1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,820 And read Ruth chapter 1 verses 1 through 13. 2 00:00:04,820 --> 00:00:07,680 "God's word says, 'Now it came about in the 3 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:09,980 days when the judges governed, that there 4 00:00:09,980 --> 00:00:13,310 was a famine in the land, and a certain man of 5 00:00:13,310 --> 00:00:16,140 Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the 6 00:00:16,140 --> 00:00:19,500 land of Moab with his wife and his two sons. 7 00:00:19,500 --> 00:00:22,170 The name of the man was Elimelech, and the 8 00:00:22,170 --> 00:00:25,100 name of his wife, Nomi, and the names of his 9 00:00:25,100 --> 00:00:28,930 two sons were Mahalan and Kilian, Ephrathites 10 00:00:28,930 --> 00:00:31,140 of Bethlehem and Judah. 11 00:00:31,140 --> 00:00:33,840 Now they entered the land of Moab and remained 12 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:34,560 there. 13 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:37,690 Then Elimelech, Nomi's husband, died, and she 14 00:00:37,690 --> 00:00:39,560 was left with her two sons. 15 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:43,130 They took for themselves Moabite women as 16 00:00:43,130 --> 00:00:46,700 wives, and the name of the one was Orpa, and 17 00:00:46,700 --> 00:00:49,500 the name of the other Ruth, and they lived 18 00:00:49,500 --> 00:00:51,280 there about ten years. 19 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:55,170 Then both Mahalan and Kilian also died, and 20 00:00:55,170 --> 00:00:58,600 the woman was bereft of her two children and 21 00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:00,360 her husband. 22 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:02,610 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that 23 00:01:02,610 --> 00:01:04,480 she might return from the land of Moab for 24 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:07,010 she had heard in a land of Moab that the Lord 25 00:01:07,010 --> 00:01:10,620 had visited his people in giving them food. 26 00:01:10,620 --> 00:01:13,400 So she departed from the place where she was 27 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:15,680 and her two daughters-in-law and her, and 28 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:18,800 they went on the way to return to the land of 29 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:19,600 Judah. 30 00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:22,820 Then Nomi said to her two daughters-in-law, " 31 00:01:22,820 --> 00:01:26,160 Go return each of you to her mother's house. 32 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:28,580 May the Lord deal kindly with you as you have 33 00:01:28,580 --> 00:01:30,560 dealt with the dead and with me. 34 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:33,420 May the Lord grant that you may find rest each 35 00:01:33,420 --> 00:01:35,640 in their house of her husband." 36 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:38,140 Then she kissed them and they lifted up their 37 00:01:38,140 --> 00:01:39,320 voices and wept. 38 00:01:39,320 --> 00:01:41,680 And they said to her, "No, but we will surely 39 00:01:41,680 --> 00:01:43,560 return with you to your people." 40 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:45,750 But Nomi said, "Return my daughters, why 41 00:01:45,750 --> 00:01:47,080 should you go with me? 42 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:49,600 If I get sons in my womb that they may be your 43 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:50,480 husbands. 44 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:52,930 Return my daughters, go for I am too old to 45 00:01:52,930 --> 00:01:54,040 have a husband. 46 00:01:54,040 --> 00:01:57,090 If I said I have hope, if I should even have a 47 00:01:57,090 --> 00:01:59,880 husband tonight and also bear sons, would 48 00:01:59,880 --> 00:02:02,360 you therefore wait until they have grown? 49 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:04,480 Would you therefore refrain from marrying? 50 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:06,720 Know my daughters, for it is harder for me 51 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:08,880 than for you, for the hand of the Lord has 52 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:11,120 gone forth against me." 53 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:12,120 Let's pray. 54 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:13,860 Hey, Father, we love you and just thank you 55 00:02:13,860 --> 00:02:15,840 for the wonderful service we've had so far 56 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:18,530 and we do pray that you bless this message to 57 00:02:18,530 --> 00:02:21,080 our hearts and our minds and the message 58 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:24,440 in spite of the messenger in Christ's name. 59 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:25,440 Amen. 60 00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:29,010 When we read Scripture, we have to understand 61 00:02:29,010 --> 00:02:31,630 that the books and the letters that are 62 00:02:31,630 --> 00:02:32,320 recorded 63 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:36,680 in Scripture are works of ancient literature. 64 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:39,800 They're from a different time in culture than 65 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:40,680 we're at. 66 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:43,250 They were written by people who lived in those 67 00:02:43,250 --> 00:02:45,820 different times and that those people thought 68 00:02:45,820 --> 00:02:49,160 in very different ways. 69 00:02:49,160 --> 00:02:51,560 And sometimes, when we read what happens in 70 00:02:51,560 --> 00:02:53,880 Scripture, what was written for us and how 71 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:56,750 it's written, it causes us to scratch our 72 00:02:56,750 --> 00:02:59,680 heads when we look at it from our minds and 73 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:02,910 our cultures and especially in the Old 74 00:03:02,910 --> 00:03:04,200 Testament. 75 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:07,020 For example, if you remember the story of Abr 76 00:03:07,020 --> 00:03:09,720 am who became Abraham and Sarai who became 77 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:13,490 Sarah, God had made a promise to them that 78 00:03:13,490 --> 00:03:17,300 they would give them a son in their old age 79 00:03:17,300 --> 00:03:20,730 and that his family would have the descendants 80 00:03:20,730 --> 00:03:23,820 as many as the stars in the sky and the sand 81 00:03:23,820 --> 00:03:26,260 by the sea. 82 00:03:26,260 --> 00:03:29,350 But God waited and waited to fulfill that 83 00:03:29,350 --> 00:03:31,780 promise and he kept waiting. 84 00:03:31,780 --> 00:03:35,040 And so in their own works, in their own mind, 85 00:03:35,040 --> 00:03:38,410 they were going to try to speed up the process 86 00:03:38,410 --> 00:03:38,500 . 87 00:03:38,500 --> 00:03:42,330 So Sarai does something that I don't think any 88 00:03:42,330 --> 00:03:44,440 modern wife would do. 89 00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:48,420 They gave Abram her maid servant, Hagar, so 90 00:03:48,420 --> 00:03:51,320 that he could marry her as well and have a 91 00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:55,080 baby with Hagar, her maid servant. 92 00:03:55,080 --> 00:03:58,160 And this was a common practice at the time 93 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:01,920 when couples were dealing with infertility. 94 00:04:01,920 --> 00:04:04,340 It wasn't just that happened with Abram and 95 00:04:04,340 --> 00:04:04,960 Sarai. 96 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:08,000 So this made complete sense in their mind. 97 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:10,440 And Sarai was happy to do it until she had 98 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:13,060 Isaac and then she got a little bitter. 99 00:04:13,060 --> 00:04:17,270 But it was a completely valid way to handle 100 00:04:17,270 --> 00:04:21,420 the problem of infertility at the time. 101 00:04:21,420 --> 00:04:23,990 Even though to us, it doesn't make any sense 102 00:04:23,990 --> 00:04:26,540 and it's kind of offensive and kind of crazy 103 00:04:26,540 --> 00:04:28,340 for us to think that way. 104 00:04:28,340 --> 00:04:31,340 But we as Christians, studying this ancient 105 00:04:31,340 --> 00:04:34,340 book, we need to be students of some of these 106 00:04:34,340 --> 00:04:37,720 ancient Near Eastern manners and cultures. 107 00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:40,590 If we're going to interpret scripture, and 108 00:04:40,590 --> 00:04:43,280 when we do this all the time, if you look 109 00:04:43,280 --> 00:04:46,770 back at the past 15 years of preaching behind 110 00:04:46,770 --> 00:04:49,840 this pulpit from Philip and me, as he goes 111 00:04:49,840 --> 00:04:53,160 through the New Testament, there's always a 112 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:56,100 lot to explain about what was happening 113 00:04:56,100 --> 00:04:58,490 at the time and what the history said and what 114 00:04:58,490 --> 00:05:00,880 was the government situation, the political 115 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:03,120 situation and the religious situation. 116 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:07,320 Why the Pharisees acted the way they did. 117 00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:10,190 And so little by little, we're all being 118 00:05:10,190 --> 00:05:13,070 schooled as experts in heavy historical 119 00:05:13,070 --> 00:05:15,900 ancient knowledge. 120 00:05:15,900 --> 00:05:19,760 And this is all for a reason, not just to lift 121 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:23,100 up our intellects and make us experts 122 00:05:23,100 --> 00:05:24,900 in history. 123 00:05:24,900 --> 00:05:29,130 But God decided to reveal himself in history 124 00:05:29,130 --> 00:05:33,460 through men in certain cultures and certain 125 00:05:33,460 --> 00:05:34,460 times. 126 00:05:34,460 --> 00:05:37,930 He revealed himself and his will in the Bible 127 00:05:37,930 --> 00:05:39,980 in ancient history for us. 128 00:05:39,980 --> 00:05:43,190 So in order for us to understand and interpret 129 00:05:43,190 --> 00:05:46,660 his will and what he's written down, we learn 130 00:05:46,660 --> 00:05:48,980 about their culture. 131 00:05:48,980 --> 00:05:52,240 And this comes into play for our subject today 132 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:53,840 in the book of Ruth. 133 00:05:53,840 --> 00:05:56,060 The book of Ruth is full of these ancient 134 00:05:56,060 --> 00:05:58,480 customs that are very different from the 135 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:01,460 way that we understand how families work and 136 00:06:01,460 --> 00:06:03,140 how life should work. 137 00:06:03,140 --> 00:06:05,690 And we can get a glimpse into what God has 138 00:06:05,690 --> 00:06:08,000 written for us in the book of Ruth and 139 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:08,940 understand 140 00:06:08,940 --> 00:06:11,100 how to apply it to our lives. 141 00:06:11,100 --> 00:06:13,690 We get to learn about some of these ancient 142 00:06:13,690 --> 00:06:16,460 cultural things that are very different, like 143 00:06:16,460 --> 00:06:20,730 brother-in-law marriage duty, like sandal 144 00:06:20,730 --> 00:06:24,960 contracts, and like kinsman redeemers. 145 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:27,620 And all these things and more in the book of 146 00:06:27,620 --> 00:06:30,080 Ruth, we get to learn about those things 147 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:33,500 so that we can understand what God has given 148 00:06:33,500 --> 00:06:36,800 to us in Scripture, what he's revealed to 149 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:38,040 us. 150 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:40,940 And no matter how different the things that 151 00:06:40,940 --> 00:06:44,680 these ancient peoples would do, they're still 152 00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:48,190 people and they still act and respond in ways 153 00:06:48,190 --> 00:06:51,620 that are very familiar to us, even though 154 00:06:51,620 --> 00:06:54,460 they do it through these different cultural 155 00:06:54,460 --> 00:06:55,300 artifacts. 156 00:06:55,300 --> 00:06:58,520 And so the Scripture written in this ancient 157 00:06:58,520 --> 00:07:01,660 period is still directly applicable to us 158 00:07:01,660 --> 00:07:02,940 and to our lives. 159 00:07:02,940 --> 00:07:05,430 And because it is Scripture, it's important 160 00:07:05,430 --> 00:07:07,940 for us to learn these things and to interpret 161 00:07:07,940 --> 00:07:10,780 it correctly so we don't skip over them and 162 00:07:10,780 --> 00:07:13,580 skip over the blessings and the truths that 163 00:07:13,580 --> 00:07:17,510 are available to us, even in the Old Testament 164 00:07:17,510 --> 00:07:20,960 , ancient history of a book like Ruth. 165 00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:24,050 So we strive to be experts in these things, 166 00:07:24,050 --> 00:07:26,840 and you may not understand this for us, 167 00:07:26,840 --> 00:07:27,720 especially 168 00:07:27,720 --> 00:07:29,500 those of us who have been Christians for a 169 00:07:29,500 --> 00:07:31,800 while and have been going to church for a 170 00:07:31,800 --> 00:07:32,800 while. 171 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:35,250 Our understanding of these things is much 172 00:07:35,250 --> 00:07:37,400 greater than the average person. 173 00:07:37,400 --> 00:07:39,780 We're becoming experts in ancient history and 174 00:07:39,780 --> 00:07:42,200 ancient literature, specifically because 175 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:45,940 the Bible is ancient history and ancient 176 00:07:45,940 --> 00:07:47,420 literature. 177 00:07:47,420 --> 00:07:51,500 So as we look at our passage today, we see 178 00:07:51,500 --> 00:07:55,500 that Ruth is a short story about this one 179 00:07:55,500 --> 00:07:58,480 family that lived in the time between the 180 00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:01,780 Hebrew people taking the Promised Land and 181 00:08:01,780 --> 00:08:05,980 Joshua, and before the Hebrew people were 182 00:08:05,980 --> 00:08:10,020 given a king in King Saul, it was the time 183 00:08:10,020 --> 00:08:11,020 of the judges. 184 00:08:11,020 --> 00:08:13,960 That's what verse 1 says, "Now it came about 185 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:16,520 in the days when the judges governed that 186 00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:19,080 there was a famine in the land. 187 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:22,120 In those days, there was no king that ruled 188 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:24,040 over the Hebrew people. 189 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:27,140 There was a federated government of families 190 00:08:27,140 --> 00:08:30,320 and then clans and then the 12 tribes, as 191 00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:32,970 we heard in Sunday school this morning, which 192 00:08:32,970 --> 00:08:35,120 Levi was one of them, and the Coalites was 193 00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:38,960 one of the clans of the tribe of Levi. 194 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:43,090 And these tribes and clans and families were 195 00:08:43,090 --> 00:08:46,720 given God's law by Moses as they came out 196 00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:49,580 from slavery in Egypt to obey. 197 00:08:49,580 --> 00:08:52,060 They were God's covenant people. 198 00:08:52,060 --> 00:08:55,080 And God in the covenant promised that if they 199 00:08:55,080 --> 00:08:57,920 were to follow those laws given by Moses, 200 00:08:57,920 --> 00:08:59,340 that he would bless them. 201 00:08:59,340 --> 00:09:01,890 And if they were to ignore and to disobey the 202 00:09:01,890 --> 00:09:04,860 laws that God gave them, that he would curse 203 00:09:04,860 --> 00:09:05,860 them. 204 00:09:05,860 --> 00:09:09,700 In Deuteronomy 28, verse 15, it says, "But it 205 00:09:09,700 --> 00:09:12,280 shall come about if you do not obey the 206 00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:14,910 Lord, your God, to observe to do all his 207 00:09:14,910 --> 00:09:17,700 commandments and his statutes with which I 208 00:09:17,700 --> 00:09:19,400 charge you today 209 00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:22,870 that all these curses will come upon you and 210 00:09:22,870 --> 00:09:23,880 overtake you." 211 00:09:23,880 --> 00:09:26,500 And he gives a list of a bunch of different 212 00:09:26,500 --> 00:09:29,520 curses and one of them in verse 17 of chapter 213 00:09:29,520 --> 00:09:34,090 28 of Deuteronomy says, "Curses shall be your 214 00:09:34,090 --> 00:09:37,320 basket and your kneading bowl." 215 00:09:37,320 --> 00:09:40,420 And so one of the curses was a curse of famine 216 00:09:40,420 --> 00:09:43,520 , which is what the people in Israel were 217 00:09:43,520 --> 00:09:44,480 experiencing 218 00:09:44,480 --> 00:09:46,060 at this time. 219 00:09:46,060 --> 00:09:49,230 And so the book of Judges goes through what's 220 00:09:49,230 --> 00:09:51,980 called the cycle, a Judges cycle. 221 00:09:51,980 --> 00:09:53,940 The first thing that would happen was the 222 00:09:53,940 --> 00:09:56,060 people would start disobeying the law and 223 00:09:56,060 --> 00:09:58,550 they would do evil and they would worship the 224 00:09:58,550 --> 00:10:01,040 idols of the people around them, the Canaan 225 00:10:01,040 --> 00:10:01,400 ites 226 00:10:01,400 --> 00:10:03,000 and countries around them. 227 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:05,120 And then God would curse them like with a 228 00:10:05,120 --> 00:10:07,720 famine or with the Philistines taking over and 229 00:10:07,720 --> 00:10:07,960 they 230 00:10:07,960 --> 00:10:10,690 would be under enslavement to those around 231 00:10:10,690 --> 00:10:11,280 them. 232 00:10:11,280 --> 00:10:13,830 And then it would get so bad that the Hebrew 233 00:10:13,830 --> 00:10:16,580 people would cry out to God and then God would 234 00:10:16,580 --> 00:10:19,280 hear them and have mercy on them usually in 235 00:10:19,280 --> 00:10:21,960 the form of taking off the curse, like off 236 00:10:21,960 --> 00:10:24,600 the curse of a famine or sending a judge to 237 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:27,090 rescue them from the other nation that 238 00:10:27,090 --> 00:10:27,860 enslaved 239 00:10:27,860 --> 00:10:28,860 them. 240 00:10:28,860 --> 00:10:30,800 And then you would rinse and repeat and it 241 00:10:30,800 --> 00:10:32,580 would happen over and over again. 242 00:10:32,580 --> 00:10:34,560 As you read the book of Judges, you see that 243 00:10:34,560 --> 00:10:36,620 it over and over again, the people would fall 244 00:10:36,620 --> 00:10:39,390 into the sin of disobedience and then God 245 00:10:39,390 --> 00:10:40,940 would rescue them. 246 00:10:40,940 --> 00:10:43,780 But God during all this time was faithful to 247 00:10:43,780 --> 00:10:46,380 them to the promises that he made to the 248 00:10:46,380 --> 00:10:50,200 nation of Israel and he kept all of his 249 00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:54,950 promises in spite of the Jews' lack of keeping 250 00:10:54,950 --> 00:10:55,120 their 251 00:10:55,120 --> 00:10:57,560 end of the covenant up. 252 00:10:57,560 --> 00:11:00,620 Even though they repeatedly failed to keep his 253 00:11:00,620 --> 00:11:02,880 law, God remained faithful to them and 254 00:11:02,880 --> 00:11:05,580 they would keep failing and rinse and repeat 255 00:11:05,580 --> 00:11:08,200 as we said over and over and over again, like 256 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:11,630 the last verse of Judges says, chapter 21, 25 257 00:11:11,630 --> 00:11:14,040 says, "In those days there was no king 258 00:11:14,040 --> 00:11:17,690 in Israel, everyone did what was right in his 259 00:11:17,690 --> 00:11:20,620 own eyes and over and over again." 260 00:11:20,620 --> 00:11:23,420 And it's kind of familiar to us. 261 00:11:23,420 --> 00:11:25,840 We may not be under the same covenant as they 262 00:11:25,840 --> 00:11:28,420 were, but we still experience the failing 263 00:11:28,420 --> 00:11:31,390 over and over again and his mercy and his 264 00:11:31,390 --> 00:11:33,180 faithfulness to us. 265 00:11:33,180 --> 00:11:36,880 So here we find ourselves in the middle of one 266 00:11:36,880 --> 00:11:40,340 of these judge cycles where the Israelite 267 00:11:40,340 --> 00:11:43,080 people have failed to keep God's laws and 268 00:11:43,080 --> 00:11:45,880 started worshiping other gods and God was 269 00:11:45,880 --> 00:11:48,620 punishing them with a famine. 270 00:11:48,620 --> 00:11:51,700 So here we have the family of Limelech and 271 00:11:51,700 --> 00:11:54,840 Naomi and the repercussions that they are 272 00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:58,350 feeling from the punishment of God around them 273 00:11:58,350 --> 00:12:00,720 , specifically the famine. 274 00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:03,670 And I want you to, as we go through this, to 275 00:12:03,670 --> 00:12:06,880 always remember that we get the opportunity 276 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:08,820 of reading the whole book of Ruth, if we want 277 00:12:08,820 --> 00:12:09,180 to. 278 00:12:09,180 --> 00:12:12,470 It only takes about 25, 30 minutes to casually 279 00:12:12,470 --> 00:12:14,580 read through the four chapters. 280 00:12:14,580 --> 00:12:18,300 So we can see the beginning and the middle and 281 00:12:18,300 --> 00:12:19,060 the end. 282 00:12:19,060 --> 00:12:22,270 But Limelech and Naomi were living in the 283 00:12:22,270 --> 00:12:23,580 middle of it. 284 00:12:23,580 --> 00:12:24,940 They didn't know the end. 285 00:12:24,940 --> 00:12:27,480 They were experiencing the suffering that the 286 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:29,740 famine was bringing, the starvation that 287 00:12:29,740 --> 00:12:34,660 was all around them, live in real time. 288 00:12:34,660 --> 00:12:37,620 And we can see that the story of Ruth wraps up 289 00:12:37,620 --> 00:12:40,600 in major blessings for them, and not just 290 00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:43,610 on their particular family, but on the whole 291 00:12:43,610 --> 00:12:45,000 nation of Israel. 292 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:48,370 And eventually the blessings that Ruth and 293 00:12:48,370 --> 00:12:51,720 Naomi, all that was left, as we'll see, 294 00:12:51,720 --> 00:12:52,440 received 295 00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:56,840 would eventually bless us in Jesus Christ. 296 00:12:56,840 --> 00:12:59,700 But they had to go through this moment by 297 00:12:59,700 --> 00:13:02,470 moment and day by day and respond to the 298 00:13:02,470 --> 00:13:03,440 situations 299 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:05,880 that were happening around them and the prov 300 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:08,450 idence of God that was around them, with their 301 00:13:08,450 --> 00:13:09,020 lives, 302 00:13:09,020 --> 00:13:11,580 with their decisions, with their actions. 303 00:13:11,580 --> 00:13:14,520 And that's very important for us to grasp as 304 00:13:14,520 --> 00:13:17,620 we look at this family, that they weren't, 305 00:13:17,620 --> 00:13:20,300 they didn't know the beginning from the end 306 00:13:20,300 --> 00:13:22,220 and the end from the beginning. 307 00:13:22,220 --> 00:13:25,560 You see that when we see God working through 308 00:13:25,560 --> 00:13:28,820 the lives of this one family, that we can 309 00:13:28,820 --> 00:13:31,660 directly apply this to how God works in us. 310 00:13:31,660 --> 00:13:34,490 We know the end, we just don't know how we're 311 00:13:34,490 --> 00:13:35,960 going to get there. 312 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:38,120 We don't know all the moment by moment, day by 313 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:39,800 day, that's going to happen. 314 00:13:39,800 --> 00:13:42,190 And we don't know how God is going to work 315 00:13:42,190 --> 00:13:44,960 some of the situations of suffering that we 316 00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:45,960 face out. 317 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:48,450 But we can apply the same faith that 318 00:13:48,450 --> 00:13:51,550 especially Ruth had, as we'll see, to our 319 00:13:51,550 --> 00:13:52,340 lives, into 320 00:13:52,340 --> 00:13:55,430 the suffering and trials and tribulations that 321 00:13:55,430 --> 00:13:56,160 we have. 322 00:13:56,160 --> 00:14:00,450 And one of the main reasons why Ruth is even 323 00:14:00,450 --> 00:14:04,620 in Scripture, and as a short story about this 324 00:14:04,620 --> 00:14:08,450 one seemingly insignificant family and their 325 00:14:08,450 --> 00:14:11,800 struggles in this middle of this cycle of 326 00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:15,210 pain and hardship, is to show us that God is 327 00:14:15,210 --> 00:14:18,400 always in control and that even though we 328 00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:21,820 can't see it, His sovereignty is working out 329 00:14:21,820 --> 00:14:25,280 through providence in every single person's 330 00:14:25,280 --> 00:14:28,700 life for His purposes, and that His purposes 331 00:14:28,700 --> 00:14:31,600 are good as you see, as you go to the end 332 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:33,080 of the book. 333 00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:36,510 So the old-timers separate God's providence 334 00:14:36,510 --> 00:14:40,080 into two different categories, His sweet and 335 00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:44,150 good providence and His dark and bitter prov 336 00:14:44,150 --> 00:14:45,280 idences. 337 00:14:45,280 --> 00:14:49,580 But no matter which category His providences 338 00:14:49,580 --> 00:14:54,080 go into, we know and understand and have faith 339 00:14:54,080 --> 00:14:57,040 that the good and the light sweet providence 340 00:14:57,040 --> 00:14:59,840 and the dark and the bitter providence is 341 00:14:59,840 --> 00:15:02,240 never without purpose. 342 00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:04,560 God doesn't do anything on accident. 343 00:15:04,560 --> 00:15:06,420 He doesn't do anything for nothing for no 344 00:15:06,420 --> 00:15:06,960 reason. 345 00:15:06,960 --> 00:15:11,480 He's not whimsical and making it up as He goes 346 00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:11,920 . 347 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:14,850 Proverbs tells us in chapter 19 verse 21, "M 348 00:15:14,850 --> 00:15:17,560 any plans are in a man's heart, but the counsel 349 00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:19,520 of the Lord will stand." 350 00:15:19,520 --> 00:15:22,500 He knows the beginning from the end and He's 351 00:15:22,500 --> 00:15:25,860 planned it all out on purpose, the sweet prov 352 00:15:25,860 --> 00:15:26,520 idence 353 00:15:26,520 --> 00:15:29,160 and the bitter providence. 354 00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:31,750 And we can look at the life of Limelech and 355 00:15:31,750 --> 00:15:34,760 Naomi, and I can promise you that they didn't 356 00:15:34,760 --> 00:15:37,740 have any inkling about the plans that God was 357 00:15:37,740 --> 00:15:40,400 working out in their lives and how it would 358 00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:42,850 work out for them, but God from the very 359 00:15:42,850 --> 00:15:45,780 beginning, before the foundation of the word 360 00:15:45,780 --> 00:15:46,440 world, knew 361 00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:48,640 exactly what He was doing. 362 00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:51,830 He took them from fullness to emptiness and 363 00:15:51,830 --> 00:15:54,560 then back to fullness again, and God's hand 364 00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:57,040 was working everything out so that His 365 00:15:57,040 --> 00:16:00,090 purposes through this one little family would 366 00:16:00,090 --> 00:16:01,000 have effects 367 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:04,910 that would ripple all throughout history, all 368 00:16:04,910 --> 00:16:08,160 the way to eternity and even to our lives. 369 00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:10,500 God works through these sweet and bitter prov 370 00:16:10,500 --> 00:16:12,780 idences in the lives of His people, but like 371 00:16:12,780 --> 00:16:13,440 the words 372 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:15,780 of the great hymn that we sing sometimes teach 373 00:16:15,780 --> 00:16:18,240 us, that we should look beyond the immediate 374 00:16:18,240 --> 00:16:22,210 pain of the trials and sufferings and see God 375 00:16:22,210 --> 00:16:24,000 's smiling face. 376 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:27,270 Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust 377 00:16:27,270 --> 00:16:28,800 Him for His grace. 378 00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:31,980 Behind a frowning providence, He hides a 379 00:16:31,980 --> 00:16:33,320 smiling face. 380 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:35,860 And those words are so very important, and 381 00:16:35,860 --> 00:16:38,240 that is what the book of Ruth is trying to 382 00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:41,840 teach us, especially that every single one of 383 00:16:41,840 --> 00:16:44,860 us must trust God's working even through 384 00:16:44,860 --> 00:16:48,590 His bitter and dark providences, because He's 385 00:16:48,590 --> 00:16:52,280 at work through the bitter providence around 386 00:16:52,280 --> 00:16:56,430 us all the time, verses 1 and 2 say this, "Now 387 00:16:56,430 --> 00:16:58,680 it came about in the days when the judges 388 00:16:58,680 --> 00:17:01,690 governed that there was a famine in the land, 389 00:17:01,690 --> 00:17:04,360 and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went 390 00:17:04,360 --> 00:17:07,160 to sojourn in the land of Moab with his wife 391 00:17:07,160 --> 00:17:08,460 and his two sons. 392 00:17:08,460 --> 00:17:10,660 The name of the man was a Limelech, and the 393 00:17:10,660 --> 00:17:13,080 name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his 394 00:17:13,080 --> 00:17:16,680 two sons were Mahalon and Kilian, Ephrathites 395 00:17:16,680 --> 00:17:18,760 and Bethlehem and Judah. 396 00:17:18,760 --> 00:17:21,870 Now they entered the land of Moab and remained 397 00:17:21,870 --> 00:17:22,640 there." 398 00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:25,370 As we have seen in the introduction that our 399 00:17:25,370 --> 00:17:27,960 story has happening during the time of the 400 00:17:27,960 --> 00:17:31,040 Judges, and in that part of that Judges cycle 401 00:17:31,040 --> 00:17:34,000 where God is punishing the people through 402 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:35,960 famine. 403 00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:38,780 So the Israelites were lived, they were given 404 00:17:38,780 --> 00:17:41,560 a land that used to be occupied by worshipers 405 00:17:41,560 --> 00:17:44,890 of false gods, in particular the false god 406 00:17:44,890 --> 00:17:47,880 that they mainly worshiped was a god they 407 00:17:47,880 --> 00:17:52,120 called Baal, or we sometimes say Baal. 408 00:17:52,120 --> 00:17:55,120 Baal was supposed to be the god of storms. 409 00:17:55,120 --> 00:17:57,620 He was the one that would bring rain, and rain 410 00:17:57,620 --> 00:17:59,840 was very important to an agricultural 411 00:17:59,840 --> 00:18:01,200 society. 412 00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:03,170 Without rain you would have no crops, and 413 00:18:03,170 --> 00:18:05,120 without crops you wouldn't have food. 414 00:18:05,120 --> 00:18:07,270 So Baal was the god of fertility, the 415 00:18:07,270 --> 00:18:09,990 fertility of the crops, the fertility of your 416 00:18:09,990 --> 00:18:10,680 animals, 417 00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:14,040 and the fertility of the people. 418 00:18:14,040 --> 00:18:17,270 So in order for there to be rain and fertility 419 00:18:17,270 --> 00:18:20,840 , what the idolaters would do is they believed 420 00:18:20,840 --> 00:18:24,570 that when Baal himself, I'm trying to make 421 00:18:24,570 --> 00:18:28,210 this PG-rated, would perform the act of 422 00:18:28,210 --> 00:18:29,040 marriage 423 00:18:29,040 --> 00:18:32,150 with other female gods, then it would rain, 424 00:18:32,150 --> 00:18:35,240 and then it would have fertility of crops, 425 00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:37,600 and then it would have fertility of animals, 426 00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:39,800 and then your family would have babies as 427 00:18:39,800 --> 00:18:40,960 well. 428 00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:44,050 But the thing about Baal was that sometimes he 429 00:18:44,050 --> 00:18:46,720 would just forget to perform the act that 430 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:48,640 needed to happen for fertility. 431 00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:50,640 So he needed to be reminded. 432 00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:53,390 And so what they would do in order to bring 433 00:18:53,390 --> 00:18:56,400 rain and fertility, they would go up on the 434 00:18:56,400 --> 00:18:59,090 top of a flat hill because it would be closer 435 00:18:59,090 --> 00:19:01,520 to the sky where Baal was, and he would be 436 00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:04,820 able to see them, and they would perform the 437 00:19:04,820 --> 00:19:08,000 act with priests and priestesses on top of 438 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:11,830 the hill to remind him to bring fertility to 439 00:19:11,830 --> 00:19:12,920 the land. 440 00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:15,620 And I know that it's graphic and disgusting 441 00:19:15,620 --> 00:19:18,160 for us to think about this, and it kind of 442 00:19:18,160 --> 00:19:20,900 gives us a little check because it's so 443 00:19:20,900 --> 00:19:24,520 foreign to our culture and our consciousness. 444 00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:27,120 But that is a blessing from God that it is 445 00:19:27,120 --> 00:19:28,760 that way for us, right? 446 00:19:28,760 --> 00:19:32,430 That is the norm throughout history is for 447 00:19:32,430 --> 00:19:36,400 these weird and pagan ceremonies and things 448 00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:39,970 that happen to please the God, and for us to 449 00:19:39,970 --> 00:19:43,760 feel that repulsion from this is a blessing, 450 00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:46,720 is a grace for us as human beings. 451 00:19:46,720 --> 00:19:50,640 To praise God that it's kind of ick because 452 00:19:50,640 --> 00:19:54,880 that was completely normal to the Mesopotamian 453 00:19:54,880 --> 00:19:55,880 people. 454 00:19:55,880 --> 00:19:57,760 They looked at what was going on and said, " 455 00:19:57,760 --> 00:19:59,760 Yes, this is how we're going to get rain. 456 00:19:59,760 --> 00:20:02,480 We're going to go top of this hill." 457 00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:05,150 They called it, or scholars call it, "im 458 00:20:05,150 --> 00:20:07,990 itative magic," and it wasn't just this one 459 00:20:07,990 --> 00:20:08,480 thing 460 00:20:08,480 --> 00:20:10,480 that they did, but if they wanted another God 461 00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:12,240 to do something, they had a ritual for 462 00:20:12,240 --> 00:20:13,240 that, too. 463 00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:14,240 That was to remind him. 464 00:20:14,240 --> 00:20:16,590 Elijah, on the top of the mountain with the 465 00:20:16,590 --> 00:20:19,600 450 prophets of Baal, he said, "Maybe he's 466 00:20:19,600 --> 00:20:20,600 sleeping. 467 00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:21,760 Maybe he's in the bathroom. 468 00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:23,780 Maybe you just need to get a little louder and 469 00:20:23,780 --> 00:20:24,920 cut yourself more." 470 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:25,920 That's what they were doing. 471 00:20:25,920 --> 00:20:29,000 They were trying to wake up Baal to get them 472 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:30,500 to do their will. 473 00:20:30,500 --> 00:20:33,440 Yahweh didn't need that to happen. 474 00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:37,270 He didn't need some ritual of imitative magic 475 00:20:37,270 --> 00:20:40,880 to remind him to keep his end of the covenant, 476 00:20:40,880 --> 00:20:42,880 to bless his people. 477 00:20:42,880 --> 00:20:45,120 The people needed to be reminded of his 478 00:20:45,120 --> 00:20:48,040 faithfulness and their lack of faithfulness. 479 00:20:48,040 --> 00:20:50,580 The people needed to be reminded that God 480 00:20:50,580 --> 00:20:53,600 always keeps his promises, that the fertility 481 00:20:53,600 --> 00:20:56,490 of the land and the prosperity of his people 482 00:20:56,490 --> 00:20:59,480 rested on the eternal covenant that God had 483 00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:01,760 made with him and their obedience to that 484 00:21:01,760 --> 00:21:04,360 covenant, like he said from the beginning, 485 00:21:04,360 --> 00:21:08,880 the establishment of the nation of Israel. 486 00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:11,920 We saw in Deuteronomy that he would curse them 487 00:21:11,920 --> 00:21:14,520 for disobeying the law, but that was 488 00:21:14,520 --> 00:21:15,600 the second part. 489 00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:18,860 The beginning of chapter 28 talks about the 490 00:21:18,860 --> 00:21:21,480 blessings that he would give them. 491 00:21:21,480 --> 00:21:24,490 Deuteronomy 28 1 says, "Now it shall be, if 492 00:21:24,490 --> 00:21:26,840 you diligently obey the Lord your God, 493 00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:29,120 being careful to do all his commandments, 494 00:21:29,120 --> 00:21:31,120 which I command you today, the Lord your 495 00:21:31,120 --> 00:21:33,810 God will set you high above all the nations of 496 00:21:33,810 --> 00:21:34,640 the earth. 497 00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:36,710 All these blessings will come upon you and 498 00:21:36,710 --> 00:21:39,560 overtake you if you obey the Lord your God. 499 00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:43,070 Blessed shall you be in the city and blessed 500 00:21:43,070 --> 00:21:45,600 shall you be in the country. 501 00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:47,490 Blessed shall be the offspring of your body 502 00:21:47,490 --> 00:21:49,130 and the produce of your ground and the 503 00:21:49,130 --> 00:21:49,680 offspring 504 00:21:49,680 --> 00:21:51,800 of your beast, the increase of your herd and 505 00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:53,240 the young of your flock." 506 00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:56,350 All those fertility rituals that they relied 507 00:21:56,350 --> 00:21:59,280 on the false God by all to do, God promised 508 00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:01,770 them that he would do all those things if they 509 00:22:01,770 --> 00:22:02,840 keep his laws. 510 00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:05,380 Verse 5, "Blessed shall be your basket and 511 00:22:05,380 --> 00:22:06,760 your kneading bowl. 512 00:22:06,760 --> 00:22:09,570 Blessed shall you be when you come in, and 513 00:22:09,570 --> 00:22:12,240 blessed shall you be when you go on." 514 00:22:12,240 --> 00:22:16,520 The list goes on and on as you read chapter 28 515 00:22:16,520 --> 00:22:16,640 . 516 00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:19,260 The problem wasn't that God would forget the 517 00:22:19,260 --> 00:22:20,480 blessed people. 518 00:22:20,480 --> 00:22:25,000 The problem was that they had a lack of faith 519 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:29,240 in God and they showed this lack of faith 520 00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:32,270 by worshiping the idols of the nation around 521 00:22:32,270 --> 00:22:35,240 them, by worshiping by all who would just 522 00:22:35,240 --> 00:22:38,410 forget to bring fertility to the land by the 523 00:22:38,410 --> 00:22:40,760 little humans who worshiped him. 524 00:22:40,760 --> 00:22:43,910 But the lack of faith was with God's people 525 00:22:43,910 --> 00:22:46,560 and here that's where we relate. 526 00:22:46,560 --> 00:22:49,330 We don't have the same kind of false gods and 527 00:22:49,330 --> 00:22:51,960 idols that the ancient peoples did. 528 00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:57,330 We have our own idols today of different sorts 529 00:22:57,330 --> 00:22:57,800 . 530 00:22:57,800 --> 00:23:00,360 How many of our fellow citizens worship the 531 00:23:00,360 --> 00:23:02,920 state and think that their blessing and the 532 00:23:02,920 --> 00:23:06,030 happiness and satisfaction in this life comes 533 00:23:06,030 --> 00:23:08,600 from the state doing what they want. 534 00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:11,760 The state is the bringer of fertility and 535 00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:13,280 prosperity to us. 536 00:23:13,280 --> 00:23:15,050 If we just vote for the right person, if we 537 00:23:15,050 --> 00:23:17,040 convince enough people to vote for the right 538 00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:20,510 person, then that will usher in prosperity for 539 00:23:20,510 --> 00:23:23,760 our nation and morality for our nation. 540 00:23:23,760 --> 00:23:25,670 We should vote for the right people and we 541 00:23:25,670 --> 00:23:27,680 should encourage other people to vote for 542 00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:31,080 the right person. 543 00:23:31,080 --> 00:23:34,890 That is not the way that true prosperity comes 544 00:23:34,890 --> 00:23:37,800 to a nation by bending the knee to a 545 00:23:37,800 --> 00:23:38,760 politician. 546 00:23:38,760 --> 00:23:41,470 True prosperity comes to a nation by bending 547 00:23:41,470 --> 00:23:44,000 the knee to the God of the universe and his 548 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:47,990 son through the regeneration of the heart by 549 00:23:47,990 --> 00:23:49,680 the Holy Spirit. 550 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:52,930 You took the people of today, including many 551 00:23:52,930 --> 00:23:55,920 who go to churches in our land and you plop 552 00:23:55,920 --> 00:23:58,820 them into the ancient Israel in the time of O 553 00:23:58,820 --> 00:24:01,920 limelak and Naomi, that they would be right 554 00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:04,810 there on top of those hills worshiping with 555 00:24:04,810 --> 00:24:08,040 the Canaanites just like the Jews of the time 556 00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:09,400 were. 557 00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:12,680 And so because of their unfaithfulness, God 558 00:24:12,680 --> 00:24:16,040 was punishing the Israelites with famine. 559 00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:19,940 So our text takes a microscope and looks at 560 00:24:19,940 --> 00:24:23,840 one family out of the thousands that were 561 00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:27,720 affected directly by this famine in Olimelak 562 00:24:27,720 --> 00:24:30,480 and Naomi and their two sons. 563 00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:32,360 But notice where they're from. 564 00:24:32,360 --> 00:24:36,870 Verse one says they're from Bethlehem of Afr 565 00:24:36,870 --> 00:24:37,240 atha. 566 00:24:37,240 --> 00:24:40,800 Does that sound familiar to you? 567 00:24:40,800 --> 00:24:44,120 You recognize which Bethlehem that was? 568 00:24:44,120 --> 00:24:47,330 That was the home of David and David's most 569 00:24:47,330 --> 00:24:50,680 important descendant, Jesus Christ. 570 00:24:50,680 --> 00:24:53,980 Olimelak, looking for food for his family, up 571 00:24:53,980 --> 00:24:56,600 roots them out of Judah and moves them to 572 00:24:56,600 --> 00:24:59,240 the country of Moab. 573 00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:02,150 So the hand of God brought famine, a bitter 574 00:25:02,150 --> 00:25:05,320 providence, and from the later description 575 00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:08,300 of Naomi and how her faith was followed by 576 00:25:08,300 --> 00:25:11,000 Ruth, it appears that Olimelak and Naomi and 577 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:14,280 their two sons were followers of Yahweh. 578 00:25:14,280 --> 00:25:16,600 But so they were dealing with the effects of 579 00:25:16,600 --> 00:25:18,800 God's punishment and providence on the 580 00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:21,460 nation around them because of the unfaithful 581 00:25:21,460 --> 00:25:23,930 Hebrews of their time, but the bitter prov 582 00:25:23,930 --> 00:25:24,260 idence 583 00:25:24,260 --> 00:25:28,630 that God was putting out on the whole nation 584 00:25:28,630 --> 00:25:33,480 affected them and their family themselves. 585 00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:36,530 But that bitter providence would be used by 586 00:25:36,530 --> 00:25:39,840 God in great ways, even through the struggle 587 00:25:39,840 --> 00:25:43,080 and trials of the life of this family. 588 00:25:43,080 --> 00:25:46,310 So if you put yourself into their shoes and 589 00:25:46,310 --> 00:25:49,800 forced to leave your home and move to another 590 00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:52,670 country because of starvation and the famine 591 00:25:52,670 --> 00:25:55,400 around you and having to completely start 592 00:25:55,400 --> 00:25:58,430 your life over, eventually God's provident 593 00:25:58,430 --> 00:26:00,990 would make sense to those that were left 594 00:26:00,990 --> 00:26:01,400 remaining 595 00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:04,370 alive, but it wasn't finished with the empt 596 00:26:04,370 --> 00:26:05,560 ying part yet. 597 00:26:05,560 --> 00:26:08,130 This wasn't the end of it, just them having to 598 00:26:08,130 --> 00:26:09,960 move because of the famine. 599 00:26:09,960 --> 00:26:12,340 For Naomi that the bitter providence was 600 00:26:12,340 --> 00:26:15,230 happening around her, it was also happening to 601 00:26:15,230 --> 00:26:15,640 her in 602 00:26:15,640 --> 00:26:17,120 her own life. 603 00:26:17,120 --> 00:26:19,990 Verse number three says then Olimelak Naomi's 604 00:26:19,990 --> 00:26:22,600 husband died and she was left with her two 605 00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:23,600 sons. 606 00:26:23,600 --> 00:26:25,590 They took for themselves Moabite women as 607 00:26:25,590 --> 00:26:26,120 wives. 608 00:26:26,120 --> 00:26:28,240 The name of the one was Orpah and the name of 609 00:26:28,240 --> 00:26:30,440 the other Ruth, and they lived there for 610 00:26:30,440 --> 00:26:32,280 about 10 years. 611 00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:36,140 Then both Maulon and Killian also died and the 612 00:26:36,140 --> 00:26:39,640 woman was bereft of her two children and 613 00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:42,320 her husband. 614 00:26:42,320 --> 00:26:45,330 There's a debate over whether they should have 615 00:26:45,330 --> 00:26:47,520 left Judah at all and moved because of 616 00:26:47,520 --> 00:26:51,220 the famine, or if they should have stayed in 617 00:26:51,220 --> 00:26:54,480 Judah and just dealt with it and relied 618 00:26:54,480 --> 00:26:55,480 on God. 619 00:26:55,480 --> 00:26:58,450 So we know that Israelites were called to 620 00:26:58,450 --> 00:27:02,080 remain separate from the nations around them. 621 00:27:02,080 --> 00:27:04,580 And it would have been very difficult for Olim 622 00:27:04,580 --> 00:27:06,840 elak to lead his family in following God 623 00:27:06,840 --> 00:27:12,040 in the pagan nation of Moab. 624 00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:15,280 Moab was the land of the descendants of Lot. 625 00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:18,720 Lot, if you remember, was Abraham's nephew. 626 00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:22,400 He had two sons and we'll just call it a very 627 00:27:22,400 --> 00:27:24,040 unorthodox way. 628 00:27:24,040 --> 00:27:26,720 If you want to know more, go ahead and read 629 00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:29,880 Genesis 1930 through 38 later. 630 00:27:29,880 --> 00:27:32,540 One of the sons' names was Ben-Ami, and his 631 00:27:32,540 --> 00:27:35,440 descendants settled and made a nation called 632 00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:38,960 Amon, and the other's name was Moab. 633 00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:42,480 This was the founder of the nation that Naomi 634 00:27:42,480 --> 00:27:44,360 's family escaped to. 635 00:27:44,360 --> 00:27:47,240 But the nation of Moab was steeped in this Ba 636 00:27:47,240 --> 00:27:48,240 al worship. 637 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:50,680 They followed a God named Kamash. 638 00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:54,080 And so when Olimelak died, Naomi probably 639 00:27:54,080 --> 00:27:57,720 assumed, rightly or not, we're not told, that 640 00:27:57,720 --> 00:28:00,860 this was God's hand of judgment specifically 641 00:28:00,860 --> 00:28:04,000 on her family for leaving the land of Israel, 642 00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:07,880 the promised land, and going to this pagan 643 00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:09,600 nation of Moab. 644 00:28:09,600 --> 00:28:13,480 So Olimelak died in the nation of Moab, not 645 00:28:13,480 --> 00:28:16,360 seeing the promised land again. 646 00:28:16,360 --> 00:28:20,140 So then now she just has her two sons, and 647 00:28:20,140 --> 00:28:24,240 they marry these two Moabite foreign women. 648 00:28:24,240 --> 00:28:27,550 And one was named Orpa, which by the way is 649 00:28:27,550 --> 00:28:29,640 the namesake of Oprah. 650 00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:32,070 It's actually Orpa on her birth certificate, 651 00:28:32,070 --> 00:28:34,360 but people pronounced it incorrectly. 652 00:28:34,360 --> 00:28:36,800 And so now she's called Oprah. 653 00:28:36,800 --> 00:28:40,290 And the other is the namesake of our story, 654 00:28:40,290 --> 00:28:45,020 Ruth, two Moabite women that didn't know Yah 655 00:28:45,020 --> 00:28:45,160 weh, 656 00:28:45,160 --> 00:28:48,220 that her sons, Naomi's sons, married. 657 00:28:48,220 --> 00:28:51,960 And now, again, the hand of God falls on Naomi 658 00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:53,080 's family. 659 00:28:53,080 --> 00:28:57,230 She lost her husband, and now both of her sons 660 00:28:57,230 --> 00:28:57,920 die. 661 00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:00,900 And verse five says that she is bereft. 662 00:29:00,900 --> 00:29:02,280 She is left without. 663 00:29:02,280 --> 00:29:06,390 She is lacking everything in her husband and 664 00:29:06,390 --> 00:29:07,780 her sons dying. 665 00:29:07,780 --> 00:29:09,400 She's destitute. 666 00:29:09,400 --> 00:29:12,340 And so this may be easier for some of us to 667 00:29:12,340 --> 00:29:15,880 picture, but she has gone through a famine. 668 00:29:15,880 --> 00:29:19,080 She's gone through the death of her husband, 669 00:29:19,080 --> 00:29:21,760 and now she's lost both of her sons. 670 00:29:21,760 --> 00:29:25,350 And left, she's a widow left with two other 671 00:29:25,350 --> 00:29:26,200 widows. 672 00:29:26,200 --> 00:29:29,800 She has had her life hit blow after blow and 673 00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:33,600 tragedy after tragedy, just stacking up in 674 00:29:33,600 --> 00:29:37,920 her life with sadness and sorrow and pain. 675 00:29:37,920 --> 00:29:41,210 And no matter the differences in time or the 676 00:29:41,210 --> 00:29:44,720 differences in culture, we can really feel 677 00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:47,050 for poor Naomi and what she must be going 678 00:29:47,050 --> 00:29:50,080 through, no matter what the time was, the same 679 00:29:50,080 --> 00:29:51,000 emotions 680 00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:54,800 and the same grief for such a loss. 681 00:29:54,800 --> 00:29:57,680 We can kind of relate to all that's happened 682 00:29:57,680 --> 00:30:00,360 to her, all that she's gone through. 683 00:30:00,360 --> 00:30:04,410 And now as a widow with two other widows, 684 00:30:04,410 --> 00:30:09,000 complete loss and destitution, God's face was 685 00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:09,560 completely 686 00:30:09,560 --> 00:30:12,440 dark in this time in her life. 687 00:30:12,440 --> 00:30:16,620 There was really no place for her to turn to 688 00:30:16,620 --> 00:30:17,400 now. 689 00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:20,500 But again, we get to see the end from the 690 00:30:20,500 --> 00:30:21,720 beginning. 691 00:30:21,720 --> 00:30:24,360 We know that God is going to take this grief 692 00:30:24,360 --> 00:30:26,960 and the suffering and the sorrow and turn 693 00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:29,800 it into something amazing in time. 694 00:30:29,800 --> 00:30:32,230 Her crying will be turned into singing, 695 00:30:32,230 --> 00:30:35,300 although at that very moment living in it, she 696 00:30:35,300 --> 00:30:35,700 couldn't 697 00:30:35,700 --> 00:30:37,960 see how that was going to happen. 698 00:30:37,960 --> 00:30:41,230 God was working using that bitter, dark prov 699 00:30:41,230 --> 00:30:44,600 idence in her life to do something amazing. 700 00:30:44,600 --> 00:30:48,930 It just required her trusting in God, which 701 00:30:48,930 --> 00:30:51,240 she generally does. 702 00:30:51,240 --> 00:30:53,170 The last thing I want to look at in this 703 00:30:53,170 --> 00:30:55,640 passage is that God works through the bitter 704 00:30:55,640 --> 00:30:56,760 providence. 705 00:30:56,760 --> 00:30:59,880 He uses that to work in our own parts, verses 706 00:30:59,880 --> 00:31:01,600 6 through 13. 707 00:31:01,600 --> 00:31:04,000 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that 708 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:06,320 she might return from the land of Moab, for 709 00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:08,520 she had heard in the land of Moab that the 710 00:31:08,520 --> 00:31:10,960 Lord had visited his people in giving them 711 00:31:10,960 --> 00:31:11,960 food. 712 00:31:11,960 --> 00:31:14,350 So she departed from the place where she was 713 00:31:14,350 --> 00:31:16,440 and her two daughters-in-law with her. 714 00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:18,810 And they went on the way to return to the land 715 00:31:18,810 --> 00:31:19,520 of Judah. 716 00:31:19,520 --> 00:31:22,160 And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, " 717 00:31:22,160 --> 00:31:24,280 Go, return each of you to your mother's 718 00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:25,280 house. 719 00:31:25,280 --> 00:31:27,660 May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have 720 00:31:27,660 --> 00:31:29,520 dealt with the dead and with me. 721 00:31:29,520 --> 00:31:32,350 May the Lord grant that you may find rest each 722 00:31:32,350 --> 00:31:34,280 in the house of her husband." 723 00:31:34,280 --> 00:31:37,280 Then she kissed them and they lifted up their 724 00:31:37,280 --> 00:31:38,600 voices and wept. 725 00:31:38,600 --> 00:31:40,950 And they said to her, "No, but we will surely 726 00:31:40,950 --> 00:31:42,920 return with you to your people." 727 00:31:42,920 --> 00:31:45,030 But Naomi said, "Return, my daughters, why 728 00:31:45,030 --> 00:31:46,200 should you go with me? 729 00:31:46,200 --> 00:31:48,910 Have I yet sons in my womb that they may be 730 00:31:48,910 --> 00:31:50,240 your husbands? 731 00:31:50,240 --> 00:31:52,450 Return, my daughters, go, for I am too old to 732 00:31:52,450 --> 00:31:53,440 have a husband. 733 00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:55,970 If I said I have hope, if I should even have a 734 00:31:55,970 --> 00:31:58,640 husband tonight and also bear sons, would 735 00:31:58,640 --> 00:32:01,760 you therefore wait until they were grown? 736 00:32:01,760 --> 00:32:04,000 Would you therefore refrain from marrying? 737 00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:06,710 No, my daughters, for it is harder for me than 738 00:32:06,710 --> 00:32:09,080 for you, for the hand of the Lord has gone 739 00:32:09,080 --> 00:32:11,320 forth against me." 740 00:32:11,320 --> 00:32:14,760 Remember the story of Job and how he went from 741 00:32:14,760 --> 00:32:18,320 fullness to emptiness to fullness again. 742 00:32:18,320 --> 00:32:22,920 This is a very common theme in Scripture. 743 00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:24,280 Job lost everything. 744 00:32:24,280 --> 00:32:27,150 He lost his children, he lost his possessions, 745 00:32:27,150 --> 00:32:28,680 and he lost his health. 746 00:32:28,680 --> 00:32:31,730 And you remember, his wife counseled him to 747 00:32:31,730 --> 00:32:34,840 just, "Look, it's too much, curse God and 748 00:32:34,840 --> 00:32:35,840 die." 749 00:32:35,840 --> 00:32:38,590 But Job didn't, Job didn't curse God because 750 00:32:38,590 --> 00:32:40,960 he said that God gave him all those good 751 00:32:40,960 --> 00:32:44,910 gifts, and it was in God's hand to take those 752 00:32:44,910 --> 00:32:46,720 good gifts away. 753 00:32:46,720 --> 00:32:49,740 But that didn't stop Job from grieving, Job 754 00:32:49,740 --> 00:32:52,560 from suffering emotionally and physically 755 00:32:52,560 --> 00:32:55,390 with all that was going on around him, for Job 756 00:32:55,390 --> 00:32:58,240 questioning and wanting to talk with God 757 00:32:58,240 --> 00:32:59,800 about why this was happening. 758 00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:02,360 He couldn't see the end from the beginning 759 00:33:02,360 --> 00:33:04,880 either when he was in the middle of it. 760 00:33:04,880 --> 00:33:08,140 And certainly, we have all felt that same way 761 00:33:08,140 --> 00:33:10,440 at certain times in our life. 762 00:33:10,440 --> 00:33:13,800 Why is God doing this to me? 763 00:33:13,800 --> 00:33:16,240 Why is this happening to me? 764 00:33:16,240 --> 00:33:19,380 And so often, when we're in those times of 765 00:33:19,380 --> 00:33:22,720 suffering and bitter providence, we can't 766 00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:26,750 see how God is going to work out those things 767 00:33:26,750 --> 00:33:30,240 in our lives for our benefit, much less a 768 00:33:30,240 --> 00:33:33,220 purpose that he would have, and Naomi was no 769 00:33:33,220 --> 00:33:34,160 different. 770 00:33:34,160 --> 00:33:37,190 Again, bereft, left without a husband and 771 00:33:37,190 --> 00:33:38,640 without her sons. 772 00:33:38,640 --> 00:33:42,090 She was in the middle of misery, and our story 773 00:33:42,090 --> 00:33:45,080 here shows it, that in this last part that 774 00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:47,180 we're going to look at, she heard that the 775 00:33:47,180 --> 00:33:49,380 Lord had visited Israel again, that he was 776 00:33:49,380 --> 00:33:50,380 lifting off. 777 00:33:50,380 --> 00:33:52,850 He had heard their cries for mercy, and he was 778 00:33:52,850 --> 00:33:55,040 going to bring them blessing again and 779 00:33:55,040 --> 00:33:58,240 bring them food again and end the famine. 780 00:33:58,240 --> 00:34:01,340 So she decides to leave Moab and go back to 781 00:34:01,340 --> 00:34:04,640 her hometown, and so she and her two widowed 782 00:34:04,640 --> 00:34:08,420 daughter-in-laws are on the trail back to Beth 783 00:34:08,420 --> 00:34:10,400 lehem, Ephrathom. 784 00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:13,020 And while she is traveling, she is trying to 785 00:34:13,020 --> 00:34:15,380 convince Orpah and Ruth to go back to their 786 00:34:15,380 --> 00:34:17,550 land and to their families, verses eight and 787 00:34:17,550 --> 00:34:18,000 nine. 788 00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:20,020 And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, " 789 00:34:20,020 --> 00:34:22,560 Go return each of you to her mother's house. 790 00:34:22,560 --> 00:34:24,260 May the Lord deal kindly with you as you have 791 00:34:24,260 --> 00:34:25,680 dealt with the dead and with me. 792 00:34:25,680 --> 00:34:28,670 May the Lord grant that you may find rest each 793 00:34:28,670 --> 00:34:30,640 in the house of her husband." 794 00:34:30,640 --> 00:34:33,190 Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their 795 00:34:33,190 --> 00:34:34,280 voices and wept. 796 00:34:34,280 --> 00:34:35,280 And this kind of makes me smile. 797 00:34:35,280 --> 00:34:37,800 Can you imagine being someone else on that 798 00:34:37,800 --> 00:34:40,400 path, and you've got these three poor women 799 00:34:40,400 --> 00:34:43,370 just on the side talking with each other and 800 00:34:43,370 --> 00:34:46,340 just weeping and sobbing on the side of the 801 00:34:46,340 --> 00:34:47,840 road. 802 00:34:47,840 --> 00:34:51,890 But here the author of Ruth takes time to go 803 00:34:51,890 --> 00:34:56,000 through this conversation with Naomi and 804 00:34:56,000 --> 00:34:59,100 Orpah and Ruth as she tries to get them to 805 00:34:59,100 --> 00:35:02,560 turn back to go to Moab because he's setting 806 00:35:02,560 --> 00:35:06,720 up the foundation for the rest of our story. 807 00:35:06,720 --> 00:35:08,940 And he first does this, but I remember those 808 00:35:08,940 --> 00:35:11,080 ancient customs that we said we're going to 809 00:35:11,080 --> 00:35:12,080 talk about. 810 00:35:12,080 --> 00:35:14,670 He kind of sets this idea up for us here in 811 00:35:14,670 --> 00:35:16,640 the beginning of the book. 812 00:35:16,640 --> 00:35:19,650 In verse 11 it says, "But Naomi said, 'Return 813 00:35:19,650 --> 00:35:22,280 my daughters, why should you go with me? 814 00:35:22,280 --> 00:35:25,250 Have I yet sons in my womb that they may be 815 00:35:25,250 --> 00:35:26,800 your husbands.'" 816 00:35:26,800 --> 00:35:29,180 So we're going to get into this later as we 817 00:35:29,180 --> 00:35:31,520 get to chapter two and chapter three. 818 00:35:31,520 --> 00:35:34,480 But this custom that she's talking about, that 819 00:35:34,480 --> 00:35:37,120 in her misery, that there's really nothing 820 00:35:37,120 --> 00:35:40,800 that she has to offer the two girls because 821 00:35:40,800 --> 00:35:44,440 there was this custom that if a brother, if 822 00:35:44,440 --> 00:35:47,910 a man died, his brother would take the wife, 823 00:35:47,910 --> 00:35:51,040 the widow that was left and marry her and 824 00:35:51,040 --> 00:35:54,210 have a child with her so his line wouldn't be 825 00:35:54,210 --> 00:35:56,520 erased and that his inheritance would 826 00:35:56,520 --> 00:35:58,520 go to his family. 827 00:35:58,520 --> 00:36:00,160 And that's what she's talking about here. 828 00:36:00,160 --> 00:36:02,660 There's no hope for her to have another son 829 00:36:02,660 --> 00:36:05,120 and for them to wait for him to get old enough 830 00:36:05,120 --> 00:36:08,420 to marry, for them to use this custom of 831 00:36:08,420 --> 00:36:12,680 brother-in-law marriage to rescue them and to 832 00:36:12,680 --> 00:36:13,960 help them as 833 00:36:13,960 --> 00:36:14,960 widows. 834 00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:18,320 And this is going to play a huge role in the 835 00:36:18,320 --> 00:36:19,280 story of Ruth. 836 00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:22,880 And so this is a little bit of foreshadowing 837 00:36:22,880 --> 00:36:24,640 of what is to come. 838 00:36:24,640 --> 00:36:27,060 So it shows us the beginning of this ancient 839 00:36:27,060 --> 00:36:29,600 custom of brother-in-law marriage, but it 840 00:36:29,600 --> 00:36:31,560 also shows us something else. 841 00:36:31,560 --> 00:36:35,260 He's setting up the story to show the faithful 842 00:36:35,260 --> 00:36:38,110 ness of Ruth, the loyalty of her daughter-in- 843 00:36:38,110 --> 00:36:38,720 law, 844 00:36:38,720 --> 00:36:39,720 Ruth. 845 00:36:39,720 --> 00:36:42,200 Naomi was completely correct. 846 00:36:42,200 --> 00:36:46,100 For all they know, they would be going back to 847 00:36:46,100 --> 00:36:49,280 Judah and would be a complete dead end 848 00:36:49,280 --> 00:36:51,360 for her two daughter-in-laws. 849 00:36:51,360 --> 00:36:56,110 No Hebrew man would want to marry a widow of 850 00:36:56,110 --> 00:37:00,560 Hebrew people who married Moabites. 851 00:37:00,560 --> 00:37:02,560 They wouldn't want to marry these foreign wid 852 00:37:02,560 --> 00:37:02,840 ows. 853 00:37:02,840 --> 00:37:05,400 It would be the last thing on their minds. 854 00:37:05,400 --> 00:37:08,140 They would be going to nothing if they went 855 00:37:08,140 --> 00:37:10,800 back to Judah, if they followed Naomi. 856 00:37:10,800 --> 00:37:14,630 There was no hope for them in what they could 857 00:37:14,630 --> 00:37:15,280 see. 858 00:37:15,280 --> 00:37:17,890 But Ruth decided to stay with Naomi in 859 00:37:17,890 --> 00:37:20,860 faithfulness to her and loyalty to her. 860 00:37:20,860 --> 00:37:23,240 In verse 14, it says, "And they lifted up 861 00:37:23,240 --> 00:37:25,040 their voices and wept again, they're still 862 00:37:25,040 --> 00:37:27,290 on the side of the road, sobbing, and Orpah 863 00:37:27,290 --> 00:37:29,840 kissed her mother-in-law," in other words, 864 00:37:29,840 --> 00:37:33,390 she said goodbye and returned to Moab, "but 865 00:37:33,390 --> 00:37:34,920 Ruth clung to her." 866 00:37:34,920 --> 00:37:38,040 Orpah went back, and that was the last that we 867 00:37:38,040 --> 00:37:40,880 hear of her, "but Ruth clung to her." 868 00:37:40,880 --> 00:37:43,920 Ruth held fast to Naomi. 869 00:37:43,920 --> 00:37:46,390 And we're going to see more next time about 870 00:37:46,390 --> 00:37:49,000 Ruth's faithfulness as a woman and what all 871 00:37:49,000 --> 00:37:53,080 that meant, but just see how strong of a love 872 00:37:53,080 --> 00:37:56,760 that Ruth had for Naomi, that all that she 873 00:37:56,760 --> 00:37:59,650 could see was a dead end life with no chance 874 00:37:59,650 --> 00:38:02,120 of marrying where she was going. 875 00:38:02,120 --> 00:38:05,910 And she's going back to this destitute widow, 876 00:38:05,910 --> 00:38:09,320 back to Judah, but she clung to Naomi. 877 00:38:09,320 --> 00:38:11,500 We're just beginning to see all of these 878 00:38:11,500 --> 00:38:14,240 connections, and there will be more to come. 879 00:38:14,240 --> 00:38:17,920 But this is kind of a type of Christ. 880 00:38:17,920 --> 00:38:20,120 Christ is faithful to us. 881 00:38:20,120 --> 00:38:22,130 Ruth in her example is showing us an 882 00:38:22,130 --> 00:38:24,640 illustration of what Christ is like in his 883 00:38:24,640 --> 00:38:25,440 faithfulness 884 00:38:25,440 --> 00:38:28,500 and his loyalty to the Father and by way of 885 00:38:28,500 --> 00:38:30,960 the Father to us as believers. 886 00:38:30,960 --> 00:38:34,410 Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 2, 13, "If we 887 00:38:34,410 --> 00:38:37,120 are faithless, he remains faithful, for 888 00:38:37,120 --> 00:38:39,440 he cannot deny himself." 889 00:38:39,440 --> 00:38:43,540 And Naomi's despair and utter misery, Ruth was 890 00:38:43,540 --> 00:38:45,240 a shining light. 891 00:38:45,240 --> 00:38:48,540 Brothers and sisters, we could go chair by 892 00:38:48,540 --> 00:38:50,360 chair in here today. 893 00:38:50,360 --> 00:38:53,110 And as Philip said earlier, there's so much 894 00:38:53,110 --> 00:38:55,880 dark and bitter providence is that we could 895 00:38:55,880 --> 00:38:59,120 tell of ourselves, that we're going through 896 00:38:59,120 --> 00:39:02,160 right now, and we have no idea that we could 897 00:39:02,160 --> 00:39:03,400 see the end of it. 898 00:39:03,400 --> 00:39:07,940 Just like Naomi and Ruth in this time in their 899 00:39:07,940 --> 00:39:09,000 lives. 900 00:39:09,000 --> 00:39:11,910 But we know that God is faithful through Jesus 901 00:39:11,910 --> 00:39:14,680 Christ, and we know he doesn't do anything 902 00:39:14,680 --> 00:39:15,680 on accident. 903 00:39:15,680 --> 00:39:20,440 And we can see that here in this book. 904 00:39:20,440 --> 00:39:23,770 The answer for some of those bitter prov 905 00:39:23,770 --> 00:39:27,600 idences may not be given to us in this life. 906 00:39:27,600 --> 00:39:31,430 But we know, just like Naomi and Ruth learned, 907 00:39:31,430 --> 00:39:34,520 that God is ever faithful and he never goes 908 00:39:34,520 --> 00:39:36,280 back on his word. 909 00:39:36,280 --> 00:39:40,300 If you know the story of Jeremiah, the prophet 910 00:39:40,300 --> 00:39:43,440 , he was a prophet of woe to Judah. 911 00:39:43,440 --> 00:39:45,980 And he was prophesying at a time when they 912 00:39:45,980 --> 00:39:48,920 were extremely hard headed and God would come 913 00:39:48,920 --> 00:39:52,580 in and send another nation to bring them into 914 00:39:52,580 --> 00:39:54,280 exile as punishment. 915 00:39:54,280 --> 00:39:56,930 But his fellow Jews who he was trying to 916 00:39:56,930 --> 00:40:00,040 encourage to turn back to God, and maybe God 917 00:40:00,040 --> 00:40:00,280 would have 918 00:40:00,280 --> 00:40:03,700 mercy on them, hated him for the truth that he 919 00:40:03,700 --> 00:40:05,760 was given to seek by God. 920 00:40:05,760 --> 00:40:06,960 They absolutely hated him. 921 00:40:06,960 --> 00:40:09,080 They threw him in a cistern, in a mire, and so 922 00:40:09,080 --> 00:40:10,640 many things that happened. 923 00:40:10,640 --> 00:40:12,680 They would take the words that he was both 924 00:40:12,680 --> 00:40:14,920 given by God and burn them up, and he'd have 925 00:40:14,920 --> 00:40:17,160 to write them again. 926 00:40:17,160 --> 00:40:20,260 And Jeremiah was called the suffering prophet, 927 00:40:20,260 --> 00:40:22,800 because he really took this all to heart. 928 00:40:22,800 --> 00:40:26,100 And he wrote a whole book called Lamentations 929 00:40:26,100 --> 00:40:28,480 about the suffering that he had. 930 00:40:28,480 --> 00:40:31,130 And in chapter 3, verses 12 through 18, he 931 00:40:31,130 --> 00:40:33,800 says, "He bent his bow," this is God bending 932 00:40:33,800 --> 00:40:37,130 his bow at Jeremiah, "He bent his bow and set 933 00:40:37,130 --> 00:40:39,440 me as a target for the arrow. 934 00:40:39,440 --> 00:40:42,430 He made the arrows of his quiver to enter into 935 00:40:42,430 --> 00:40:43,720 my inward parts. 936 00:40:43,720 --> 00:40:46,050 I have become a laughing stock to all my 937 00:40:46,050 --> 00:40:46,760 people. 938 00:40:46,760 --> 00:40:48,920 They're mocking song all the day. 939 00:40:48,920 --> 00:40:50,860 He has filled me with bitterness. 940 00:40:50,860 --> 00:40:53,040 He has made me drunk with warm wood. 941 00:40:53,040 --> 00:40:55,840 He has broken my teeth with gravel. 942 00:40:55,840 --> 00:40:58,160 He has made me cower in the dust. 943 00:40:58,160 --> 00:41:00,480 My soul has been rejected from peace. 944 00:41:00,480 --> 00:41:02,520 I have forgotten happiness. 945 00:41:02,520 --> 00:41:05,340 So I say my strength has perished, and so has 946 00:41:05,340 --> 00:41:07,040 my hope from the Lord." 947 00:41:07,040 --> 00:41:09,800 But in the end, Jeremiah knew that it was 948 00:41:09,800 --> 00:41:12,560 better to go through all that suffering, and 949 00:41:12,560 --> 00:41:15,580 in the end, see Christ, and have Christ, than 950 00:41:15,580 --> 00:41:18,160 to have prosperity in this life, and to have 951 00:41:18,160 --> 00:41:22,100 no cares in this life, and in the end, not to 952 00:41:22,100 --> 00:41:23,300 have God. 953 00:41:23,300 --> 00:41:26,580 In verse 21, he said this, "This I recall to 954 00:41:26,580 --> 00:41:29,020 my mind, therefore I have hope. 955 00:41:29,020 --> 00:41:31,900 The Lord's loving kindnesses indeed never 956 00:41:31,900 --> 00:41:34,740 cease, for his compassion never fail. 957 00:41:34,740 --> 00:41:36,870 They are new every morning; great is your 958 00:41:36,870 --> 00:41:37,820 faithfulness. 959 00:41:37,820 --> 00:41:41,110 The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "there 960 00:41:41,110 --> 00:41:42,860 fore I have hope in him." 961 00:41:42,860 --> 00:41:45,980 Sometimes it takes those bitter providences, 962 00:41:45,980 --> 00:41:48,880 those famines, and death, and pain in our 963 00:41:48,880 --> 00:41:49,640 lives 964 00:41:49,640 --> 00:41:53,150 to get us to understand that God is our 965 00:41:53,150 --> 00:41:54,320 portion. 966 00:41:54,320 --> 00:41:56,840 And sometimes we can learn those truths from 967 00:41:56,840 --> 00:41:59,560 the stories of others, which is what the book 968 00:41:59,560 --> 00:42:01,920 of Ruth was written for. 969 00:42:01,920 --> 00:42:04,540 So we can learn the truth that God is in 970 00:42:04,540 --> 00:42:07,350 control, and that if we have him, he is 971 00:42:07,350 --> 00:42:08,880 faithful forever. 972 00:42:08,880 --> 00:42:11,350 May God teach us, through his word and through 973 00:42:11,350 --> 00:42:13,720 our suffering, that he is faithful and his 974 00:42:13,720 --> 00:42:16,500 loving kindnesses endure forever. 975 00:42:16,500 --> 00:42:17,500 Let's pray. 976 00:42:17,500 --> 00:42:20,020 Lord, I pray that you bless the rest of this 977 00:42:20,020 --> 00:42:22,620 day for us, and we can leave here in worship 978 00:42:22,620 --> 00:42:25,250 of you and be reminded, hopefully, in this me 979 00:42:25,250 --> 00:42:27,620 ager way, of who you are and what you've 980 00:42:27,620 --> 00:42:31,260 done for us through all eternity. 981 00:42:31,260 --> 00:42:33,380 And I just pray that you bless this word to 982 00:42:33,380 --> 00:42:34,020 our minds. 983 00:42:34,020 --> 00:42:35,020 In Christ's name. 984 00:42:35,020 --> 00:42:35,020 Amen. 985 00:42:35,020 --> 00:42:45,020 [BLANK_AUDIO]