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Handfuls of Purpose -1

Jan 1, 2014 by: Viji Roberts| Series: Ruth

Ruth 1:1-6

'I want it that way', sung by the Back Street Boys reached number 1 in 25 countries and it is the most successful single from a boy band to date (source:Wikipedia). I wonder if it grabbed people’s hearts because it accurately described their mindset/ feelings. The year was 1999. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone told me that it was a remix of a song three thousand years before. And I refer to a time when  the judges ruled in Israel.

The book of Judges ends with Judg 21:25“In those days [there was] no king in Israel: every man did [that which was] right in his own eyes”.
This is the exact sentiment expressed in the song, which is also the basis on which the book of Ruth is presented to us. I want to propose that in studying the book of Ruth we will find many applications relevant to us in this 21st century. The study from the book of Ruth is intended as a three-part study. We will do the first two parts, God willing over the next two Sundays and then finish it off with the third later, as opportunity arises.

Bear with me since I will take some time to explain the setting – The Context.

 We understand from Ruth 1:1 - "In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons." that the story of Ruth occurred when the judges ruled, probably during the latter part of their rule since King David is the great grandson of Boaz and Ruth. (The judges ruled for about 450 years - Acts 13:17-20; 1 Kings 6:1) Interestingly, the narratives on the various judges end in chapter 16. And thereafter sandwiched between chapters 18 and 21 (repeated again in chapter 19) and bookended by the phrase “there was no King in Israel” is a list of stories that seem to get progressively worse in its depravity.

I want to suggest that the Spirit of God is trying to grab our attention, because He continues on to give us three more stories even after the end of the book of Judges, all of which revolve around the phrase “Every man did that which was right in his own eyes”.    

The Three Stories

• Elimelech (and Naomi) in the book of Ruth. (An example of wrong choice)
• Hannah in the book of 1 Samuel. (An example of right choice)
• David in the books of 1 and 2 Samuel. (An example of one willing to learn).
All these were Ephrathites and the stories revolve around Bethlehem-Judah (Elimeclech and David) and the narrative is about life choices these three make – the wrong, the right and the willing.

In the first story, the book of Ruth begins with a famine and Elimelech’s response here is to leave Bethlehem, the ‘house of bread’ for Moab; returning 50 miles back on the road that God had told the nation of Israel in Deut 17:16 - “you shall not return this way again”. He leaves the house of bread and gets himself to the fields of Moab. Hoping to run from the famine, he moves away from the land the LORD God had provided. In essence, Elimelech moves out from under the Lord’s dealing with His people, making a choice that is comfortable rather than that which is right.                                                                                                                                                   I dare say, most of the choices we make are because we want a little more comfort; and we do it even at the expense of what is right. It is a story of individual choice not mass exodus.

In the next story, we see Hannah in 1 Samuel pouring out her soul before the Lord (1 Sam 1:15). In her barrenness, in her famine, she turns to the Lord. We know how that story ends. She names the child Samuel, which means ‘God has given’.

The third story comes to us from 1 & 2 Samuel. We read about David who in his youth is running from Saul and takes solace in Moab (1 Sam 22:3). David may be taking advantage of his Moabitish affiliation through his great grandmother Ruth for the safekeeping of his father and mother from the King of Israel, Saul. Thankfully, David is a good learner, probably not a quick learner. He learns to trust in the Lord at all costs rather than on his own ingenuity and wisdom.

In 2 Sam 24:13-14, when Gad the prophet asks David, (after David had sinned in counting the people of Israel to satisfy his own pride) “Shall three years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in your land? David replies, “I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man.”
The sweet Psalmist of Israel, the man after God’s own heart realizes: “Doing what is wise in our own eyes is unwise”. David learns as Hannah had previously demonstrated that the best place to be in times of trouble is to stay closest to the Lord. Be it famine, barrenness, trials or even chastisement. Stay close.

Adrian Rogers once said that he had long learned that when his father would whop him he would get as close as possible to his dad. You see, you need some distance to be able to hit and the further he pulled away, the harder the leather would feel on his legs. That’s one applied spiritual truth. ‘When we stray, we pay.’ There is another thing that happens when we check out on God. ‘Moab’ is the place we will find ourselves when we act in our own wisdom.
'Moab' is a picture of the old self, the flesh in the Bible. Fortunately, as David grows older he learns he must make Moab (or in our case, the flesh) his servant; whether they be blood relation or not (2 Sam 8:2; 1 Chron 18: 2,11).

I draw your attention to these three stories given to us because there is another story that comes from Bethlehem-Judah and it is about our Lord isn’t it?

 Micah 5:2 – “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, [though] thou be little among the thousands of Judah, [yet] out of thee shall he come forth unto me [that is] to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth [have been] from of old, from everlasting."
This is the man from Bethlehem - Judah of whom all the prophets in the Scriptures spoke. He teaches us through His own example to “learn obedience through suffering” and to only do “what the Father does” and not be wise in our own eyes.
Spiritually speaking, we live in the “days of the judges” don’t we? For there is no king in Israel and will not be, till Jesus returns.

I want to suggest there is another reason why the study of the book of Ruth is exciting.

 When the Kings did begin to rule, in a little over 120 years the nation of Israel would split into two – the northern kingdom of Israel, and the southern kingdom of Judah. I want you to check out the history of the two kingdoms.
Israel (northern kingdom) had 20 kings under 11 dynasties and lasted about 200 years before they went into exile. They never return from the exile as a nation.
Judah however, lasts 350 years, had about 20 kings, and note this - there was only 1 dynasty that ruled Judah. After the Babylonian exile, it is only the southern kingdom that returns to rebuild the temple under Zerubbabel and Ezra, and the walls of Jerusalem under Nehemiah.

Remember God’s covenant with David?

2 Samuel 7:8-16 records the covenant. Among the many things God covenants with David, He says that David’s house, kingdom and throne will be established forever. Historically there is no denying the continuous lineage from David right up to the ‘greater son of David’, the Lord Jesus Christ. The temple records were kept accurately and existed for all to see. 

When God makes a promise He keeps it. There was no way the Messianic line would ever be compromised; and the book of Ruth weaves for us a beautiful imagery of the gentile inclusion into this genealogical narration. It is about you and I.

I called this series ‘handfuls of purpose’ a phrase I picked from Ruth 2:16 where Boaz asked his reapers to drop some sheaves on purpose for Ruth to glean.

Ruth is a story of ‘handfuls of purpose’. As we read the story of Ruth, we are assured that God’s plan is never thwarted by man’s poor choices. Nor is He debilitated by any challenging twist of events. He comes to us as one in control and one who works His plan masterfully. God doesn’t always prevent man from making their choices, but neither do their choices stop God from working out His plan. Unlike a GPS that recalibrates its initial plan to adjust to the detour, God’s plan always runs on the track that is laid. He alone is the one who works “all things according to His purpose”.

 And more so, as we see here, God comes to us not as a cold calculating planner -‘must get my work done at all costs’, but as loving and relational. We see Him in Ruth as a gentle Gentile Redeemer – who is both willing and able.

 
Let’s get into the story

Ruth 1:1 - "Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons."

The book of Ruth begins with “now it came to pass” or in other words “consequently”. That is consequent to Judges 21:25. The word used here is ‘yowm’ which means ‘watch’ or ‘day’ as in Genesis 1. So we read, “in the days of judges” or in other words ‘in their watch there was a famine’ - the one thing they didn’t experience for forty years while in the wilderness.

It speaks to us about the failure of leadership. Even for us, we experience a famine due to leadership or the lack thereof; something we are increasingly noticing in our families, churches and communities.

Moses in reminding the nation of Israel reiterates all the things that would happen if they forsook the Lord. We read that in Deut 28:15-21. Deut 28:47“Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all [things]” Note that the word ‘forsake’ is not used but “not serving with joy and gladness”. The indictment is serious and famine prominently features as one of the consequences.

Ruth 1:2 “And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehemjudah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.”

So what does Elimelech do? He takes off with his family to ‘sojourn there’ which means ‘to stay there for just a bit’, not live there. However, the verse doesn’t end without warning us what happens when we think we can sojourn from the Lord’s presence. It says they continued there. Elimelech and his family are no longer 'visiting' but have become permanent residents of Moab – they now have an ID, social security and are probably even eligible for healthcare (and if they did get the Ministry of Moab Healthcare, it doesn’t really help, as we soon discover).

When we seek refuge in any other place besides God, we can be sure it would be in our flesh or in ‘Moab’. 'Moab' is the result of an incestuous union with Lot and his firstborn daughter (Gen 19:30–38). They treated Israel terribly when in the wilderness (Deut 23:3–6; Num 22–25). They invaded Israel and ruled for 18 years during the reign of the judges (Judg 3:12–14). God disdained Moab, He says, “Moab is My washpot” (Ps 60:8). J. Vernon McGee says that one way to read that is, “Moab is my garbage can” and yet Elimelech turns to Moab for help.

Remember the Prodigal son?                                                                                                            He is a son. This is not a parable about salvation but about the restitution of a backslidden child. When the son leaves his Father’s presence doing what he thinks wise in his own eyes, he finds himself soon among the pigs. From the ‘Father’s wealth to the forsaken washpot’; from the ‘Father’s presence to the filthy pigs’ is only a step away when we act in our own wisdom.

Ruth 1:3-5 - "But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband."

By the time we get to the third verse, we read that in trying to save their lives they lose it and that after possibly (I say possibly) experiencing the effects of barrenness for ten years in their married lives.

Ruth 1:6 - "Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the LORD had visited his people and given them food." 

It is in times like these that God often brings a “then” in the road. Someone said, "Pain often amplifies the still small voice".
God is relentless in pursuing you with His love. Francis Thompson in his 182-line poem calls the Spirit of God the ‘Hound of Heaven’.
The Neumann Press Book of Verse, 1988, elaborates:
"The name is strange. It startles one at first. It is so bold, so new, so fearless. It does not attract, rather the reverse. But when one reads the poem this strangeness disappears. The meaning is understood. As the hound follows the hare, never ceasing in its running, ever drawing nearer in the chase, with unhurrying and unperturbed pace, so does God follow the fleeing soul by His Divine grace. And though in sin or in human love, away from God it seeks to hide itself, Divine grace follows after, unwearyingly follows ever after, till the soul feels its pressure forcing it to turn to Him alone in that never ending pursuit."

 As Naomi returns to the land that God had given her nation, I don’t want us to miss three important lessons:

1. In Ruth 1:6, Naomi gets up so that she might return from the land of Moab as she had heard that the LORD had visited his people in giving them bread.

As Warren Wiersbe puts it in his book, ‘Be Committed’ - “There is always ‘bread enough and to spare’ when you are in the Father’s will (Luke 15:17). How sad it is when people only hear about God’s blessing, but never experience it because they are not in the place where God can bless them.”

Also, I wonder if you caught the drift of Naomi’s action. Her decision to return was right, but we could fault her for her intent. She is returning back to Israel, not for God and for who He is, but for the bread He is providing.
We often want God to be our ‘policeman’, our ‘security guard’, our ‘vending machine’, our ‘windbreaker’, and our ‘parka’. In His grace He will be all that, but God says return to me. (Zech 1:3 / Joel 2:12 / Jer 4:1 / Amos 4:6 / Mal 3:6) 

2. In Ruth 1:8,11,12,15, we hear Naomi asking Orpah and Ruth to return back to Moab, rather than come with her to Israel. I wonder if her true concern was that her daughters-in-law would not have any husbands, or that it would be mighty embarrassing to return to Israel with daughters-in-law from Moab. Either way her reasons don’t cut it, because she was asking them after all these years to go back to Moab and back to their god Chemosh, the “abomination of Moab” as we read in 1 Kings 11:7. She has been gone so long that she had nothing to draw them to the Lord of Hosts. Her personal testimony seems so tattered that she offers them no comfort in her God.

3. In Ruth 1:20-21, when she returns to Bethlehem and the whole city is moved (comes around to meet and welcome her), she says, “Do not call me Naomi, (meaning delight) but call me Mara (meaning bitter).” Ten years and more she has been away. She has lost what she hoped to keep. Now when she returns there are two possible reactions. You can either be bitter, and Naomi chooses bitterness; or you can be broken like the Prodigal Son. The same sun has two effects, when it falls on clay it hardens it; when it falls on butter if softens it. Our hearts react to God’s Word and admonishment in either of these two ways. The choice is ours.

Hebrews 12:5 in quoting Proverbs 3:11 reminds us, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you”.

Are we bitter or broken from the experience?                                                                                True the book is not called Naomi but “Ruth”. And I didn’t intend this to be a time of Naomi bashing. However, if I may hold up God’s Word as the mirror to our souls, would we see a Naomi staring back?

Application

 Thankfully the story doesn’t end by pointing out the attitudes of our hearts or the consequences of our choices but it continues on to show the depths of God’s love, the breadth of His provision and the heights of His plan. Experience God’s handfuls of purpose - plans to prosper, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give us an expected end.                                                                        The one thing we can take away is in God’s handfuls of purpose, I will choose to draw close to Him, stay broken rather than grow bitter for I know the Lord of Hosts will keep that which He has promised me against that day.

Ruth 1:16-17 - 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.”

The most interesting part is that of Ruth. Ruth had no reason to turn to Jehovah God. Her husband was taken away in her prime. Her mother-in-law is now leaving for good. She has had enough to be mighty upset with the God of Israel. There was just no reason for Ruth to say, “your people shall be my people, and your God my God”.
What a contrast. A life has been permanently touched even though there was nothing overt about what Naomi did that would have warranted from Ruth that deep attraction towards the God of Israel. This is grace in that He continues to use fallible men and women to change lives.

I am constantly amazed as I read the last verse of chapter one, “…they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest”. In returning is the beginning, isn’t it?
This is Luke 15 or the Prodigal Chapter of the Old Testament. The Prodigal has returned and there is a feast waiting. Both Naomi and the Prodigal son are just beginning to enjoy the fruit of staying close in the Father’s love.

The key word for today is return.
Our relocation is rarely geographical. It is usually emotional, or spiritual. We are culpable of the original sin (pun intended) – sin of doubt. Can we learn to trust Him not just for the life hereafter, but for the one right here.                                                                                                              Even as they returned, it is time for us to return. Come says the Word; it is the beginning of harvest. Come and hear all that God is doing for His people. Have our lives been messed up with bad choices? Wrong turns? Found ourselves among the pigs? Come back to God, He offers, as only He can, a new beginning. 

Joel 2:25 - “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten.”

So come. Not in bitterness, but in brokenness. Not resigned to fate, but in faith. Come not in fear, but in boldness. Come because He is calling you to His feast.

Will you return?