Where you go, I will go. That’s the title for the sermon this morning. And it comes from the key verse in our text in Ruth chapter 1, verse 16. It’s what Naomi hears from her daughter in law, Ruth, who makes this promise to her. But it’s more than just Ruth’s word of commitment to her mother in law. I believe it’s also God’s word of promise I hope that’s what we’ll all be hearing about by the time we get to the end of this sermon. You know, it’s early June. We’ve just kind of gone through a season of school reunions. Going back to where you’ve been at, don’t, you don’t have to say it out loud, but I mean, High school reunions, they’re kind of interesting times, aren’t they? When was the last time you went back to a high school reunion? You know, I graduated high school in the 70s from a Lutheran boarding school in, in Minnesota. And, uh, for me, you know, going back for a reunion, it’s, it’s kind of an interesting thing. You’re kind of like, you want to say hi and see your friends, but you’re also kind of like checking out how everyone is doing, and you want to project your best self to them, right? So for me, at my 10 year reunion, I was flying high because I was engaged to this gal here on the screen. Gonna marry here in about three weeks later and I was graduating from seminary with my master’s degree. That was a great 10 year reunion to be at. Roll the calendar forward only five short years and I’m already using teeth whitener and hair darkening. I’m darkening my the gray hairs and whitening my teeth. And then I didn’t go for a number of years, but roll forward my 35th high school reunion. It’s my son’s graduation from that same school and my daughter’s fifth. And I’m chairman of the board of directors. That’s the one I wanted to be at. I wasn’t there for 40.
This year is 45 and I’m, I’m not there either. You know, one thing I’ve learned is that you can’t go back to the past and it be what it was. You can’t go back to where you used to be and it’s all the same. And furthermore, you can’t leave your problems behind by just going somewhere new. Because wherever you go, that’s where you are. And problems seem to go with you. This is the type of dilemma that our main characters in our text in Ruth chapter 1 deal with. And if you have your Bibles or devices, I invite you to turn now to Ruth chapter 1. We learn about one, the mother in law, Naomi, who considers returning to her hometown after ten devastating years away. And then there’s her daughter in law, Ruth. Ruth, who considers leaving her people behind and going to a new place, striking out on a new journey with her mother in law, Naomi. So we pick up the narrative kind of midstream here, Ruth chapter 1, beginning at verse 16. So Naomi had just said to Ruth, please stay here with your own people. But Ruth replied, don’t urge me to leave you and 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. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.
When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her. So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred exclaimed, Can this be Naomi? Don’t call me Naomi, she told them. Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me. The Almighty has brought misfortune upon me. So Naomi returned from Moab. Accompanied by Ruth, the Moabite, her daughter in law, arriving in Bethlehem as the bar barley harvest was beginning. The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Let’s pray. Lord God, as we delve into your Word now, send your Spirit that we might be enlightened by your truth and by the knowledge of your presence and your plan, even if we can’t always see. By your Holy Spirit, strengthen our faith this day. I ask in Jesus precious name. Amen.
Dear friends, grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. So previously on Ruth, Last weekend, Pastor Susan led us through an overview of the entire book, and I commend this short four chapter book to your summer reading, okay? It’s in the Old Testament, the Book of Ruth. And there’s these two primary characters, the mother in law, Naomi, and the daughter in law, Ruth, the namesake of the book. Now, Naomi, she has true reasons. To be gloomy and bitter. She’s devastated by the loss of her husband to death and the death of her two sons. So she decides to return to her home in Bethlehem. Leaving the foreign country of Moab. But Ruth also has every reason to be fearful in this situation because one of Naomi’s sons was Ruth’s husband. Her husband, Ruth’s husband, died also. And so our text picks up the dialogue at verse 16 where we hear Ruth’s response. But then the rest of the chapter contains both Ruth and Naomi’s response to their situation.
So please skip ahead with me to We’re going to consider Naomi’s response first, and then go back and return to Ruth. Here’s what Naomi says when she returns, goes back for her own reunion of sorts in her hometown of Bethlehem. The women say, hey, is that Naomi? Don’t call me Naomi, she told them. Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me. The Almighty has brought misfortune upon me. One version says, the Lord has raised his hand against me. And I’d classify Naomi’s response this way, that life can sometimes make a person bitter. Do you know what I mean? Naomi is saying that life has beat her down so much that she’s forsaking her namesake Naomi. Which means pleasant and has taken on the identity of bitterness, which is what the name Mara means Naomi means pleasant She says don’t call me that Mara means bitter. She’s changing her identity Can you imagine that? You know, I know a few couples who named their daughter Mara and I kind of want to say do you know the biblical story? Behind that name, but I think many of us can relate to Naomi Life can beat us down so much that our functional theologies is that God has done this to me and we become resentful and even bitter.
It reminds me in my kind of silly sort of humor of a funny sketch from the old TV show Hee Haw. Remember guys, remember that show? There’s a musical sketch, it’s a humorous sketch featuring cast members singing a mournful, exaggerated country song about their exaggerated misfortunes and bad luck. And we just have to watch this clip. Despair and Agony on Me Despair and agony on me Deep dark depression, excessive misery If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all Despair and agony on me. I mean, okay, do you guys remember that? I mean, there are times in my life I can’t remember that. Oh, if it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all. Just any time I get on a golf course, I have that trouble. Now, Naomi’s story, though, it’s a profound illustration of life’s bitterness, gloom and despair and agony. Naomi, whose name means pleasant, now wants to be called Mara. Bitter. For her life has gone from fullness to emptiness. Which is kind of ironic, because when she left Israel ten years earlier, it was because of a famine. And yet that’s how she views life. Fullness to emptiness. Joy to sorrow. But you know, please hear me on this. Naomi’s bitterness, it’s understandable, isn’t it? Some of you experienced the loss of a spouse. The loss of a child. It’s okay. She lost her husband and her two sons. And I think if we were in Naomi’s shoes, we’d be sorely tempted to respond as she did. So here’s the first point I want to make regarding Naomi.
In her grief and bitterness, she failed to see God’s hand at work. But not so with Ruth. Ruth herself had lost her own husband and was in a very tight spot, being very vulnerable. And yet, despite her own losses, Ruth responds with extraordinary faith. When Naomi implores Ruth to leave, to return and go back to her own home and family, Uh, Ruth replies, don’t urge me to leave you or 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. Where you die, I will die, and there I’ll be buried. This is amazing. Despite her own losses, Ruth chooses to cling to Naomi, and in doing so, clings to the one true God. So here’s the second point. Ruth clings to her newfound faith and family. Last weekend when Pastor Susan walked us through the book of Ruth, I was struck by how she described Ruth wanting to remain with Naomi when she said, and Ruth wouldn’t budge. Wouldn’t budge. It kind of brought to my mind an image of my golden retriever. Any of you who have a golden achiever, they’re wonderful, loving animals, but they can be stubborn sometimes. And here’s just a clip of a golden who refuses to budge. Not gonna go. Just not gonna leave you. Nope. Not going away. You can’t make me. Well, and this is what God has to do with us, I think, sometimes.
That’s Ruth staying with Naomi. Ruth would not budge from being by Naomi’s side. Why? Because Ruth’s faith transcended her circumstances, showing the second point. True faith persists, even in the face of adversity. Ruth promised to not only embrace Naomi and a new land and a new people, But also Naomi’s God and her promise. It sounds a lot like a marriage vow, doesn’t it? Verse 17 where you die, I will die and there I’ll be buried that the Lord deal with me be it ever so severely if even death Separates you and me in other words Ruth was willing to leave her place all that she had known her whole life Her homestead her homeland Ruth was willing to leave her people her family You And Ruth was willing to leave her God and her understanding of the world. And you know what God gave to Ruth in exchange? He gave her a new home in the promised land. He gave her a new people, a new family with whom to belong. And God gave her a new relationship with the one true God. Ruth’s commitment and love were actually a reflection of God’s faithfulness to his people. Leading me to my third and final point. Ruth embodies God’s action in the world that’s full of suffering. God rewards Ruth’s faith and loyalty and leads Ruth into unimagined blessing. Which echoes throughout scriptures for all of God’s people, even down to you and me here today. Remember what Darla read for us just earlier in 1 Peter chapter 2?
Even in the New Testament, here’s the promise from God. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Sounds a lot like Ruth, doesn’t it? So here’s the third application point. Even in our trials. We can trust that God is at work. Here’s how Romans 8, 28 puts it, And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. You know, Ruth’s loyalty, it’s not just words, it’s action. She willingly embraces the uncertainty of a new land, a new people, and Ruth’s commitment is actually a reflection of God’s faithfulness and faithfulness. Not just to her, but to us, and to Naomi. You know, we see in chapter 1, Naomi renames herself Mara, reflecting her bitterness. Naomi cannot see beyond her pain. And yet, God is still, and already at work, in Naomi’s life, through Ruth. Get this, Ruth’s commitment and faithfulness are part of God’s plan to bring redemption and hope for both Naomi and Ruth. And Ruth herself is blessed beyond her wildest hopes and dreams as she eventually becomes the great grandmother of King David, placing her in the lineage of Jesus Christ Himself. Talk about God’s strong, redemptive hand at work. Ruth reminds us that God’s providential care is often at work behind the scenes, weaving our struggles into His greater purpose.
So today, draw inspiration from Ruth’s story. Like Ruth, we are called to lean on a faith that persists despite our circumstances, and to trust in God’s providential care. Like Ruth, we may not always see the full picture of God’s plan, but we can trust that He is at work, working in our lives for the good and for His greater purpose. Join me in prayer. Almighty God, we thank you for your faithfulness in the story of Ruth and Naomi and in our lives. Help us to trust in your promises and to see your hand at work even in times of bitterness. Strengthen our faith and guide us by your Holy Spirit. For I pray this in Jesus precious name. Amen.
