From Sweet to Bitter
Pastor Don Carpenter
The Story of Ruth / Ruth 1
According to the first verse of the book of Ruth, the story took place during the time of the judges. That’s why Ruth comes right after the book called Judges in our Bibles. The time of the judges was a 400-year period after Israel entered the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua and before there were any kings in Israel (roughly 1400 b.c. to 1000 b.c.).
Although some generations may be left out of the genealogy in Ruth 4:18–22, Boaz, who marries Ruth, is linked as a descendant from Rahab, the converted prostitute who lived when Israel first came into the Promised Land (Joshua 2:1, 3; 6:17, 23). We learn this from the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:5. This signals to us that remarkable things are in the offing. Why would a prostitute and a Moabitess be mentioned back to back in the genealogy of Jesus? Why would they be mentioned at all? We are getting in at the ground level of something amazing.1
1 Piper, J. (2010). A Sweet and Bitter Providence: Sex, Race, and the Sovereignty of God (pp. 21–22). Crossway.
God at Work in the Worst of Times
You can see from the last verse of the book of Judges what sort of period it was. Judges 21:25 says, “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” It was a very dark time in Israel. The same gloomy pattern happened again and again: The people would sin, God would send enemies against them, the people would cry for help, and God would mercifully raise up a judge to deliver them (Judges 2:16–19).
From all outward appearances, God’s purposes for righteousness and glory in Israel were failing. But what the book of Ruth does for us is give us a glimpse into the hidden work of God during the worst of times.
Consider the last verse of Ruth (4:22). The child born to Ruth and Boaz during the period of the judges is Obed. Obed becomes the father of Jesse, and Jesse becomes the father of David who led Israel to her greatest heights of glory. One of the main messages of this little book is that God is at work in the worst of times.
Putting in Place the Ancestry of Christ
Even through the sins of his people, God plots for their glory. It was true at the national level. And we will see that it is true at the personal, family level too. God is at work in the worst of times. He is at work doing a thousand things no one can see but him. In the case of this story, God is at work preparing the way for Christ in a manner no one can see. The reason we know it is because the book ends by connecting Ruth and Boaz with David the king. The last words of the book are “Boaz fathered Obed, Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David” (4:21–22).
Jesus identified himself as “the son of David” (Matthew 22:41–46). He forged a link straight from himself, over all the intervening generations, to David and Jesse and Obed and Ruth. Knowing how this book ends gives us a sense, as we begin, that nothing will be insignificant here. Huge things are at stake. God is putting in place the ancestry of Jesus the Messiah, whose kingdom will endure forever (Isaiah 9:7).1
1 Piper, J. (2010). A Sweet and Bitter Providence: Sex, Race, and the Sovereignty of God (pp. 22–24). Crossway.
Caught In The Crossfire
Ruth 1:1–5 KJV
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 Beth-lehem-judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Beth-lehem-judah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.
And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died; and she was left, and her two sons.
And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years.
And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband.
As a means to that end—and everything is a means to glorifying Christ—the book of Ruth reveals the hidden hand of God in the bitter experiences of his people. The point of this book is not just that God is preparing the way for the coming of the King of Glory, but that he is doing it in such a way that all of us should learn that the worst of times are not wasted. They are not wasted globally, historically, or personally.
When you think he is farthest from you, or has even turned against you, the truth is that as you cling to him, he is laying foundation stones of greater happiness in your life.
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.
What William Cowper says in these lines is a description of how God brings about the eternal salvation of his people. It’s the way he governs history, and it is the way he governs our lives. The book of Ruth is one of the most graphic stories of how God hides his smiling face behind a frowning providence.1
1 Piper, J. (2010). A Sweet and Bitter Providence: Sex, Race, and the Sovereignty of God (pp. 24–25). Crossway
• This chapter is about a woman named Naomi – which meant Kind and Sweet.
• This was during the time of the Judges when God would use trials to get the Israelites to repent and turn to Him
Naomi knows who causes famines. God does. Perhaps she learned this from the Scriptures, which say in Leviticus 26:3–4, “If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase.” In other words, God rules the rain. When the rains are withheld, this is the hard hand of God.1
1 Piper, J. (2010). A Sweet and Bitter Providence: Sex, Race, and the Sovereignty of God (pp. 25–26). Crossway.
• The man, Elimelech left the promised land to run to Moab because of a famine.
• There were several warnings not to be comfortable in the Pagan lands.
Judges 10:6 KJV
And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served not him.
• It is very possible that he was running from the chastisement that was supposed to get him closer to God.
“The efforts which we make to escape from our destiny only serve to lead us into it.”
The American essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote that in his book The Conduct of Life, and it’s just as true today as when the book was published back in 1860. Because God gave us freedom of choice, we can ignore the will of God, argue with it, disobey it, even fight against it. But in the end, the will of God shall prevail; because “the counsel of the Lord stands forever” (Ps. 33:11) and “He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth” (Dan. 4:35, NKJV).1
1 Wiersbe, W. W. (1993). Be Committed (p. 13). Victor Books.
• Elimelech’s decisions effected three people beside himself… his two sons and his wife Naomi.
Elimelech made the wrong decision when he decided to leave home. What made this decision so wrong?
He walked by sight and not by faith. Abraham made the same mistake when he encountered a famine in the land of promise (Gen. 12:10ff). Instead of waiting for God to tell him what to do next, he fled to Egypt and got into trouble. No matter how difficult our circumstances may be, the safest and best place is in the will of God.1
1 Wiersbe, W. W. (1993). Be Committed (p. 15). Victor Books.
• He died in the pagan land… the very fate he was trying to avoid in the promised land.
• The two sons married pagan wives and stayed another 10 years.
• The two sons died and left behind mom and their wives.
t is the message of the book of Ruth, as we will see, that all things mysteriously serve God’s good ends. Thousands of Christians who have walked through fire and have seen horrors embrace God’s control of all things as the comfort and hope of their lives. It is not comforting or hopeful in their pain to tell them that God is not in control. Giving Satan the decisive control or ascribing pain to chance is not true or helpful. When the world is crashing in, we need assurance that God reigns over it all.1
1 Piper, J. (2010). A Sweet and Bitter Providence: Sex, Race, and the Sovereignty of God (p. 27). Crossway.
Nothing Left to Give
Ruth 1:6–13 KJV
Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the LORD had visited his people in giving them bread.
Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters in law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah.
And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to her mother’s house: the LORD deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.
The LORD grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept.
And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people.
And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?
Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons;
Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD is gone out against me.
Deuteronomy 25:5 KJV
If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband’s brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband’s brother unto her.
• The Lord had visited the promised land giving them bread.
• Naomi was going back and intended to leave her daughters in law behind.
• They begged to come- Naomi thought this was yet another group of people depending on her and she had nothing to offer… nothing left
• Naomi had become so overwhelmed she lost sight of any positive news. She forgot about Boaz.
There’s a lesson here. When we have decided that God is against us, we usually exaggerate our hopelessness. We become so bitter we can’t see the rays of light peeping out around the clouds. It was God who broke the famine and opened the way home (1:6). It was God who preserved a kinsman to continue Naomi’s line (2:20). And it was God who constrains Ruth to stay with Naomi. But Naomi is so embittered by God’s hard providence that she doesn’t see his mercy at work in her life
1 Piper, J. (2010). A Sweet and Bitter Providence: Sex, Race, and the Sovereignty of God (p. 33). Crossway.
• Ruth had become a believer and wanted nothing in return but to love Naomi.
Ruth 1:16–18 KJV
And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:
Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.
When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.
The more you ponder these words, the more amazing they become. Ruth’s commitment to her destitute mother-in-law is simply astonishing.
First, it means leaving her own family and land. Second, it means, as far as she knows, a life of widowhood and childlessness, because Naomi has no man to give her, and if she married a non-relative, Ruth’s commitment to Naomi’s family would be lost. Third, it means going to an unknown land with a new people and new customs and new language. Fourth, it was a commitment even more radical than marriage: “Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried” (1:17). In other words, she will never return home, not even if Naomi dies.
But the most amazing commitment of all is this: “Your God [will be] my God” (1:16). Naomi has just said in verse 13, “The hand of the Lord has gone out against me.” Naomi’s experience of God was bitterness. But in spite of this, Ruth forsakes her religious heritage and makes the God of Israel her God. Perhaps she had made that commitment years before, when her husband told her of the great love of God for Israel and his power at the Red Sea and his glorious purpose of peace and righteousness. Somehow or other, Ruth had come to trust in Naomi’s God in spite of Naomi’s bitter experiences.1
1 Piper, J. (2010). A Sweet and Bitter Providence: Sex, Race, and the Sovereignty of God (pp. 34–35). Crossway.
Call Me Mara – Bitter
Ruth 1:19–22 KJV
So they two went until they came to Beth-lehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Beth-lehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi?
And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.
I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?
So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Beth-lehem in the beginning of barley harvest.
• Is this really Naomi? (What on earth happened to the kind sweetness?)
• The Almighty has dealt bitterly
• I went out full and returned empty.
• The Lord testified against me.
• Embittered Eyes Become Blind
• Naomi and Ruth Settled in Bethlehem
It was God who took away the famine and opened a way home. Naomi “had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food” (1:6). Just as surely as God brought the famine, God took it away. Naomi could see that. But she could not see all that God was doing. Later she will be able to look back, in the same way we can when we read the book a second time, and see the pointers of hope.
For example, notice the delicate touch of hope at the end of 1:22: “And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.” If Naomi could only see what this is going to mean. The barley field is where Ruth will meet Boaz, her future husband.
Not only that, Naomi needs to open her eyes to Ruth. What a gift! What a blessing! Yet as she and Ruth stand before the people of Bethlehem, Naomi says in verse 21, “The Lord has brought me back empty.” Not so, Naomi! You are so weary with the night of adversity that you can’t see the dawn of rejoicing.1
1 Piper, J. (2010). A Sweet and Bitter Providence: Sex, Race, and the Sovereignty of God (p. 39). Crossway.
On April 20, 2001, the Peruvian Air Force shot down a missionary plane, mistaking it for a drug courier. In the plane were the pilot Kevin Donaldson and a missionary family, Jim and Veronica Bowers and their two children, seven-month-old Charity and six-year-old Cory. Veronica had Charity in her lap sitting in the back of the Cessna 185. As the bullets sprayed the plane, one of them entered Veronica’s back and passed through her and into her daughter. Both died. The pilot, with shattered knees, crash-landed the plane in a river, and the other three survived.
Seven days later at the memorial service in Fruitport, Michigan, Jim Bowers gave his testimony and explained why the sovereignty of God in the deaths of his wife and daughter was the rock under his feet.
Most of all I want to thank God. He’s a sovereign God. I’m finding that out more now.… Some of you might ask, “Why thank God?” … Could this really be God’s plan for Roni and Charity; God’s plan for Cory and me and our family? I’d like to tell you why I believe so.
He goes on to give fifteen reasons. In that context, he says, “Roni and Charity were instantly killed by the same bullet. (Would you say that’s a stray bullet?) And it didn’t reach Kevin, who was right in front of Charity; it stayed in Charity. That was a sovereign bullet.”
But what about the Peruvian fighter pilots? Didn’t they have wills? Didn’t they make mistakes or, perhaps, even sin against an innocent missionary family? Jim Bowers said, “Those people who did that simply were used by God. Whether you want to believe it or not. I believe it. They were used by Him, by God, to accomplish His purpose in this, maybe similar to the Roman soldiers whom God used to put Christ on the cross.”
We will see from the story of Ruth and from the cross of Christ that in this life our hope in the next depends on God’s reign over all things. It may be hard to embrace when the pain is great, but far worse would be the weakness of God and his inability to stop the blowing of the wind and the flight of a bullet.1
1 Piper, J. (2010). A Sweet and Bitter Providence: Sex, Race, and the Sovereignty of God (pp. 27–29). Crossway.
Exported from Logos Bible Software, 4:52 PM October 12, 2022.