The Lord has brought me back empty (Ruth 1:1-22)

Ruth 1:1-22 (NRSV)

1:1 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and two sons. 2 The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. 3 But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. When they had lived there about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Chilion also died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

6 Then she started to return with her daughters-in-law from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had considered his people and given them food. 7 So she set out from the place where she had been living, she and her two daughters-in-law, and they went on their way to go back to the land of Judah. 8 But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back each of you to your mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 9 The Lord grant that you may find security, each of you in the house of your husband.” Then she kissed them, and they wept aloud. 10 They said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” 11 But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters, why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? 12 Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, 13 would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has turned against me.” 14 Then they wept aloud again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

15 So she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Ruth said,

“Do not press me to leave you

    or to turn back from following you!

Where you go, I will go;

    where you lodge, I will lodge;

your people shall be my people,

    and your God my God.

17 Where you die, I will die—

    there will I be buried.

May the Lord do thus and so to me,

    and more as well,

if even death parts me from you!”

18 When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.

19 So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them; and the women said, “Is this Naomi?” 20 She said to them,

“Call me no longer Naomi,

    call me Mara,

    for the Almighty has dealt bitterly with me.

21 I went away full,

    but the Lord has brought me back empty;

why call me Naomi

    when the Lord has dealt harshly with me,

    and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?”

22 So Naomi returned together with Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, who came back with her from the country of Moab. They came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

July 5, 2020 Sermon Notes

This summer we are working through a sermon series based on Dr. Robert Williamson’s book The Forgotten Books of the Bible. It looks at the books of Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, Song of Songs, Ruth, and Ester. These five books are critical to the liturgies for several Jewish holidays such as Passover, Purim, and Shavuot. For most Christians, however, they are largely ignored and used on only very rare occasions. 

The first two stops on this journey were the books of Lamentations and Ecclesiastes. We looked at God’s faithfulness even in the midst of grief. We remembered the fact that expressing our anger and truly hearing the frustrations of others is often the first step towards true healing. We also recognized that sometimes we do not get answers that make sense, and that we have to figure out how to live with the ephemeral nature of life.

Beginning the story of Ruth

Today we begin the third stop on the journey. The book of Ruth reads almost like a novelette. It tells the story of a family from Bethlehem that is forced to flee from their homeland because of a famine. They end up in the land of the Moabites, an arch rival of the Hebrew people. Eventually the family settled down and the sons married local women. Everything seemed fine until the famine followed them to Moab. Then the father and the two sons died.

This left three widows on their own in an era where women had few, if any, rights. They were cut off from the resources that they needed to survive and eventually Naomi, the mother in law, decided that she needed to go back to her homeland where the custom of leviterate marriage would mean that at least she would have a chance of being taken care of. 

She encouraged her daughters in law, Ruth and Orpah, to return to their families so that they too might be able to find someone to take care of them. Naomi presented the facts of their situation to them and explained how unlikely they were to find someone who might be able to marry them. In that extremely patriarchal society, there would have been few opportunities for widows to provide for themselves. 

These three women were more dependent on the kindness of others than most modern Americans can even begin to imagine. This is what makes Ruth’s speech in verses 16-17 so amazing. She expressed a devotion to Ruth that bound them together forever. There was nothing Naomi could do to shake that level of faithfulness and in the end she relented. Ruth went home with her to Bethlehem.

What covenant really means

This speech is often used in weddings as a sign of lifelong commitment between two people. In the Judeo-Christian tradition this kind of everlasting commitment is often referred to as a covenant. The Old Testament is full of covenantal agreements. A covenant was made when God declared that the Hebrews would be God’s people and God would be their God.

There was nothing that could break this bond. The covenant was renewed even when the people wandered away. Prophets would call the people back to God. As Christians, we believe that Jesus was the ultimate fulfillment of that covenant when God’s own Son came to us and drew us back to him. His death on the cross showed just how far he was willing to go in pursuit of that covenant.

The thing that makes a covenant work is its longevity. The trust necessary for two people to commit their lives to each other does not happen overnight. It is established gradually. By the time of Naomi’s return to Bethlehem, Ruth had been part of her family for years. They knew each other well. They were fully aware of each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Ruth was not making this commitment blindly. She was willing to trust that the Naomi she had known in Moab was the same Naomi that would be with her in Bethlehem.

Ruth’s world and our world

Lasting covenants are not situationally dependent. Things are not always good. Society does not always lend itself to peace and prosperity. Ruth’s story was set in the time of the Judges. The final verse of Judges (one page before Ruth starts) reminds us that all the people were doing what was right in their own eyes. As if the culture was not unhealthy enough already, famine was making things even more unbearable.

Setting the story in the middle of such upheaval is one of the many reasons that Ruth is so helpful for us today. We too live in a world where many people are doing what is right in their own eyes. In many ways we have forgotten the bond that connects us with each other. We are experiencing several kinds of famine simultaneously. We have a crisis of governance. Racial injustice affects many Americans. Environmental realities have made food insecurity a growing problem in many parts of the world.

In the last few months we have experienced an exile of our own right here in Dexter. A new and unexpected disease caused the death of hundreds of thousands of people, shut down our society for several months, and even forced our congregation out of our home for several months. 

When home doesn’t feel like home

Like Naomi, today we have returned home. We are back in the place we know and love. Like Naomi’s Bethlehem, many of us grew up here. Here in this place we first learned about God. We heard the stories of Jesus’ love and forgiveness. Some of us were baptized here. This is the place that fed us and shaped us.

Unfortunately, even as we come back into this place, like Naomi, we find it to be somewhat different than when we left. We have half of the pews marked off. We are temporarily unable to sing and passing of the peace is off the table. Some of the rituals that fed our faith the most are the very things that make it more likely for our neighbors to get infected. Even when it is the right thing to do, the fact of the matter is that home does not feel like home.

This is precisely where Naomi and Ruth were after they returned to Bethlehem. Even though Ruth had proclaimed her devotion to Naomi and dedicated herself to Naomi’s God, she was still forced to debase herself and glean in the field of a stranger just to stay alive.

In moments like that it is helpful to be reminded of just what covenant means. Couples getting married promise to love each other in sickness and in health. A vow that applied in richer but not poorer would be no vow at all. Naomi’s God, whom Ruth dedicated herself to follow, is a God who provides, redeems, and does not falter. 

Ruth’s story reminds us that even in the midst of famine, displacement, and death, God is still at work. Even when Bethlehem no longer looks like Bethlehem, even when our sanctuary does not feel like the sanctuary we left behind, God is still at work. Naomi knew that there was one who would redeem them. Ruth’s faithfulness would not be in vain.

Not the end of the story

Next week we will hear the rest of Ruth’s story. The second half of the book shows us how that redemption happened. We will meet Boaz and hear about the covenant he made with Ruth. Finally, we will look ahead to see that Ruth is one of Jesus’ own ancestors. 

This is why the story of Ruth is so helpful for us today. Even when things look bad, even when home does not feel like home, even when everyone around us is doing what is right in their own sight, God’s everlasting redemption is right around the corner. Ruth is a reminder that although God’s covenant looks nothing like what we expect it is real and it changes everything. 

How else could a poor, widowed, foreigner who had no reason to trust in the God of Israel became a critical piece in our own redemption? Ruth’s life was forever changed by her willingness to follow Naomi and Naomi’s God into the unknown. 

In just a few months our world has changed beyond recognition. People in our congregation we know and love are dead. We have had to flee our home and now we have returned only to find it far different than what we remember. My question for us, are we willing to follow Ruth’s example and declare our faith in Naomi’s God? Will we follow her into the unknown? Will we let Naomi’s God be our God? Will we trust in the life changing redemption that God can provide?