Ruth 1: Struggling with Grief
Ruth: 85 verses; two books named after women: one about a Jewish girl who marries a prominent Gentile, the other about a Gentile girl who marries a prominent Jew.
Intro: Though many of us have seen pictures of a huge eagle's nest high in the branches of a tree or in the crag of a cliff, few of us have gotten a glimpse inside. When a mother eagle builds her nest she starts with thorns, broken branches, sharp rocks, and a number of other items that seem entirely unsuitable for the project. But then she lines the nest with a thick padding of wool, feathers, and fur from animals she has killed, making it soft and comfortable for the eggs. By the time the growing birds reach flying age, the comfort of the nest and the luxury of free meals make them quite reluctant to leave. That's when the mother eagle begins "stirring up the nest." With her strong talons she begins pulling up the thick carpet of fur and feathers, bringing the sharp rocks and branches to the surface. As more of the bedding gets plucked up, the nest becomes more uncomfortable for the young eagles. Eventually, this and other urgings prompt the growing eagles to leave their once-comfortable abode and move on to more mature behavior.
v. 1, Giving up Faith during Trials: Famine in the Land; Went to
During the times of Judges
Forsook his
inheritance in the
Illustr. 250
Nothing has ever occurred to God
v. 5, Life Does Not Get Easier: Husband and Both Sons Died
vv. 6-7, Fair-Weather
Christians: Now food in
v. 12, Naomi told her Daughters-in-law
to go back to
v. 13 and 20-21, Sometimes we are Used by God and Do Not Even Realize it: Naomi (“pleasant”) said that the hand of the Lord has “turned against” her, “dealt bitterly” with her, brought her “back empty,” “dealt harshly” with her and “brought calamity” upon her.
Taylor and prayer card
vv. 14-17, We might have influence on people we’re not aware of: Ruth (from the Hebrew word meaning “friendship”) clung to Naomi
Orpah apparently means “stiff-necked”
Remember
Lot and Abraham when they were choosing their land;
Obviously, Naomi had some sort of influence on Ruth
Ruth was faithful, not only to God but to her mother-in-law. She could have left her for her own family, but chose to follow her mother-in-law to a foreign country where she may not be accepted. She was the great-grandmother of David. She had to be the Gentile bride (to picture Christ and His gentile bride—the church)
Illustr.: Author Irving Stone has spent a lifetime studying greatness, writing novelized biographies of such men as Michelangelo, Vincent van Gogh, Sigmund Freud and Charles Darwin. Stone was once asked if he had found a thread that runs through the lives of all these exceptional people. He said, "I write about people who sometime in their life...have a vision or dream of something that should be accomplished...and they go to work. "They are beaten over the head, knocked down, vilified and for years they get nowhere. But every time they're knocked down they stand up. You cannot destroy these people. And at the end of their lives they've accomplished some modest part of what they set out to do."
The will of God is never brought about by panic or manipulation. Nothing really happens by chance in the life of the believer, for even what appear to be circumstantial quirks of history are really under the sovereign control of the Lord of history—Jesus Christ.