? Reconciliation is not possible outside of a relationship because brokenness continues when parties remain divided.
1) Mark’s text: The lectionary text from the Gospel of Mark (Mark 12:28 - 34) illustrates how love should be a part of our relationship with God as well as our relationship with our neighbor. Love brings us together. Ruth’s love serves as a wonderful illustration of loving both God and our neighbor.
2) Hebrews text: The lectionary text from Hebrews 9:11 – 14 illustrates God’s covenant with us through our High Priest Jesus Christ. This covenant extends from our relationship with God to our relationship with others. The covenant that Ruth shares with Naomi seems to be a reflection of this kind of covenant. Why is the idea of a covenant so important? A covenant is described as a binding agreement between the parties that are involved. Loving both God and our neighbor is how we participate a covenant relationship. We cannot escape how loving our neighbor is rooted in God’s love for us! That is why reconciliation cannot happen outside of a relationship.
How does our relationship with Jesus compare to Ruth’s relationship with Naomi?
1) Prodigal family: Ruth and Naomi were part of a “prodigal family” who were in a far country. Ruth was a Gentile and Naomi was a Jew. As someone (Dr. J. Vernon McGee) put it Ruth is “a forerunner of the Gentiles being incorporated within the Church”. (Herbert Lockyer. All The Bookds And Chapters Of the Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1966, p. 67).
2) Dividing wall removed: In Ephesians 2:11- 22 Paul explains how Jesus removed the wall that divided Jews from Gentiles. Are we not all prodigal sons and daughters who have “had our consciences purified from dead works so that we could worship the living God?” (Hebrews 9:14). If God loves us, and He does, should we not also love our neighbor?
What lengths do we go to demonstrate our love for God and our neighbor?
1) Going the distance: Ruth went the distance to demonstrate her love. Jesus left all the glory of heaven to come to us as one of us as God in human flesh. Jesus was obedient even to the point of death on a cross to demonstrate His love (Philippians 2:8). Jesus talked about what real love is with a scribe and demonstrated His love for us on the cross as our High Priest paying the price for our sins once and for all. Does our love go the distance?
2) Changing places: Consider this story. “During World War II a Japanese girl released from a camp on the West Coast went to Chicago to find work. But before she got a job, she was stricken with appendicitis and was hospitalized. She was sick, a stranger, a Japanese [person] during a time of war with Japan, unemployed and facing a dark future. Some young people from a church in Chicago heard about her and went to the hospital offering to help any way they could. Though brought up a Buddhist, that young lady decided that if Christianity made people act like that, she wanted to be a Christian”. (T. T. Crabtree. Ed. The Zondervan 2007 Pastor’s Annual. James E. Carter. “Passing Religious Beliefs To Your Children”. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 2006, p. 203). How is our Christian witness giving strength to others with whom we share relationships? Does our love go the distance to give others strength and hope?
3) Legacies: How many relationships have been changed because of others who influenced us before they finished their race here in the church militant to cross the finish in the church triumphant? How many people are we influencing in our race in the church militant before we will finish our race?
In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
