Home At Last
“The Loved Connection”
Mike Steiner
April 12, 2015
:
Show “I Am With You” video. (SLIDE) In The Story, we’ve come to expect the unexpected when it comes
to God…God’s Upper Story way of doing things is so counter to our Lower Story perspective and thinking.
But God has a plan, and He relentlessly pursues that plan in each of the stories that are all part of the greater
story of redemption:
-
Genesis - Creation story, the fall of man, Noah & the call of Abraham & the story of Joseph
Exodus - God’s people in bondage and slavery / rescued and delivered by Moses and given the law
Leviticus - The law
Numbers - God’s faithfulness in the wilderness as they wandered
Deuteronomy - The second giving of the law, Moses’ farewell speech
Joshua – Entry into the Promised Land, and Joshua’s obedience
Judges - cycle of disobedience, punishment, repentance, redemption- a dark period for Israel
(SLIDE) Now we come to Ruth - Why Ruth? Why does this foreign Moabite woman, a gentile, get her own
book? At its heart, the Book of Ruth is a love story coming out of the dark period of the Judges. It’s devoid of
the supernatural acts of God we’ve read about in the other books – no parting of the Red Sea, no manna from
heaven, no pillar of smoke and fire, no plagues or feats of strength, little mention of God. But it is a central
story in the Bible – a book Jews revere – devout Jews read it every year. And it is in many ways a defining
story for Christians because God is at work in ways we can’t imagine. Ruth is a great story of faith, restoration,
and divine intervention (providence) (outline borrowed from a sermon from White River CC):
(SLIDE) 1) A Faith Story: Ruth 1:1-5 (READ) sets up the background for the story of Ruth. Right off the bat
we can see some sketchy things about the people involved in this story – if we go back to Genesis 19:30-38, we
learn about the origins of the Moabites. Lot’s two daughters trick him into getting them pregnant to preserve
the family line – both daughters eventually had sons – the older daughter named her son Moab. The Moabites
were pagans, and the nation of Moab, although at peace with Israel in Ruth’s time, had often been an enemy –
oppressing Israel for 18 years at one time. It’s understandable in view of the famine and needing to feed his
family that Elimelech moved his family to Moab – pagan territory (more of an economic decision than a
spiritual decision), and things started going badly very quickly. Elimelech dies – and his wife Naomi is now a
widow in a pagan land with two sons who marry Moabite women – which by the way was a violation of God’s
instructions about marrying anyone from a foreign land. The sons both die – now there are 3 widows – one of
whom would not have been welcome in Moab. Naomi hears that the Lord is blessing her land again and decides
to head home. She tells her two daughters-in-law to stay in Moab – which makes total sense – they wouldn’t be
welcome in Israel – life would be hard for both of them. Ruth 1:11-18 (READ) details this critical part of a
great faith story. Ruth turns away from her own people and their gods, to follow the God of Israel, the one true
God. She was going into unknown territory – she was taking a huge step of faith – in fact, at this point in the
story, she seems to have much more faith than Naomi.
(SLIDE)( 2) A Restoration Story: Ruth 2:1-13 (READ) reveals the next crucial part of the story. What kind
of woman is Ruth? - faithful to Naomi, faithful to God, determined to overcome, provide, and work hard!! In
Chapter 3:11 Boaz would call her a “woman of noble character”. What kind of man is Boaz? - wealthy and
influential, godly (greets the workers with “The Lord be with you!”), involved in the work…recognizing that
God is blessing them after the famine. Most importantly the Book of Ruth reveals him as a provider, a
protector, and a romantic (lunch dates and all!!). He treats a “Moabite woman” with respect…why? Maybe it
was the influence of his mother. Who was his mother? Rahab!! He is also a “kinsman redeemer”. Naomi
would be forced to sell the land of her husband…unless someone redeemed it.
- Ruth continues to work in the fields of Boaz – Naomi hatches a plan for Ruth to secure Boaz as her husband,
then in Chapter 4 Boaz goes to the town to meet with this certain relative…his name is not recorded…just as
Orpah decided to be pragmatic and look out for herself, so this man decides to be pragmatic and look out for
himself…Boaz, in front of the town’s leadership secures the right to redeem Elimelech’s land…it stays in his
family – he marries Ruth. The unexpected has happened – the bad has turned to the good – Naomi and Ruth are
redeemed – they have been saved – God is at work.
3) A Divine Intervention Story: Ruth is a hero…Boaz is a hero…God is THE Hero!! The Upper Story where God is at work…He does the unexpected!! Ruth 4:13-22 (READ) is the grand closing to this great story
– a closing that makes a huge connection. This is why Ruth gets her own book of the Bible!! The unexpected!!!
Matthew 1:1-6a geneology – the family connection – the line of the Messiah!
(SLIDE) Is your life a Great Story? Of faithfulness, redemption and providence? It can be!! In your life story,
expect the unexpected when you are…
Faithful… Just as Ruth was faithful to God and was willing to go with Naomi despite great hardships…
The story of Eric Liddell (in the book 7 Men and Their Secrets to Greatness), “Chariots of Fire”. He was an
Olympic runner for Great Britain who refused to run for the gold medal because the races were being held on
Sunday…he stood by his convictions and later would write this…
If I know something to be true, am I prepared to follow it even though it is contrary to what I
want? Will I follow if it means being laughed at by friend or foe, or if it means personal financial
loss or some kind of hardship?
Ruth was faithful…perhaps it was contrary to what she even wanted, but she loved Naomi and stuck by
her…even though it was more practical to go back home…she put her faith in God (a God that was certainly
foreign to her). Where do you find it hard to remain faithful? - at work, doing the right thing may seem unwise
in the world’s eyes; at school, following God may get you laughed at…deciding not to be a part of
something…a dance, a party, a group of friends because they are counter to what would honor God…that’s
being faithful!! But expect the unexpected when you are faithful!!
Restoration… How does a bad situation get restored? Redeemed? God redeems Naomi by providing Ruth, He
redeems Ruth through the kindness of Boaz, and God redeems all of Israel by bringing Boaz and Ruth together
so they would be part of the linage of King David and ultimately the Messiah!! God puts people in our lives
when we experience hardship; people who show kindness…He’s given us the church…but we are forever
redeemed in this life through Christ! - Everyone gets to experience hardship, if you haven’t, don’t worry…its
coming. But over and over we see a God who restores and redeems – who turns bad situations to the good.
Some of you are in the midst of the bad stuff right now…stay faithful to God and trust that He is at work in your
life.
Recognize God’s Providence, His willingness to intervene in your life and the messiness of your Lower
Story- God is your Hero!! God can take the bad choices we make or others make and turn them towards the
good. He is at work in my life and yours! God is the hero of my life when I trust Him through thick and then,
to save, to provide, to protect…God is the hero of my life when I cry for help, when I pray for Him to save and
protect me, to be my wife and my children’s hero, to protect and provide for them!
In the original “Dumb and Dumber” comedy, Lloyd Christmas falls for a woman named Mary. At a dramatic
moment he asks her if there is any chance they will end up together. If you saw the movie, you may remember
this exchange:
Lloyd: What are my chances?
Mary: Not good.
(music comes to an abrupt stop – awkward pause)
Lloyd: You mean “not good” like one in a hundred?
Mary: I’d say more like one in a million.
(another pause as Lloyd processes – and then with exuberance, he answers)
Lloyd: So you’re telling me there’s a chance…yah!
Of course, this is a humorous moment since we all know there is no chance, but Lloyd is a hopeless optimist.
Over and over again in The Story we read about hopeless, impossible moments – from our perspective in the
Lower Story, we think there’s no chance at all, but beyond all reason God speaks from the Upper Story and tells
us there really is a chance. “When things seem hopeless and life feels meaningless, God might just be getting
ready to do some of His best work.” (Randy Frazee). Remember He loves you – He persistently loves you like
Ruth persistently loved Naomi. The Book of.Ruth is a love story - representative of the greater story of God’s
love for us!.