日期： 05/10/09

經文：路得記 1 ： 1-5 ； 4 ： 13-22

講題：心的旅程 ---- 拿俄米

主旨：神常常差派他人到我們的生命中，做祂慈愛的使者。

引言：

在星期三的愛情專欄 Dear Abby 中有這樣的一封讀者來信：親愛的艾比：我因為盜用一筆鉅額的款項，所以被先前服務的公司解雇了。當時我們達成協議，給我機會盡力清償我所積欠的債務總額。雖然我對於能夠和他們達成這樣的協議感到慶幸，但我仍然對於我所做的一切感到深深地痛悔和慚愧… . 」這位讀者過去曾經犯錯，並仍然為著那個錯誤的後果所苦。

我們每天都在不斷地作選擇：有些結果讓我們引以為豪、有些令人悔不當初、也有些到現在還難以論斷優劣。又還有一種選擇，是外界加諸於我們的選擇，或許來自與我們親近的人，也或許來自社會壓 力。前任參議員和總統候選人約翰 ‧ 愛德華茲的妻子，伊麗莎白 ‧ 愛德華茲在 上個禮拜的一個電視訪談中談到當初她在對抗癌症的過程中發現丈夫外遇時，她是如何崩潰地在浴室裡放聲大哭、尖叫、作嘔；丈夫當時所做的選擇是如何不偏不倚地全數轉嫁到她的身上。在我們的身邊，也常常看到許多的妻子、母親為著丈夫、孩子所做的選擇及隨之而來的後果而痛苦、沮喪；我們可以同理那些莫名加諸於己的選擇給這些女性帶來的挫敗感，以及她們心裡隨之被激起的憤怒和苦毒情緒。

今天是一年一度的母親節，我們要讀的是聖經裡母親角色當中的一位：拿俄米的故事。試想，為什麼聖經中的這部書，明明以拿俄米作開場，也以拿俄米作結局，卻偏偏取名為路得記？這本書中由許多個故事交織而成，但今天早晨，我們要把重點放在拿俄米身上：她身為一位母親、婆婆所遭逢的人生變故；從路得記的開始到最後所紀錄的，關於拿俄米的心路歷程。

為了對這部書有充分的瞭解，我們首先要先略述當時舊約時代的背景。路得記的前一本書是士師記；而士師記的最後一節這樣寫道：「 25 在那些日子，以色列中沒有王，各人都行自己看為對的事 。」而路得記的開頭記著：「 1 在士師統治期間，國內發生了饑荒 … . 」當我們著眼於路得記的時空背景，我們似乎看到一個荒誕的年代，所有人都獨善其身，為所欲為。然而，在那個乖謬的時代裡，我們也看到神對祂的子民恆長付出的慈愛。   

I •  非出於己的選擇

第 1 、 2 節：「 1 在士師統治期間，國內發生了饑荒。有一個人帶著妻子和兩個兒子，從猶大的伯利恆前往摩押地去，寄居在那裡。 2 這個人名叫以利米勒，妻子名叫拿俄米，兩個兒子叫瑪倫和基連，都是猶大伯利恆的以法他人。他們到了摩押地，就在那裡住下來了。」在這兩節經文中我們學到以下幾點：首先，當時的猶大境內有飢荒。在士師記中有提到，這個飢荒是神所降下，對於祂的子民悖逆行為的懲罰。其次，這裡提到了幾個名字：以利米勒，意思是神是我的王；他來自伯利恆，意思是糧食之家；以利米勒和他的妻子拿俄米，就是甜的意思，有兩個兒子。再者，第一節裡告訴我們，以利米勒帶著他的家人到摩押地寄居，表示他們本來的意思不是去久居，而是短期逗留，或者只是去躲避飢荒。當時的摩押人對待猶太人並不友善，在以色列人初離埃及地的時候，摩押王還曾教導巴勒咒詛他們，此外，摩押女子被視為以色列人的絆腳石，因為她們誘使以色列人敬拜外邦的偶像。然後，在以色列當時短短的歷史裡，便已遭受到摩押人不斷地欺壓。所以這兩節經文裡其實隱藏著一個諷刺：一個名叫神是我的王的男人，在飢荒的年代，決定離開他所來自的、那個叫做糧食之家的城市，去到外邦，神的敵人的境內寄居；非但不願意相信神會供應，而相信神的敵人。除此之外，在第 2 節裡我們看到他決定在那裡住下來，而第 1 節裡提到他們當初的用意是寄居，現在他們一家人都拿到綠卡，決定要永久居留摩押地了，並且他們的兩個兒子各自娶了摩押當地的女子。在這短短的描述中，這本書的作者其實在暗示讀者，這並不是合神心意的行為；在以利米勒過世後的 10 年，兩個兒子也死了。值得注意的是，在第 1 節我們讀到有一個男人和他的妻子，以及他們的兩個兒子… . 到了第 5 節，「… . 留下拿俄米，既沒有了兩個兒子，又沒有了丈夫。」當初離開伯利恆的時候，拿俄米有丈夫和兩個兒子，現在，既沒了兩個兒子也沒了丈夫，算是滿懷希望地啟程，卻鎩羽而歸。

我們不確定當初決定離開的時候，拿俄米是否參與了決策的過程；但我們可以確定的一點是，這個選擇和後續的結果，並沒有留給她太多轉圜的餘地，這真是令人感到痛苦又悲哀的一件事。妳有沒有過類似的經驗？即使對丈夫那看似不怎麼明智的決定心存懷疑，但是因為出自對於他的愛和關心，以及妻子應委身於丈夫的原則，妳不情願地做了非出自妳本意的選擇，結果呢？竟落到這般田地。

這個經驗給拿俄米帶來了什麼？

II •  不情願的選擇帶來心中的苦毒

在摩押地住了最少 10 年之後，拿俄米決定回到神的應許之地，那個叫做糧食之家的城市；像是新約裡那個回頭的浪子一般，在一切揮霍殆盡之後，浪子決定回到父親的身邊。拿俄米現在的景況如何？我們看到她決定要空手而回了，但是她還有兩個媳婦，這兩個媳婦不僅是外邦人，更糟的是，她們是摩押媳婦、是敵人。帶著兩個外邦媳婦回家，肯定不是什麼令人覺得光彩或教人有面子的事；所以拿俄米試著說服她們回娘家去。兩人當中的俄耳巴聽了婆婆的話回家去了，但路得不肯。拿俄米的說服只是一再增強路得對她的忠心。路得說：「 16 路得說：『請不要逼我離開你回去，不跟從你。你到哪裡去，我也要到哪裡去；你在哪裡過夜，我也要在哪裡過夜；你的同胞就是我的同胞，你的 神就是我的 神； 17 你死在哪裡，我也要死在哪裡，葬在哪裡。除非死亡把你我分離；如果我離開你，願耶和華加倍懲罰我。』」這是一個令人動容的聲明，時常在婚禮或婆媳關係的教導中被引用；甚至令我們想要複印這段聲明、表框後掛在家裡提醒自己。

然而，拿俄米的反應是什麼呢？第 18 節：「 18 拿俄米看路得堅決要跟她走，就不再多費唇舌了。」在原文裡，這裡的用詞有很強的戲劇張力，「就不再多費唇舌了」。她好歹可以說「謝謝妳，路得，妳的忠心很令我感動，我實在不配得這樣的愛和忠心。」之類的話，但她卻什麼也沒說。這是不是洩漏了拿俄米心中的攪擾？會不會是因為她所遭逢的變故讓她的心裡產生了許多的苦毒，以致於她沒有辦法分辨自己嘴裡說出什麼樣的話來？讓我們繼續讀下去。

拿俄米終於回到了伯利恆，城裡的人看到拿俄米和路得兩個人，有婦人認出她來，問說：「這是拿俄米嗎？」慢著，路得不是在拿俄米身邊嗎？他們好歹可以招呼一下，問問拿俄米身邊的這位年輕婦人是誰？但是沒有人跟路得打招呼，對她視而不見。如果是妳，跟婆婆的朋友們初次見面，但他們卻對妳不理不睬，妳會作何感想？不過這是另外的故事。我們來看拿俄米的反應，她說 ; 20-21 ：「 20 拿俄米對她們說 ： “ 不要叫我拿俄米 ， 叫我瑪拉吧 ， 因為全能者使我吃盡了苦頭。 21 我滿滿地出去，耶和華卻使我空空地回來，你們為甚麼還叫我拿俄米呢？耶和華折磨我，全能者加害於我。 」不要叫我拿俄米（就是甜的意思），叫我瑪拉吧（就是苦的意思）。這些以色列人都知道瑪拉的意思，那是當初他們的祖先向神抱怨水苦的地方。這是一個悖逆神的舉動，因為現在拿俄米把發生在她和她的家人身上的一切怪罪到神身上了，她覺得是神使她的生活這般狼狽不堪。我們看到什麼？她似乎覺得自己不需要為她和丈夫所做的所有選擇負任何責任。是的，像新約裡的浪子回頭一樣，拿俄米回來了，但不同的是，她沒有帶著破碎的心或絲毫對於摩押地那段過去的悔意。她心中滿是對神的苦毒情緒。

我們不也常有這樣的感覺嗎？反觀自己的處境，孩子的不聽話、伴侶的不合作或者不忠實，這些事往往傷透了我們的心。 伊麗莎白 ‧ 愛德華茲在訪談當中回憶道：「想當初我們剛結婚的時候，我對 約翰唯一的要求就是忠實。」他的背叛勢必深深傷了她的心。我們當中有些人也曾經深深被伴侶或孩子的選擇傷透了心，而我們為了那樣的結果選擇遠離神，埋怨神是允許這一切發生在我們身上的始作俑者。祂怎麼可以這樣對我？或者，若神是慈愛的，怎會用這樣的方式帶走我的姊妹、我的父親、丈夫、或兒子呢？祂怎麼可以這麼不合情理呢？

然而，請注意到第一章的結束，第 22 節：「 22 拿俄米就這樣回來了。 她媳婦摩押女子路得隨著她從摩押地回來。 她們到達伯利恆，正是開始收割大麥的時候。」她們在什麼時候回到糧倉來的？適逢收割大麥的季節。這裡，這部書的作者暗示我們，雖然拿俄米眼中看到的僅是自己的不幸和悲慘 ; 我，自己， 但是有其他的事也同時在發生，拿俄米的角度不全然是正確的；在她把苦毒指向神的時候，她似乎也同時錯過了什麼。我們來看故事如何繼續向下發展。

III •  神的恩手無形地在我們苦毒的心裡動工

回到伯利恆之後，拿俄米和路得得找個辦法自立更生。既然是收割季節，路得便到田裡去撿拾賣穗，這裡似乎也沒有提到拿俄米試著一起去幫忙生計。根據估計，那個時候的拿俄米應該還不算年老體衰，會不會是她心裡的絕望讓她失去了活動的力量？我們也只能這樣揣測。但在第 2 章 3 節：「 3 路得就去了，來到田裡，在收割的人背後撿麥穗。她恰巧來到以利米勒同族的人波阿斯那塊田。」看來路得碰巧來到了波阿斯的田。第 4 節：「 4 波阿斯剛好從伯利恆來，對收割的人說：『願耶和華與你們同在。』」從此，我們所熟悉的那個關於波阿斯和路得的美滿故事就此展開，不過這個故事得留到下次再說。我們要說的，就像是這部書的作者要表達的，真巧！慢著！在神 聖經綸 裡，是否真有巧合這件事？就人類的觀點來看，這世界上真是無巧不成書；我正好在這個時候、這間餐館或者這家公司遇見這個人。然而，在神的眼中，似乎沒有什麼事情是碰巧的，是吧？

故事繼續發展，自從波阿斯知道路得的身份之後，便十分慷慨的對待她們，保證每次都讓她帶著等同約 六加侖 的大麥回家。對一天的工作所得來說，那算是很多的了。路得把發生的事轉述給拿俄米聽，這次拿俄米的反應是，第 20 節：「 20 拿俄米對媳婦說：『願不斷施慈愛給活人和死人的耶和華賜福給他。』」這是這部書裡提到的第一次，拿俄米用正向的態度提到神的作為，提到神的慈愛。值得一提的是，在原文裡，這裡提到的死人和活人用的都是複數，所以拿俄米所說的也包括了路得在內；也就是說，現在的拿俄米口中不再只是我、我、我，路得也在其中。

拿俄米苦毒的心開始融化了；面對神無可否認的良善和恩惠，拿俄米也開始體會到神從來沒有對她停止過祂的慈愛。先前她被自己的不幸和苦毒蒙蔽了眼睛，一昧的把過錯推到神身上，而現在，一切都不同了。作者以這一節經文結束了這一章：「 23 ……路得一直與婆婆住在一起。」為什麼要這樣寫 ? 這實在是再明顯不過了，是吧？這是在告訴我們這些讀者，神的慈愛從沒有離開過拿俄米。下面還有更多。

第三章講的是波阿斯和路得的愛情故事的後續發展，相同的，這個愛情故事也得等到下回分曉。 J 。我們在第三章讀到拿俄米給路得的交戰手冊，交她怎麼應對波阿司；路得不僅照辦，還更進一步問了波阿司可否娶她，這超乎了拿俄米給她的指示範圍，而且是在那個文化背景裡鮮少發生的。波阿斯本人也給了路得正面的答案。路得回家，再次一五一十地把發生的事告訴拿俄米。那天早晨，當拿俄米看到路得回家的時候，她問道（第 3 章 16 節）：「我女兒，怎樣了？」聽起來像是在問，我的女兒啊，進展狀況如何？不過原文的本意是：我的女兒，妳是誰？拿俄米當然知道來的人是誰，所以這個問題似乎有點文不對題，因此在翻譯的過程中被改為「怎樣了？」事實上，看到路得，拿俄米困惑了。眼前的這個跟著她多年的女孩是誰？她還是當年那個可能帶給自己負擔的外邦女子嗎？但現實看起來又似乎不是這樣。那她到底是誰？神是不是透過路得在對她彰顯祂的慈愛？

  現在，我們要把故事向前快轉。 波阿斯跟路得結婚了。路得生了一個兒子，而那個兒子最終成了大衛王的祖先，也就是之後耶穌基督的祖先。在第 14 節，婦人對拿俄米說：「 14 婦女對拿俄米說：『耶和華是應當稱頌的，因為他今天沒有斷絕你有買贖權的近親，願他在以色列中揚名。 15 他必甦醒你的生命，養你的老，因為他是愛你的媳婦所生的；有她比有七個兒子更好。』」

  從懷著苦毒的情緒起，拿俄米成了一位蒙福的婦女；對拿俄米來說，擁有路得這個媳婦比有七個兒子更好。拿俄米原先的缺乏，現在成為富足，是怎樣一回事？因為些婦女提醒了拿俄米，神並沒有遺棄她而不留給她任何救贖，因為神一直以來就是她的救贖。這個故事的精髓也是在告訴我們，神透過我們身邊的人向我們展現祂的恩惠和慈愛。用令人意想不到的方式，神使用路得和波阿斯向拿俄米展現祂的慈愛，原來祂從未曾離棄過拿俄米。 這部書，以拿俄米作開場，也以拿俄米作結局，卻偏偏取名為路得記，為什麼？因為拿俄米可以是我們當中的任何一個人，任何一位對神帶有怨恨和苦毒的人，然而神要向我們顥示祂可以用路得，一位異邦人，陌生人，出乎意料之人向我們彰顯祂的慈愛。

  或許我們當中的某些人會發現，我們心裡還充滿對神的苦毒和怨懟：為什麼 祢 要離棄我？為什麼 祢 把我丟在一團混亂裡？為什麼我看不見、感覺不到 祢 的恩惠？如果神真是慈愛的，為什麼 祢 要帶走我的配偶、我的孩子、我的父親？這樣的生活真的是令人苦不堪言，是吧？但神是真的遺棄你了嗎？看看我們身邊的人吧！記得那段苦痛的日子裡，那群人為你和你的家庭不住地禱告；或者看看那些助你一臂之力、送你一程、供應餐點給你的陌生人；回想在那段苦痛的回憶理建立起的友誼… . 。這一切不都只是巧合或機運，而是神透過這一切在告訴我們，祂的慈愛未曾稍離。他們就是我們生命中的路得。

Date:   05/10/09

Text:   Ruth 1:1-5; 4:13-22

Title:   A Heart's Journey-----Naomi

Theme: God often uses other people to bring His love and kindness into our lives.

Introduction:

  In Wednesday's paper in the Dear Abby column, there was the following letter: “Dear Abby: I stole a large sum of money from the company I worked for and was fired. I agreed to work out a repayment plan for all the money I owe. Although I feel extremely lucky about the outcome, I also feel a great deal of remorse and shame for what I did.” This person made a wrong choice and is suffering from its consequences.

We make choices everyday. There are choices we are proud of, some we regret and others we are not sure. There is another kind of choice. Choices that are thrown upon us. They could be from the society or someone close to us. This past week, Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former senator and presidential candidate, in an interview said when she found out that her husband, John Edwards was having an affair during her bout with cancer, she went into the bathroom, cried, screamed and vomited. Her husband's choices were literally thrown upon her. I feel that some the mothers and wives among us, have experienced the pain and frustration of choices our spouses or children may have made and thrown upon us. We know the frustration, even anger and bitterness that result from them.

  On this Mother's Day, we want to look at one biblical character, Naomi. Have you ever wondered why a book that begins and ends with Naomi, is titled Ruth? There are several themes in this book, but this morning we'll just follow Naomi, the mother and mother-in-law of Ruth. We will discover her heart's condition and the change it experienced from the beginning to the end of this book of Ruth.

  To properly understand this book, we need to know its setting in the OT. It follows the book of Judges. The last verse in Judges read, “ 25 In those days there was no king in Israel . Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” The beginning of Ruth, “ 1 In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land,…” It appears that this book becomes an example of how everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Yet, in the midst of this, we also see God's lasting love and kindness towards his people.

I •  When choices are thrown upon us.

In vs.1,2, “ 1 In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. 2 The name of the man was Elimelech and his wife, Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah . They went into the country of Moab and remained there.” In these two verses we learn the following. First, there was a famine in the land of Judah . In the context of Judges, this famine signaled God's punishment for his people's rebellions against Him. Secondly, there were several names. Elimelech, which means My God is King, was from Bethlehem which literally means the House of Bread. Elimelech's wife is Naomi which means Pleasant. They have two sons. Thirdly, verse 1 tells us that Elimelech took his family to sojourn in the land of Moab . Not to stay but to travel, maybe just to avoid the famine. Moab was a land considered unfriendly to the Jews. For the king of Moab hired Balaak to curse the Israelites when they first left Egypt . The women of Moab were considered stumbling blocks for the Israelites as they would seduce them to worship foreign gods. Then, throughout the short history of the Israelites, the Moabites were constantly oppressing them. So the irony in these verses is this: this man who claimed that my God is king, in the time of famine, decided to leave the town, the house of bread and went to this foreign land, the enemy of God. Instead of trusting that God will provide, he, instead went to trust God's enemy. Moreover, in vs. 2, we learned that he remained there. Vs. 1 was sojourned, and now they got their green cards and decided to remain there for good. The two sons married the women of the land. In this simple description, the author of this book is actually hinting that these are not pleasing to God. After Elimelech died, 10 years later, the two sons also died. Take note that in vs.1 we read that a man, he and his wife and his two sons….. Now in vs.5, …so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband. When Naomi left Bethlehem , she had her husband and two sons, now, without her two sons and her husband. She left full and returned empty, kind of.

We are not sure about Naomi's role in the decision to leave. But one thing we know is that this decision and its subsequent consequences were literally thrown at her face. It must have been terrible and miserable. Have you ever gone through such experiences? Not really your choice, but because you love and care for your husband, because you feel it is the right thing to submit to him even when you doubt his wisdom in making such a choice, you reluctantly went along. And now, look at the consequences.

What did such an experience bring to Naomi?

II •  Unwanted choices can result in bitterness of heart.

After living in the land of Moab for at least over 10 years, Naomi decided to return to God's promised land, and the city called House of Bread. Its like the story of the Prodigal son in the NT. After spending all his money, having become empty, he decided to go home, back to his father's house. What was Naomi's condition at this time? She had two daughter-in-laws, but they were Moabites, gentiles, or even worse, people of their enemy. Going home with two gentiles, it sure didn't look good, it's kind of like losing face. Naomi tried to convince them to return to their family of origin, not to follow her. One of them, Orpah listened and went home, but Ruth refused. As Naomi pleaded with her, it only escalated Ruth's loyalty to her, “ 16 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” This is a very touching statement. We like it so much that it is often used in weddings, in teachings on in-law relationships, we would even print, frame and hang it in our homes.

Yet, what was Ruth's response to this? vs.18, “ 18 And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.” In the original language it is a very strong word; she said nothing. At least she could have said, thank you so much, Ruth. Your loyalty has certainly touched me deeply. I really don't deserve such love and loyalty. But Ruth said nothing. Could this reveal the inner turmoil that Naomi was experiencing? Could it be that she was very bitter with what had happened to her that she didn't even hear clearly what was spoken? Let's move on.

She finally came back to Bethlehem . The townspeople saw two women, Naomi and Ruth. Notice what the women said, “is this Naomi?” But wait, Ruth was there too, at least they could have asked, who is this young lady with you? No, no mention of Ruth, it was as if she was invisible. How do you like meeting your mother-in-law's friends and not being noticed? Well, that is another story. Let's look at Naomi. She said in 20-21, “ 20 She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” don't call me Naomi (which means pleasant), but call me Mara, meaning bitter. The Israelites knew about this Mara. This was the place where their ancestors complained to God about the water being bitter. It was a rebellious act against God. Naomi now blamed God for all that happened to her and her family. It was God that made her life so miserable. What do we see here? there was no hint of her accepting her or her husband's responsibility on this matter. Yes, she had come home, like the prodigal son, but without a broken and repentant spirit over their Moab experience. A woman full of bitterness towards God.

Don't we sometimes feel like this? We look at our circumstances, disobedient children, uncooperative or unfaithful spouses, they break our hearts. In the interview, Elizabeth Edwards said, “When we first got married, the one thing I asked John to give me was: faithfulness.” His unfaithfulness had certainly broken her heart. Some of our hearts may also be broken over choices our spouse or children made. As a result of that, we may have turned against God. It's God that brought all this to me. How could he have done something like this to me? Or, if God is really loving and kind, how could he have taken my sister, or my father, or my husband and son away in such a way? How can he be so unreasonable?

Yet, please note how chapter 1 ends, vs.22, “ 22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab . And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest. They came back to the house of bread. When? At the beginning of the barley harvest. Here, the author is hinting that something else is happening. Yes, all Naomi could see was misfortune, her bitterness was directed against God. However, the author is hinting that Naomi's perspective was not all that accurate. In her bitterness towards God, she missed something. Tune on to something more….

III •  God's invisible hands at work in our bitter hearts.

After the return to Bethlehem , Naomi and Ruth had to find a way to sustain themselves. Since this is the harvest time, Ruth went into the field to pick barley. Here, there is no mention of Naomi making an effort to go along. She may not be that old at this time. Could it be that her despair had somehow immobilized her? We can only speculate on this. Notice in 2:3, “ 3 So she (Ruth) set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech.” She happened to be in Boaz's field. Then vs.4, “ 4 And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem . And he said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you!” Now, for the first time Boaz and Ruth, the beginning of that perfect story we are all familiar with. Again, this will have to be left for another time, another sermon. We would say, like the author did, what a coincidence. But wait, in Divine economy, is there such a thing as coincidence? Humanly speaking, many of our encounters are pure coincidence. I happened to meet this person in this restaurant or in this company. But coincidence from God's perspective, not really, right?

The story continues. After Boaz found out who Ruth was, he treated her generously and made sure that she would bring back an equivalent of 6 gallons of barley. That is a lot for one day's work. Ruth came back and told Naomi what happened. Now, let's look at Naomi's response. Vs. 20, “ 20 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” the first time in this book, Naomi begins to speak positively about God. She mentioned God's kindness, love. Also note that in the original language, the living, the dead were in plurals. Naomi was including Ruth. Its no longer just me, myself and I. Now, there is also Ruth.

We see Naomi's bitter heart beginning to melt. Facing the undeniable experience of God's goodness and grace, contrary to earlier thoughts, she begins to realize that God has not stopped showing her his grace and kindness. Previously she was so blinded by her despair and bitterness, it was all God's fault. But now, it is different. And then the author ends this chapter with these words, vs.23, “……And she lived with her mother-in-law.” This is obvious, right? Why should the author remind us of this? it is to show us, the readers, that God's kindness has really never left Naomi. Now, there is more.

  Chapter 3 is the continuation of the love story between Ruth and Boaz. But again, we'll leave this to another sermon, another time. J . in Chapter 3 we read about Naomi giving Ruth instruction on what to do with Boaz. Ruth listened and she did something beyond Naomi's suggestion. She requested that Boaz would marry her. This is almost unheard of in that culture. Boaz responded very positively. Ruth went home, and again, told everything to Naomi. When Naomi saw Ruth coming home early in the morning, she asked, 3:16, “How did you fare, my daughter?” it sounds like, how did it go, my daughter? But the original word being: who are you, my daughter? Of course Naomi knew who she was. So it didn't fit quite well in this passage. Therefore the translators put it this way: how did it go? Seeing Ruth, Naomi was confused. Who was this girl that had been with her all these years? Was she the gentile that might have become a burden for her? The reality pointed it the other way. But who was she? Was she the one through whom God was showing his kindness and love?

  Now, we need to press the fast forward button. Boaz ended up marrying Ruth. Ruth gave birth to a son, and he became the ancestor of king David, and later Jesus Christ. The women said to Naomi, vs.14, “ 14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! 15 He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”

  From being a bitter person, Naomi is a blessed woman. This one daughter-in-law means more to Naomi than seven sons. Naomi was empty, now full. How? The women reminded Naomi that the Lord has not left her without a redeemer. The Lord had always been her redeemer. This story brought out the essential truth that God shows us his mercy, kindness and love through people around us. in a very unexpected way, God used Ruth and Boaz to show Naomi His loving Kindness. God has never left Naomi. This book begins and ends with Naomi, yet it is titled, the book of Ruth. Why? Because this Naomi can be anyone of us; individuals with resentment and bitterness towards God. Yet God want to show us that He could use Ruth, an alien, a stranger and unexpected person to show us his loving kindness.

  Some of us may find ourselves still filled with bitterness and resentment towards God. Why have you forgotten me? Why have you left me with this mess? How come I still can't see and feel your grace towards me? If God is so loving and kind, why have you taken my spouse, my child, my father away? Such living is miserable, right? But wait, did God really leave you? Take a look at people around you. Remember the days when individuals would relentlessly pray for you and your family? How about the strangers reaching out to you, offering you rides, cooking meals for you? Then there are the friendships built during those hard times. They are not just coincidences. Instead, they were God's means of showing you his loving kindness. They are the Ruth's in our lives.