Well, today we're going to be feasting on physical food. We're feasting on the Word of God. I'm reading now from Ruth chapter 1, and we'll read verses 1 through 5. Here are the Word of God. Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled that there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech, The name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion, Ephraithites of Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to the country of Moab and remained there. Then Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left and her two sons. Now they took wives of the women of Moab. The name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth, and they dwelt there about 10 years. Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died, so the woman survived her two sons and her husband. Father, we thank you for your word. It is our glory to study it, to learn from it, to be more conformed to it, and we pray that your Holy Spirit would enable us to respond to your word appropriately. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen. In our Through the Bible series, I preached on Ruth, and we looked at quite a number of themes in this book that we're not going to touch on today. I want to have a very pointed, focused, a biographical sketch of Naomi, the mother-in-law of Ruth. Now, most books that deal with this book here focus on Ruth and what a great gal she was, and we will look at her in the future, but I think there's a lot that we can learn from Naomi herself. A woman that disillusioned, broken, depressed women can relate to and hopefully learn from. She had a very, very hard life, but we're going to be seeing it was God who brought these hard things into her life to discipline her and to draw her away from just a formal Christianity. into a deeper walk and relationship with God. And she struggled, she resisted God's lessons for quite some time. And so I debated on whether to even include Naomi in the series on Women of Faith. Is she really a model for us in this? It was a marginal option. Should I include Naomi when she was so bitter and disillusioned? But we have seen that every woman of faith had her struggles in life. And Naomi's struggle was not to cast off her faith. I am absolutely convinced of that. I'm convinced that she maintained her faith all through her sojourn in Moab. And she certainly had a deep love for her two daughters-in-law, and they reciprocated that love. I mean, even Orpah, who eventually left, wept and kissed her mother-in-law. She did not want to leave her mother-in-law. So there was obviously something attractive about Naomi. I believe she had a very tight knit relationship with her family. And so her struggle was not to believe in God, and it was not whether to love her children or devotion to her family. Her struggle was a deep despondency and bitterness that had crept into her heart when God took away what many modern people might think of as the American dream. Her American dream turned into a nightmare. And before we look at that despondency, let me prove, first of all, that she was indeed a woman of faith. In chapter 1, verse 6, we see that her decision to return to Israel was not purely based upon economic factors. Yes, they were there. But she knows that it is God and God alone who can remove blessings from a nation or restore blessings to a nation. And it says, she heard She had heard in the country of Moab that Yehovah had visited his people by giving them bread. Anytime you see Lord in all capital letters, it's the covenant name Yehovah, or Jehovah, or Yahweh. Different people pronounce it different ways. I pronounce it Yehovah. And it's significant that she ascribed this deliverance to God. God had afflicted Israel prior to the time of Deborah and Barak. by bringing along a tyrant by the name of Jabin the Canaanite. And when Israel did not repent with this tyranny that was brought, then God heated up the action by bringing along a famine. And there's a lot in that word visited. She knew that God's favor had returned to the land, God had removed both afflictions, and she wanted to return to her roots as well. And though her advice to her daughters in verses eight through nine is really, really, really bad advice. It's basically telling them to go back to their pagan families and get married to some Moabite. Yet at the same time, she wants Yehovah to go with them and to bless them as well. She's giving kind of mixed signals. But look at the faith in God that's mixed in with the bad advice. Verse 8. Yehoah deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me. Verse nine, Yehoah grant that you may find rest. Now she's recommending that they find rest in the wrong place as getting a Moabite husband. But at the same time, she inconsistently knows Yehoah alone is the one who can give that true rest. In verse eight, she also prays for the Lord's chesed upon her daughters. She says, Yehoah deal kindly with you. That means Yehoah's chesed rest upon you. Chesed is God's covenant faithfulness, mercy, love, grace, all mixed up together. Okay, she believes in that. And it's not the only time that she mentions God's chesed. The Hebrew indicates that she acknowledged that God's chesed had been ministered to her through them. Okay. She's not so depressed that she is blind to God's mercies and his goodness. She was a woman of faith who valued God's chesed. Now she's naive in many ways, has secular ideas mixed in with her faith. So do a lot of modern Protestants. They just don't recognize it because they're like fish swimming in the culture that they're compromised with. In verses 11 through 13, she shows a rather naive approach to Deuteronomy 25 verse 5, the Leveret Law, as if that was the only option that these daughters have. It was not the only option. So she's obviously somewhat shallow in her thinking here, but hey, she believes in that law. That is something that governs her, and she's going to be bringing that up again in chapter 3. In verse 13 she seems to submit to the Lord's discipline in her life, or at least she recognizes that God has brought these things. Look at that. It says, for it grieves me much, very much, for your sakes that the hand of Yehoah has gone out against me. She feels badly that they are suffering on account of God's discipline in her life, which, by the way, shows she recognizes she needed discipline. It shows that the motives of both Elimelech and her when they left Israel were not entirely pure. But she does acknowledge God's covenant hand in her life. Whom the Lord loves, He chastens. What she lacks is a perspective that all of this was intended for her good. But you know what? Depressed people often need others to help them see straight. But even though she's not thinking very clearly, she has not abandoned God. Another hint is in verses 20 and 21. Even though her statement is couched in negative words, it still shows that she believes all of these trials have come from the hand of God. She's not responding to those trials very well, but at least she ascribes all sovereignty to Yehovah God. Verses 20 and 21, do not call me Naomi, call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. Verse 21, she adds this thought, why do you call me Naomi, since Yehovah has testified against me and the Almighty has afflicted me? Now, when God disciplines His children, we would hope for a little bit more humble responses from them, but at least she acknowledges God's sovereignty in her life and His disciplines in her life. That's a good thing. And by the way, we're not that much different when you think about it. How many of you respond immediately to the Lord with repentance and faith in God when He brings disciplines into your life? You know, when God removes maybe your investment, or He removes your health, how many of you count it all joy that God afflicts you in this way, as James commands you to do? I mean, we're really not that much different than Naomi. How many of you are like Job when God removes everything, our first impulse is to fall down and worship God? Now, Job later on began to get bitter as well, but that was his initial response. When we point the finger at Naomi, there's probably, at least some of us, three bitterness fingers pointing back at us. It's very, very hard to let go of bitterness when you've gone through enormous pain or have lost everything. And if you glance at verses 20 through 21, you'll see that Naomi wanted to be called bitter. What's with that? It may seem odd, but it really is not an uncommon thing for a depressed person to do that. She felt she had a right to be bitter. And after four decades of counseling, I have encountered numerous people who do not want to let go of their bitterness. They nurse their bitterness, even though that bitterness is eating them alive. They nurse and feed the bitterness, even though it's a monster that's growing and is going to destroy them. We must fight against bitterness and fight for joy in the Lord. So here's the point, it's not enough to have faith that God exists, and to trust Him for our salvation, and to go to worship, and have devotions, and to say the right things, but still to have bitterness. There's something wrong with our faith and our relationship to God when bitterness grabs a hold of our heart. We need to have a faith that believes, Romans 8, 28 is not just a theoretical statement, it is true for us, okay? And so, ruined expectations without a proper theology can lead us to disillusionment and bitterness even when we have faith in God. That's the point of preaching on Naomi. Faith must daily embrace the promises of God, be thankful for the disciplines of God, and worship God for who He is, not for who we wish He would be for us, right? Naomi would learn that, but at this point, she struggles with that. And yet, through it all, she still acknowledges Him. In chapter 2, verse 20, she knows that blessings come from the Lord, and she prays that God will bless Boaz. Now, some bitter people wish everybody was as miserable as they are. You know, they see a rich person, they're not about to pray a blessing on that rich person and wish that he was richer. They see a joyful person, it just makes them upset. They don't want that person to be even more joyful. So Naomi is at least fighting against that. Despite her bitterness, she is praying blessings, and that's good. It shows God's grace was still at work. And as strange as her advice to Ruth was in chapter 3, when she tells her to lie at Boaz's feet, definitely not something we should imitate. Okay, we'll look at that next time. But that whole chapter shows that she took seriously the Leveret Law in Deuteronomy 25 and in Leviticus. So obviously she's not a model woman of faith. It really took her daughter-in-law Ruth to ignite a faith that would bring her out of her depression and make her trust God fully. But I believe that Naomi illustrates God taking down self-sufficient Christians humbling them so that He can later lift them up. And so let's look at how this woman of faith was humbled by God. There was a reason why she was depressed and bitter. Now, obviously, no excuses. There's never an excuse for bitterness or disillusionment, but we can certainly understand why she got there, given human nature. She was a woman who had lost everything. If you compare Ruth 1, verse 1, with chapter 4, verse 3, You will see that Alimelech and Naomi had a very sought after piece of property, of farmland. Actually, if you study the topography of the area, you know that all of the farms in that region were extremely productive. That's why they called it Bethlehem, the house of bread, right? But Alimelech and Naomi had probably a dream farm. They had no doubt been prospering, much like Boaz was, but Elimelech made some bad decisions. A little more than a decade earlier, Jabin the Canaanite had started oppressing Israel, and when Israel didn't repent, God added famine to the mix, and Elimelech made a decision that seemed logical. He anticipated that these problems would not go away, and so while the land was still expensive, he sold his farm, took his money to seek his fortune in Moab. He probably thought he was being smart, keeping one step ahead of the problems, but whatever his problems were, they didn't work out very well, whatever his plans were. If you skip down to verse 21, you'll see that this verse hints that Elimelech lost a pretty significant investment nest egg. In verse 21, Naomi says, and Yehoah has brought me home again empty." Hubbard's commentary points out that the word full means, quote, her life lacked nothing when she left. Contrary to the opinion of many people, she was not destitute and starving when she left Israel. He was a shrewd prepper, basically, who anticipated that facing famine under David would be difficult, and so he left Israel in about 1282 B.C. And all of the historical evidence that we have indicates that he had some pretty tight connections in Moab, probably business connections that he had previously made as he traded with people. And they continued to depend upon those tight connections when they emigrated to Moab. Josephus says that they were prospering so well in Moab that the sons were able to marry well. And other ancient sources show that his tight relationship with the king made him and his sons governors in Moab. None of the ancient Jewish histories depict the Limelech as poor. Quite the opposite. He was associating with the upper strata of the land. Several ancient Jewish sources say that Ruth was a descendant of the Moabite king Eglon, perhaps a granddaughter. Let me quote one ancient source that shows their social level. says, Elimelech and his sons were lords from Bethlehem of Judah, and they came to the country of Moab, and they were governors there. Now, since all of that is extra-biblical history, I'm not going to base a lot on that, right, in terms of the specifics of how they prospered, but it is 100% consistent with the language of Ruth. they went out full, they prospered, is what the word really means. And yet, somehow, all of that was lost. She says, I went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty. And so the family was running on fumes when they came back to the village of Bethlehem, and they had no land to return to, and that's why Ruth went out gleaning in the fields, one of the most brutal, difficult jobs that you could imagine. Somehow this nest egg had completely evaporated. To have a sizable nest egg evaporated with nothing but debt left on the land would be hugely disappointing. And to make matters worse, verse 3 says she lost her husband. Now, we're not told how he died, but death by any means would have been a blow to their dreams. His connections would have been a key to the family's success in Moab, because they're strangers, right? They had to have connections. Moab was actually not a bad place to live at that particular juncture. It was productive, the language was related, it was not one of the Canaanite nations to which all contact was prohibited, and the people at that time were friendly. They may have had big plans for prospering and a new business there, but it all came to an end. with the death of her husband and her two sons shortly after the marriages were entered. Depends on where you put the 10 years, but I think it's a total number for the time that they were there. Now, if indeed the ancient references to Ruth being a daughter or a granddaughter of King Egelon are true, And if those same histories are accurate when they say Elimelech and his two sons were governors and they married for political reasons, then it shows another compromise that was made by Elimelech. It was marriage for financial gain rather than marriage in the Lord. Now, he could have perfectly justified his conscience and said, oh, yeah, they're going to be converted when they come into the family. And even we have evidence here that even Orpah did at least outwardly, formally convert. Because if you look at verse 15, it says that she returned to her gods. So if she returned to her gods, that means, you know, after she left Naomi, that she left those gods. She had switched religions when they got married. And so before marriage, she must have converted to the true faith outwardly. So it appears that both had conversions. Orpah was only doing so formally, but Ruth truly put her trust in Yehovah. But if the marriage was for the purpose of furthering their economic opportunities in the land, this too was lost when both of the men died. the wives would no longer have the political leverage that their husbands had. Verse 5 says, then both Malan and Chilian also died, so the woman survived her two sons and her husband. With the loss of the men of the family, all of their economic plans were completely shattered. In verse 12, she says, I'm too old to have a husband. perhaps implying that she was past menopause. But it wasn't just money, business, husband, position, sons, and fertility she lost, that's enough. But this chain of providential events made her lose her confidence that God even cared about her. In verse 20 she says, do not call me Naomi, call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. This is the opposite of Romans 8, 28. She didn't think that all things were working together for her good. Quite the opposite. She began to think God was somehow against her and nothing, nothing in her life was working out right. And as a result of looking at God's providence through negative eyes, she lost her pleasantness and became sour and snarky and bitter. Naomi means pleasant, whereas Mara means bitter. And here's the point. Even women of faith can become bitter if they do not handle God's providences with the grace that Ruth had. Ruth is going to be a key in this story. The last indication of her depression and negative thinking is that she tried to push away the very people whom she loved and whom she needed. needed them to help her. Down through the years of my pastoral ministry, I've seen many, many people do this. It's very irrational behavior, but these are people who are acting more out of emotion than they are out of biblical reasoning. They think, well, I don't want to be a burden to anybody, you know? I don't want to be a bother. But it's counterproductive to push away the people that they need the most. I think Naomi is trying to look out for their good. Both Orpah and Ruth would have a hard go of it in a foreign land, and so she thinks it's better to go back to their rich relatives, you know, and get a Moabite husband. And they say, no, surely we will return with you to your people. So, they're willing to turn down the wealth of their upper strata families. But Naomi in her grief doesn't want them to be bothered, and she pushes them away. Oropa does go back to her family in verse 14, but Ruth clings to Naomi. Ruth is not about to leave the God that she loves or to forsake the only Christian in the entire world that she knows at this point. She's not about to forsake them. She would rather face the risks and the challenges of life in a foreign land than to leave her God or her mother-in-law. And her beautiful statement of faith in verses 16 through 17 is a rebuke to the low spirits of Naomi. I believe it was Ruth who helped Naomi to begin more consistently living like a woman of faith should live. And we'll look at Ruth's words in the next sermon, but I'll just read them for now. Verse 16. But Ruth said, entreat me not to leave you or to turn back from following after you, for wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you lodge, I will lodge. For your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me and more also of anything, but death parts you and me. I hate to think of where Naomi would be if she had been successful in pushing Ruth away. But Ruth knew better than to give a depressed person what they think that they need or what they think that they want. She was going to provide Naomi with what she needed and to help her move forward in faith. And Naomi did grow in faith in the rest of the story. Ruth was the best thing that could have happened to Naomi. Ruth was able to see the bigger picture. She had her priorities straight. She was able to speak hope into Naomi. Now, she was able to take the kind of actions that needed to be taken, and as a result, Naomi began to grow in faith. And she grew in faith, first of all, by seeing the faith of Ruth in action. In chapter 2, verse 2, Ruth asks permission to glean, and she tacks on a very positive, faith-filled, hope-filled note when she says, after him in whose sight I may find favor. She's looking on the bright side, and that immediately gives Naomi hope, and she says, go, my daughter. Now, we aren't told why Naomi was not out gleaning. Maybe she was too old and feeble. Maybe the trip had taken a toll on her. I've actually recently begun to wonder, that maybe she was working on behalf of the landlord of the apartment where they're living, because if they came back absolutely empty, how can they afford to live in town in an apartment? So maybe she's doing something on her own. We don't know for sure, but in a bit we are going to see that Ruth really modeled that depressed people need to serve in order to get out of their funk. And she's very encouraged by Ruth's proactive faith. Now, Naomi also brightens when she sees God's very generous provision in verses 17 through 19. This is chapter 2. Now, it's obvious it came through Ruth, but it was also clearly God's generous provision. So she gleaned in the field until evening and beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an eave of barley. Then she took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. So she brought out and gave it to her. what she had kept back after she had been satisfied. Now in our next sermon, we're gonna see that an ephah is somewhere between 29 and 50 pounds, depending on which of the only two references to an ephah we have in the ancient world. I think it's closer to 50 pounds. That's a lot to glean. When you realize, picking up a little grain here and there, that's a lot of stuff that she has gleaned. But the faith of Boaz, also was used by God to stir up the faith of Naomi. When you hang out in a community of faith it can be contagious. And so she would have heard from Ruth's reports about the blessing in verse four, Yehovah be with you. And the answer of the reapers, Yehovah bless you. She would have heard how Boaz had protected Ruth and provided for her, instructed her. I mean this all gets reported in verses 19 through 23. Let's go ahead and read that. Beginning chapter two, verse 19. And her mother-in-law said to her, where have you gleaned today? And where did you work? Blessed be the one who took notice of you. So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, the man's name with whom I work today is Boaz. Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, blessed be the Lord who has not forsaken his kindness to the living and the dead. And Naomi said to her, this man is a relation of ours, one of our close relatives. Ruth the Moabitess said, he also said to me, you shall stay close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest. And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, it is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women and that people do not meet you in any other field. So she stayed close by the young women of Boaz to glean until the end of barley harvest and wheat harvest, and she dwelt with her mother-in-law. One of the worst decisions that a limeleck made was to go to a place where there were no Christians, Moab, okay? Just because there are good economic opportunities is not a good enough reason to relocate. And I think that preppers nowadays need to realize that. The community of faith must have a higher priority. And Naomi's decision to go back, however awkward and uncomfortable that return would, and it would have been awkward. However awkward and uncomfortable it might have been was the best decision she could have made. She needed a community of faith. Those in isolation struggled the most with discouragement, depression, bitterness, and disillusionment. And Naomi's instruction for Ruth to stay close to Boaz and his entourage and his influence was also wise. Too frequently, people make economic decisions that do not factor church and Christian faith into the decision at all. But we've been seeing in this series from time to time that coals that are scattered tend to die out, whereas coals that cling together retain their fire for a long, long time. But of course, bitter and depressed people don't want to be in a community of faith. I mean, it really is out of their comfort zone. But it is really the best place for them, especially if you have no believing family. Naomi also appealed to God's law on behalf of Ruth. Though the custom of lover at marriage seems strange in our eyes, it was a means of promoting covenant succession. And because I'm gonna deal with that under the Ruth sermon, I'm not gonna do so right now. Other than just to say, again, Naomi's trying to be biblical. And in verses 19 through 20 that we just read, she blesses others. Blessing others and being thankful are two disciplines that help to turn despondency into joy. I have found thankfulness and blessing to be absolutely essential in overcoming bitterness. And they're both good means of fighting against other forms of negative thinking. But the patience she exhibits and encourages Ruth to show in chapter three, verse 18, also shows growth in faith. Chapter 3, verse 18, then she said, Sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will turn out, for the man will not rest until he has concluded the matter this day. Sitting still, you know, that's really tough. It's easier said than done when there are huge issues at stake. It takes faith to do that. It takes a trust that God really is for us, that He really is working in our environment, in our circumstances. And so all of these things we've just gone through are hints that Naomi was growing in faith. And as a result of her growth in faith, we see her growth in joy. And both faith and joy have the opportunity to grow in the community of faith. where previously she pushed people away when they wanted to help, we now see her gladly receiving the ministry and the service of others. That, too, is a healthy sign. For example, in chapter 3, she joyfully receives the generosity of Boaz and Ruth. Now, pride has a hard time being ministered to. because then you feel beholden to these other people, right? But it's a sign of humility when you can both serve others and receive service from others. Humility builds that interdependence with others, whereas pride tends to promote self-reliance and isolation. In chapter 4, verses 14 through 17, we have the joy she receives through the verbal blessings of others. Then the women said to Naomi, blessed be the Lord who has not left you this day without a close relative, and may his name be famous in Israel, and may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter is in law. excuse me, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons has borne him." We need to get better at praising and blessing one another. In verse 15, the same women allude to the spiritual nourishment that Boaz will bring, not only to Ruth, but also to Naomi. You see, as a kinsman redeemer, he's kind of acting as a shepherd, as a pastor in their lives. and may He be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age." Naomi needed somebody to wash her with the water of the Word and to nourish her spiritually. In my sermon on the book of Ruth, we saw that the whole book really points to Jesus Christ, our ultimate kinsman-redeemer. Boaz was a type of Christ. But even very literally, in his devotions, in his discipleship, He could be pointing her to the coming Messiah. He would be a restorer of life and a nourisher of life. And there was much that needed to be restored because Naomi had developed some pretty bad habits of thinking and speaking, and habits are not overcome overnight. And being in submission to a godly authority figure could be a blessing when you are depressed and you're not thinking right. Actually, it's good all the time, even if you're not depressed. I think it's been a wonderful thing for my mom to be under my authority in our home, and it's been good for our grandkids and our children. to have her close. The same verse says, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has born him. Ruth's love and faithfulness would be a boon to Naomi and would no doubt bring great joy to Naomi in the coming years. They're basically, these women are helping her to realize, man, you've got it good. Don't be bitter. You've got it incredibly good. Ruth is better than seven sons. You know, there's many an elderly man or woman who sits all day in the nursing home just watching TV or bored out of his skull because he's isolated. He's been abandoned. It's a tremendous blessing when Naomi's can be under the protection of a Boaz and a Ruth. But verse 16 gives yet another thing that would help Naomi out of her depression, regret, and disillusionment, and that is service. Service may seem like an odd thing to require of a depressed person, that's the last thing they want to do is to serve, but it is an absolute essential to gaining healing. Absolutely essential, it really is. Verse 16 says, then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom and became a nurse to him. Basically, she's becoming a babysitter, okay? Service is essential for those who have gone through a season of bitterness, depression, or disillusionment. When pain comes our way, it's so easy to do the opposite because we're paralyzed. We have a hard time making decisions or acting. Sometimes people just want to curl up in a ball and wish or hope that the world will go away. But Naomi once again serves. She does what she can. Now, I've already mentioned she may have been serving already, you know, the landlord in order to, you know, be able to get the room there. But in any case, this verse highlights the importance of service even in old age. Now sometimes that service has to transition as the elderly become more feeble into prayer. I mean, even prayer and writing letters and counsel, and there's other ways in which people can serve, but throughout our lives we can and should serve. The final thing that would bring her joy would be that she regained a vision for the future. Hopeless people need to learn how to regain hope. Now she'd have no way of knowing that King David, you know, or Jesus would be a descendant of Obed, that son. But she could know that her line was not cut off and her property would not go to a stranger. Those two things all by themselves would give her a vision for the future. But take a look at verse 17. It's kind of worded oddly to our modern ears. But instead of saying a son has been born to Ruth and Boaz, it says there is a son born to Naomi. Childless Naomi is now the legal parent of Obed and the foster mother of Obed to carry on her line. And the reason it's worded this way is that Boaz acted as a redeemer to both Ruth and Naomi. She redeemed Naomi's land and became a redeemer to Mary Ruth. So it's really a combination of two functions of the kinsmen redeemer. And so when you look at it that way, a seed had been raised up for both, and both land and seed pointed prophetically to Jesus who would inherit the earth. This ceremonial law was a symbol pointing to Jesus. And even the name of Obed speaks of what Naomi had been changed for. His name means one who serves. And that reversal is one of many reversals in the book. I'll just list six of the most prominent reversals that have been noticed by commentaries. These are not in your notes. First, Naomi's deep sorrow for the tragedy of death gives way to remembering the blessings of God upon both the dead and the living. Chapter 1, verse 8. Chapter 2, verse 20. Here's my application. Our memories should not primarily focus on what was lost. That's how we get bitter. Our memories should primarily be focused upon God's goodness to us in the midst of our losses. Naomi realizes that even in Moab, she had plenty to be thankful for, especially in Ruth. Second, this is the second reversal. Seeking rest in the wrong source, in chapter one, verse nine, is replaced with seeking rest in the right source, in chapter three, verse one. Our souls seek for rest But true rest ultimately comes from Christ, our Kinsman Redeemer. We tend to find rest in all of the wrong places, and Naomi realized God's definition of rest was best. Third, the pleasant Naomi of 1-2 was changed so easily into the bitter Marah of 1-20, and then reversed again by grace into the pleasant Naomi of 4-14-17. And this, to me, shows that bitterness can automatically happen, even to a believer If we are not very, very careful, but reversing bitterness, oh my, that is very, very difficult. It takes grace, it takes work. A bitter person doesn't have to stay bitter, but they are going to have to fight for joy. It's going to be a battle, and your true friends are going to refuse to call you Mara. They're going to refuse to allow you to stay in your identity of bitterness. None of the neighbors were willing to call her Mara. Fourth, Naomi left Israel thinking she was full. when really she was not spiritually full, not at all. And she came back to Israel thinking she was empty, when really she was fully blessed with Ruth. And it takes both Boaz and Ruth to make her realize how full and blessed she really was in chapter three, verse 17. And the application that I get from that is that satisfaction comes from right focus, not perfect circumstances. You're never gonna have perfect circumstances. Fifth, leaving God's people ended up sucking Naomi dry, and being restored to God's people restored her joy. There is a connection. We should never underestimate the benefits of a godly community of people. The sixth reversal, people note, is a reversal of barrenness to fruitfulness. But interestingly, Naomi's fruitfulness was not literal. Instead, it was enjoyed vicariously. And here is the application I make. The ability to find joy in someone else's success is a wonderful grace. In fact, it's a grace, I think, that can help move us out of bitterness as well. So those are six wonderful reversals in Naomi's life, and I want to end with four more applications from her life. First, refuse to draw negative conclusions about God or your life in the middle of despair. It's very tempting, but don't do it. Remember that your story is not yet finished. He who has begun a good work in you will continue working on the tapestry of your life until it comes out as a beautiful work of art. So refuse to draw negative conclusions about God or your life when you are in the middle of a time of despair, pain, or loss. Second, refuse to become a mara, a bitter person. Learn to praise God and thank God for absolutely everything that God providentially brings into your life. That may seem like an exaggeration, but if everything works together for our good, you can thank God for everything that He brings into your life. Now, that doesn't mean you can't be—you have to be passive. You can work to better yourself. You can pray that God would change your situation, but Ephesians 5 says, While you're praying that God would change your situation, be thankful to Him for the situation. Let me read that for you. Ephesians 5 says, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. That thanksgiving for all of the difficulties that God has trusted you with will preserve your heart from becoming a Mara heart. Third, some of life's greatest blessings come through great risk. I didn't even mention at the beginning of the sermon what a risky trip that was. It's a seven to 10 day journey through pretty rugged terrain where bandits can hang out. And Naomi may have figured, it's okay for me to die. If they wanna kill me, I'm an old woman, but these young women, they could be raped, they could be kidnapped. I mean, who knows what? She was looking out for them from a humanistic perspective. But it was a huge risk to do that, and she took a big risk in even going back to her old neighbors who might have thought poorly of her for leaving in the first place. But some of life's greatest blessings come through great risk. Finally, entrust yourself and your children to your kinsman Redeemer, Jesus. Though you are weak, He is strong on your behalf. Though you may feel poor, He is rich, and He has blessed you with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." That's Ephesians 1, verse 3. James promises, if you lack wisdom, ask. He'll give you all the wisdom that you need if you ask in faith. So, let's learn to avoid the negative characteristics that led pleasant Naomi to become Mara. and let's imitate the godly characteristics that flowed from faith and that turned Mara back into a pleasant Naomi. Amen. Father, thank you for your word. It is so instructive and transformational. May each one of us learn to grow in life, learn to grow in our godly responses to even your difficult providences. Help us, Father, to put off all Mara bitterness. and to put on the Naomi pleasantness of life. Help us to be people that are fun for others to hang around. Help us to be people who fill others with hope and joy and love and faith. May our faith be contagious. Father, give to us the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. May He live His life through us. And I pray all of this in Jesus' name.