By The Rev. Dr. Paul A. Leggett
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Sermon Text: Ruth 1:15-22
Sermon Theme
The Book of Ruth deals with issues that have concerned believers for centuries. It is a book that focuses on sorrow and loss as well as scandal and hope. Ruth is a Moabite woman. The Moabites, and Moabite women in particular, had led Israel into terrible idolatry and so were banned from ever entering the assembly of the Lord (Deuteronomy 23:3). Yet Ruth contradicts all this. She sacrifices herself for the welfare of others. Ruth is an example of the kindness of God in an uncertain and even hostile world. Ruth who is in the line of both King David and the Lord Jesus is a model for all of us.
Sermon Outline
- Self. The story of Ruth takes place in the time of the Judges when “all the people did what was right in their own eyes” (Judges 21:25). She marries an Israelite who comes to her country in a time of famine. Yet this is a forbidden marriage because Ruth is a Moabitess (Nehemiah 13:23-27). After the death of her husband Ruth does not focus on her self and her own sorrow. Rather she commits herself to her mother-in-law, Naomi, who is in virtual despair (Ruth 1:21). Naomi can only say that God has “dealt harshly” with her. Ruth embarks on an uncertain future in a strange land in which she may well expect to be rejected. Naomi does not even affirm her commitment. She simply says nothing. Ruth is a faithful model of living in the midst of suffering. More than this, as Jesus’ ancestor, she is demonstrating his selfless love (John 15:13).
- Scandal. Ruth is a symbol of God’s scandalous love. She just “happens” to be gleaning grain in a field owned by Boaz who “happens” to be a relative. He pronounces a blessing on her because of the kindness she has shown her mother-in-law (Ruth 2:12). He goes out of his way to protect her from abuse (she is identified as a “Moabite”). Knowing that Boaz is a close relative, Naomi comes up with a bold idea to provide “some security” for Ruth (and also herself). She instructs Ruth to sneak into the threshing room floor. This is a scandalous action. The book of Ruth ends with a list of the descendents of Perez, the son of another woman, Tamar, who also committed a scandalous act. It is not an accident that both Tamar and Ruth are mentioned specifically in Jesus’ genealogy in Matthew’s Gospel. They testify to God’s own scandalous action in sending Jesus to the cross, “a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks” (I Corinthians 1:23). Boaz does not condemn Ruth for her action. Rather he recognizes her devotion, calling her “a worthy woman” (Ruth 3:12). God’s love in its very nature is scandalous (Romans 5:8).
- Surprise. The Book of Ruth testifies to God’s surprising plan of salvation. Many of those through whom God acts to bring us salvation seem inappropriate, even disgraceful. But God calls Jacob, a cheater and a liar, David, an adulterer and a murderer and Cyrus, a pagan king who worshipped false gods. Here he calls a Moabite woman to play a key role in the birth of Christ. God is the landowner who gives all the workers the same wage no matter how long they’ve worked (Matthew 20:1-16). We want to protest that God is not fair. But if God were truly fair, where would any of us be? We want God to answer for the injustice and suffering in the world and indeed in our own lives. Diogenes Allen in a recent book points out that it is a mistake to think of God as “omnipotent,” meaning that God can do anything (Theology for a Troubled Believer). The language of Scripture, including the Book of Ruth, as well as the earliest confessions of the church, is that God is “Almighty.” God has ultimate authority. This however is not the same as omnipotence. Omnipotence has the sense of being able to do anything. This is a philosophical concept, not a Biblical one. God cannot violate his own nature. He cannot be capricious or act on what we would call a whim. God cannot be blamed for all the sorrow and tragedy in the world. God has established a world in which there is both freedom and uncertainty. He cannot change this, any more than he can do evil. The message of the Book of Ruth is that God is able to work through the sorrow and scandal of history to establish his own plan of salvation. God constantly surprises us. Nothing is more surprising than his continuing love for us.
Questions for Us
- What can we say to a person like Naomi who wants to blame God for their sorrow and loss?
- What can we learn from the example of Ruth’s selfless commitment to Naomi?
- Why do you think God often allows us to be put into surprising and difficult situations?
