Ruth 1 - What Is The Meaning Of Suffering

It is perhaps the number one question on the minds of men and women around the world: where is God when I am suffering? Many times, when we come to stories like Ruth and Naomi’s, we don’t really know what to do with them. We end up extracting a vague moral lesson – have courage like Daniel and Rahab, have faith like Ruth or David – but we go away feeling like we’ve missed something. In the book of Ruth, we are going to be witnesses to the incredible transforming, healing, and restoring effect of our God who is huge and merciful, in control and loving, and just and faithful. In chapter 1 we see a famine that caused Naomi’s family to move, the death of Naomi’s husband and two sons, Naomi’s decision to return with Ruth in tow, and the painful arrival to Naomi’s homeland where she and Ruth were empty and alone.
Famine - 1 In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his 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.

• SHOULD HE STAY OR SHOULD HE GO: It would be easy to assume that Elimelek made the wrong decision to leave Judah, but the author of Ruth does not criticize his decision. We all struggle with decision-making from time to time. When you don’t know what the outcome of a decision will be, how can you be sure you are making the right decision? HINT: Proverbs 3:5-6
• BE ENCOURAGED: You may be living with the consequences of bad decisions; most of us are. But don’t bow to Satan’s pressure to keep raking yourself over the coals because of them. Whatever poor choices you have made in the past, God is still in control. He does not waste any of your tears or suffering but uses them for your good and His glory. Romans 8:28-29 proves it. 
• GOOD COUNSEL: Moving forward, resist the urge to do whatever seems right to you without seeking God. Pray, ask for His wisdom, listen as He speaks through His Word and, if it is appropriate, ask the advice of mature believers who know you well.
  

Bereavement - 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. They lived there about ten years, 5 and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

• WHERE IS GOD IN TOUGH THE TIMES: God is sovereign over the affairs of every person who is on this earth. He has got the whole world in His hands, including your difficult situation.
• NAOMI’S SITUATION: Naomi felt cut off from life, to the point that there was no way out, no silver lining in regard to her circumstances. She had nothing to look forward to. With the death of her husband and two sons, Naomi had to grapple with God’s providence in an intensely personal way.
• WHAT SHOULD YOU DO WHEN YOU FIND YOURSELF IN A HARD PLACE: Don’t be surprised or knocked off course when you face difficult times. Trust in God’s providence. He knows your struggles, unanswered questions and grief. ‘Every detail in our lives is worked into something good.’ Bring your circumstances before God and meditate on the truth of David’s words found in Psalm 139:1-6. 
• APPLY IT: Are you experiencing a situation where you feel trapped and hopeless? It’s OK to practice the four elements of lament: 1) turn to God for help; 2) bring your complaint to God; 3) ask God boldly for help; 4) choose to trust in Him.
  

Return - 6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food. 7 So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.

• Verse 6 reminds us that we should be thankful for God’s care and provision in our lives. The provision of food caused Naomi and her two daughters-in-law to head back to Judah.
• IMPORTANT: It was God who broke the famine and opened the way home.
• ACTION STEP: Remember that every good and perfect gift you have comes from God - James 1:19. What do you need to give thanks for?

8 But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her 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 rest, each of you in the house of her husband!” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept.

• HARSH REALITY: Life is full of tearful goodbyes – friends move out of state; kid’s go to college; parent’s die.
• WHAT CAN WE DO: When we are apart from those we love, there is very little we can do to help them with their daily lives and struggles. The best thing we can do is commend them to the love of God. Though we cannot be with them, God’s faithfulness will never leave them. ON YOUR OWN: Read and claim the promises found in Psalm 121.

10 And 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? Have I yet 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. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, 13 would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.”

• WHAT DID NAOMI MEAN IN VERSE 11: Notice Naomi’s theology. She did not say, ‘God turned his back on me and everything went wrong.’ She did not suggest that the affairs of her life were out of control. She affirmed God’s sovereign control in that He brought to pass all that He willed for her. Naomi’s complaint was bitter, but it was also cloaked in firm faith. She recognized that famine, exile, bereavement and childlessness all proved to be God’s plan for her. She knew that God was too wise to make mistakes, and too kind to be cruel. 
• DO YOU BELIEVE THIS ABOUT GOD? WHY, OR WHY NOT?

14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. 15 And 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 urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” 18 And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.

• SERIOUS IMPLICATIONS: Ruth wasn’t just agreeing to go on a short-term mission trip. Her statement meant saying goodbye to Orpah, goodbye to familiarity, goodbye to everything that has meant security to her, and hello to the great unknown. She was choosing an uncertain future as a widow in a land where she knew no one. She was agreeing to stay with Naomi, ‘till death do us part.’ Even in death, Ruth promised to be buried with Naomi’s people; that was a huge commitment. Ruth’s deep conviction came not only because of Naomi herself, but also on account of Naomi’s God.
• SERIOUS QUESTION #1: Can you say these words to Christ? ‘I’m committed to you through thick and thin. Where you go, I’ll go. What you do, I’ll do. Whom you love, I will love.’
• SERIOUS QUESTION #2: Do you need to leave something or someone behind to follow Christ? Are you willing to make that kind of sacrifice? Are you ready to be challenged and tested in these commitments?

Arrival - 19 So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And 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, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” 22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.

• NAOMI’S ANSWER WAS BRUTAL: What do you think of Naomi’s brutal honesty? How would you have responded to Naomi?
• WHAT IF YOU DON’T LIKE YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES IN LIFE: Take a deep breath and step back from your current situation. Stop searching for explanations, stop grappling with doubt, stop being side-tracked by other people’s questions and opinions. Instead, focus on God. Write down all you know and have experienced of His character: He is all-powerful, all-present, all-knowing and all-sufficient.
• YOU MAY HAVE MISSED THIS: Verse 1 states that “there was a famine in the land.” Verse 22 states, “And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.”
• PRAISE: He is the Almighty One, your El-Shaddai. Leave the explanations and responsibilities with Him.