Beyond Bitterness

Sermon by Pastor David Layman

November 5, 2006

Ruth 1:1-20 NKJV
II Corinthians 12:7 b-10

The little book of Ruth actually begins and ends talking about Naomi.
The name Naomi literally means pleasant. But Naomi was a person who
experienced real hardship in her life. Naomi and her husband Elimelech
lived in Bethlehem during the time of the judges. There was a famine in
Bethlehem, so Elimelech and Naomi took their sons Mahlon and Chilion to
Moab and remained there. Naomis husband died, and then her sons married
local girls: Orpah and Ruth. To add to her grief, Naomis sons died.
With no more roots in the foreign land of Moab, Naomi decided to return
to Bethlehem. Having lost her husband and two sons, little wonder that
Naomi said to others Call me no longer Naomi, (which means pleasant.)
Call me Mara. (which means bitter)

As Naomi began to leave Moab, daughters in law Orpah and Ruth dutifully
began to accompany her back. Naomi said Turn back, my daughters, why
will you still go with me? Orpah, the prudent one, said OK, Naomi, Im
outta here and heading back to my roots.
But Ruth refused to go home and leave bitter and bedraggled Naomi. Ruth said

Entreat me not to leave you,
or to turn back from following you!
For wherever you go, I will go;
And wherever you lodge, I will lodge;
your people shall be my people,
and your God my God. (New King James Version)

Often when we consider the book of Ruth, we focus on entreat me not to
leave you, and focus on Ruth as the epitome of love and faithful
devotion. But theres a greater message we can receive from this
beautiful story:

When we experience times of heartache and disappointment, thats not the
end of the story. The book of Ruth is a story of redemption: the
redemption of Naomi and Ruth, and beyond that, the redemption of Israel.
Ruth is not the ultimate focus in this story. God is the key to
redemption; Ruths faithfulness is an instrument God used to redeem
Naomi and Israel. Redemption is not a reward given to Naomi for taking
tragedy in stride. Indeed, Naomi was filled with self pity and grief.
But Naomi did one thing right. She acknowledged her broken heart and
weakness. We are tempted at times to communicate to the world Im fine,
just fine. Ill get through this. But it is those who acknowledge their
neediness and dependence that are the most likely to find salvation!

When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, they were tempted to
believe that in such a pleasant place, they could get along without God.
Following the fall, as a consequence of sin, God decreed life would be
painful, difficult and frustrating. (Genesis 3) Gods hope is that
lifes struggles will drive us to our knees and lead us to recognize our
need for a savior! As Peter Scazzero notes (The Emotionally Healthy
Church, p. 113), typical human reactions to the thorns and thistles of
life are to flee (sometimes into addictive behavior), to become bitter,
such as we see in Naomi, or to hide. When Naomi acknowledged her
brokenness and vulnerability, God chose to work through people, just as
God often chooses to work today. In those days, the edges of fields were
left unharvested so that the poor could glean what the harvesters
missed, and survive through a combination of the generosity of the
owner, and the industry of the gleaner. Ruth gleaned in Boaz field, and
Boaz gave instructions to let Ruth take home a goodly amount to Naomi.
Later, prosperous Boaz married Ruth, and Ruth becomes the great
grandmother of King David!

The little book of Ruth reminds us that God is at work, especially in
the aftermath of suffering and grief. Naomi had felt all was lost. But
help came to Naomi from an unexpected source: from someone outside of
Israel, Ruth the Moabitess. In fact, the Moabites had traditionally been
rivals, even enemies of Israel. God even used Ruth, this foreign,
devoted woman, to bless Naomi and become an ancestor of King David, and
later Jesus. God can help us through unexpected sources today. Karen
Rupp was visiting a church in Pennsylvania when members of the
congregation were given a chance to share joys and concerns. A woman
dealing with cancer shared about what a help it had been that week for
her to meet another woman also facing cancer, and asked the congregation
to pray for her new friend. The minister asked the congregation Would
someone pray for her now? Karen thought to herself Im not comfortable
praying in front of so many. But a 5 or 6 year old boy volunteered to
pray. He wasnt worried about his age or whether his words would sound
impressive. He simply prayed for someone in need. God may send help in
unexpected ways! (7/16/2000 Upper Room).

Like Naomi, we may face some bitter, hard experiences in life. But Naomi
discovered that the revealing of the feeling was the beginning of the
healing. When she acknowledged her neediness and returned to the land
God had promised, God began to bring about hope for the future. The
Apostle Paul, when his authority was challenged by rivals in Corinth,
chose to boast not in any worldly accomplishments. Instead, Paul spoke
of his weakness, his thorn in the flesh, through which God promised
His power would be made perfect in his weakness.

Our world treats hardship, trials and death as terminal. God considers
it an opportunity through which He can work. The last supper Jesus
shared with his disciples seemed like the prelude to disaster. Jesus
poured out his heart to God in the Garden, saying My soul is sorrowful
unto death. From the cross, Jesus cried out My God, my God, why? But
on Easter morning, those who loved Jesus began to perceive the answer as
they met the Risen Christ. As we come to this table, let us share with
God our disappointments, our fears and failures. Let us even bring our
bitterness to this table. And our own thorns in the flesh. Let us lay
it before Jesus, coming just as we are before him. And may we come to
see that God never leaves us just as we are, but nourishes and
strengthens us beyond bitterness and despair, working within us and
through us to bring about His perfect will!

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