The Breadless House | Ruth 1:1-5 | Redeeming Love
Have you ever felt truly lost? Not just "wrong exit on the highway" lost, but a deep sense of meaninglessness in navigating life’s trials?
This week, we began our study of the book of Ruth by looking at the first five verses of chapter one. The story starts in a dark place: a famine in Bethlehem (the "House of Bread") and a family’s decision to leave the Promised Land for Moab. We see the tragic consequences of seeking "bread" apart from God’s covenant, as Naomi is left widowed and childless in a foreign land.
However, even in these ruins, God is at work. This passage reminds us that while we often stubbornly remain on the wrong path, God is a master at recalculating our route to bring us back to Himself. As we sit with the grief of Naomi this week, we are reminded of our desperate need for the Messiah—the true Bread of Life who came to Bethlehem to rescue us from the famine of our own sin.
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Thank you for joining us for this week's sermon from First Reformed Church in Edgerton, Minnesota. Each week we dig into God's Word trusting that the Holy Spirit will continue the good work of sanctification in us.
Have you ever thought about the fact that we really don't ever get lost anymore? You can be someplace that is completely unfamiliar to you, and while you might be a little bit disoriented because you don't know where you are, there's really no need to feel the sense of dread that comes with being lost as long as you have a GPS app and you have sufficient battery life on your mobile device. In a few weeks here, we're going to be heading out for a presbytery meeting somewhere that I have never been in my life. And I will not give a second thought to planning the travel other than checking what time we need to leave. Because of modern GPS applications, I've navigated everything from large metropolitan areas down to locations even more remote than our own, and we do it with ease.
Now, as I thought about this, I'm pretty confident the last time I was truly lost was probably 2006 or 2007. I was taking a church van of kids to a concert in downtown Cleveland, and I took the wrong exit. We couldn't get back on where we got off, and I tried going east, but there was this Cuyahoga River thing that was in the way keeping me from getting to downtown. Now, without the mixed environment of half of the van students mocking me for getting lost and the other half being kind of freaked out that we were lost, I probably wouldn't even remember that as the last time that I've been lost. It's been that long. I'm guessing the same is probably true for you. It's probably been a really long time since you really felt that feeling of being lost and that dread that comes with it.
But yet, in a time where we navigate with precision, ridiculous precision, people feel more lost than they ever have. Feelings of meaninglessness and hopelessness are high. Technology can get us from point A to point B, But technology has not created some means by which we can easily find meaning in our lives. People who seem to have it all together, even they say that they feel lost trying to navigate their lives. And so as we come to the book of Ruth for 5 weeks, we're going to see how God guides his people. To their redemption. In the book of Ruth, there are missteps and there are trials, but we see that God is persistently working to bring His people to Himself. Not just a few people in the ancient world figuring out their lives. No, God is working through all of this to bring us salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. He recalculates their routes over and over to not only bring those people to himself, but to bring us to himself as well.
Now, as we come to the opening verses of Ruth, we see in verse 1 there's some important historical framing that happens at the beginning of this book that really helps our interpretation and understanding of this very short Old Testament book. So the story that's about to unfold before us takes place during the time when the judges rule. Now, I don't know about you, but my mind instinctively thinks that's cool because as a kid, I absolutely loved the stories in the book of Judges. I mean, what 10-year-old boy doesn't love the story of Gideon and his army being whittled down and he still wins victory with just 300? I mean, who doesn't enjoy the story of Samson? The stories in the book of Judges are some of the most exciting in all of Holy Scripture. And with the excitement that those stories elicit in me, I quickly forget the context in which those stories take place.
The theme of the book of Judges is found in verse 25. Of chapter 21, where it tells us, "In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes." Throughout the book of Judges, we see idolatry and rebellion of the people. They turn away from God, and the judges are who God uses to call his people back to himself. Now, the book starts out telling us how after the death of Joshua, the Israelites failed to complete the conquest of the Promised Land. And the reason that was a failure is that they did not drive out all of the Canaanites from the land. And at the beginning of the book of Judges, things aren't great, but those ordained to call God's people out from their sin and idolatry are good and they are righteous. But by the time we get to Samson, who is towards the end of the book, we find a judge who breaks vows, a judge who lives an immoral life. And so Judges reflects a heartbreaking turn similar to so much of the Old Testament, a turn that shows their decline into idolatry and rebellion. The book of Judges shows the ups and downs of the people of God, where things can be pretty good for a while, and the next thing you know, things are worse than really bad.
And it isn't just that the people have broken a command or two. When they're being called back by these judges, it isn't that, well, You're struggling with bearing false witness against your neighbor, folks. You need to stop lying. That's not what's happening. In the book of Judges, the people fall into debased idolatry to Baal. God had been faithful to his covenant promises, but his covenant people go after the false gods of their pagan neighbors. And so this context is essential. Because it helps us to see what is going on. In Ruth, the famine taking place needs to be understood as a time of judgment. God has removed his hand of blessing because of their idolatry and their unbelief. And while the first few words here have us zoomed out on a general time period in the Old Testament, we are quickly zoomed into a particular place and a particular family. And our focus is shifted to Bethlehem during this time of famine.
Now see, this is an interesting location because the word Bethlehem literally translates to "house of bread." The famine is so severe that even the house of bread is breadless. That is how big and extreme the judgment of God is here. The house of bread is breadless. And so we learn of a man who resides there with his family, and due to the famine, we see that he takes his family from Bethlehem and they go and they sojourn in the country of Moab. In other words, they leave the Promised Land to reside outside the Promised Land among those who who worship false gods.
Now, it's pretty easy for us to understand why they left, why they did this. The house of bread is breadless, and so go and fill your stomach somewhere else where there is bread. And we can make excuses for why they left to go and live among pagan idol worshipers. But that doesn't answer the question of whether they should have relocated. God has promised to provide for His people. And the answer to surviving a famine that is induced by their idolatry should be to repent, to return to God, not to move to where there is more idolatry. And the correct answer here then would be to faithfully remain in the land that God has provided. To return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. And in doing so, doing so, trust in His provision.
And as we move to verse 2, we see another irony in the text regarding the movement of this family. We're told the name of the man, and his name is Elimelech. Now, his name literally translates to "my God is king." So, first, we had the house of bread without bread. Now we have a man whose name means "my God is king," and ultimately we find out that the king of his life is his belly. He does not trust God to provide, and so he leaves the land that God has promised. And it's important that before we move on, We are deliberate to not try and relate moving to Moab with relocating in the 21st century. This isn't the equivalent of you moving your family to Nebraska or Indiana or someplace else for a better job opportunity. Moabites are the enemies of God. In Moab, you are removed from the covenant community and you cannot properly worshiped God. In Moab, you are denying that the God who provided manna from heaven in the wilderness can provide bread for his people in the Promised Land. This is more than a decision on where your mail is going to be delivered. It's a question of whether you will be faithful to the God who has been faithful to his people.
And this is made clear in the way the story is told to us with that last sentence of verse 2. They went into the country of Moab and they remained there. This isn't a temporary arrangement to get a little food in hard times. Elimelech, Naomi, Mahlon, and Chilion, they make new lives in Moab, but in the course of time, Eliimelech dies, and this is a terrible situation. Naomi is widowed, but at least we see that she has her sons. To be widowed in the ancient world was an awful fate. We've talked about this before. You were left destitute and alone, and your only hope was to have family to care for you. And thankfully, Naomi has her two sons. But here, this death also shows the depth to which the family is embedded in the Moabite culture. Even having sons to care for her, this would have been the perfect time to return to Bethlehem, the perfect time to once again reside among the covenant people of God, a perfect time to trust God fully and believe in the promises of God. To his people. But instead, an even deeper disregard for the things of God is shown in the fact that the sons of Elimelech and Naomi have disregarded the command of God against marrying foreign women. And we are introduced here to Orpah and Ruth. They are Moabites and they have married into the family, but still, for a significant period of time, Things seem to be going well, but tragedy once again strikes, and the grief of Naomi is multiplied. We have to make sure we see this here, the multiplication of the grief and the terrible situation. She's lost her husband and now two sons. The perilous situation of being a widow has multiplied as well because now there are three widows. And they're all left without anyone to care for them.
So here we sit, just 5 verses into the book of Ruth, and we find ourselves in a difficult spot, to say the least. Like others in the time of the judges, this family has ended up off course. They are lost. As wrong turns were taken and obstacles arose, they should have let those things recalculate their route. But like we so often do in our lives, they stubbornly remained on the path that they wanted to be on instead of submitting themselves to God. And this is where We need to sit with the book of Ruth this week. As we move on next week, we find that there is redirection that is coming. And we will find that God is at work to not only bless Naomi and Ruth, but the bigger story of God's redeeming love is at work in this book as well. But today, we need to sit here. Eventually, Naomi and Ruth are going to be redirected, and their story is one that is going to preserve the line to the Messiah and show us that God brings people from every tribe, tongue, and nation to Himself. But today, we need to dwell on what has happened and where we are at verse 5. Because the redemption of God's people is not the story of these first 5 verses. What is unfolded for us today is the reason we need the Messiah.
In our sin, we find ourselves moving away from the promises of God. We find the allure of Moab. Far more enticing than patiently trusting in God and waiting for His provision. We are a people who stubbornly ignore the calls to return to the Bread of Life. And as you sit with the book of Ruth in this coming week, it is a great opportunity for us to consider where we need to take heed to God's recalculating as we navigate our lives? How have we trusted the promises of the world over the promises of God? Where have we been pulled to the allure of Moab instead of trusting the bread of life? In what ways do we stubbornly remain on that path instead of letting God's Word and the Holy Spirit recalculate our path? How can we better trust the provision of God over the allure of the world?
And as you ponder how you can redirect your path, be mindful of the blessing that you have in Christ. The blessing you have of His Word and the work of the Holy Spirit within you. Elimelech and Naomi left because the house of bread was breadless. But you, children of God, are citizens of heaven in the new covenant. The Bread of Life came to Bethlehem that you might be rescued from sin's curse. He suffered and died. He rose again and ascended for you that you might be fed and nourished to eternal life. And that bread never runs out. And so He calls us to daily return to Him in repentance and faith, not because it will earn you His blessings, We desire to redirect our lives towards the bread of life because we have been blessed with the gift of salvation. And so as you navigate God's world in this coming week, as the allure of Moab beckons you, and it is enticing, you want to go there, hear the call of the one who came to the house of bread. Return to him. Return to the bread of life daily, knowing that he feeds you into eternity. Hear his call and be fed, that your life might be a living witness to the abundant mercy that you have been shown in Jesus Christ. Amen. Let us pray. Great and merciful God, We thank You for the gift of Your Word, that it shows us that Jesus is the true Bread of Life and He is never breadless.
We come to Him and we trust that He has fed us. And we trust that You have been feeding us with Your Word and using it in us through Your Spirit. May we reject the call of the world. May we not see the allure of Moab, but instead remember the infinite bread that is waiting for us in Christ. Bless us with faithfulness and with the desire to worship You and to serve You in holiness. It's in the name of Jesus that we pray. Amen.
Thank you for joining us for this week's sermon. For more information about First Reformed Church, head to our Facebook page or website, edgertonfrc.org.
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