- (Rth 1:6 ESV) Then she __________ with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of __________, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the __________ had visited his people and given them __________.
- Then she arose
- Genesis 4:8, Genesis 6:18, Genesis 17:7, Ruth 4:5, 7
- This idea is not a split second decision
- Not something decided on a whim
- __________ had likely been looking at this option for quite some time, talking about the possibility of going back home
- It seems that there is a longing for return
- A heart bent for what was
- A desire to right the things wronged
- Maybe that is the call of God pulling her back: That idea of redemption
- God brings __________ what was lost.
- The LORD had __________ His people and given them food
- To visit is not to __________
- To show up seems to indicate that one had __________
- To remember gives us the idea of having __________
- But God is omnipresent
- And God is omniscient
- Knowing __________ things forever
- How can He visit if he is already there and remember what He cannot forget?
- He did not and He does not.
- This is a human view of the blessing of God
- As He grants their __________, they perceive He is back with them. In reality He always was.
- While we individually or nationally might turn __________ away from God, He has never turned __________ away from us.
- Luke 1:67-71
- This is redemption: that __________ would bring us back because we wandered away in our hearts.
- (Rth 1:7 ESV) So she set out from the place where she was with her __________ daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of __________.
- The family is different now
- Not those bright eyed youths with little boys running around their feet
- Now a bitter old __________ with two unclean, forbidden daughters-in-law in to keep fed
- How would the __________ people take to them?
- The Moabites were __________
- __________ forbidden, Cursed forever
- What would the people do when they showed up in town?
- (Rth 1:8 ESV) But __________ 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 __________ and with me.
- The idea of returning to their __________ houses
- Is a cultural reference to seeking safety
- And the long term need to remarry.
- There is safety in the established __________ of the family
- And safety in the __________ of a marriage long term.
- (Rth 1:9 ESV) The LORD grant that you may find __________, each of you in the house of her __________!” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and __________.
- Naomi rightly sees that she can provide them nothing of what they need
- She calls on the __________ to provide
- To meet the needs of these girls she loves as daughters, but cannot provide for in her condition
- That __________ would provide for the rest for their lives
- This is a very real scene we can relate to – good bye – forever
- Sometimes that happens in the plan
- Sometimes the last goodbye was supposed to be temporary – we thought
- In the middle of this journey to __________
- __________ is making her split with her daughters-in-law permanent
- Never again to see these girls.
- She goes back to __________
- They go home to their families in __________.
- (Rth 1:10 ESV) And they said to her, “No, we will return with you to your __________.”
- Amazing how strong a bond becomes when it is forged in the __________ of life.
- And here that is getting dissolved.
- Naomi knows what lies in store – the future is bleak
- And the Israelite culture will __________ them
- But it is her only hope to survive
- And for them to thrive
- If she really loved them
- She would let them __________
- Give them to best life possible
- Which can’t possibly be with her anymore.
- We’ve been there
- Stuck in a way we never planned on
- That we would do such and such just this __________
- Live this way for excitement for a __________
- Then a decade later we are stuck
- Never where we intended to be
- In way over our heads
- Drowning even.
- We’ve been there
- Where we commit to something
- Maybe __________ quickly
- Maybe something we should have really measured
- And we realize we __________ do it
- We can’t be in this anymore
- Its not what I thought
- And we look for the __________
- __________ does that to us
- Lures us in with a lie
- And nails us down with a burden too big to shake
- We’ve been there
- Where the draw of the __________ sucks us in
- The popularity of people
- The world’s __________
- And we trade in the true goodness from __________
- For the passing lies of the __________.
- There is something of a line in the sand moment here in Ruth
- That Naomi has decided she is going back __________
- Back to her people
- Back to her God
- And nothing will stop her
- Joshua 24:19-25, Luke 14:25-35, Matthew 6:31-33
- We can connect to this:
- You are in or out
- Hot or __________
- You can’t be on the team
- Where do you land today?
- Are you a __________ in the faith?
- Maybe you are a super fan
- Watching from the __________ in a jersey
- So close to the game you can smell the __________
- But not close enough to be a player?
- In __________ it is either in or out
- Not a little here and a little there
- Not some now and some later on
- Are you in the Lord committed to His will – or out?
