Two weeks ago we began a sermon series on the book of Ruth titled Through Famine to Fullness. We looked last Sunday at Ruth 1:1-22 in a sermon called Kindness in the Midst of Disaster. If you recall the story of Ruth 1, Naomi and her family relocate from Bethlehem in Judah to the land of Moab because of a famine in the land of Judah. While in Moab, Naomi loses her husband, Elimelech, and then ten years later loses her two sons, Mahlon and Chilion. We’re not explicitly told how they died, but the end result is that Naomi is left in a foreign land without any support system. When she hears that “the LORD had visited His people by giving them bread” (v. 6), Naomi decides that her experiment in Moab has run its course and it’s time to go back home. At first, her two daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth, start to accompany Naomi. Naomi gives two impassioned speeches imploring her daughters-in-law to return to their respective families. Why? Because as a childless widow, she has nothing to offer them. Furthermore, as Moabite women, they would be outcasts back in Judah. Again, if you know the story, Orpah goes back, but Ruth “clung to her” (v. 14).
What makes this story interesting is that God is a “behind the scenes” actor in the book of Ruth. Except for 1:6 and 4:13, the Lord isn’t mentioned doing anything. This isn’t the case in the Bible up to this point. All throughout the Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy), God is seen doing many great works and speaking regularly to His people (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses). In the book of Joshua, God encourages His servant in the battles that lay ahead. Even in the book of Judges, God is seen delivering His people time and time again. Yet in Ruth, God isn’t seen overtly working in the lives of Ruth or Naomi. But He is working! God is working even when we don’t see it, because God is sovereign and in control of all things—even our tragedies.
Naomi looked at her outward circumstances—dead husband, two dead sons, no prospects in Moab—and based on what she could see, she felt the Lord dealt her a bad hand. In fact she says, “the hand of the Lord has gone out against me” (1:13). I know I could look at times in my life when it felt as if “the hand of the Lord had gone out against me,” and I’m sure you could too. Trials and tribulations hurt, and when we realize that our trials are superintended by a sovereign God, they can hurt all the more. Why? Because we believe that God is holy, righteous, and good, so when he allows bad things to happen to us, it causes us to wonder “Why God? Why would you let these things happen to me?” I understand this feeling. I can empathize with people who feel this way.
Yet, what the story in Ruth teaches us is that God is working even in the trials in our lives to bring about a greater good! Naomi couldn’t see it yet, but she was blessed by Ruth’s show of kindness (Heb. Hesed) to her. She felt she went away full, but came back empty; yet she didn’t realize how SO NOT EMPTY she really was. This will become more apparent as we get to the end of the book of Ruth. The lesson here is this: God takes our tragedies and turns them into triumphs! He took the greatest tragedy in human history—the death of His One and only Son, Jesus Christ—and turned it into our greatest triumph! His life, death, and resurrection paved the way for our salvation by grace through faith. When we recognize the great blessing we have in Christ, even the worst trials of this life will pale in comparison. Beyond that, when Christ returns at the end of the age, Our sorrow will be turned into joy and our weeping will be turned into gladness as we are ushered into the eternal state.
So when you feel as if the hand of “the Lord has gone out against you,” realize that if you are in Christ, these trials will be redeemed for your good and God’s glory!
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