The Redeeming Story of Ruth’s Mother-in-Law
Ruth 1-4
March 18th
2012 AM
Pastor Craig
Ledbetter
I.
Introduction (Proverbs
23:22)
A.
Moms. They are pretty
important! God commands that we should honour our Moms!
B.
I want to do that this
morning!
C.
By-the-way, You Know You've
Turned Into a Mom When...
1.
You automatically double-knot
everything you tie.
2.
You find yourself humming the
Barney song as you do the dishes.
3.
You hear a baby cry in the
grocery store, and you start to gently sway back and forth, back and forth.
However, your children are at school!
4.
You actually start to like the
smell of strained carrots mixed with applesauce.
5.
You weep through the scene in
Dumbo when his mom is taken away, not to mention what Bambi does to you.
6.
You are out for a nice
romantic meal with your husband, enjoying real adult conversation, when suddenly
you realize you've reached over and started to cut up his steak!
D.
Moms are Amazing people!
1.
Somebody once said, “The
phrase ‘working mother’ is redundant.”
2.
“The moment a child is born,
the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the
mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new.”
3.
“If you have a mom, there is
nowhere you are likely to go where her prayer has not already been.”
4.
“A mother always has to think
twice, once for herself and once for her child.”
5.
Here’s my favourite thought.
Grandma on the Plane. For two solid hours, the lady sitting next to a man
on an airplane had told him about her grandchildren. She had even produced a
plastic-foldout photo album of all nine of the children. She finally realized
that she had dominated the entire conversation on her grandchildren. "Oh, I've
done all the talking, and I'm so sorry. I know you certainly have something to
say. Please, tell me... what do YOU think of my grandchildren?"
E.
The Bible is full of amazing
people called Mothers!
1.
Eve
– the mother of all living – had a tough time because she had absolutely no role
model to help her raise her children!
2.
Sarah
– the mother of many nations – she had a husband who kept talking about God
giving them loads of children, and she was hitting 90 years old!
3.
Rebekah
– Isaac’s wife, had trouble trying to fill her mother-in-law’s shoes
4.
Hannah
–a woman of such great faith, that was forged in the fires of such great
sorrows. She was a great Mom!
5.
Bathsheba
– she was the mother of the wisest man who has ever lived (Solomon), but she
carried the scars of an adulterous relationship, and a child that died just
after birth. She turned out to be a great Mom!
6.
Mary the Mother of Jesus
– you ought to read and study her life as told in the BIBLE (not in the story
books)! Her life, and ALL her children (she had at least 7, starting with Jesus)
will teach you about trusting God, and being a godly Mom!
7.
How about Elisabeth,
the Mother of John the Baptist? A great Mom!
8.
Timothy had a wonderful Mom (Lois),
and a great GRAND-mom named Eunice!
F.
But this morning, on this
special Mother’s Day, I want to look at the life of a Mother whose life was
pretty messed up, and yet God restored – even when it looked hopeless!
G.
The Mother’s name was Naomi.
And she is known as Ruth’s Mother-in-Law, and yet, her relationship to Ruth was
better than having ten sons (Ruth 4:15)
H.
You see, being a mother is not
easy. It should be, but it never is.
I.
God designed Mothers to
succeed as Mothers, but only with His help.
J.
That’s what Naomi learns, and
I hope every Mom in here learns as well!
II.
Message
A.
Naomi’s Troubles
(Ruth 1:1-5)
1.
Please notice that the Bible
is not like one of those “happily ever after” storybooks… But that it
shows human life with all its sorrows and scars
2.
Naomi’s family has problems
a.
She didn’t marry the most
spiritually minded man in the world
1)
Elimalech was an Israelite –
lived in
2)
A famine spread throughout the
land, and Elimelech got scared and fled
3)
It was NOT the will of God
a)
Abraham had done the same
thing, and got in trouble for it
b)
So did Abraham’s son, Isaac –
kept going down to
c)
Yet God promised to take care
of His people – if only they would trust Him
b.
She didn’t live in the most
spiritually blessed place in the world
1)
2)
But it was where Elimelech
wanted to live (kind of like
3)
It was where Naomi and
Elimelech had and raised their two sons: Mahlon and Chilion
c.
And it was there that
Elimelech died – suddenly!
1)
And all of a sudden, Naomi is
a widow with two sons in a foreign land, away from home, away from family, away
from God
2)
But it gets worse (as it
usually does)
d.
Her two sons, Mahlon, and
Chilion decide to marry two Moabite girls
1)
Not supposed to do that
2)
Evidently only interested in
having a wife, but not a home
3)
Marriage is two hearts coming
together, not just two bodies!
4)
God commanded His people to
only marry people who feared and obeyed God
5)
The same is true for believers
today (2Cor 6:14-16)
6)
These boys fell in love with
the girls they hung around with
7)
Be careful who you hang with
8)
Be careful Moms and dada, who
you let your children hang with!
e.
And then BOTH Naomi’s two sons
died!
1)
What a shocker!
2)
Naomi is alone now – without
husband, or child in her home
f.
It has been 10 long years
since she left the will of God
g.
And all she has are these two
pagan daughters-in-law!
3.
In this life, no one escapes
the scars of life
a.
Job says, man is born into
trouble!
b.
King David, with everything
going for him, experienced such sorrow and scarring from the troubles in his
home and especially brought on out of his own heart (2Sam 23:5)
c.
Adam and Eve discovered the
cost of their own stubborn rebellion against God when they learned of the murder
of their son Abel, by their first born son, Cain!
d.
No one escapes the sorrows and
scars of this life!
B.
Naomi’s Defeat
(Ruth 1:6-13)
1.
It is at this time that Naomi
finally accepts defeat - Everything in her life had failed
2.
And she hears that God had
blessed the nation of
3.
So she heads home to
4.
But there was a problem…
5.
There were two young ladies
tagging along, wanting to go with her
6.
But Naomi wanted to be alone
a.
Didn’t want the memories
b.
Didn’t want the baggage that
they would carry over into her new life back in
7.
Didn’t blame anybody but
herself for all her troubles
8.
Then pushes them away
9.
And prays for God to bless
them
a.
The first woman, Orpah walked
away and headed home – never heard from again
10.
It’s a good start!
a.
Wanting to start over
b.
Focusing on getting back into
the will of God
c.
Praying for people, instead of
only complaining about your own problems
d.
God will use all this for her
benefit!!!
C.
Naomi’s Effect
(Ruth 1:14-18)
1.
Naomi has had ten years of
hard, painful memories and loss
2.
And as she turns away from her
two daughters in law, she overlooks the fact that there was a Ruth there, that
wouldn’t leave!
3.
Ruth is about to demonstrate
just how much Naomi had affected her for good
4.
Naomi had evidently, maybe
even without knowing it, taught Ruth six invaluable lessons
a.
About Love
– “but she clave to her”
1)
Love is a decision as much as
it is an emotion!
2)
Oh that mom’s realised just
how much they are teaching their children what LOVE really is
3)
Doesn’t come naturally (Titus
2:3-4)
b.
About Mentoring and
Discipleship – “following after” – Ruth
wanted to be LIKE Naomi, not like the women back in
1)
Oh that every woman LEARNED
that discretion and meekness and quietness, and submission must be passed on to
their children
c.
About God’s People
–
1)
Not to ever be ashamed of
them, even though they don’t do right, they are still God’s people – even today!
2)
By-the-way, be sure you convey
the right attitude about God’s people right HERE! The people at your school, and
on your job, and in your home should know that CHURCH is a special people, a
peculiar people that are God’s people!
d.
About the GOD of
1)
Naomi had a relationship with
her God, that amazed Ruth
a)
Naomi didn’t realise just how
much Ruth watched her
b)
Saw her pray, and turn to Gpd
when empty and defeated
2)
Naomi showed Ruth that Jehovah
is NOT THE SAME AS OTHER gods!
a)
Jehovah is NOT the same as
Allah
b)
Jehovah is NOT the same is
Shiva, and Vishnu
c)
Heaven is not the same as
Nirvana
d)
Jesus is NOT the same as
Mohammed
e)
By-the-way, the Bible is NOT
the same as any other book on this planet
e.
About Confidence,
even facing death (1:17) – Naomi taught Ruth that death is not the end of a
life! To Naomi, death was not to be feared if you know the God of heaven!!!
f.
About Commitment
(Ruth 1:17,18)
1)
Notice the depth of Ruth’s
commitment to Naomi, and to her GOD
2)
Naomi could have abandoned her
husband because of his carnality and unspirituality, but because she stayed with
him, her faithfulness affected Ruth – it helped her!
3)
Naomi could have become a very
bossy wife (in the name of spirituality), and it would have ruined Ruth, but she
stayed soft!
5.
In spite of all of Naomi’s
problems and failures, she had all those things right!
6.
What are YOU teaching without
even thinking about it????
D.
Naomi’s Starting Over
(Ruth 1:19-22)
1.
The hardest thing to do, is
start over – no matter who you are!
a.
Yet God starts over with us
every morning!
b.
So many people WON’T get right
with God, with their husbands or their wives, or with their parents, or with
their pastor not because they CAN’T but because they find it hard!
2.
But notice that God gave Naomi
someone to start over with, someone who loved her and looked up to her for right
choices (1:19)
a.
Do you have any children that
are still home? Start over with them
b.
Do you still have a husband?
Start over with him
c.
Do you still have your Mom, or
your Dad? Start over WITH them!
d.
Don’t be too proud to say to
them, you need them, and you need their help to do right!
3.
Naomi admits and accepts two
big things:
a.
God’s judgment against her and
her decisions
b.
That she was bitter – too many
live out too many years not accepting the fact that bitterness has filled their
heart And ruined their lives and future
c.
Oh, I could preach all day on
this one Scripture and on how important it is that we ALL conquer the bitterness
that reigns in our hearts!
d.
If Naomi is going to start
over, she has to accept:
1)
Her past (that God was there,
and was right in what He did)
2)
Her bitter attitude was just
as wrong as a sinful action!
e.
Have YOU accepted these two
things?
f.
You will never actually be
able to start over until you let go of those two anchors in your life: Blame,
and Bad Attitudes like bitterness!
4.
She does not waste her time
going around blaming her husband, or her sons, or the economy (the famine) – it
was her choice to marry the guy!
5.
She is just humbled, broken,
sorry for her wrong choices
6.
Coming back to
E.
Naomi’s Second Chance
(Ruth 2:1-17)
1.
God is the God of second
chances… and third and forth and fifth!!!
a.
Naomi gets to experience life
again, and even Motherhood
b.
But it will be through a
foreign, Moabite woman named Ruth
2.
Notice how different Ruth was
compared to most women!
a.
The Courage of Ruth
(Ruth 2:1-3)
1)
Not ashamed of being poor
2)
Willing to work along side
other workers
3)
Bold enough to work alongside
JEWISH workers who probably would not get along with a Moabite woman being there
b.
The Beauty of Ruth
(2:4,5; Cf 2:11)
1)
Not just an outer beauty (1Pet
3:1-4)
2)
Her beauty was in her kindness
to her mother-in-law
c.
The Humility of Ruth
(2:7,13) - Femininity
1)
Not like Jane Fonda, or Gloria
Steinem
2)
But like Christ!
d.
The Faith of Ruth
(2:12) – trusted the God of the Bible now! That was something that Naomi’s
husband and two sons never had!
e.
The Benefit of Ruth
(2:9-17) Naomi and Ruth were not just eating scraps, but they were well taken
cared of – GOD’S care!
f.
The Hard Work of Ruth
(2:17) from sun-up until sun-down
3.
“Ruth’s” don’t just happen!
Any more than godly men of integrity just show up out of nowhere! They have to
be influenced, moulded and taught!
4.
Naomi could finally see a
light at the end of the tunnel – Naomi saw how God was bringing Ruth and Boaz
together, and how God would ultimately restore Naomi to a blessed Mother again!
5.
So in Ruth chapter 3, Naomi
and Ruth begin to seek God’s will through all of their past and troubles!
6.
They both learn that nothing
is wasted with God in control!
F.
Naomi’s Redemption
(Ruth 4:1-9, 13-17)
1.
Naomi owed a large debt –
large mortgage payments that had not been made in TEN yrs!
a.
Part of the reason why
Elimelech left
b.
Shirked responsibility to pay
on his mortgage when times got tough
c.
And now the debt included
taking care of Naomi and a widowed Moabite woman, who needed to be married
d.
Or else Naomi would lose her
property and might even go to jail
2.
A Cousin of Elimelech was at
first interested, but then refused – only wanted the land, but not the
responsibility of two widows, and having to marry one of them! Would you blame
him?
3.
A knight in shining armour
steps forth and accepts all costs! Boaz!
a.
All the debts of Elimelech
b.
All the debts of Mahlon and
Chilion
c.
All the debts of Naomi
d.
And all the debts of Ruth
e.
AND was willing and even GLAD
to marry Ruth to take care of her in the place of her dead husband
f.
What a cool guy this Boaz was!
4.
Boaz marries Ruth, buys up
Naomi’s debt, brings Naomi into his home!
a.
Wow! This guy is amazing!
b.
This Boaz marries Ruth, but
REDEEMED Naomi!
c.
Naomi, NOT JUST RUTH, but
Naomi had a family again (4:14)
d.
Ruth turned out to be BETTER
than 10 sons to Naomi!
e.
That’s what GOD can do!
f.
That’s why I LOVE the Bible’s
stories more than the world’s fairy tales – because they are TRUE and because
they actually work!!!
G.
Naomi’s Legacy
(Ruth 4:17-22)
1.
By-the-way, did you notice the
last few verses of Scripture here? Naomi’s Legacy!!!
a.
The new baby’s name was
Obed – a servant
b.
Obed grows up and marries and
has a baby named Jesse
c.
Jesse then grows up, and has
eight sons, the last one being a young boy named DAVID who grew up to be
2.
It’s amazing what God can do
with a messed up, broken life like Naomi’s!!!
III.
Application
A.
We are all like Naomi
1.
We head out into this world,
full like Elimelech, and like the Prodigal Son, and return like Naomi: empty and
bitter
2.
We think we have gone too far,
and messed up so bad, and there is nothing to do but die
3.
We forget that there usually
is a Ruth somewhere in our life, looking up to us (especially you moms),
watching us, and learning about God from us!
B.
Boaz is just like Jesus
1.
When we have only gone our own
way, and amassed immense debts before God because of our sins…
2.
When we have lost everything –
our health, our money, maybe even our families…
3.
When we have become bitter and
angry at everybody, even God…
4.
When we have no where else to
turn to…
5.
That’s when Jesus steps in and
offers to pay off everything!
a.
His death on the cross paid
the debt we could never pay!
b.
His burial for 3 days and 3
nights removed our sins as far away as the east is from the west
c.
His resurrection defeated even
death so there is nothing to fear in life now!
6.
Just as Boaz fell in love with
a Gentile, Pagan, Foreign, Alien of a woman, and gave his all to marry her…
7.
So did Jesus fall in love with
this Gentile, Pagan, Foreign, Alien of a sinner, and gave HIS all, that he and I
would be together for all eternity!!!
8.
God loves RESTORING broken
people (Isaiah 58:12)
C.
Don’t be like Orpah – who
walked away from Naomi and missed out on seeing how God could restore and bless
such a broken home as Naomi had!
IV.
Challenge
A.
All mothers in this room have
had Naomi-kind of lives: full of disappointments, sorrows, and scars. Wrong
decisions, troubles, even God’s judgments against their stupid wrong choices
B.
So, Like Naomi… In Spite of
your Troubles
1.
In spite of all your family’s
problems
2.
In spite of your good for
nothing husband
3.
In spite of all the disasters
that you have experienced
4.
In spite of all the scars
5.
In spite of giving up over and
over again…
C.
Start Over – Step One!
1.
WANT to start over
2.
Focus on getting back into the
will of God
3.
Pray for people, instead of
only complaining about your own problems
4.
God will use everything for
your benefit!!!
D.
Look for a Ruth in your
Life
1.
Naomi had evidently, maybe
even without knowing it, taught Ruth six invaluable lessons
2.
If you don’t have a Ruth yet,
start living the following examples:
a.
About Love
– “but she clave to her”
b.
About Mentoring and
Discipleship – “following after” – Ruth
wanted to be LIKE Naomi, not like the women back in
c.
About God’s People
–
d.
About the GOD of
e.
About Confidence,
even facing death (1:17) – Naomi taught Ruth that death is not the end of a
life! To Naomi, death was not to be feared if you know the God of heaven!!!
f.
About Commitment
stay the course for Jesus’ sake & for the Ruth’s sake in your life!
3.
Those things will come back
and help YOU later!
E.
Start to deal with all
the Blame and Bad Attitudes like bitterness!
1.
Confess it, and mortify it –
putting it to death every time it rears its ugly head
2.
Then God will turn you END
into only the beginning!!!
F.
Trust that God is actually
working all things together for good! And that God
is the God of Second Chances… and third and forth!!!
G.
Accept Christ Jesus’
Redemption like Ruth AND Naomi accepted Boaz’s
1.
He will pay off all the debt
you owe to God
2.
He will be glad and most
willing to spend eternity with you, STARTING today!
3.
Jesus died for all sinners,
but He wants to REDEEM and RESTORE you!
4.
That’s what GOD can do!
5.
By faith, ask Jesus Christ
right now to forgive you of ALL your sin debts, and to come into your heart and
save you from the coming wrath of God and make you His child!!!