Your God Will Be My God
Text: Ruth 1:6-18
Introduction
1. Illustration: “Always remember the essence of Christian holiness is simplicity and purity: One design, one desire: entire devotion to God” (John Wesley).
2. The story of Ruth shows us the blessings of devotion. Ruth’s devotion to Naomi, and as a result, her devotion to Naomi’s God.
3. Read Ruth 1:6-18
Transition: Ruth’s willingness to cling to Naomi is…
I. The Ultimate Sign of Devotion
A. Like I said earlier, God always has a plan! In vv. 6-7 we find out what that plan is, as we read, “Then Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had blessed his people in Judah by giving them good crops again. So Naomi and her daughters-in-law got ready to leave Moab to return to her homeland. 7 With her two daughters-in-law she set out from the place where she had been living, and they took the road that would lead them back to Judah.”
1. Four things paint for us a picture of divine grace. First, it was a gift from God, that in the middle of all of her pain and grief, Naomi is able to hear good news from home.
2. Second, she finds out that God had intervened and blessed his people. She finds out God had given the people good crops again and the famine that chased her from her home is over.
3. Third, the object of God’s favor was his people. Even though they had turned against him, he had not forgotten his people. Even when we sin against God, he is always willing to take us back when we repent.
4. The fourth thing that shows the grace of God, is that God’s people have bread again. The name Bethlehem means “house of bread,” so the cupboards have been restocked.
5. After hearing this good news from home Naomi decides to return to her own country
B. Now we see that Naomi is someone who looks out for the best interest of others. In vv. 8-9 we read, “But on the way, Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back to your mothers’ homes. And may the LORD reward you for your kindness to your husbands and to me. 9 May the LORD bless you with the security of another marriage.” Then she kissed them good-bye, and they all broke down and wept.”
1. As they were on their way, Naomi realizes that life for her daughter’s-in-law would be difficult.
2. They would be seen as outsiders, and even outcasts as they were not worshipers of Yahweh at this time.
3. They were widows with little chance of finding new husbands in Israel, and they would have little opportunity to make a living.
4. So, Naomi encourages them to go back to their own country, and she even prays for God to bless them with new marriages among their own people.
5. She wants what’s best for them and sees that coming with her is not going to be easy for them.
C. But the two young women show their devotion to Naomi. “No,” they said. “We want to go with you to your people.” 11 But Naomi replied, “Why should you go on with me? Can I still give birth to other sons who could grow up to be your husbands? 12 No, my daughters, return to your parents’ homes, for I am too old to marry again. And even if it were possible, and I were to get married tonight and bear sons, then what? 13 Would you wait for them to grow up and refuse to marry someone else? No, of course not, my daughters! Things are far more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD himself has raised his fist against me.”
1. Even though they are only daughters-in-law, Naomi has become like a mother to them, and they do not want to leave her.
2. This is an incredible statement of devotion by the two younger women. They would rather stay with Naomi rather than go back to their own people.
3. They did not want to return to their people but would rather be with her and her people.
4. But again, Naomi shows she wants what’s best for them. She tells them she’s too old to get married again and have more sons for them to marry, and even if she did remarry and have sons for them as husbands, they would be too old for them to marry by the time they grew up.
5. Then she says that the Lord has raised his fist against her. She thought that God was punishing her and the pain she had been through was God’s judgement against her.
6. But even if we sin, God is not against us, he is always for us.
D. Now this is where the real devotion begins. Let’s look at vv 14-15. “And again they wept together, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye. But Ruth clung tightly to Naomi. 15 “Look,” Naomi said to her, “your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods. You should do the same.”
1. Once again, they weep together, and Orpah leaves and goes on her way. But Ruth is determined to stay with Naomi.
2. Ruth clings tightly to Naomi and refuses to let go. The Hebrew verb used here emphasizes the strength of Ruth’s love for Naomi; it is the same word to describe a man being “joined” to his wife and to a person staying faithful to the Lord.
3. Ruth’s devotion is so strong that she says she will not leave her no matter what the results may be.
4. Even though Naomi again tries to convince Ruth to go with her sister-in-law.
E. Ruth’s response to Naomi’s pleading touches the heart. Look at vv 16-18 “But Ruth replied, “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. 17 Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!” 18 When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she said nothing more. “
1. Ruth tells Naomi that she will not leave her. She pays her the ultimate demonstration of devotion by telling her mother-in-law “Wherever you go I will go, wherever you stay I will stay wherever you live I will live.”
2. Then she takes it a step further when she says, “your God will be my God.” She is not only leaving her family and country, but she is also going to serve the God that Naomi serves.
3. She also commits to staying with Naomi for life by saying, “wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried.
4. Then she takes an oath the God of Israel and says, “may the Lord punish me severally if I allow anything but death to separate us!”
5. God would honor Ruth’s faithfulness as the end of this book shows as she would give birth to the grandfather of King David.
6. And it was through the line of David that the Messiah would come. In the NT there are two women listed in the genealogy of Jesus, and one of them is Ruth!
Transition: Now let’s look at…
II. How We Show Devotion to God
A. Even if we go through pain and difficulty, it doesn’t mean that we are not in God’s will.
1. “Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab). Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth). Obed was the father of Jesse. 6 Jesse was the father of King David.” (Matt. 1:5-6).
2. This taken from the Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus. Now, the next time you’re reading through the Bible, and you come across a list of names, don’t skip over it! They are there for a reason.
3. As I mentioned earlier, there are only two women mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus, and one of them is Ruth.
4. But if Naomi doesn’t give in, and allow Ruth to come with her, Ruth is probably not in the genealogy of Jesus. So, is Naomi apart of God’s plan? Yes, she is!
5. She thought that God had “raised his fist against her,” but He had really put her in position to be a part of His plan to save us.
6. Just because you are going through a rough time, doesn’t mean that God doesn’t love you anymore, and it doesn’t mean that He doesn’t have a plan for your life.
7. God uses difficulties in our lives to make us into the person He wants us to be.
8. I could go through all the churches that I have pastored up until now and tell you all of the troubles that we’ve been through, and if it wasn’t for the call of God on my life, I probably would have quit. But God used all of those problems to make me the pastor I am today.
9. God has a plan for your life, and you show your devotion to Him by not giving up!
10. “Cause what if blessings come through raindrops, what if your healing comes through tears, what if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know you’re near, what if the trials in this life are your blessings in disguise.”
B. Loyalty to God and others often costs us something, but it also leads to a new life, a new identity, and a new future.
1. “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Cor. 5:17).
2. In showing her devotion to Naomi, Ruth had a new family, a new God, and a new hope.
3. She said goodbye to her past and embraced a new future.
4. When we show devotion to God, it opens up for us not just a new life, but an eternal life. However, it means repenting of our sins, abandoning our old way of life, and stepping out in faith to embrace a new path.
5. When we show devotion to others, it will cost us those in our life who will not understand our commitment. But it opens the door to a new family, the family of God.
6. “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. 35 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. 36 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?” (Mk. 8:34-36).
C. You may not see the fruit of your faithful decisions immediately. But God sees them—and He weaves them into a much larger story.
1. “Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:20).
2. Ruth abandoned everything she’d ever known, but she didn’t see the benefits right away.
3. She went to live with a people who she didn’t know and was seen by some as an outcast.
4. She was required to do hard manual labor.
5. But God blessed her devotion with a new husband and a son who would become the grandfather of King David, through whom the Messiah would come.
6. Jesus doesn’t promise His disciples that things would be easy, but He does promise that He would be with them always – until the end of the age!
Conclusion
What’s the point preacher? Being devoted to Jesus is not easy, but the benefits are out of this world. Let Ruth’s commitment inspire your own. Because you never know what God might do through one faithful decision.
