Commitment that Clings- Courtesy Benny Ho
We are doing a series on the Book of Ruth. The name of the series is “FULLNESS THROUGH FAITH” by Benny HO. Benny Ho is a renowned Bible teacher, now serving as the Senior Pastor of Faith Community Church in Perth, Western Australia
Today is the second week of this series and we will be looking on “Commitment that Clings” from the book of Ruth chapter 1 :7-22
Read Ruth 1: 7 – 22
7 With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.
8 Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back, each of you, to your mother’s home. May the Lord show you kindness, as you have shown kindness to your dead husbands and to me. 9 May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband.”
Then she kissed them goodbye and they wept aloud 10 and said to her, “We will go back with you to your people.”
11 But Naomi said, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? 12 Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons— 13 would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord’s hand has turned against me!”
14 At this they wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.
15 “Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.”
16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” 18 When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.
19 So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”
20 “Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”
22 So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.
Commitment comes with a price. An illustration of David Livingstone was in a mission field, and the council said that “Men to help him will come if there are new roads, but Livingstone replied that, “if they would come only if there are good roads, then they need not come. I am looking for men who would come even when there are no roads.” This is true commitment. Commitment comes with a price. A Moabite woman who is committed to pay the price in the account of Israel’s history. It’s a picture of commitment of someone who clings.
Scene 1 opens with pain of hopelessness: Picture 3 sad widows. Hope that is deferred makes the heart sink, longing fulfilled is a tree of life. Naomi knew that she cannot allow her hope defer and make her a prisoner.
They were walking down the road for 10 years. They were not sure what could come next. They have been bereaved, with a heavy heart they were walking down this road.
“Finding rest in another man’s home.” The plight of widows – Naomi’s concern was that her 2 daughter- in- laws need to get remarried, because women during that time did not have rights of their own. It brings pictures of loneliness, insecurities. They need to survive; therefore they get married. It’s an issue of survival also.
The intensity of her prayer, when Naomi prays this prayer, “May God show kindness to you shows God’s covenant love.” She prayed with great identification. She’s in the same situation as they were, infact, worse, because she’s old and couldn’t remarry. The prayer that she prays ‘Kindness’ speaks of God’s covenant love. Even though we are not faithful, God will remain faithful. Naomi’s plea is physical more than spiritual. This God of providence that we serve has other plans.
Scene 2 begins with a gesture of good bye. Critical moment, this is a point where each one would cry. Naomi dissuaded them from following her. She says, “ Let me remind you of something, I have no more sons of my own to carry on the lineage. I have no hope of remarriage. Even if I remarry, you cannot possibly wait for my children to grow up and marry you. You have little chance of remarrying, because no Jewish man will marry you because you are Moabite. Who knows what God will do next, to me, if you follow me”, because in her mind the Lord has dealt with her bitterly? With all these negatives, Orpah kissed her Mother- in – Law good bye. Orpah means, the back of her neck. True to her name she turned the back of her neck and turned away. Ruth clung to Naomi. Ruth means friendship. She was a true friend who stuck closer than a brother, who did not leave her desolated Mother – In – Law. She cleaved to her Mother-In-Law, like a husband and a wife. It’s a very strong commitment. Naomi became more negative and said, “look your Sister -In-Law is going, you too carry on with her.” But this is what provoked Ruth to make the following statement. The words were so beautiful that it is often read in wedding ceremonies. These words typify the relationship that we have with Lord Jesus. Ruth 1: 16, 17.
There are 3 declarations that Ruth makes:
- She declared her love for Naomi.
- She has declared her identification with the Jewish people.
- She has declared her faith in Jehovah God.
She addressed God with 2 terms, Elohim, i.e. the creator God. Secondly, she addresses God as Lord, i.e. Yahweh. This signifies that there was faith already birthed inside of her towards this God. She is taking on the covenantal name of God for herself and she’s literally telling people that this God is now my God. When Naomi realized that Ruth will not deter, this was the first step of Ruth towards her destiny towards what God had for her. Choosing God above her identity, clan, country and choosing God above every hope of future marriage. She’s giving up everything to follow this God. That’s commitment. She’s also ready to become a second class citizen. Deuteronomy 22: 3. God doesn’t allow a Moabite to even enter the Assembly of God. She’ll always be a Moabite, but she was prepared to be treated as a second class citizen. Just so that she would be with her Mother In Law, even though it means permanent exclusion. The question is, how can then Ruth be a part of the people that she adopted? The answer, is by completely trusting in the grace and mercy of God.
The law may exclude us but the grace will include us. Ephesians 2: 12 – 13. All of us are like Ruth. We don’t belong to the Jewish branch at all. But God by His grace tore down the veil that divides between Jews and gentiles, between sinners and a holy God. Through the blood of Jesus he made peace with us. So that we who were once far away, will be brought near to Him. In the Genealogy of Jesus Christ in Matt 4, there are only 5 women mentioned, and out of that 4 were not supposed to be there. They don’t deserve to be there. Who are they?
- Tamar: committed incest with her Father-In-Law
- Rahab: A Gentile prostitute.
- Bathsheba: Committed adultery with David, wife of Uriah
- Ruth: Moabitess
They are there only by grace and providence of God. But one thing they had in common was commitment.
Scene 3: Begins with the pain of hopelessness and commitment. We have 2 sad widows walking down the road. Probably, Naomi gave Ruth basic instructions of the Jewish culture and faith. Or perhaps they just engaged in their own private thoughts as they ponder on the uncertainties of their new life. The quietness was broken as soon as they stepped into the city. As soon as they entered the city, there was stirring that took place. Chapter 1: 19. It was the time of the Barley harvest, maybe all the men were in the harvest field and all women were left behind. Therefore, it is the women who started talking, since the men were not around. So the women started exclaiming, “Can this be Naomi?” Perhaps there was a look of despair on their (Naomi and Ruth) faces. Maybe, they had a haggard look after all the trouble. They knew that she left with her husband and 2 sons but now all that is left is her daughter- in- law. Therefore they started asking, can this be Naomi? Because the word Naomi means pleasant, delightful. Can this be delightful? Could this be pleasant? Therefore, Naomi responded to them, saying “don’t call me Naomi, call me Maarah. The almighty has brought this misfortune upon me.” Maarah means bitter. Ten difficult years might have taken a toll on Naomi’s look, her personality. She was not becoming better but, she was becoming bitter. What was her perspective at this point of her journey? What was her perspective in vs.20, vs 21,. Her source of bitterness is, that she literally blamed God for all of her trials. She never saw that it was the Moabic decision that started the whole chain of events. All she could see was that it was God who did all these things to me. Many times, we go through the same thing, we mess our life up, then in the end we say God did this to me, how can God allow this to happen to me. We never take responsibility for our own actions, behavior and decision. Twice she called him the almighty, El Shaddai. She called him an all-powerful one. Twice she acknowledged him as Lord. Yahweh, the Lord. It’s one thing to know God’s name and it’s another thing to trust in his name, in both good times as well as bad.
Psalm 9: 10. If you know his name, then trust in Him, for you Lord have never forsaken those who seek you. From Naomi’s perspective, she has an empty home, empty hand and an empty heart. Everything is gone. What she didn’t keep into account was that she had a covenant keeping God, who was still watching over her, who would remain faithful to her even though she was not faithful to him. Naomi says I went back full but I came back empty. However, that’s not completely true, she returned to Israel with two things
- Her daughter in law
- When the barley harvest was beginning.
She did not quite return back home empty. She returned with her daughter -in-law, a woman who sought God, who trusted God and secondly, she returned to a God of Providence, who was still with her. Who brought her back to Judah at the right time, during Barley Harvest. She was brought back by the providence of God during Spring time. Springtime is a season of new beginnings.
With God there’s always a time of new beginning.
Hosea 2: 14 – 16:
Gomer was very unfaithful towards Hosea but, he again and again went and brought her back and kept loving her. It’s like this relationship is played out with God and Israel. This is played out by Hosea and Gomer as well. Israel was unfaithful to God just like Gomer. It would have been very easy for God to reject Israel, and same with Hosea. But God says, “I will allure her. I will call her, I will attract her, I will draw her to myself again, then I will speak tenderly to her. I will whisper to her my voice of love. I will return her inheritance. Her vineyard, I’ll give back to her. In the mind of God, he’ll not give up on the one he loves.”
Have we been unfaithful to God like Naomi or Gomer? God will remain faithful to us. He’s a covenant keeping God. This God can change our valley of darkness / trouble into a valley of hope. Every week, his word allures us to his presence, to be betrothed to God once again. If he lures us and we listen to his voice, we come from dessert to oasis. He’ll take us to a place of solitude.
He’s constantly luring us, so that he can turn our valley of trouble into a dawn of hope. This is our God of providence that you and I serve.
Whatever Moabite decisions we have made, he is able to turn things around. Turn our trouble into a dawn of hope.
-Sandra wife of Virjil . The New Hope Community is situated in the heart of the city between Old and New Panvel. We can confidently share that New Hope Community is a Church in Kamothe, Church in Khandeshwar, Church in Khanda Colony, Church in Panvel, Church in New Panvel because we are centrally located and these places surround our church Venue.
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