Emptiness Everywhere [Announce Text] Please Open your to chapter 1. [Scripture Introduction] Good morning, my name is Brett Sweet and I’m one of the pastors here at Grace Christian Fellowship where we exist to glorify God through gospel-centered worship, evangelism, discipleship, and community. We are just beginning a series through the . [Prayer for illumination] Please pray with me… [Illustration] Theodore Roosevelt often kept a diary but not always. Perhaps it was due to his busy job with the New York state legislature that his diary remained mostly empty in 1884. There was one notable exception- February 14th 1884. Two days after being filled with joy at the birth of his daughter on the 12th, a massive black X was written in the empty diary. His beloved mother Mittie had died at 3:00 am of Typhoid Fever. Eleven hours later Theodore’s wife Alice died of undiagnosed Bright’s disease in the same house. He would later write of that day, “The light has gone out of my life.” He felt little interest in his newborn daughter, also named Alice. He felt empty. So he chose to empty the immaculate house his father had built on 57th Avenue. They must move. Emptied of two of the most meaningful people in his life, Theodore turned away from the life he had known. He turned away from a promising political future. He turned away from his home on the east coast. He turned to the west. Where he would spend the next few years as a cattle ranch and big game hunter. He had to turn somewhere. Loved ones gone. Dreams dead. Even his impressive wealth was no comfort. The light had gone out of his life. All was darkness. Emptiness that seemingly could never be filled again. Have you been there? Where would you turn? Parents divorced…where will you turn? Emptied of your health. An empty chair in the living room where that loved one sat before they died. An empty room in the house where that child used to sleep- but now they’ve moved out and moved on. An empty mailbox where there should be a paycheck. An empty fridge and stomach. An empty future. Ruth chapter 1 is for you. It asks us a question this morning: [Proposition] Where do you turn when you are empty? We’re in church, so you know the answer. To God. If that’s true, great. But really. Where do you turn? Distraction through media or video games or music? To food? To substances? Like Roosevelt, do you turn to the wilderness? will show us that God cares for empty people and we’ll see that by looking at a real woman named . We’ll follow her story. In this chapter we’ll look at the stages of her journey in three scenes and with her we’ll try to answer our question: Where do you turn when you are empty? The three scenes. Scene 1 is called “Emptiness everywhere.” Scene 2 we’ll phrase as a question: “Return on which road?” Scene 3 is could be summarized under the title: “Bitter and empty in .” Let’s start at the beginning: [Scene 1] Emptiness Everywhere Naomi, as we’ll see, will openly refer to herself as empty. But how did she get there? And she is empty of what? First we’ll see that she is [Subpoint 1] Empty of bread Look with me at vv. 1-2 In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in went to sojourn in the country of , he and his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were . They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. The first sentence of Ruth tells us that things are really bad. A family from Bethlehem which means “House of Bread” is empty of bread. There is a famine in the land. There is no bread. There is no food. Further, we’re told that this is during the time of the judges, so this is a bad time to be in Israel. Empty of a king. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes the tells us. It was chaos, anarchy. It was riots and invasions. But while there is emptiness everywhere, the main problem in this moment is that the famine has made this family empty of bread. So Elimelech ignores God’s promises that are connected to the land of Israel and travels east across the Jordan River to Moab. Trying to find a place that isn’t empty of bread. But there’s emptiness everywhere. If they are empty of bread in Bethlehem. What is Naomi empty of in Moab? [Subpoint 2] Empty of offspring Let’s read vv. 3-5 But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was and name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband. The light has gone out of Naomi’s life. Once a promising future. Now she’s empty. Her husband dead. But at least she has her two sons and look, they’ve gotten married! Grandchildren will be along any day. Any month now. But ten years go by. No grandchildren. Then, after a combined 240 monthly cycles or so, Mahlon and Chilion die. The text actually uses unusual words for “sons” here. It is a word that usually means little children even though they’re grown. Naomi’s offspring, Naomi’s babies are dead. [Application] Many of you know what this is like. To pray and wait and hope for a child or a grandchild and they don’t come. Still others have had that child with them for a while only to lose them. It can make you feel empty. The book of Ruth is one of many books in the that will show you that God is still with you. That he still loves you. That He still cares. Even if you are empty of offspring. Even if you feel empty of a husband or wife to help create offspring. Your results may not be like Naomi’s. But the Bible is very clear that God is drawn to the hurting and empty. But where do you turn when you are empty? Where will you go when there is emptiness everywhere. That’s the question Naomi and her daughters-in- law must face. Let’s look and ask the question they must ask which is this: [Scene 2] Return on which Road? A husband and sons were the source of a woman’s income, food, her housing, her retirement plan, her dreams. And they have now been totally emptied. So these three widows begin down a road together. Probably a dusty and bumpy road on foot. Probably carrying what little possessions they had on their backs. Where will they return? If they didn’t come to a literal crossroads, they at least came to a metaphorical crossroads. They must decide on which road to return. The first option is that they could return on [Subpoint 1] The Road of Common Sense Let’s read vv. 6-14 together 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. 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. But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The LORD grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. And they said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it exceedingly bitter for me for your sake that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me.” Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. Naomi, who says in v. 13, that she has an even more bitter lot than the young ladies, is a voice of common sense. So Naomi points Ruth and Orpah, who were both wonderful wives and wonderful daughters-in-law, to turn down the road of common sense back to Moab. Naomi is the voice of reason. She makes perfect sense. The only way Orpah and Ruth can have rest, v. 9, is if they have a husband. It’s common sense for them to leave a mother-in-law for a husband. Naomi seems to point out the fact that she could never have sons that could be their husbands. Furthermore, it is highly unlikely that these Moabite women will be welcomed in Israel at all. They are outsiders. Israelites remember the stories of how the Moabites began from incest and how the Moabites had treated their Israelite forefathers terribly. Yes, these daughters-in-law love Naomi. Yes, they feel like family. Yes, they want to remain loyal and remain with her. But to stay with Naomi makes no sense. They must part. They must go down the road of common sense. Be with their support systems. Be with their people. So we see everyone crying in sadness. And we see Orpah kiss her mother-in-law goodbye and she Returns on the Road of Common Sense to Moab. [Application] Let me just say that I think I probably would have returned on the Road of Common Sense with Orpah. She made an effort to stay with Naomi, but Naomi has told Orpah that Orpah will be better off without Naomi. They even debated about it. Naomi gave Orpah a blessing in the name of YHWH, the Covenant God, to depart and go back to her family. God uses common sense. God uses human reason and persuasion. Often, God blesses the Road of Common Sense. So Orpah walked down it. I think I would have probably walked down it. Wouldn’t you have done the same? It was her best to have the American Dream. A husband, kids, wealth. Maybe a nice home in the best Moabite school district. But this is a crossroads. There is a choice that needs to be made. Where do you turn when you are empty? Orpah, in her emptiness, chose to return on the road of common sense. But we see Ruth choose a different road in her emptiness. Ruth returns on the [Subpoint 2] Road of committed love Let’s read vv. 15-18 And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts from you.” And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more. Here we have one of the most beautiful pictures of committed love in the Bible. Ruth now has the added pressure of peer pressure. Orpah has gone down the road of common sense, but Ruth refuses to run down the road after her. She has chosen the road of committed love toward Naomi. Naomi continues to press her and reason with her and Ruth in v. 16 says, in a loving way, “Naomi, back off. I’m returning with you. My commitment and love toward you lead me down the road you walk.” Ruth’s life is now attached to another. Where Naomi stays, Ruth will stay. Ruth is turning her back on her people, her ethnicity, her family, her history, even her religion because she has chosen the Road of Committed love. It cost her everything. [Gospel] The Bible tells us that, whether we feel it or not, without Jesus we are empty people. We are empty of the bread of life. We are empty of good deeds and righteousness. In fact it says that the only thing we’re storing up or filling up, according to Romans 2:5 is wrath. But Jesus has come to rescue us from the wrath of God that we are storing up for ourselves. Jesus has come and taken our wrath on the cross and exhausted it so that there isn’t a drop left. And we know this because He was raised from the dead. As if he made the full payment with his life and death, and yet He had life left over like when a cashier gives you back your change. Jesus has shown committed love to you if you are a Christian. He now clings to you by His Holy Spirit. And He will not leave you. But, you must now travel the Road of Committed love that Jesus travels. You must be like Ruth. You must be willing to leave everything. Your family is now less important than Jesus. Your racial identity must take a back seat to Jesus. You must be willing to leave your old life and history in the past. All those things are important, and usually you won’t have to abandon them, but you might. That’s what it means to have Jesus as your Lord and Master. Please do that today! Jesus uses this language in His parables often. That when you see the value of who He is and what the Kingdom of God is like, you will see that everything in this world is garbage in comparison. You will be willing to throw it all away to get the life Jesus offers you! Bible experts debate this, but if I had to choose, I would say that what we are looking at here is Ruth’s conversion. Sometimes conversion doesn’t seem real flashy on the outside. Sometimes it doesn’t feel supernatural on the inside even though it is. For those of you raised in Christian homes you may need to hear that. But conversion is settling once and for all that the God of the Bible, the Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ, will be your God. I think that’s what happens here and I think it also because Ruth invokes a curse on herself in v. 17 in the name of the LORD- the covenant name YHWH. The name God’s people use of their LORD. [Application] Do you notice also the importance of other people? One of the ways God cares for the empty is through the committed love of others. When you see that needy person, will you exercise faith and choose the road of committed love and be God’s hands and feet to others? Are you willing to give up your money, your time, your energy, your spare bedroom in a risky way to show committed love to others? Are we humble enough to receive it when others step out this way for us? This is one of the ways God cares for the empty. Through the committed love of others. Will you talk to the loner at lunch? Will you visit the sick? Will you treat the homeless or the drug addict like they are made in God’s image? Will you sit with your aging parents at the retirement home- even if it’s boring? Will you love your little sibling even if he’s annoying? Will you love the rebellious child? This is the road of committed love. This is the road we must choose as Christians, sometimes even when it goes against common sense. Where do you turn when you are empty? That’s the question we’re trying to answer by studying Ruth 1. We saw that Scene 1 showed us Emptiness Everywhere, Scene 2 made us ask ourselves to return on which road. Now let’s look at Scene 3 with I’ve entitled: [Scene 3] Bitter and Empty in Bethlehem [Illustration] In the ‘90s Romantic Comedy “Sleepless in Seattle” there is a radio show where different people call in and are labeled with corresponding titles that allow them to remain anonymous and unnamed. So the widower character played by Tom Hanks is nicknamed “Sleepless in Seattle.” If Naomi were that radio host she would nickname herself “Bitter and Empty in Bethlehem.” Let’s look at the nickname [Subpoint 1] Bitter and Empty Let’s read vv. 19 through the first sentence of v. 22- So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. Naomi blames God for her troubles. Could the emptiness in Moab be judgment for sin? Maybe. We don’t know. Could God have stopped it? Yes. Is Naomi right for crediting God for bringing her emptiness? Job said this and he was right. What we do know is that the way Naomi has responded has not been great. But let’s be compassionate. Let’s recognize that this is a depth of suffering few of us have experienced. The women in town are asking if this really is Naomi. Is it because they hard years have taken their toll? Probably a bit. But the Hebrew implies that they are excited. Glad to have her back. But not Naomi. She wants a new identity. She wants a new name. She was Naomi which could mean “pleasant” or “sweet.” But now she wants the name Mara, because she’s bitter. And she looks around and she’s completely empty. She has no one. She went away full but now she’s empty. Do you see Ruth’s level of committed love now? It’s hard to be around bitter people. In Naomi we see someone so bitter that she refuses to even acknowledge the existence of Ruth. She says that she’s empty. But her daughter-in-law came back with her. Yes, she’s a Moabite as v. 22 says. But she is Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law who is with her. Naomi is Bitter and Empty in Bethlehem. We’ve look at Bitter and Empty, now let’s look at Bethlehem. If you are taking notes, this is what I would write down: [Subpoint 2] Bethlehem- a new beginning? v. 19 and v. 22 tell us that the women have arrived at Bethlehem, the house of bread. Now let’s read that last verse again paying attention to the final sentence So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest. Bethlehem, the house of bread was empty of bread at the beginning of the chapter. But v. 6 told us that the LORD had visited his people and given them food. “Visited” meaning come in power. And now Bethlehem is beginning the barley harvest. There is bread again in Bethlehem. What is significant is that barley is the first crop to be harvested. It means that empty Naomi has arrived at just the right time. It hints that there could be a new beginning coming. Barley, then other grains like wheat. After the grains, then grapes and wine. After the grapes and wine, then olives and olive oil. They just might be able to survive. Could this be a new beginning for these empty women? Could God be showing care and kindness for empty people? Could He be beginning to fill them up? [Application] People come to Christ for a new beginning. We come to Jesus for new life. That word that is translated for “return” all throughout the chapter is the same word translated often in the as “repent.” It doesn’t matter how empty you are. Many of us who are empty want to do what Naomi tries to do. She tries to create a new identity for herself. Have you been tempted to do that? New stage in life. New career. New place to live. New hobbies. New identity somewhere on the LGBTQ spectrum. But the problem arises because you try to create it yourself. It’s your blueprints and fingerprints all over your identity. It always has you injected into every cell. So no matter where you go, what you call yourself, there you are. To be someone new you need someone outside you to recreate you and give you a new identity. And only God has the power to do that. So the key is to repent and return to God who is the only one of giving you a new identity in Christ that’s better than the one you have. [Conclusion] Sometimes the hurt is so deep when we’ve been emptied of something important like offspring, that we don’t begin to notice when God may be showing His committed love to us by filling us with something small like bread. We forget that God was with us in our Moab, on our road of life, in our home town. Our bitterness keeps us from tasting the foretaste of the sweet future. We feel bitter and empty and we don’t realize we’re in Bethlehem. We don’t see the ray of hope that may be a new beginning. Teddy Roosevelt was empty and turned to the wild west. He didn’t know that a new wife and children were in his future. He didn’t know that he would one day be president. He didn’t know he would have a new beginning. When we’re empty we must turn to the God who brings new beginnings. And the thing about a beginning is that we don’t know what is coming. Christian, you know the end of the story though. You know that after the days of the Judges came the time of Kings. And you know the King of Kings. You know about the fullness of the New Heavens and the New Earth. You know about justice really been done on the last day. You know about the loving Savior who will live with you forever. You have your new beginning. You have your hope even when you feel empty. So when we’re empty we turn to God who brings new beginnings. When we’re empty we turn to the only one who can fill us up.