Wilderness Wanderings

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 because of them, and the women 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 barley harvest was beginning (Ruth 1:18-22).

This chapter is filled with tragedy, encapsulated by Naomi's lament, "Call me Mara." Things went from bad to worse. Elimelech, "God is King", left the king's country, turning away from the "House of Bread" (Bethlehem) because there is nothing to eat. His attempt to stay alive in Moab ends in his death.

His wife, Naomi, meaning "pleasant", suddenly finds herself in a very unpleasant situation. Unpleasant but not destitute -- she has two married sons who will support her. This unpleasant state descends into a worst-case-scenario when both of her sons die before any grandchildren are conceived.

Naomi's lap is empty. The hunger that brought her family to Moab was nothing compared to the sick, black, void in the pit of her stomach. Naomi, Orpah, and Ruth--each widow stares blankly into the future across an empty lap--their family extinguished. Widows indeed -- all three of them.

At least Orpah and Ruth have options. They can find new husbands. Naomi offers them the blessing of the God of Israel, "May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest (security) in the home of another husband" (1:9). She does not want them included in the curses of the covenant which God has set against her. She must return alone, desolate without hope.

But, as we saw yesterday, Ruth, the Moabitess, refuses. Moab's origin story is one of deception and manipulation, drunkenness and incest (see Genesis 19:30-38). But Ruth does not selfishly manipulate circumstances to survive at any cost. She adopts her mother-in-law! This is one of the most striking examples of the loving and sacrificial loyalty contained in the word "mercy". Ruth's devotion to Naomi caused her to cast aside all concern for her future and security and to break the bonds even of community and religion. She has committed herself to the life of an old woman rather than the search for a husband in a world where life depends upon men.

And so, the two "bound-together-for-life" widows arrive in Bethlehem. In her extreme despair, Naomi returns to the country of the very God that she names as afflicting her. Full she went away, but empty has God brought her back. Her future has flickered out; her life is bitter. Naomi is home, empty barren, desolate, without husband or son. No longer Naomi, pleasant, but Mara, bitter.

In her bitterness, Naomi cannot see that she has a daughter-in-law, who, oddly enough, has committed herself to Naomi, to Naomi's people, and to their God. Also, it is barley harvest. God has removed the famine from Israel. These two, Ruth and barley, are the beginnings of the thick rich feast of God's redemption for Naomi and for all of us.

But Naomi cannot see it yet. And that is encouraging for all of us. She has returned to her country, her people, her land, her God. But she has no hope for laughter, no hope for fullness; no hope that the bitterness will be taken away. But that does not stop God from assembling the ingredients that will fill Naomi's emptiness and turn her bitterness to laughter. God does not need us to notice what he is up to, just to receive it when it comes.

Go now with God's blessing:

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you: wherever he may send you. May he guide you through the wilderness: protect you through the storm. May he bring you home rejoicing; at the wonders he has shown you. May he bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.

At this they wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her. "Look," said Naomi, "your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her." But Ruth replied, "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. 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." (Ruth 1:14-17).

In the previous section, we heard the beginning signs of hope. It is the Lord's doing. In verse 6, Naomi hears that "the Lord had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them," and so "she and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there."

Slowly, a salvation begins to emerge. Where there was famine, now there is food. Bethlehem, the house of bread, is no longer empty and bereft.

Yet after responding to this good news together, Naomi tells her daughters-in-law to turn back and go to their own homes, families, and gods. Naomi's bitterness at all of her losses have not closed off her ability to respond to good news like that of bread in Bethlehem, but it's not that she holds out much hope. The bitterness of her past continues to cloud Naomi's future and she does not wish it to become the burden of others.

Orpah listens to Naomi and turns back. Her name comes from the same word in Hebrew as the word "stiff-necked." God's people are often accused of being a "stiff-necked" people who do not know how to respond to the good news of God's presence and provision. This is not an indictment of Orpah. Instead, Orpah functions as a symbol of Naomi's own hesitancy to believe that the promises of God can really come true. Will Naomi become "stiff-necked" in the end, resistant to the hope of redemption that her God is offering her?

Ruth speaks to a different path Naomi might take. One in which she may trust that she will never be left nor forsaken. Ruth's vow to Naomi harkens back to the sort of clinging-together of the man and woman in the garden of Eden when they become one flesh. It is a firm commitment that transcends even our own marriage vows where death will "do us part." "May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me." Says Ruth.

Ruth's name means "friendship." She is to Naomi the kind of friend who sticks closer than a sibling, even closer than a spouse.

There are times when we are caught by despair: hopeless, bitter, cynical, alone—like Naomi. If left to ourselves, we can be overcome by that kind of despair. It is a despair that can make us resistant to God's promises, stiff-necked. We can begin to fall away from our faith, disenchanted.

Time and time again, the remedy offered in the Bible for such despair is friendship. Community. An embrace from others who can hold out hope and faith for us until our hearts are healed and we can believe again ourselves. It is difficult at times not to feel forsaken by the God we cannot see, but when his love and presence are communicated to us through the firm commitment of a friend we can see—our faith can be renewed.

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you : wherever he may send you.

May he guide you through the wilderness : protect you through the storm.

May he bring you home rejoicing : at the wonders he has shown you.

May he bring you home rejoicing : once again into our doors.

Our text is from Ruth 1:6-13

While Naomi was in Moab, she heard that the Lord had helped his people. He had begun to provide food for them again. So, Naomi and her two daughters-in-law prepared to go from Moab back to her home. She left the place where she had been living. Her daughters-in-law went with her. They started out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah. Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Both of you go back. Each of you go to your own mother's home. You were kind to your husbands, who have died. You have also been kind to me. So may the Lord be just as kind to you. May the Lord help each of you find rest in the home of another husband." Then she kissed them goodbye. They broke down and wept loudly. They said to her, "We'll go back to your people with you." But Naomi said, "Go home, my daughters. Why would you want to come with me? Am I going to have any more sons who could become your husbands? Go home, my daughters. I'm too old to have another husband. Suppose I thought there was still some hope for me. Suppose I married a man tonight. And later I had sons by him. Would you wait until they grew up? Would you stay single until you could marry them? No, my daughters. My life is more bitter than yours. The Lord's power has turned against me!"

Yesterday, Pastor Anthony reflected on the chunky soup of God's holistic salvation, rich with real meat and vegetables! Good soup is more enjoyable when accompanied with freshly baked bread, our appetites having been whetted by the aromas of the oven mingling with the savory scents of the stove top.

I have good memories of Saturday mornings with my hands deep in a sink full of dough, kneading and kneading. Ten people sat around our kitchen table, devouring that bread. Saturday morning bread baking was a necessity. Bread was and is a staple. It fed the people of Naomi's day, of Jesus' day, and much of the world today.

And here we begin to see the messes that sin brings into human living. Messes for which we need a saviour. The story begins in Bethlehem. The word literally means, "the house of bread". But there is no bread. There is famine. The granaries are empty, the fields are bare, the harvesters have no work. That's why Elimelek took his wife and sons to Moah.

It was the days of the judges, when "everyone did what they saw fit" (Judges 21:25), the last word of the book of Judges. This was a time of national disobedience. Israel did not follow God's ways. As a result, God withheld the blessings of the covenant. The world was created good and full of life. Sin causes deprivation. There is not enough to go around. Elimelek goes to look for bread in places he should not go. Moab was not a place where an Israelite ought to look for help.

But this is not a story about Elimelek. Its not a story about Israel's disobedience. Even though Ruth is mentioned in Matthew's genealogy; our main character is Naomi. Already in verse 3, we find something odd, "Elimelek, Naomi's husband". In this story, he becomes subordinate to his wife, making her the main character.

He dies, his sons marry Moabite women, another "no, no". They die. And then this in the Hebrew text, "the woman was left bereft…the woman started to return…" (5,6).

This is a story about a woman in a man's world. With her husband and sons dead, this woman is in a foreign country with without income or support. She decides to return home, to cast her lot in with her own people and her own God. Will she find anyone to care for her there? Will Israel's God save her? This is the question we are invited to ask as we journey with Naomi back to her home.

This is a story about a voiceless woman in a male world. God has come to the aid of his people, but will he come to the aid of a woman like Naomi? Will there be bread for her in Bethlehem, 'the house of bread?' How thick is the soup of God's redemption? Is it savoury enough to redeem a woman like Naomi? She senses the hand of God is against her. Will it stay that way? This is our Advent story.

For today, go with God's blessing:

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you: wherever he may send you. May he guide you through the wilderness: protect you through the storm. May he bring you home rejoicing; at the wonders he has shown you. May he bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.

In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. The man's name was Elimelek, his wife's name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there. Now Elimelek, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband. (Ruth 1:1-5)

Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David. (Matthew 1:5-6)

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." (Matthew 1:21)

This Advent season, we'll be walking through the short, four-chapter Old Testament book of Ruth. Matthew includes Ruth in his genealogy of Jesus at the opening of his Gospel. She is fully part of the Christmas story along with three other women, but why is she there? Perhaps it is because each of the women included tells a unique story of God's salvation, and not of the sort that we usually consider.

Matthew tells us through the angel's words that the baby born to Joseph and Mary is to be named "Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." When we hear this, we get the sense that Jesus has come to clear away our record of sin in the court of God's law, so that when we stand at the pearly gates and God says "why ought I let you into my heaven," we can point to Jesus and get through to eternal bliss.

Now: this is a true part of the story indeed, but it is also a horribly flat reduction of the story—unable to bear the weight of real human lives. If the lives we live equate to nothing more than a cold courtroom scene where with the right passcode (Jesus!) can get you through to an equally sterile eternity of who-knows-what—I'm not sure I want in. If we are to have a hope that we can hang onto and hold out to others, it has to be a little thicker soup than that.

Thanks be to God: the soup is indeed thicker. Chunky even with real meat and vegetables!

The women of Matthew's genealogy put some flesh on these bones of "Jesus saving his people from sin" so that we can understand a bit better what it actually looks like. Not just at the end of life: but already now, here, in the real unresolved messes of our human lives as we live them. Jesus' saving of his people from sin includes the legal case, yes, but also the effects of sin and the curse on all of Creation, including on our marriages, families, workplaces, moves, and more.

The opening verses of Ruth set the stage for this holistic redemption of God to unfold. It will take place in the life of a woman whose lost everything: her home country, her husband, her sons, and with these men, also her provision, security, and place in society. Her plight is not because of any sin that she has committed, we note, but simply because of her life in a yet sin-broken and cursed Creation. Her sons' names mean "sickness" and "wasting away:" these are the impacts of sin on Naomi's life. So in the life of this refugee who has lost everything, can salvation come? Join us as we find out how.

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you : wherever he may send you.

May he guide you through the wilderness : protect you through the storm.

May he bring you home rejoicing : at the wonders he has shown you.

May he bring you home rejoicing : once again into our doors.

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text Luke 1:5-25. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection!

To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it here on YouTube. Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: immanuelministries.ca

1. What do you want for Christmas?
2. What does God want to give?
3. Do you expect anything from him? On a scale of one to ten, where would you put your level of doubt.
4. Do you believe that God can use you despite your doubt.
5. As you travel through this advent, keep your eyes open to the joy that God gives. Expect God to use you to bring joy to other people.

Today our text comes from Revelation 11:15-19 with its vision of that day when Christ our King comes again. May God bless you as you hear his word today.

The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said:

"The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever."

And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying:

"We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. The nations were angry, and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your people who revere your name, both great and small—and for destroying those who destroy the earth."

Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a severe hailstorm.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping,

That awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep rest in his peace.

May Almighty God bless, preserve, and keep us, this day and forevermore.

Amen.

**Next week we begin our series of Advent Devotions from the book of Ruth, returning again to a format of written reflections from Pastors Michael & Anthony. Join us!

Today our text comes from 1 Thessalonians 5:1-22, another word of encouragement as we await the coming of our King. May God bless you as you hear his word today.

Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping,

That awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep rest in his peace.

May Almighty God bless, preserve, and keep us, this day and forevermore.

Amen.

Today our text comes from John 16:16-33, a word of encouragement as we await the coming of our King.

May God bless you as you hear his word today.

16 Jesus went on to say, "In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me."

17 At this, some of his disciples said to one another, "What does he mean by saying, 'In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,' and 'Because I am going to the Father'?" 18 They kept asking, "What does he mean by 'a little while'? We don't understand what he is saying."

19 Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, "Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, 'In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me'? 20 Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 21 A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. 22 So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. 23 In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

25 "Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. 26 In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 27 No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father."

Then Jesus' disciples said, "Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. 30 Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God."

31 "Do you now believe?" Jesus replied. 32 "A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.

33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping,

That awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep rest in his peace.

May Almighty God bless, preserve, and keep us, this day and forevermore.

Amen.

Today our text comes from Psalm 76, a psalm of praise to the God who is King.

May God bless you as you hear his word today.

1 God is renowned in Judah; in Israel his name is great. 2 His tent is in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion. 3 There he broke the flashing arrows, the shields and the swords, the weapons of war.[b]

4 You are radiant with light, more majestic than mountains rich with game. 5 The valiant lie plundered, they sleep their last sleep; not one of the warriors can lift his hands. 6 At your rebuke, God of Jacob, both horse and chariot lie still.

7 It is you alone who are to be feared. Who can stand before you when you are angry? 8 From heaven you pronounced judgment, and the land feared and was quiet— 9 when you, God, rose up to judge, to save all the afflicted of the land. 10 Surely your wrath against mankind brings you praise, and the survivors of your wrath are restrained.[c]

11 Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them; let all the neighboring lands bring gifts to the One to be feared. 12 He breaks the spirit of rulers; he is feared by the kings of the earth.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping,

That awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep rest in his peace.

May Almighty God bless, preserve, and keep us, this day and forevermore.

Amen.

Today our text comes from John 18:33-37, a Gospel text for Christ the King Sunday. This Sunday is the last Sunday of the old church year, preparing us to wait in expectation of this coming King once again in Advent. This will therefore also be our last week of devotions in this format. Next week we return to written devotions on Bible texts. For Advent, these texts will come from the book of Ruth. But first: we reflect on Christ our King from John 18, a crucifixion account that Christian tradition has generally seen as the "corronation" of Christ the King.

May God bless you as you hear his word today.

Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?"

"Is that your own idea," Jesus asked, "or did others talk to you about me?"

"Am I a Jew?" Pilate replied. "Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?"

Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place."

"You are a king, then!" said Pilate.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping,

That awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep rest in his peace.

May Almighty God bless, preserve, and keep us, this day and forevermore.

Amen.