Message
Naomi Has a Son
(From Emptiness to God's Fullness)
Ruth 1:1-4:22
Key Verse 4:17
“The women living there said, ‘Naomi has a son.’ And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.”
We can categorize all peoples on earth into two categories: people who are like the Dead Sea and people who are like the Sea of Galilee. The point of distinction is obvious: the former operates as a minus factor to others, whereas the latter a plus factor. For example, the Dead Sea receives water from neighboring sources, however it does not give anything back to other bodies of waters, whereas the Sea of Galilee not only receives but also gives out its water to neighboring territories. Naturally, the Dead Sea remains so dead that no plants or animals grow or live in it. But the Sea of Galilee is different: its water remains fresh. It teems with fish. No wonder that Jesus came to that area and raised disciples who in turn became a source of blessing for many.
As we study the passage we see that Ruth stands prominent amongst the second category of people. She is so filled with love and power, strength and comfort, that anyone who reads her story cannot help but feel greatly uplifted.
Here is a question: What made Ruth so influential? What empowered her to be a woman of such good influence? What enabled her to be a source of blessing for so many?
Since we are almost done with the study of the book of Hebrews, most of us must have already figured out the answer: the secret has something to do with her faith in the Lord. Having said this, let us think about Ruth's good example in three parts.
Part I, what did Ruth believe in?
On reading the book of Ruth, a question arises: what made her to be a woman of such noble character? Is it because she was born with better genetic combinations? Well, we know that this is not the case, for the Bible clearly says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." In addition, the evidences are that she became what she became (i.e., a woman of good influence with a noble mind) thanks to the factors that were added to her life after she had been born. For example, she was born a Moabite, a descendant of Moab, who was born from the coupling of Lot and his eldest daughter (Genesis 19:37). So you can say that she was born outside the will of God. Yet, she married an Israelite who believed in the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Naturally, she came to be related to her mother-in-law who was also a believer.
So if she did not inherit good qualities from birth, what made her to be the way she became? Again, the evidences are that it was her faith in the Lord that she became what she became.
What then shows that she had faith in the Lord? Well, her deeds stand out to answer the question. Recall what the Apostle James says, “But someone will say, ‘You have faith; I have deeds.’ Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do” (James 2:18). According to James, the real way to prove one's faith is by one’s deeds, not just by words.
Specifically, what kind of God did she believe in? Again, overwhelming evidences are that she must have believed in the God Naomi believed in, the God Elimelech believed in, and the God her husband Kilion believed in. As she embarked on her journey from Moab to Bethlehem, she professed her faith in the Lord saying, "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." Notice the last phrase, "your God my God." Who is Naomi's God? None other than the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is a good God, the God who is so good that he can turn an otherwise empty person into a rich person, rich in love and power, grace and truth, comfort and joy, that a person would be a source of blessing for all peoples on earth. And Ruth must have believed in this God.
Part II, what was the quality of her faith?
It has been said, "Not all that glitters is gold." What this means is that there is genuine gold and there is fake gold. Likewise there is fake faith and there is genuine faith. God blesses the one whose faith is genuine. We can say that the faith of Ruth is genuine for two reasons.
First, she believed in the goodness of God even when the visible reality seemed to testify that the other way around was the case. Let us read Ruth 1:1-5. Here, all three males died; only three widows remained. When this happens to a man or a woman, one could have cursed God and left the ministry. But Ruth did not do that. Quality-wise, her faith was as pure and solid as that of Job who, in times of uttermost despair, said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." Even after he came to be afflicted with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, when his wife asked him to curse God and die, he said to his wife, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" Ruth was a Gentile woman. Her religious vocabulary was limited. So she was not as vocal and eloquent in professing her faith as Job was. But, in essence, through her good deeds, she demonstrated that she was a woman of faith who remained faithful to the Lord, not just in good times but in horrible times.
Second, she stood on the side of God and God's people even if it meant a great sacrifice on her part. Let us read Ruth 1:5-15, responsively. Here the expression, "return home," is repeated twice. This phrase serves as the way to test whether or not Ruth's faith was genuine. Ruth passed the test, but Orpah failed. I have been in this ministry long enough to see many come and go. Today, however, Ruth's example reminds me of Dr. John Jun. During the early days of this ministry, there were many trying moments and a lot of people "left" UBF. Yet, in one of the most trying moments of UBF as a ministry, Dr. John Jun said: "Even if all leave, I will not. Even if Dr. Samuel Lee leaves the ministry, I will keep the ministry."
Again, in Ruth 1:16, Ruth says to Naomi, "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." "Your people will be my people and your God my God." One thing that moves our hearts is that she did not distinguish the God of Naomi from Naomi. She could have said, "God is God, Naomi is Naomi." But she did not say that. Although Naomi's utility ran out, she still clung to her. And this is how we know that Ruth's faith is genuine. We know that when Judas saw that it seemed that Jesus' utility was running out, Judas betrayed Jesus and left. In the times of Jesus' ordeals, some of the disciples, including Simon Peter, ran way in order to save their own skins. In a way, Naomi, who was about to return to Bethlehem, resembles Jesus who was about to leave this mundane world. At this point, like Judas or like some of the disciples who ran away, or just like Orpah, Ruth could have kissed her mother-in-law good-bye. But she did not do that. Why? I think it is because she had faith which is as genuine as that of Job.
Part III, How did the Lord bless her life of faith?
In reading the four chapters of the book of Ruth we come to wonder, "How come Ruth was so sacrificial and so obedient? What was the secret of her success?" I think we can find an answer to this question in Ruth 4:14-15, “The women said to Naomi: ‘Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.’ ” It was the Lord who blessed her to be a source of blessing.
This observation reminds us of what Jesus says in Matthew 12:33, “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit." Since she put trust in the Lord, the Lord blessed her inside so she could respond to even a depressing situation with a bright attitude.
Since she had faith in the Lord, the Lord blessed her with his presence, who in turn made her inner person rich and full of grace so that each time she was faced with needy circumstances and needy people she was able to relate herself with them according to the riches of God's grace. When the Lord God is with a person one of the first things that happens to that person is the sense of deep satisfaction. This sense of satisfaction is not make-belief but a spiritual phenomenon (cf. Romans 5:1-11). When the Lord quenches the thirst of a soul like this, that person no longer complains about anything; rather, he or she becomes thankful in all circumstances.
For example, when Naomi asked her to go back, the Lord had already blessed her inner person so she did not have any motive to go back. The result was that she was able to cling to Naomi, and thereby became a source of great comfort to her. When she arrived at Bethlehem the local economy was still bad. Although the economy was lean and it looked impossible for her to make a living, since she had faith in the Lord she was confident that she could do something to not only support herself but her mother-in-law as well. So she said to her, "Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor." Again, working through her faith, it was the Lord who enabled her to see what is invisible. This is like what our Lord Jesus said when he encouraged his disciples to do in a seemingly depressing moment, saying, "How many loaves do you have? Go and see!" (Mark 6:38).
Again, thanks to the Lord working in and through Ruth, the saga of her faith continued, that is, when her mother-in-law asked her to do some crazy looking thing, by faith in the Lord, she obeyed. Then what happened? She not only married one of the most gracious gentlemen of all gentlemen, Mr. Boaz, she also was able to bear a son named Obed who was the father of Jesse, the father of King David!
In conclusion, let us read the key verse together: “The women living there said, ‘Naomi has a son.’ And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.” Here it is interesting to note that the women in the town said, "Naomi has a son," rather than, "Ruth has a son." It was Ruth who had a son. Why then did they say, "Naomi has a son?" We can find an answer to this question in what the women said of Ruth in Ruth 4:15, "For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth." They saw that Ruth became a source of blessing to others just like the Sea of Galilee. What then empowered her to become what she became? Again, Ruth 4:14 reads, "Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer."
One word: praise be to the Lord
Class Exercise
Naomi Has a Son
Ruth 1:1-4:22
Key Verse 4:17
“The women living there said, ‘Naomi has a son.’ And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.”
1. What made Ruth to be a woman of such good influence? Was it because of her born nature (character traits) or acquired nature (or second character traits)? What is the basis of your answer?
2. What kind of God do you think Ruth believed in?
3. At what point of time do you think the Lord started blessing Ruth?
From her birth
When she first believed in the Lord
When she made a decision to follow Naomi
When Boaz married her
4. Think about Naomi’s relationship with Orpah and Ruth, and consider what Naomi said to her two daughter-in-laws in Ruth 1:7-8, "Go back, each of you, to your mother's home. May the LORD show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead and to me. May the LORD grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband." Think about the way the two of them responded.
(1) Who does your Bible student (disciple-candidate) more closely resemble, Orpah or Ruth?
(2) What does this relationship teach us about the way to make a good disciple of Jesus?
5. Read Ruth 4:15. What does this passage teach us about the importance of one woman of faith?
6. Ask yourself the following question: “Am I a man of good influence or bad influence?” What does the book of Ruth teach us about the way to be a man of good influence?
7. Check your relationship with Jesus Christ, the ultimate kinsmen-redeemer. What does the Book of Ruth teach us about the way to bear good fruit in the Lord?
PAGE 4
PAGE \* MERGEFORMAT 3