We're in the book of ruth,
and we began it last week.
I I described it last week as the
hallmark movie of the old testament.
It's 4 little short chapters, not very long
at all. But in these 4 chapters, you
get you get all of this drama taking
place. It begins with just really tragedy.
Like most hallmark movies do, You know? I
mean, if you ever watched the hallmark movies
years of girl and she's having to come
back home because your father's died, and there's
nobody run the ranch anymore. And she's in
New York trying to be a lawyer, but
now she's gotta go back and run the
farm and And, you know you're like, wow.
What a terrible story and then of course,
all at once, you know, Prince charming shows
up and everything ends happily ever after. Right?
Well, there... There's more to ruth than that.
But in many ways that is the story
of of the book of ruth.
And last week, we began by looking at
the first 3 verses very quickly in the
days when the judges ruled, there was a
famine in the land. So a man from
Bethlehem and Judah together with his wife and
2 sons went to live a while in
the country of Moa app. Now, this the
second generation of people that have come into
the land of Can. We know that from
the fact that Bo
is the son of Ray,
who was the prostitute
that Tim mentioned in the devotion a while
ago that was, you know, a part of
Jericho at the time. So we can actually
date the story
within just a few years. That And so
it's the second generation, and and there's a
famine that showed up.
And 1 of the things last week I
mentioned was the fact that God had warned
Israel.
You turn your back on me,
and I'm gonna get your attention.
I may get it with pest. I may
get it with another a nation sub you.
I may get it from famine, but I'm
gonna get your attention. And so it's very
likely that this famine that hits Israel at
this time is because they're turning their back
on god.
And and what happens is this family, the
man's name is,
which means My god is king.
It's wife's Naomi me 2 sons or Mai
and Kill, and they were ever fights from
Bethlehem Judah. Okay?
Mean, there they're are people who have been
giving
a part of the land as Joshua divided
the land. They've got their land in Bethlehem.
And what do they do when the first
famine strikes.
They leave the land.
I mean, I mean, knowing what God had
promised through Moses
instead of the 1 who says my god
is king
and relying upon him. He says family is
time to move, and they had to moa
out.
And of course, when they get over to
Moa,
Dies.
And all it once Naomi left with her
2 sons, Now we know in the text
and we're gonna see this, they live there
for 10 years.
Okay? There's a 10 year span.
And so when they go into the land,
their 2 sons are very likely
somewhere in their, you know, maybe mid teens,
maybe late teens,
Now that's gone.
And so the question is, okay. Now what's
going to happen.
And what what you see happening is once
again Now, again, the story is going end
well.
But it end well it ends well simply
because God is working through the story.
And and that's 1 of the points that
we've made in multiple lessons is that even
when we make bad choices,
if we're part of God's plan, he works
through even our bad choices to accomplish his
will.
And so we need to understand that.
As and so I noticed the next bad
mistake that they make.
They married more about women,
1 name Or upon the other ruth. Now
because we know who ruth is, we're like
that's not bad.
Ruth is a wonderful person,
but you need to realize not when they
get married.
She's a moa.
And you go, okay, what's the problem with
being a moa.
And the problem is is that God had
warned the Israelites.
Be careful when you go into the land,
not to give your sons to the people
of the lands,
Daughters are are your daughters to their sons
don't do that.
Because if you choose to marry, do not
estimate,
underestimate the importance of whom you marry.
I cannot
emphasize this lesson
enough.
I mean, who we marry if we choose
to marry
is going to affect
the rest
of our lives.
Now how they married back then and how
we married today was vastly different.
Back then, marriages were arranged to marriages.
In other words, your dad got together with
someone else in the community and began to
negotiate and, you know, for this price,
I'll I'll take your daughter for a wife
for my son or for this price, I'll
give my daughter to your son. I mean,
they were pre arranged marriages.
And it worked for thousands of years.
I'm glad they gave up on in a
few generations ago. Right?
Because as much as I love my mom
and dad,
who, I would not want my mom involved
in who I married.
I mean, when I was in high school,
mother would say, you know, that's a pretty
girl right there. And I go mom.
Man alive.
By the way, she wouldn't point in June.
Okay? Just make sure things are clear.
You know, when I brought June home, mom
was like, oh, yes. That's good.
You know? But anyway, they were pre arranged
marriages. Today we marry very differently. And I've
got be honest, I don't think we're any
better than our parents used to be.
I mean, let's be honest.
How good are we when we're 17 18,
19 20, whatever our age is.
If picking out someone spend the rest of
our lives with?
I mean, how do we make those decisions?
And that becomes a big issue in this
particular text. You know, if you go back
to Gene 7, Moses is warning them when
you... When God brings you into the land,
and he's gonna drive out the head tops
of the Go shots, the emma, the can,
parasites, hip bites, ji.
And then you have the command. Do not
mary with them.
Don't do it.
Now, you you quickly notice that among the
tribes here, you know, the more robots are
not listed and they're not.
But if you read own D, I mean
I've got the wrong,
text up here. So I'm gonna correct it.
This is not d 7. This is d
23.
Okay? And so if you go to Jet
me 23,
here's what Moses says about the ammo and
the moa. Now the ammo and moa are
like cousins.
Okay? Am and Moa were the sons of
lot,
Abraham
nephew.
And and so these are very
distant cousins. Now when I say distant, I
mean,
major dis.
You know, I know how many how many
of y'all I've done ancestry, Dna,
Anybody, Handful of you. You know, I'm a
gene epidemiologist and And so I sent in
my Dna a long time ago. Y'all, I
have got, like,
5000 thousand cousins it's been identified through Dna.
And And I look and I see, okay.
Now how am I accustomed to this person.
And boy, when I, you know, go, oh,
I share the same fifth great grandfather.
Well, we may be cousins, but we need
cousins much. Right?
And that was the way with the ammo
and the moa bites.
They were cousins
from the family of, you know, Abraham dia,
but they'd had gone off and followed other
gods. And so no am I or I
moa or any of their descendants may enter
the assembly. The assembly hears worship.
And basically, Moses says, listen.
Don't let them in.
And by the way, 1 of the reasons
was when they came up out of Israel,
the Moa. I mean, they're were the ones
that that that hired Ba to curse the
Israel israelites. Their own cousins trying to get
someone to curse them.
And so Moses says listen. They cannot come
in worship with you. Not only that do
not seek a treaty of friendship
with them as long as you live.
Now I don't know about you, but if
marriage can be called anything. Should be a
treaty friendship.
And so why, the text doesn't say do
not marry moa.
It says don't make a treaty friendship with
them, and it probably
pushes that over into that category.
Going back to chapter 7,
do not inter interfere with them. Why?
For they will turn your children away from
following me to serving other kinds.
That was always god's concern.
Now now you gotta understand something here. We're
we're not talking about
the difference between, you know,
Let's say, you know, my mom and dad.
My my mom and mom had grown up.
When I asked mom. I said, what do
you grow up religiously?
And my mom said, well, I grew up,
baptist methodist
presbyterian Church Christ Pent.
I said, okay.
Mom said, I just went to church with
my friends and so wherever the my current
friends were. That's where I went to church.
My dad on the other hand grew Up
I've in churches of Christ.
And and when they got married, neither the
1 of them were Christians.
And and, you know,
I looked back and I think boy God's
grace was at work through that because shortly
after they got married. They both became Christians.
But we're not talking about people who grow
up, you know, and in groups of people
who claim allegiance to Jesus. We're talking about
pagan groups.
We're talking about groups that were horrendous
I mean, when you go back and you
look at B the God Moe. 1 of
the ways you worship Mole was literally take
your child and just been born to you.
And offer it as a sacrifice
to Moe as a God.
I mean, these people were incredibly wicked.
And God knew that if you inter married
with them,
everything he had done at Sinai, the covenant
that he entered into with Israel, all of
it would be in vain.
And so there's the prohibition.
Talking about the God of the Moa.
Here's here's what happened to Solomon. Solomon, and
you know,
violated God's commitment. He interfered with all these
people.
And as a result of that, his heart
was taken away from the Lord. I will
do this because they have forsaken me, and
they've worship Astra and the goddess of the
Sid.
Key the God of the Moa
that would have been the God of ruth
and Or
and Moe the God of the Ammo I
and Have not walked in obedience to me.
And so you have god saying to them.
Don't enter mary. Why because it's gonna lead
you a astra.
And we shouldn't be surprised when you get
to the new testament. You find Paul basically
saying the same thing. Now this is not
specifically about marriage.
But it definitely applies to marriage.
Do not be yoke together with un.
I mean, Paul's talking here. He's not saying
don't be friends with un.
We've got to be friends with un believers,
but he's saying, be careful, those of you
in business.
From becoming partners with someone who have... Has,
you know, no regards to God. Whatsoever?
Be careful on that.
You know, because because it can draw you
away. It can compromise your values when you're
getting married, be careful
that you don't take someone who doesn't believe
in God
and marry someone who does believe in God,
In fact, when you get over to first
Corinthians 7, he's talking about widows in particular.
And he says a woman is is bound
to our husband as long as he lives,
but her if husband dies, she free to
marry anyone she wishes,
but then look what Paul says, but he
must belong to the Lord.
He's gotta be a follower of Jesus. He's
And in that ancient world where
oftentimes women had very few rights.
Paul's concern is if you're a Christian woman.
Don't don't marry someone that's not a believer
in Jesus because I mean,
because of your lack of rights, it may
just literally pull you away from Jesus.
I've done a lot of
counseling in my days.
John Micah has, Brian Shepherd has.
And 1 of the things you you figure
out doing
counseling
is that you quickly realize that some people
shouldn't get married.
Even if
they both believe in God, even if both
go to church, sometimes even then, you're like,
now I know as a accounts. The last
thing y'all ought be doing, Brian is telling
with somebody that they should or should not
get married. Maybe you should. But, you know,
I try to stay away from that. But
on 2 occasions, Brian, I've told people, don't
get married.
And guess what?
Think got married.
You know,
And and and I remember 1 guy that
came up to me and asked me if
he would marry him in his Fiance and
I said no.
I'm not marrying you. I knew him. I
knew him well.
And he said, juan, and I said because
you won't make it.
And he said, well, will, you at least
do my counseling and I'm like, I'll do
you counseling, but I'm telling you, I'm not
pro... I'm not performing the wedding ceremony. I
can't I can't do that myself.
And so this couple got married that had
a child and 5 years later, He's standing
in the church building, looking at me going,
How'd you know?
And I said, how would anybody not know?
I mean, it was so obvious. Y'all y'all
did not need to marry each other, and
and they went their separate ways.
Folks,
your value system.
Needs to be a value system that matches
the person you're marrying.
If you're a committed follower to Jesus Christ,
the biggest mistake you can make is to
be yoke with someone who is not.
Now is it sinful? No. I'm not saying
it sinful. This is wisdom material.
And and and of course, I tell people
all the time. Neither my mom or dad
were Christians when they got married.
And yet, they made the same decision on
the same not. Apologies jesus christ for which
I'm eternally grateful.
But why if they had not?
What would my life have been like.
And so we need to seriously think about
this as as they should, but then didn't.
And didn't notice what happens. After they had
lived there about 10 years, both Mai and
Kill also died.
Here's the tragedy continuing.
How long were they married, we don't know.
We know however, wasn't long enough to have
children or else God intervened so that they
wouldn't have children.
But now the 2 sons die, and naomi
only is left with their 2 daughter in
laws.
And boy you think about that situation in
the ancient world.
Again,
we live in a different world today.
You know, it's kinda like my grandmother, years
and years and years ago. My grandmother grand
had married over 60 years.
Grandmother was 14 when she got married.
K? Had my day at a week before
she turned 15. Grand was 17.
And I sat down as as grandmother was
nearing the end of her life, and I'm
just asking her all these questions about herself.
And I said, grandmother, did you ever once
think about divorcing grand dead.
And she said, and do what?
She said,
Back in my day, you couldn't go and
get a job at Walmart?
I mean, there was nobody who would hire
you. Why would I divorce your grand day.
You know. And and I think that was
the way it was in the ancient world
and so here are these 3 women now
left by themselves.
And so Naomi hears that the
famine has finally
broke in in back home in Jude And
so she and or daughter loss prepared to
return home from there. But what you find
very quickly
is that Naomi is thinking through this process.
And as she thinks through the process,
she makes a decision. Then naomi only sent
to her 2 daughter laws, go back.
Each of you to your mother's home. May
the Lord may y way pronounce a blessing
in the name of the God of Israel.
May the Lord show you kindness.
If you've shown kindness
to your dead husbands and to me, may
the Lord. Once again, grant that each of
you will find rest in the home of
another
husband.
Jim had been married
just a couple years.
And his wife welcomed their first son.
But about a year after their son was
married. Excuse me was born.
Jim's wife came down with a sickness that
doctors couldn't figure out.
And then suddenly died.
Leaving jim with a 1 year old child
as a sole parent,
grieving for his his wife and his son's
mother.
About a year passed,
and Jim's telling me the story, said my
father! Came to see me.
And father law came in and said, Jim,
I know you missing your wife
just like we miss our daughter.
But you need to hear me very carefully.
Your son needs some mother.
It's time that you move on.
You'll not honor our daughter
by marrying someone else.
And I'm asking you for the sake of
our grandson to do that.
And Jim told me that's what he needed.
What he needed to hear to be able
to say,
time to move on.
And he did. And he married a wonderful
lady who became a wonderful mother to his
son.
In so many ways that's exactly what Naomi
is doing.
It's time, girls to move on. She was
more concerned about her daughter law's when she
was about herself. I mean, you think about
that. If they leave her, here is a
woman, probably in her mid forties,
who has now left by herself in a
foreign country traveling all the way back through,
you know, uncharted territory
to.
And yet she is willing to do it
because she loved her daughter laws that much.
She knew how difficult it would have been
for them. Moa bites going to live in
is free.
People who had been Israel's enemy now living
amongst them.
And then, you know, how would the people
in Bethlehem responded?
And so she was concerned about them.
Then she kissed them, goodbye and they we
alone and said to her, we will go
back with you to your people Naomi said,
no, you returned home my daughters. Why would
you come with me? Am I gonna have
any more sons who could become your husband's
return on my daughters. I am too old
to have another husband.
And me have you got to point where
you say I'm too old to do such
and such. And y'all done that beside me?
By the way, about 5 years ago, I
got on top of my house to blow
the leaves off.
I'd done that every year for years and
years and years.
Only problem is by 5 years Got got
up on top head my blower went to
stand up and I couldn't stand. Up.
You're like, why?
I scared to death.
I mean, I ease back down.
And I said, okay, I'm too old to
climb up on and walk on top of
roofs.
And in about 2 hours later, I climbed
down off that roof.
I'm serious. Y'all. I'm inch itching down that
roof think I am able to fall off
this thing.
And then June will be able to rem
and get all that insurance money and
so last year, my son came in, my
youngest son. I said I need the leaves
float off, and he said, okay. And he
got up and he blew off the leaves.
He came down and said, dad. That's the
last year for me. Yeah. I'm like, oh,
sometimes you get too old to do certain
things.
She said, I... I'm too old to Marry
again.
Lending 2 families not always easy.
And they only knew that.
Taking these daughter laws back, it's gonna be
hard.
And so she told them, you need to
go back home.
Following Philippians chapter 2, do nothing out of
selfish ambition, bank can see in humility value,
others above yourselves. That's exactly.
What Naomi was doing.
She went looking out after her interest. She
was looking out after interest of her 2
daughter loss.
It is more bitter for me than for
you because the Lord's hand has turned against
me.
You say you get you get down now
into that hardship that kind of book of
Job. If you remember the book of Joe.
That's the way Job fell. Oh that I
had someone to hear me. I signed now
my defense. Let the almighty answer me. Let
my accuser. By the way, his accuser is
God. Least in his mind. Let my accuser
put his indictment in writing.
In so many ways naomi filling the same
thing. God for some reason is against me.
I don't know why but he is.
And yet, I think Naomi me and Joe
both got it right. You know, Job said
this, though he slay me yet will I
hope in him. The easy translations literally says
even if god kills me, I'll still trust
him.
And they naomi owe me trustee.
Not understanding why,
but trusting him to be the 1 true
god.
And sometimes it looks like even God is
against but we need to remember he's is
not.
I I love this passage out of psalms.
The Lord is on my side. I'll not
fear. What can man do to me? The
Lord is on my side as my helper.
And yet if you read the rest of
the psalms
oftentimes, the Psalm himself says, God, where are
you?
And so you have this sense of distance
sometimes and yet in the background is always
this confidence that God is on our side.
And so with this, they we aloud Or,
kissed her mother all, Good bob at Ruth
Plum tour.
I I love this passage here. Cl to
her. Look said naomi me. Your sister always
is going back to her people, to her
god, go back with her.
And what follows
is the most quoted passage
in the book of ruth?
And and and it's a precious passage to
me
because 45 years ago,
on 05/13/1979.
June and I stood in a church building,
04:00 in the afternoon,
in June quoted these words.
Don't urge me to leave you
or to turn back from you
Where you go, I will go, where you
stay, I will stay
Your people will be my people, your God,
my God,
where you die, I will die there I
will be buried may the lord deal with
me. Be it ever so severely if even
death separates you and me.
Now in this case, it was between a
daughter and law and a mother law.
My case, it was between my
wife to be.
And and the worst part is, the preacher
nor June told me they were doing that.
I just made my valves,
and then the preacher turned to June and
said, quote,
And I thought, what does that mean?
And then June started quoting this, and I
almost said, would you stop and let the
preacher do this?
That close?
Because I had no clue what they were
doing until I realized what she was quoting.
1 of the most amazing commitments
of a daughter law to a mother law
or any loved 1 to the other person.
And boy, that's exactly what naomi needed. That
encouragement.
First thessalonians, you get multiple texts in here.
Therefore, encourage 1 another with words.
Sometimes we need that pick me up.
Chapter 5 verse 11. Therefore encourage 1 another
and build each other up, just as in
fact, you're doing.
Chapter 5 verse 14, and we urge you
brothers and sisters encourage the dish disheartening.
And that's exactly what the words of ruth
did to Naomi.
And off they went.
So the 2 went on until they came
to Bethlehem and when they arrived in Bethlehem,
the whole town was stirred because of them
and the women explain, can this be Naomi?
Now by the way, do you notice who's
absent?
I don't even see ruth?
They see Naomi?
And could this be naomi? I mean, have
you ever seen someone who you haven't seen
in 10:12 years, and you don't have a
clue who they are.
I was over at the Red Rooster last
Friday morning and a guy walks up to
me, and I could tell he knew me,
and I stood up her you know, shake
his hand, and he said, you don't know
who I am do you.
And I said, I don't.
And then he told me who he was,
and I said, you gotta be kidding me.
Had seen him in 20 years.
I mean, didn't recognize him. But as Susie
told me who he was. I'm like, oh,
man. A lie. It's spend so long.
That's the way they were. Could this be
Naomi?
And yet what Naomi does
is describe where she's at.
Don't call me naomi me. By the way,
Naomi means pleasant.
Don't call me naomi me.
Call me Mara. Mara means bitter.
Because almighty has made my life very bitter.
I went away full, but the Lord has
brought me back empty.
Why call me Naomi me?
Lord afflicted me. The almighty brought mis fortune
upon.
And 1 of the things we all know
if we live long enough in this world
is life can be incredibly be bitter.
I mean, there are moments that we're just...
I mean, literally
crying our eyes outgoing God. Why?
And like I said, if you're old enough,
I mean, I I've been down don't know
how many times,
literally falling to the floor weeping.
Just setting down and disbelief, What do you
mean the news that just came in?
I mean, we all experienced this sometime?
But I love the way chapter 1 ends.
Watch how ends.
So Naomi returned from Moa a company by
ruth the moa her dalton law
arriving in Bethlehem
as the Barley harvest
was the beginning.
And whether you realize it or not,
there,
it's where it begins the good news.
And if you wanna know what that is,
you'll have to come back next week. Alright.
Ruth experienced, many of the things that we
experienced.
Excuse me, naomi experienced many of the things
we experienced.
And oftentimes god almost to the edge of
saying God. I just I just don't get
it. Why.
And yet she continued to trust him.
And that's what God calls a bone all
of us,
continue to trust.
And then for some, you you may be
like ruth,
who had not been raised with the God
of Israel.
And yet through her mother law's, she saw
something that she just thought, I wanna be
a part of whoever these people are because
of the way my mother loss treated me.
And she became 1 who said your god
will now be my god.
If you'd like to make Jesus Christ, the
Lord of your life. We're here to help
you. Can income right now if you'd like
to as go we stand see.