Women's Retreat 2007 - Ruth
- Susan Trout
- Nov 9, 2007
- Series: Women
Introduction:
Viewing the book of Ruth as a play
a) Scene One - The Cast of Characters
b) Scene Two - Enter Jesus
c) Scene Three - At His Feet (Threshing Room Floor)
d) Scene Four - Redemption
Scene One- The Cast of Characters
Names in Scripture:
(1) Ecclesiastes 7:1 "A good name is better than fine perfume"
(2) Isaiah 43:1: "Fear not for I have redeemed you, I have summoned you by name, and you are mine..."
(3) Zechariah's silence (Lk.1:11-20) "Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous - to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well on in years." The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time." Luke 1:57-66 "When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy. On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, but his mother spoke up and said, "No! He is to be called John." They said to her, "There is no-one among your relatives who has that name." Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone's astonishment he wrote, "His name is John." Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God. The neighbors were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, "What then is this child going to be?" For the Lord's hand was with him."
(4) Jacob wrestles the Angel (Gen. 32:22-32) "That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak." But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." The man asked him, "What is your name?" "Jacob," he answered. Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, [Israel means he struggles with God.] because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome." Jacob said, "Please tell me your name." But he replied, "Why do you ask my name?" Then he blessed him there. So Jacob called the place Peniel, [Peniel means face of God.] saying, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared." The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob's hip was touched near the tendon."
History as a play; the setting and cast
The Places and Players in Ruth
ÿ The Setting - Bethlehem and Moab
(1) This play is set in a dark time of history, "When the Judges Ruled." Ironically this is a time of famine, perhaps a time of judgment from God on His people, and yet Bethlehem means, "The House of Bread!"
(2) Moab - a place of pagan worship, a Godless nation, full in provisions during this period. This is an attraction for Elimelech
ÿ The Cast
(1) Elimelech's name means, "God is King."
(a) He moves his family away from God's people to a pagan nation, in search of bread
(b) He trusts himself to provide, rather than trusting in God's provision
(c) Was God "King" in Elimelech's life?
(d) Elimelich's untimely death
(2) Mahlon and Kilion.
(a) These two names mean "sick," and "dying."
(b) Both die an untimely death 10 years after their father died, leaving Naomi, Ruth and Orpah destitute.
(3) Orpah means "Stiff-necked"
(a) She chooses to leave Naomi and Ruth on the way to Bethlehem.
(b) Her heart and her people are in Moab.
(c) Driven by idolatry, she chooses to live in the way she has known.
(4) Ruth means "Friend"
(a) Ruth becomes a believer
(b) Ruth's condition looks somewhat like many of ours - no father representation in her life, and though she is young, she is not a virgin
(c) Ruth remains with Naomi even though it holds no prospect for her but to share in Naomi's desolation.
(d) She has tasted and seen that God is good.
(5) Naomi means "Pleasant"
(a) Once a woman of blessing, she is probably an encourager or one you'd like to be with
(b) Naomi is a widow. In the Hebrew the word widow means "to be tongue-tied" or to lose the ability to speak.
(c) She goes away from her people
(d) She is left alone and destitute with two daughters-in-law to provide for.
(e) She changes her name to Mara - "for God has made my life very bitter"
(f) She went away full and came back empty
(6) Boaz has a name that is not clearly defined, though it may denote strength.
(a) He is described as a mighty man of wealth and valor.
(b) Boaz is the Jesus representative.
(c) We will more fully explore his character in the third scene of this play.
ÿ Being Renamed
(1) In his book "To be Told," Dan Allender says this about names: "When we are named Orphan, Stranger, or Widow, we begin the journey of finding our new name."
(2) "Unnaming" is a process through which God identifies with your struggle and gives you a new name through redemption. In this book of Ruth, Naomi experiences unnaming through relocation, the deaths of her husband and two sons, and the loss of her reputation.
(3) In the NIV introduction to the book of Ruth, the theme and theology of this book is described as "primarily a story of Naomi's transformation from despair to happiness through the selfless, God-blessed acts of Ruth and Boaz."
(4) The story of Jacob is set after his brother had pursued him unto death. Jacob experienced unnaming through the relational struggles he suffered as a result of his sinful pursuits. His brother denounced him and his pride turned to fear. But remember what happened to Jacob after he was renamed. The angel told him that he was named Israel "because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome."
Prayerful exercises:
∑ Tonight we have handed out name cards. On these cards we have written an accepted meaning of your name. Ponder the meaning of your name and share it with the women you are with tonight. Consider how your name has been an active part of the part you play in God's redemptive story.
∑ Explore with another woman a time in your life when you experienced a loss of name.
Scene Two - Enter Jesus
1) Where Jesus Enters
a) Our Destitute state - Ruth and Naomi are now destitute
b) Ecclesiastes 7:2 "It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart."
c) God's Sovereignty
d) John 9:1-5 "As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." The phrase "turned out" is a phrase that for the believer implies more than chance. It directly links our Lord's hand to Ruth's situation. Simply said, He made it so. Our God is Sovereign and He demonstrated His love for Ruth right in the middle of the loss of her husband and her livelihood, and he gave her salvation. Ruth asserted this profession of faith when she would not leave Naomi, the only Christian she knew. She told Naomi, "Your people will be my people and your God my God."
e) Job 1:12 "The Lord said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands but on the man himself do not lay a finger." In the book of Job, his so called friends assert that unrepentance is the cause of his suffering. God tells Satan in verse 12 of the first chapter that "everything he has is in your hands." God allowed serious suffering in Job's life, yet Job is the one whom he called, "blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil." The Sovereign Lord has Ruth's story well written in poverty and blessing.
2) The Humble Redeemer
a) Boaz is a wonderful reflection of our Lord Jesus
b) Protector- he makes it clear to the men that she is not to be touched.
c) Provider- he tells his men to make sure she gets the grain she needs
d) Friend- Boaz shares a feast with Ruth.
e) Redeemer- more in Chapter three
3) Losing Your Name; Suffering is Where Jesus Enters
a) The story of Honey Bee and Kayla
b) Grief and Jesus
Acts 13:47 "I have made you a light for the Gentiles that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth"
Scene 3 - At His Feet on the Threshing Room Floor
Verses Chapter 3
1) Luke 3: 16-17 "John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
2) John 3:8 "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."
The Set: The Threshing Room Floor
1) The Lord has Ruth in a Threshing room. The purpose of the threshing room was to prepare the grain for distribution to those who needed food.
2) Ruth, compelled by love and honor, daringly went to the threshing room.
3) The threshing process
a) Flailing
b) Winnowing
c) Fire
Flailing and winnowing
1) Susan's story of naming and unnaming (flailing and winnowing)
"The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives." Psalm 37:23 (NLT)
2) Chapter three of Ruth is about daring interaction with Jesus
Ruth's daring night at the feet of Boaz in the threshing room reminds me of a situation in C. S. Lewis's Narnia Chronicles where the character Lucy asks about Aslan the redeemer character in the story: "Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion," said Lucy. "That you will dearie, and no mistake" said Mrs. Beaver, "if there is anyone who can appear before Aslan without his knees knocking, they're either braver than most or else just silly". "Then he isn't safe?" said Lucy. "Safe said Mr. Beaver. "Don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King. I tell you."
If you know God's love and grace, you will not avoid the threshing room. It is a place of rest, celebration and chaos where you will undergo the beating, upheaval, falling and fire involved with the process of redemption. It is the Christian life.
Prayerful exercises:
∑ Is there a painful truth in your life that you haven't taken to the threshing room?
∑ What might it look like for you to encounter Jesus and the Spirit in your story?
∑ Is there a tangible way in which your sisters in Christ can help you? Can you ask for that help today?
Scene 4 - Redemption
Tangible Evidence - Chapter 4
Verses
Isaiah 61:1-3 "The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God; and provide for those who grieve in Zion- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes; the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor."
Matt. 25:31-46 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, "Come you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in. I was sick and you looked after me. I was in prison and you came to visit me." Then the righteous will answer him, "Lord when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?" The King will reply, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."
Psalm 30:11 (NLT) "You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy..."
Isaiah 57:15 (NLT) "...I restore the crushed spirit of the humble and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts."
Revelation 21:1-4 "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things has passed away."
Historical Redemption
1) The life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Future Redemption: Jesus in Heaven
Revelation 4:2-3 (NLT) "And instantly I was in the Spirit and I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it! The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones- jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow."
Redemption Today
Ladies I hope that during our time in this lovely book of Ruth you have been encouraged to live your lives, every detail of it fully. I pray that you will fervently look for the movement of the Spirit and God's evidence of redemption in every facet of your days here. I also pray that you will know that you are tangible evidence of God's artistic expressions of surprise and delight. You have been redeemed; you are being redeemed and will see full redemption. This is God's glorious plan! If you know Jesus, your life is a light in the great play our Lord is working out, a play that displays his redemptive love. Love daringly while you wait for your change and the change of others because you are in the threshing room and the process isn't over until it is completed by the Winnower. Enjoy the ride! Savor the wind in your soul and in your hair. Learn to embrace the fire of the Spirit as it is your passage to truth. Fight evil by simply living your story because "the glory of God is man fully alive!"
Revelation 2:17 "... I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it known only to him who receives it."
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