14th
October 2018
P.A.Thatcher
The
Mustard Seed Evangelical Church.
Series:
“The best is yet to come!” {Lessons from the book of Ruth Part 3}
Naomi.
A pleasant believer.
Ruth chapter 1:
In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land.
So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two
sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. The man’s
name was Elimelech, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his
two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from
Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.
Now Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with her
two sons.
They married Moabite women, one named Orpah
and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years,
both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi
was left without her two sons and her husband.
When Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had come to the aid of his
people by providing food for them, she and her daughters-in-law
prepared to return home from there. With her two daughters-in-law she
left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that
would take them back to the land of Judah.
Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, ‘Go back, each of
you, to your mother’s home. May the Lord show you kindness, as you
have shown kindness to your dead husbands and to me. May the Lord
grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another
husband.’
Then she kissed them goodbye and they wept aloud and said to her,
‘We will go back with you to your people.’
But Naomi said, ‘Return home, my daughters. Why would you come
with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your
husbands? Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another
husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me – even if I
had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons – would you wait
until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my
daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord’s
hand has turned against me!’
‘Look,’ said Naomi, ‘your sister-in-law is going back to her
people and her gods. Go back with her.’
But Ruth replied, ‘Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back
from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay.
Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I
will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be
it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.’ When
Naomi realised that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped
urging her.
So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they
arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and
the women exclaimed, ‘Can this be Naomi?’
‘Don’t call me Naomi,’ she told them. ‘Call me Mara,
because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full,
but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord
has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.’
So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite, her
daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was
beginning.
NIV UK.
Last time we considered Ruth as a model friend, this time we will
consider Naomi as a pleasant believer. Unlike Ruth, Naomi is a
complex character. She is one of those people who wears her heart on
her sleeve and has a somewhat prickly nature. Her name means
pleasant, but at times she might appear to have been named quite
wrongly. As we shall soon see, it is a mistake to believe that of
her.
To understand Naomi, we need to re-consider her circumstances and
then to assess her true character. Often we can be guilty of making
assumptions about a person without paying any attention to the
circumstances of that persons life. All of us are shaped by what we
have and are going through. We only see that from the outside, and
that being from a brief encounter. The great thing about this book of
Ruth is that both Ruth and Naomi have gone through a lot together and
as such they know each other really well. I am always impressed by
their in-law relationship. Mother in law to daughter in law
relationships are so often tense affairs, but there is no evidence of
that between these amazing ladies.
We will consider:
- A wrong interpretation.
- An amazing woman.
A wrong interpretation:
In Cardiff, there is apparently a song that is always played in
disco's, at the end of the New Years eve celebrations. The same song
has the reputation of being the most popular at funerals. It is a
song that somehow sums up Naomi's mindset as she was leaving
Bethlehem for Moab. I can only quote a part of the song because the
lyrics move into crudity. It is also from a film that is in itself
guilty of gross blasphemy and ought not be promoted or watched by
Christians. The song is:
Some things in life are bad They can really make you mad Other things just make you swear and curse When you're chewing on life's gristle Don't grumble, give a whistle And this'll help things turn out for the best And Always look on the bright side of life Always look on the light side of life If life seems jolly rotten There's something you've forgotten And that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing When you're feeling in the dumps Don't be silly chumps Just purse your lips and whistle, that's the thing And Always look on the bright side of life (Come on) Always look on the right side of life For life is quite absurd And death's the final word You must always face the curtain with a bow Forget about your sin Give the audience a grin Enjoy it, it's your last chance anyhow So always look on the bright side of death A just before you draw your terminal breath
Naomi, looks back on
her life and concludes that she left Bethlehem full and returned
empty. The Lord in her understanding had dealt her a harsh blow and
that she was a victim of His anger. Both her and Elimelech had gone
with the mindset that the grass was greener on the Moab side of the
border. It was true that there was food there and no drought, but it
was outside of God's purpose for His people. The problem that we have
with that statement is that God was also working His purposes out
through Naomi even though they clearly made wrong decisions. It is
Naomi's state of mind that is important for our study this morning.
Just look at the things that she says, but all of the time keep in
mind the fact that she is a desperately hurting lady who will not
find any real relief from her pain for a long time to come. In fact
she will never get over the grief that she is experiencing.
Naomi hears that the
famine is over in Judah and decides to return. At first she is happy
for Orpah and Ruth to tag along and preparations are made, they start
out on the journey and Naomi has second thoughts. We can only imagine
what was going through her mind. How could she provide for three
people? What would her friends and family say about the foreign
daughters in law?
Whatever caused it,
Naomi decided to thank the girls and send them back to their people,
their family and their gods. She desires that they will find
substitute husbands but from the people of Moab. From a people
without hope before God. Naomi's decision is from a poor
interpretation of the events and also the purposes of God.
Naomi is not only
guilty of a wrong interpretation she is also guilty of a lack of
trust. She, as we will find out later on in our studies, had a good
understanding of God's law of provision for widows but she could not
trust God for Him to provide for Ruth and Orpah.
Even worse than all
of this is her self pity, now who can blame her for the next
statement?She said to Naomi after Orpah had followed her advice and
left, “it is more bitter for me, than for you, because the Lord's
hand has gone out against me!” She was unthinking towards young
Ruth who had her own griefs to carry and also her loving concern
towards a distraught mother in law! She later wanted to be known as
Mara, meaning bitterness because that is how she felt. In our own
problems of life it is so easy to miss the fact that others are
suffering themselves and need caring for, even by us. She thought
that she had gone away full but was now empty. The reality was that
she and Elimelech went away full of their own plans but empty of
God's directives. Now Naomi is returning empty of her own plans, she
returns desperate and by circumstance with nothing BUT she is full in
God's purpose. Jesus is coming into the situation!
As we saw last week
Naomi derailed in her argument by Ruth's statement. Ruth has become
like Naomi, she has left all that she was and has adhered to Naomi's
people and more importantly to God.
APPLICATION:
What can we learn
from Naomi today? There is an expectation in our country that
happiness is what we should all expect, all of the time. Laughter is
of more value than tears. That sort of mentality has affected the
church and all of us as Christians. When did you last pray for God's
will to be done in difficult days rather than relief from the
problem? There is an insidious theology that is similar to Naomi's
ideal. If only we do the right thing then the blessing will be
measured by our success, whether it be in the church, usually marked
by large numbers, or in our own personal lives, which is marked by
health, wealth and prosperity. The crucible of suffering brings about
pure faith. Richard Wurmbrand said “I don't feel frustrated to have
lost many years in prison, I have seen beautiful things!” If only
Naomi had understood at that moment that she was urging Ruth to leave
that through that very woman she would truly see a beautiful grandson
who would be a descendent of the Lord Jesus! Naomi herself is a
direct descendent of God the Son! That is the greatest blessing known
to man, belonging to the family of God!!!
An amazing woman:
We must not leave
this morning without recognising the qualities of Naomi. We have been
impresses with both Orpah and Ruth's obvious love for Naomi. Even
though she was hurting so deeply, they was her as lovely. Even Orpah
left weeping! It is when Naomi arrives in Bethlehem that we see
something more of her character. The townsfolk clearly loved her. We
will see later that Ruth was admired because of the way that she had
cared for their friend Naomi. The townswomen never refer to her as
Mara, she was always Naomi to them. These are all signs of respect to
this remarkable woman.
When they arrived in
Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred. The equivalent of social media
came into full force! When they see her, they can hardly recognise
who she is. Moab has taken it's toll, the problems of life show in
her very person. She has aged, the pleasant character is masked, but
it is Naomi, and the people of the town are pleased. That again is
evidenced by the following chapters of the book.
We will see in later
chapters that Naomi is a Godly lady who knows the law of God and
lives by the law. She trusted God later on and directed Ruth in the
right way. Ruth even knew that she could rely on God's provision as a
poor person in the land. These things can only have come to her by
Naomi's influence and teaching.
So far from being a
bitter and hopeless believer, who kept her spirituality to herself
Naomi really did, even in impossible circumstances, have a truly
pleasant nature. Her faith was seen through her character. How else
could Ruth so desired to follow the God of Naomi?
APPLICATION:
It is interesting
that God never changed Naomi's name to Mara, to Him she was
Pleasant, she was Naomi and to others they saw that pleasing
character. When we became Christians we were given a name that is
full of meaning. We became sons of God, adopted into His family.
Heirs and co-heirs with Christ and as brothers to Him! The name that
He gives is righteous and made holy. It is summed up as Christ within
or to us Christian. It means that wherever we go and in whatever
circumstance we are Christian! How does that work our?????
There is one other
thing that we need to consider as we conclude our thoughts on Naomi.
Paul tells us in Corinthians that the scripture records the problems
of the past for our benefit. That is true of this whole account of
the experience of Naomi and Ruth. One of the interesting things about
this story is that great store is made concerning names, that is why
we have focussed on the characters. As we are considering Naomi two
bible principles come to my mind, the first being that we will never
be tested beyond what we can cope with. Naomi demonstrates that
perfectly. She must have been some character to have coped with such
dire problems, that at the time of returning to Bethlehem, were not
over. She had widowhood, childlessness and poverty staring her in the
face. But, yet she was an amazing testimony of God's grace, even
though she could not see it for herself.
We are equally
entrusted with our issues of life. How do we cope with them?
The second one is
the point that Paul was making in 1 Corinthians, we can learn from
Naomi.
So what do we learn?
- God allows His people to experience the problems of normal life and death. No room for health, wealth and prosperity types of gospel! We live in the real world as real people but with God as our help and comfort. That is the hope that we need to take to others, as did Naomi.
- Even though we are hurting inside and not handling it that well, the people that we are brushing shoulders with are watching with interest and wondering how we are coping. e.g. Pam's cancer diagnosis. Our bitter spirit is seen as pleasant to outsiders, if we really are true followers of the Lord Jesus Christ.
ARE YOU?
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