Taking A Risk
"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find
out how far one can go." -- T. S. Eliot
• Life with God is meant to be a grand adventure, one
filled with passion, joy, and purpose
– But that doesn't mean it's devoid of taking risks
– The word risk is often associated with danger, but it can
also be considered a chance or opportunity
During the American Civil War, Major General McClellan
approached a river for the first time. He muttered, "I wish
I knew how deep it was."
A young captain spirited his horse to the middle of the river
and proclaimed, "That's how deep it is, General!"
The captain would become a famous brigadier general
himself: General George A. Custer.
How Risk Adverse Are You?
When it comes to taking risks, which category
most closely defines you?





Leaping before I look
Carefully counting the costs
A nervous, not-in-this-lifetime, Nellie
Foolhardy, then full of regret
Focused on the moment, rather than behind or
ahead
 Other: ____________________
How Risk Adverse Are You?
• What's the biggest risk you ever took?
How did things work out for you?
• What do you think holds most people back
from taking risks?
What about you?
• In what ways is faith in God like the decision
between the red pill and blue pill?
• Neo doesn't like the idea that he's not in control
of his life, yet he's one of the few who dares to be
different. What do you think this is saying about
who we have become?
• If possible, discuss a time when you were willing
to give up control in an area of your life. How did
that feel?
"X" Marks the Spot
• Embedded in the middle of Oxford's
bustling Broad Street is a simple
stone cross
• Every year thousands of foreign
tourists gazing up at the spires of
Oxford's skyline and local
pedestrians preoccupied with
everyday errands walk over this
historic marker without realizing
they are treading on sacred ground
"X" Marks the Spot
• The unpretentious "X" marks the spot
where in 1555 Anglican Bishops
Nicholas Ridley and Hugh Latimer were
burned at the stake for their Christian
beliefs and entered eternity in a blaze
of courage and glory.
"Be of good comfort, Master Ridley,
and play the man!" the dying
Latimer cried out. "We shall this
day light such a candle by God's
grace in England, as I trust shall
never be put out."
• It was a moment of such significance in
English history that Oxford does not
want to forget.
• If I had my way, there
would be a large stone
"X" embedded in the
middle of the road
that runs between
Moab & Bethlehem to
mark the spot where
Naomi stops to send
her daughters-in-law
back to Moab
• Here is the collision
that takes place
between the weight of
evidence Naomi has
mounted against God,
and the choices Orpah
and (especially) Ruth
make
Naomi’s Emptiness
• She lost her home
…living as stranger
in foreign land
• She lost her
wealth during the
famine in Israel
• She lost her
husband … lacks
provision/
protection
• She lost her sons
… her family now
faces annihilation
God’s Persistent Love
• “O love that will not let me go ...” wrote the hymn writer
George Matheson
– Yet there are times when we may be tempted to wish that
God would let us go
– There are moments in life when God's pursuit of us seems
like that of a persistent mosquito, constantly buzzing
around our heads and causing us pain, and we are utterly
powerless to shake him off
• Certainly, Naomi was thinking of God in those terms in the
second half of Ruth 1
• Having departed from the Promised Land with a husband
and two sons to go to the greener fields of Moab, she had
been left utterly bereft of support by their death
• Moab was no longer a viable place for her to live; she had
no choice but to return home
• There was food at last in BethIehem, and perhaps she too,
widow that she was, might yet be able to eke out the rest
of her miserable existence there.
Making A Case for Moab
What should Naomi do about her two Moabite daughters-inlaw, Orpah and Ruth?
• At first, they all set out to go back to Judah together. But was
the choice Naomi was making, to go home to Bethlehem, the
right choice for them as well?
• This was the dilemma Naomi faced on the road out of Moab.
What should Orpah and Naomi do? Should they stay or should
they go?
• While Bethlehem had once been Naomi's home, it was never
theirs. Her people were not their people. And if Orpah and
Ruth came with her, it would mean:
• Two more mouths to feed on a fixed and limited budget
• Two more bodies to clothe and house
• All the while dependent on the charity of family members
Ruth 1:7-10
So she set out from the place where she was with
her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way
to return to the land of Judah. But Naomi said to her
two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her
mother's house. May the LORD deal kindly with you,
as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The
LORD grant that you may find rest, each of you in the
house of her husband!”
Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their
voices and wept. And they said to her, “No, we will
return with you to your people.”
Why
Naomi
urge
her daughters-in-law
remain
in Moab?
Why did
do you
think
Naomi
told the girls to gotoback
home?
How did they respond?
Put
yourself
in have
Naomi’s
shoes and
trydaughters-in-law
to imagine whattoshe
was
Should
Naomi
encouraged
her
return
feeling.
would
you
her desire to see Ruth and Orpah
with her How
so they
could
bedescribe
with believers?
return home?
Ruth 1:8
“But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, ‘Go,
return each of you to her mother's house. May the
LORD deal kindly (hesed) with you, as you have
dealt (hesed) with the dead and with me.’”
Remembering our discussion about the concept of hesed, answer
Does Naomi’s prayer for the LORD to grant hesed to Orpah and
the following
question
aboutacts
hesed
as it istell
used
in
Ruththeir
1:8.
What
do Orpah’s
and Ruth’s
of rewards
hesed
usgood
about
Ruth
mean
that God’s
blessings
are
for
works? faith?
Explain your answer.
How had Orpah and Ruth demonstrated hesed to Naomi?
Ruth 1:9
“The LORD grant that you may find rest (menuchah),
each of you in the house of her husband!”
Ruth 1:9 introduces the notion of menuchah. The word denotes
not just21:43-45
a physical–resting
but the
security,
permanence,
and
Joshua
“Thus place
the LORD
gave
to Israel
all the land
that
hethat
swore
to from
give when
to their
fathers.
they took
peace
result
one’s
needsAnd
are met.
possession of it, and they settled there. And the LORD gave
them rest (menuchah) on every side just as he had sworn to
their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood
them, for the LORD had given all their enemies into their
hands. Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD
had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.”
Where is Israel’s menuchah located?
What is its source?
Ruth 1:9
“The LORD grant that you may find rest (menuchah),
each of you in the house of her husband!”
Psalm 132:13-16 – For the LORD has chosen Zion;
he has desired it for his dwelling place:
“This is my resting place forever;
here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
I will abundantly bless her provisions;
I will satisfy her poor with bread.
Her priests I will clothe with salvation,
and her saints will shout for joy.
Who dwells in the resting place (menuchah)?
What is the relationship between this
menuchah and Christian worship?
Ruth 1:9
“The LORD grant that you may find rest (menuchah),
each of you in the house of her husband!”
Isaiah 11:10 -- “In that day the root of Jesse, who
shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall
the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be
glorious.”
Who is the Root of Jesse?
To whom does He offer rest?
Ruth 1:9
“The LORD grant that you may find rest (menuchah),
each of you in the house of her husband!”
What
How
does
changes
on
Naomi’s
menuchah
could
prayer
youas
make
for
it ismenuchah
to
used
make
in Ruth
your
for
1:9.
InReflect
what
ways
have
you
made
your
home
a
Why could Orpah and Ruth not find their rest
home
her
daughters-in-law
a menuchah?
point
forward
to athe
menuchah,
a
place
of
peace
and
rest,
haven
with Naomi?
church’s
Where
did
Naomi
in Christ?
see world?
Orpah and Ruth finding
from
therest
storms
of this
-- Note
their that
rest?1 Tim. 2:2 exhorts us to live “a
peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in
every way.”
Releasing the Duty-Bound
• Naomi goes against cultural conventions and her
own self-interest when she relinquishes two ablebodied young women who are duty-bound to her
by marriage and whose departure will reduce her
family to one
• In the ancient Hebrew culture, a woman was
bound to her husband’s family even after death
• A widow could return to her family only if her
purchase price was repaid to her husband’s heirs
• Given the circumstances, it appears to be the only
compassionate thing to do
• Naomi is a realist; she cherishes no illusion that
Bethlehem means a fresh start for her or for them
Ruth 1:10
Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their
voices and wept. And they said to her, “No, we will
return with you to your people.”
What is Orpah’s and Ruth’s reaction to Naomi’s
request that they go back home to Moab?
Ruth 1:11-14
Emptiness Rejected:
Orpah Returns to Moab
Useless Trivia
Oprah = Orpah??
• If Oprah Winfrey's name
looks similar to Orpah's, it's
because Oprah was supposed
to be named for her
• Apparently the birth
certificate arrived with a typo
-- Oprah says her mother
didn't know how to spell
Orpah
• Had it arrived as intended,
Oprah's company would be
called "Hapro Productions"
rather than "Harpo
Productions
Ruth 1:11-14
But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will
you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they
may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters;
go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I
should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband
this night and should bear sons, would you therefore
wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain
from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly
bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the LORD has
gone out against me.”
Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And
Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
What
doway
youwas
think
about Naomi’s
relationship
to God?
In
what
Naomi’s
situation
“more
bitter”
thanhere?
that of her
What
was
Naomi’s
purpose
in
asking
these
questions
What
was Naomi’s experience and understanding of God at this
daughters-in-law?
What was
Naomi
doing
fromjourney?
a legal point of view in urging her
point
in
her
spiritual
If
you were in Naomi’s
situation,
how would your faith in God be
daughters-in-law
to
return
to
Moab?
What
is Naomi’s
view of what
God
is doing?
affected?
What
messages
might
keep
playing
in bad
youradvice?
mind?
Does
this
advice
make
sense?
Is
Naomi
is
giving
What is her attitude toward God?
Ruth
1:11-14
Ruth
1:14
But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will
you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they
may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters;
go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I
should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband
The
Although
author
this
ofand
is
Ruth
a matter
neverof
explicitly
dispute,
condemns
some
scholars
Orpah
for her
proposed
return
this
night
should
bear
sons,
would
you have
therefore
tillOn
they
grown?
Would
you
refrain
to wait
that
Moab.
Orpah’s
name
the were
contrary,
is related
hetoportrays
the
Hebrew
her
inword
atherefore
positive
denoting
light.
the back
marrying?
daughters,
forname
it is exceedingly
of from
the neck.
-----------------------------------------------------------------If this isNo,
true,my
how
does Orpah’s
illustrate her
to
me
forMoab?
your
sake
thechoice?
hand of the LORD has
In bitter
choice
whattoway
return
did Orpah
to
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out did
against
In gone
When
whatpeople
way
hear
Orpah
theme.”
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make of
theGod,
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why do
choice?
some come to faith in
Then
theydecision
lifted
and wept
again.
And
Evaluate
Christ
and
Orpah’s
others
do
not?up
in their
terms voices
of the Hebrew
concept
of hesed.
Orpah
kissed
mother-in-law,
but Ruth
clung to
her.
Why
do you
thinkher
Orpah
gave way to Naomi’s
arguments
and
returned to Moab?
Ruth 1:14-18
Emptiness Embraced:
Ruth Clings to God
Ruth 1:14
“Then they lifted up their voices and wept
again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but
Ruth clung (dabaq) to her. “
Genesis 2:24 – “Therefore a man shall leave his father
and his mother and hold fast (dabaq) to his wife, and
they shall become one flesh.
How is the situation in Gen 2:24 different from that in
Ruth 1:14b?
How is it similar?
Ruth 1:14
“Then they lifted up their voices and wept
again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but
Ruth clung (dabaq) to her. “
Deuteronomy 13:4 – “You shall walk after the LORD
your God and fear him and keep his commandments
and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold
fast (dabaq) to him.”
What did Moses urge the people of Israel to do?
What light does this text shed on Ruth’s decision to stay
with Naomi?
Ruth 1:14
“Then they lifted up their voices and wept
again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but
Ruth clung (dabaq) to her. “
Proverbs 18:24 – “A man of many companions may
come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer
(dabaq) than a brother.”
How is this verse an appropriate mirror to the
“partnership” of Ruth and Naomi?
Who is the friend described in Proverbs 18:24?
Ruth 1:15-18
And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone
back to her people and to her gods; return after
your sister-in-law.”
But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or
to return from following you. For where you go I
will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your
people shall be my people, and your God my God.
Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried.
May the LORD do so to me and more also if
anything but death parts me from you.” And
when Naomi saw that she was determined to go
with her, she said no more.
Ruth 1:15
And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone
back to her people and to her gods; return after
your sister-in-law.”
What new
argument
Orpah’s
choice
give
to
is suggested
bydoes
Orpah’s
return
“to her
people
Naomi
thatgods?”
she levels at Ruth?
and to her
By describing Orpah’s actions in theological terms
To what else besides family would the young
– a going back to her people and to her gods –
widows have returned?
what does Naomi cause Ruth to see?
Despite Naomi’s urgings, at its core, this choice is
not about geography, family loyalty, or the future.
This decision is about God.
Ruth 1:8-15
But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of
you to her mother's house. May the LORD deal kindly with you, as
you have dealt with the dead and with me. The LORD grant that you
may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!”
Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept.
And they said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.”
But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with
me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your
husbands? Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old
to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should
have a husband this night and should bear sons, would you
therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain
from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me
for your sake that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me.”
Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah
kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her
people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.”
Ruth 1:16-18
But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or
to return from following you. For where you go I
will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your
people shall be my people, and your God my God.
Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried.
May the LORD do so to me and more also if
anything but death parts me from you.” And
when Naomi saw that she was determined to go
with her, she said no more.
Ruth’s
decision
to
stay
byabout
side
meant
away
What
In the
does
ancient
Naomi
world,
say
aNaomi’s
that
proper
finally
funeral
forces
Ruth
burial
to
were
Naomi
do
must
you
have
notice
done
something
depth
right
ofand
Ruth’s
for
Ruth
faith?
to
be
Ruth’s
beautiful
promise
isthe
often
recited
atwalking
weddings.
fromso
her
past.
When
have
you
a use
break
with
some
break
her
silence
and
speak
for the
veryof
first
time?
considered
absolutely
essential.
What
risk
was
Ruth
committed
to her
and
to made
God.
do
you
think
Do
you
think
this
is
an
appropriate
this
text?
aspect
ofor
your
past?
Describe
how
easy
or
hard
that step
taking
by
pledging
to
be buried
with
Naomi?
some
Explain
of
how
those
Ruth’s
“right
vows
things”
are
might
examples
have
of
been?
hesed.
Why
why
not?
was. What were the results of that decision?
Ruth’s Commitment
Life and Death. She further binds herself to do this with an oath
of self-imprecation. If she reneges on her promise, she invites
the Lord-Naomi's God-to stretch out his hand to strike her down.
Here is an astonishing act of surrender and self-sacrifice. Ruth
was laying down her entire life to serve Naomi.
Burial in Israel. She is even willing to die and be buried in Naomi's
land – the land of Naomi's God, not the gods of the Moabites.
Given the intimate connection between land and deity in the
ancient Near East, and the importance of proper burial for a restful
afterlife, this was the ultimate commitment in the ancient world.
God. In so doing, she is also committing her life to Naomi's God,
whom she calls as a witness by his personal name, the Lord (YHWH).
Naomi. She is committing her life to Naomi, body and soul, for better or
for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health.
New Home. Ruth was not merely relocating her home to go somewhere
geographically less pleasant, as if someone were willing to move from sunny
Southern California to the unbearable heat of Death Valley. That would be
noble self-sacrifice; this is far more.
Each of Ruth’s statements ratchets up her level of her commitment
Ruth 1:18
And when Naomi saw that she was determined
to go with her, she said no more.
Having
listened
to one
the most emotionally
Isn't
Naomi's
silence
anofastonishing
response tomoving
her
speeches in the whole
Bible,
which
Ruth pledged
daughter-in-law's
words?
Ourinown
response
to Ruth's
herselfiscompletely
toto
Naomi,
does
respond?
words
instinctively
framehow
them
andNaomi
hang them
on
the wall. We quote the words in marriage ceremonies
and are the
choked
up bysays,
their"When
implications,
so profoundly
Literally,
Hebrew
Naomi realized
that Ruth
touching
do theytoseem
to us.
was
determined
go with
her, she stopped talking to her.”
Why
do you
think
Naomi
reactslips.
in silence?
No
"Thank
you"
graced
Naomi's
There was no "I'll be
really glad for some company on this difficult road."
Missionary to Moab?
• Part of Naomi's difficulty, of course, was that she wasn't a
very good member of the covenant community herself.
• There was no distinctive holiness about her; on the
contrary, she herself was sinfully on the run from the land
of obedience.
• Those who are consciously living a life of disobedience to
God are not typically eager to defend and explain their faith
to others!
• Yet isn’t it striking (and encouraging to us all) that even
though at that moment she wasn’t looking out for Ruth's
spiritual interests, or even for God herself, nonetheless God
was still able to use her, in spite of her attitude, as a means
to draw Ruth to himself?
• Fortunately, God’s mission to rescue sinner is not limited by
our flaws, failings, and foibles! God will call to himself
those whom he chooses, sometimes through the most
bizarre messengers and unlikely combinations of
circumstances. It is his work from beginning to end.
Application: How are we like Naomi?
• Like Naomi, we naturally tend to lack a fundamental concern for the
Moabites all around us
– Naomi, it appears, had little concern for the spiritual condition of
her Moabite daughters-in-law
– She had found them functionally adequate, and she wished them
well in their new lives back in Moab, but she had no deep
concern for their souls
– If she is aware of the implications of her request, however, she is
asking the Lord to grant them exactly what she and Elimelech
never found: rest outside the covenant community
– Perhaps Naomi simply assumed that Orpah and Ruth wouldn't be
interested in Israel's God – they were Moabites, after all; they
had their god and she had hers
• Who are the Moabites we see day after day, the people all around us
who we so quickly assume are not going to be interested in the
gospel?
• Perhaps if we sought to testify to them of God's goodness to us in
Jesus Christ, we might discover more interest in the gospel than we
ever imagined. Our problem is that all too often we have as little
real care for our friends and neighbors as Naomi had for hers.
Application: How are we like Orpah and Ruth?
• Like Orpah and Ruth, there is nothing kosher about
us when we were born
• On the contrary, we were outsiders to the gospel,
outsiders to grace, by nature objects of God's
wrath, even if we grew up in a Christian home
• By nature, we were dead in our transgressions and
sins (Eph. 2:1). We all need a new birth – to be
born of the Spirit, as Jesus told Nicodemus – in
order to enter the kingdom of God (John 3:5).
• Like Orpah and Ruth, as natural-born outsiders, we
cannot simply slide into the kingdom. We are all
faced with a crucial choice at some point in our
lives, a dividing of the ways.
Application: How are we like Orpah?
• We can continue to seek our security and significance in the
world's way, as Orpah did. We can seek to find meaning and
value in our career, our family, our health, or our wealth.
• Up to a point, Orpah's approach to life may work, granting us
everything we ask of it. Who knows what happened to Orpah
when she went home? Perhaps she met her Mr. Right, had a
pack of children, and lived happily ever after in Moab.
• So too, for many people life works out relatively well, giving
them in reasonable measure the things that they have sought.
Application: How are we like Orpah?
• But in the process of pursuing the Moabite option, Orpah missed
out on the one thing of true value in life: a living relationship with
the Lord, the one true God.
• She chose with her eyes, just as Naomi and Elimelech had earlier,
opting for the way of the world instead of the way of faith.
• Whether she found what she was looking for in Moab or not
really doesn't matter. Either way, she missed the pearl of great
price. She failed to find friendship with Israel's God, the only God
that there is. The saddest part of Orpah's story is that she
probably never even knew what she was missing.
Application: How can we be like Ruth?
• Alternatively, we can follow Ruth's pattern and choose
the daunting path that can be taken only by faith, by
throwing oneself on the mercy and favor of Israel's God
• As outsiders, we have nothing to offer him except our
emptiness -- Ruth embraced that emptiness and trusted
that Naomi's God would be her God also
• This road necessarily passes through the way of the
cross, the way of dying to self and to our own interests
Application: How can we be like Ruth?
• In one sense, the gospel road is the easiest path in the
world, for we bring to it nothing except our own need
• In another sense, though, it is the hardest path, for the
cross is a continual stumbling block to anyone who
wants to bring anything to contribute to one's own
salvation.
• The way of the cross means constantly dying to selfinterest, putting the needs and desires of others first,
whether or not their response is one of gratitude and
thanks. It means pouring out our lives for others, even
in the face of their bitterness of spirit.
Homework: Complaint Department
During this next week listen closely to what people
complain about and the words they used to express
their discontent. Specifically note:
 What seems to be the most common complaint?
 What do these comments tell you about what is
important to people?
 Do people tend to complain about events they can
control? Why or why not?
 What do the complaints expose about their view of
God?
 What do the observations teach you about yourself
and your complaining?