Well, I imagine that you like to receive good news from time to time. Good news, perhaps it's good news about something that's happening in a friend's life. Good news about something that's going on in a distant family member's life. And it's good news to hear about them and to hear that something Positive is happening. Something good is happening. A change in their circumstances that means that life is less difficult than perhaps it has been for a while. Well that's what happens to Naomi in the passage that we're considering this evening. Just a couple of verses from Ruth chapter 1 where in verses 6 and 7 it tells us that she, that is Naomi, arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab. For she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food. So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. Now as you may recall, Naomi along with her husband and her two sons had travelled from their hometown of Bethlehem to the land of Moab, to the south east of Israel. They've gone there because there's a famine in the land of Judah. There's a famine in that land because the Midianites have ransacked the territory and they come year after year when the harvests are ripe and they steal it all away and they take any livestock that they can find and they're pictured for us in the book of Judges like a swarm of locusts that devours everything in its path and leaves nothing then for the farmers, for the inhabitants of the land. And this scene of the Midianites stripping the land bare of all sustenance is probably the famine of which Ruth chapter 1 speaks to us. And so Elimelech, Naomi's husband has decided that they need to escape the famine, they need to go somewhere where there is food and where they can enjoy the comforts of life and he uproots his family and he takes them to the land of Moab. And there, as we observed last time, Naomi's life turns from a degree of fullness with a husband and sons and the means to travel, the means to find a better life. It turns from that to emptiness and bitterness. There in the land of Moab, Elimelech dies. and there sometime after Marlon and Killian Naomi's sons also die and she is filled with bitterness in the land of Moab and while she's there she receives good news. She receives a gospel message. The word gospel is an old English word that literally means glad tidings. Glad tidings come to Naomi in Moab. Now they're glad tidings of God's grace. It's the good news of God's blessing upon his people in Judah. The famine is relieved. The Midianites are defeated. God has heard the cries of his people in Judah and he's raised up for them a deliverer in the person of Gideon. And you know some of those stories of Gideon and his brave attempts to free the Israelites from the oppression of the Midianites and how God worked for them and destroyed the Midianites in that day. And so the breadbasket of Bethlehem that was empty and caused Elimelech and his family to flee to Moab, the breadbasket's full again. because God has delivered his people. God has done a good thing for them. And this is the gospel, this is the good news that Naomi hears about in the foreign land of Moab. Now, we immediately make some connections, don't we? The use of the language, the choice of words that I've made immediately makes you think of New Testament ideas of good news. It makes you think of the way that in the New Testament the gospel language is spoken, a language of hope, a language of deliverance, a language of salvation, a language of provision, of God's grace, of God's mercy to his people, of God raising up the a deliverer, one who would provide for his people some respite from the evils of this world and bring them into a place of fullness, of joy. And those gospel connections then are real and they're meant to be real between a book like Ruth and the New Testament. that those who find themselves in the midst of the bitterness and the harvest that sin produces in their lives as Naomi did there in Moab experiencing the death of her husband and of her sons and the emptiness that she then felt and the bitterness of her life well this is a picture as we've seen of sin and of separation from God and being under his wrath and chastisement rather than under his blessing and grace and it's right then that we as we read these words should expect to see some connection with the New Testament, it's there to point us to the New Testament and this good news then that comes to Naomi is intended to be a presentation, a picture of the Gospel, of the good news to sinners, sinners who are separated from God, sinners who are full of the bitterness of what sin produces in their lives. And the good news that God is a God of compassion, that God is a God of care and concern, and God is a God who responds to the cries of his people and who is able to deliver them. Now what I want you to observe firstly as we look at these two verses is that good news only produces fruit in the lives of those who recognize their need. It is good news to those who recognize their need. Now, we need to be careful as we read these words because what we discover is that Naomi has actually heard this good news sometime earlier. Naomi has known about God's deliverance of her family and friends back in Bethlehem for some time. Now I can't be dogmatic about how long she's known it. Did the good news come even before Elimelech died? It's possible. But it's almost certain that it came to her while Marlon and Cillian were still alive. We're told in verse 4 that Marlon and Killian took Moabite wives. The name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about 10 years and both Marlon and Killian died so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband. Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab. For she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food. She had already heard. The implication being she had heard this news before Marlin and Killian had died. She had heard this news earlier and it was good news, of course it was good news to her. There she was in Moab and she was enjoying a life of peace in a country that was at peace with its neighbours at that time. She was enjoying a degree of fullness of life because she had fled from the famine in Bethlehem and she had gone to a place where there was food. Now there was a degree of emptiness in her life because Elimelech has died there in that land, but still she has settled down there and Marlin and Cillian, they've both married and she has all the expectations that go with that. The longing soon she hopes to hold grandchildren in her arms. and to witness their first hesitant steps, and to hear those first words. Those are all the things that she lives for, that she longs for, as she continues her life in Moab and she hears this good news God has visited his people in Bethlehem and her friends there and the family members there they're no longer suffering under the oppression of Midian oil that's good news for her isn't it and she rejoices in this good news that her family and and her friends now have food to eat And they're no longer trying to hide away in caves when the Midianites attack. There's peace for her friends as well as peace for her now. They're able to settle down to normal lives as she has settled down to a normal life there in Moab. And so she hears this good news. But it doesn't really affect her own life. It doesn't bring about any real change in her own life. She's there, and she's relatively happy there. And she now has Orpah and Ruth, and they look after her, and they're going to produce grandchildren for her, and, well, she's settled now. And she can't uproot herself from Moab to go back to Bethlehem, back to her family and her friends, back to her tribe and her people. No, she has her people now here in Moab. And so the good news comes, but it doesn't affect her. It doesn't make any real difference to her. But then, The years pass and there are no grandchildren. The years pass and Marlon dies and Cillian or Cillian and Marlon or they both die at the same time, we don't know what takes them. But they both take her. And now what does she have? Now she's empty. She's lost her husband, she's lost her sons, she has no family there in Moab, and then she recalls the good news that she heard, that the Lord had visited his people and given them food way back there in Bethlehem. There her friends were eating, there her friends were at peace, There her friends were happy and here she was empty. And it's then in the emptiness of her life that she realises she shouldn't be in Moab. She should never have been in Moab. She should be in Judah. She should be in Bethlehem. She shouldn't be in Moab among the Moabites. She should be in Judah among the Israelites. She should be among the people who under the oppression of the Midianites eventually cried out to God and God heard their cry and raised up a deliverer who banished the Midianites and brought peace once again to the people and gave them food. That's where she should be. And this good news now takes root in a heart of need. A heart that recognises that this good news, that has done good to her people, may yet do some good to her. This good news that she wasn't prepared to recognize as supplying any need in her life, now in the midst of these changed circumstances, seems to ring to a new tune. and she hears it differently and it's an overture that draws her, it says come back, come home, come to your people, come to your God, rest in his provision and protection. And now she understands that this good news is not just For her family and friends in Bethlehem, this good news is for her too. If she turns around, if she goes back, then this good news can affect her life. And perhaps out of the bitterness of her life, she may yet find purpose and even possibly happiness. Good news. It's really only good news when we recognise our need. And that's true of the gospel, that's true of the New Testament gospel, of the good news that comes to us through Jesus Christ and through the apostles. The good news of God's provision for a deliverer to free us from the bondage of sin. and to draw us into a new kingdom where righteousness dwells. But that message of freedom from sin and its bondage and its terror and its consequences and effects, that good news is only good news when we recognize it, isn't it? It's only good news when we acknowledge our problem When we acknowledge that sin does hold us in its clutches, that we are imprisoned by it, and there's no way that we can escape it as hard as we may try. Our deeds are evil. Our thoughts are evil. And there's no way that we can live a life that sufficiently eases our consciences and gives us peace. That kind of idea, that kind of thinking only affects those who understand the plight that they're in, isn't it? You remember the story of the rich young ruler. That's how he's presented to us, isn't it? That's how we remember it, this rich young ruler. He seems to have everything. He's rich, he's young, and he's powerful. What more could you want in life? Well, he does want more. He wants eternal life. He wants his richness and his youth and his power to go on forever and ever and ever. Well, perhaps not exactly that, but he's looking for something more. He's looking for something that's more substantial than what he has. He realises perhaps that his wealth is a little bit precarious. If he doesn't watch the investment market closely enough, he may lose it all in a moment. He realises that his supporters are somewhat fickle and if he's not careful, his power could slip. And as for his youth, well, he knows that the days are passing. into years and the years into decades and he can't cling hold on to his youth and so all of this that seems so much he wants something more and he goes to Jesus doesn't he and he asks Jesus what what good thing should he do to guarantee for himself eternal life to secure eternal life what must he do to gain eternal life. Jesus asks him, you know the law? Oh yes, I know the law. Jesus recites it to him and he says, yes, I know it and what's more, I obey it. I've been keeping the law since my youth. And Jesus encourages him then, since he is a law abiding Israelite, to sell everything that he has and to follow Jesus. And then he will have eternal life. He will have this thing that he wants, but he's not willing to. He goes away sad, doesn't he? shoulders drooping his head down he had so much hope in this good teacher that he had heard so much about this man of wisdom who would tell him how he might have eternal life but he doesn't want to have it on those terms He doesn't, you see, realize and understand his real need. He wants what this earth offers more than he wants what God can offer him. And what God can offer him in his mind doesn't outweigh what he has. He doesn't put it on the balance and see that what God is offering him in eternal life is worth far more than his riches and his youth and his power that he has now. Now that to him is more valuable. And he doesn't recognize his need to be able to see that what Jesus is saying to him is actually good news. That he can have eternal life. That it's not a pipe dream. It's not some hopeless hope, some empty promise, but that if he will truly entrust himself to the care of this good teacher, he will reap good things. but he's not prepared to, because he doesn't recognise the depths of his needs. As far as he's concerned, he's a law-abiding Israelite, and so God should favour him, and bless him, and guarantee to him eternal life. He just wants that assurance, but he can't find it, and so he's going to carry on just hoping for it. because Jesus' terms don't sound like good news to him. But you see, the good news comes from a caring God, and that's the second thing that I want you to see. The good news comes from a caring God. The Lord had visited his people and given them food. That was the good news, that was the gospel that Naomi heard while she was in the land of Moab. Now why was this good news? Why was it good news that the Lord had given them food after all? Weren't they living in a land flowing with milk and honey? Wasn't this the promised land that grew with such abundance that when Moses sent spies into the land they could barely carry a bunch of grapes between two men? So prosperous was it that it was described as a land flowing with milk and honey. It was overflowing with fruitfulness. So why is it good news that the Lord had visited his people and given them food? Well, it was good news because for a time they hadn't had food. For a time, the land was not flowing with milk and honey. But why on earth was that the case since it's the promised land? Well, it's the case because Israel had forsaken God. They'd forgotten God. They were going their own way and doing their own thing and their own way and their own thing was to mingle with the peoples of the land and worship the gods of the land and not remain faithful to the God who had delivered them from slavery in Egypt and brought them into this inheritance that he promised to Abraham. And so God has chastened them. God has chastised them. God had brought a degree of judgment upon them so that the land that was to have flowed with milk and honey was dry. Nothing flowed there. It was a famine. It was empty. It was fruitless rather than fruitful. You know that was his care for them. This is how a father deals with a son that he loves. He chastens them so that they realise the folly of the choices that they're making and this is what God is doing. And what happened? What happened to the Israelites? After a time they cried out to God and God responded to their cries and he raised up a deliverer who freed them from the oppression of their enemies so that The people were given food. This is a God who cares. A God who is concerned for his people. Now what I want you to see is that God cares for Naomi too. And God loves Naomi. And he's concerned for Naomi. not only Naomi but he's concerned for Ruth as well and he's he set his love upon Ruth as well and he wants Ruth to experience the depths of his love and the breadth of his care he wants her to come into his embrace and receive protection from him and provision from him and so God has allowed Elimelech to take his family into Moab and there he's allowed a marriage to take place that brings Ruth under the influence of Naomi into Naomi's family and there because he wants Ruth and Naomi to end up back among the people of God in the land of promise He allows Elimelech to die there in Moab for his sins and rebellion. He allows Marlon and Kilian to die there in Moab for the folly of their choices and their disobedience to the principles of his law. And in that way, God is caring for Naomi and for Ruth. For it is through these mysterious providences that both Naomi and Ruth end up back in Bethlehem under the blessing of God. God has ordered the events of Naomi's life so that she eventually understands her need and understands the good news and responds to the good news and goes back to Bethlehem. God has ordered the events of Naomi's life so that along with her return to Bethlehem, Ruth accompanies her. You see both the people in Israel and Naomi in Moab eventually come to see that they needed God and they needed to return to God and God alone could help them and comfort them and provide for them but it was only through the circumstances of their lives, it was only through the chastisement and the grief that he brought into their lives that they came to recognise their need and to understand that this good news of God's care was what they needed. And you know, in our lives in this world, God works in all sorts of ways to bring sinners to a recognition of their need, of their need of Him. To take them away from their self-confidence or their confidence in some human philosophy or false religion. so that they're brought to an end of themselves. And when they eventually hear the good news of the gospel in Jesus Christ, they recognize it for what it is, good news for them. Because they've been brought to an end of themselves. Now there are some of you here in this room this evening, and you've heard the gospel over and over and over again, and you know it's no good news for you. It's not. You've heard all about Jesus, God's son who came into this world to save sinners. You've heard about how he lived a perfect life, though all kinds of horrible accusations were made against him and he was called all kinds of names, even calling him the devil. And yet his life was perfect and pure. You know that he gave up his life on the cross as a free will offering to God, as a payment for the sins of those who would trust in him. You know all of that good news of God's provision for sinners, but it's never come to you as good news. And the reason it's never come to you as good news is because you don't see your need of it. You don't understand the depths of the depravity of your heart, just how sinful you really are. And perhaps it will take something to really shake you to the core of your being. Perhaps it will take the unraveling of all of your hopes and all of your dreams, all of your ambitions and your expectations, before you will come to realize that you're a sinner in the hands of a holy God. And then, then perhaps you will understand that the thoughts of your hearts are only evil continually, and all of your righteousness is just filthy rags in God's sight. Perhaps then you will begin to see yourself as the defiled and dead and putrid thing that you are before God. And then perhaps the knowledge that God sent his son into the world to save dead and defiled and putrid people will be good news for you. Then perhaps you will respond and give thanks to God for his care, his care that brought you so low that it brought you to your senses. You remember the story of the prodigal son, don't you? Oh, how full his life was. How happy his life was. How full of enjoyment with his friends. Always partying. Always pleasure. Until the money ran out. And the friends ran out with the money. And he was left all alone, without a friend in the world. and how he became just a feeder of pigs. There was nothing left for him, was there? He was empty. He was hopeless. But Jesus tells us that it was when he was empty and hopeless that he came to his senses. He came to his senses, and he thought, I'll go home. I'll go home, and I'll become a servant in my father's house, because I know my father, and he's a man of compassion, and he's a man of fairness, and I think though I no longer deserve to be called his son, I think he'll take me in as a servant." And so he went, and he found himself in his father's embrace, welcomed as a son. And this is the love of God for sinners through Jesus Christ to those who recognize their need. He says, come to me. You who labour and are heavy laden under the burden of your sin, and I will give you rest. I will take away that burden. I will give you life and peace. This good news you see comes from a God who cares. He cares enough to strip away everything else in our lives that we would cling on to and try and find our hope in until there is nothing left for us but to cry out to God for mercy. But this good news requires a response. This good news isn't just news. It's an invitation. Well, it's stronger than an invitation. It's really a command. It's a call. It's an appeal. There in Moab. Naomi is stripped of everything that she had held on to, that she had hoped in. Her life was totally, completely empty. And the good news for her then came to her as an appeal. Come back home. Come back to your people, come back to your land, come back to your God. It wasn't enough for her to have heard that there was bread in Bethlehem. She had to go and benefit from it. And she did. She arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab. She set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. She responded to this good news that had come to her in her sorrow and bitterness in Moab. And if you are feeling the oppression of sin, if you have felt the bitterness of its fruit in your life, and you've heard the call of Jesus, come to me, then you must respond. You must not only hear the call, but you must obey the call. You must come to Jesus. Well, what does it mean to come to Jesus? Well, it means to believe in what he has done and to set all your hopes upon him. To cast yourself upon him, upon his care, upon his guidance. You're going to say to him that you will follow him. Wherever he leads you, you will go. That's what it means to come to Jesus. It means to take Jesus at his word, to trust his word, to believe that he came into the world to save sinners and that he did so by dying on the cross and bearing the wrath of the Holy God. And if you want to enjoy the blessings of this good news, you must believe that, trust that, that all of the horribleness of the sin in your life is taken by Jesus. that you will cast it all on Him in confession and say, take it all away from me, I cannot bear it. And it means that you will listen to His voice through His word, the Bible on how you should now live and that you will follow Him. Whatever road he takes you along, you will say, I believe that Jesus's way is the best way. I've tried my own way, and it led to bitterness and despair. I believe that however rough this way may be that he is calling me to, how fraught with danger it may be, I believe that in the end it will lead to life and peace and righteousness forevermore. You must respond to the good news. It's no good just sitting here and saying, well, it all sounds so lovely. Maybe later, maybe another time, another place. You've heard the good news. Do you see your need? If you do, don't delay, but appeal to God for mercy and trust in the work of Jesus Christ in saving sinners and follow him, beginning today, for the rest of your life. Let's pray. Our Father, we thank you for the Gospel call. that reaches us in our distant separation from you. Far off we roam in this world, not giving you a thought, not paying heed to your righteous laws, living our lives for ourselves, and yet this gospel call, this good news comes to us. in the midst of the busyness of our lives, in the fullness of our lives. And sometimes we don't hear it, but because you love and care for sinners in this world, you bring them to an end of themselves. We thank you that you do this. You don't just leave us alone, but you bring us to our senses. in your own wise way. We thank you that you draw us to the cross of Jesus Christ, to all of its shame and all of its ugliness. And you bring us to a realization that this place of agony and shame is the only place of release for us from the shame of our sins and the agony of hell. We thank you that you present to us the broken, bruised and battered and bloodied Jesus. And there we see a man under the judgment of God for sins he did not commit. And there we appeal to you, our God, that you would receive us cleansed in his blood, clothed in his righteousness. We thank you, our God, that you are a God who cares, that you are a God who so cares, so loves that you sent your son. that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Have mercy upon us all, we pray, and grant that each one here may come not only to hear the good news, but to recognise their need and to respond with faith in Jesus Christ. We ask in his precious name. Amen.