“Life can become Hesed” ” Ruth 1:1-18
Hesed means kindness love kindness
1. “In the day of the judges there was a famine” Naomi and Elimelech because of famine in Bethlehem (House of Bread) move to Moab
• Moab was a town of child sacrifices, pagan worship, wild place
• Elimelech, and Naomi had two sons Mahlon and Kilion. Their wives were Ruth and Orpah.
• While in Moab and Elimelech dies After they had lived there about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband
• Naomi, Orpah and Ruth are Down and Out, Dreams are erased, Life’s are lost and Hopelessness has set in!
2. Because of Death and Famine Naomi, Orpah and Ruth (Hopelessness, Desperateness, Famine-ish life, Lack, Absences of stuff, struggle and great loss)
• times here are in the words of philosopher Thomas Hobbes — “nasty, brutish and short.”
• Naomi was trying to send Orpha and Ruth back to their homes May the Lord deal kindly (Hesed) with you” (v. 8). Naomi loved her daughters-in-law, but she knew that she could not
give them additional husbands
• This is the frost time we see “ Hesed” May God deal “Kindly” or Hesed
3. It ironic the meaning of names and how they relate to Their Lives
• Naomi means sweet and Pleasant 8Sweet and Pleasant says, "Go back, each of you, to your mother's home. May the LORD show kindness (Hesed) to you, as you have shown to your dead and to me. 9May the LORD grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband." Then she kissed them and they wept aloud 10and said to her, "We will go back with you to your people." 11But Naomi said, "Return home, my daughters.
• Orpah means (back of neck) vs 14 “Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-by” The last thing Naomi
saw of Orpah was back of neck as she walked away
• Ruth name means (companion and friendly) Naomi said, "your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her." 16But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me."
4. As Ruth and Naomi enter back to Bethlehem Someone in Bethlehem recognized Naomi (Sweet and Pleasant) 0 When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, "Can this be Naomi?" “Don’t call me Naomi,[b]” she told them. “Call me Mara,[c] because the Almighty[d] has made my life very bitter. 21 I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty .Its my life is horrible disgusting brutish, nasty, I am down and out, Dreams have been erased, Life’s are lost, life is empty and hopeless.
5. Life for Naomi and Ruth is also brutish because of Gleaning (Dumpster diving for food)
• In Life we may encounter Empty-ness, Hopeless, Famine, Nasty, brutish, homelessness, but we also may find Hesed . Kindness, Love, Mercy, and Grace " "loving-kindness," loyal love.
• Ruth and Naomi encounter Hesed they have hope because of Boaz
• Boaz is a distant kin to Elimelech Naomi’s Husband who is willing to take Ruth as his wife
• He redeems her and Naomi and all Naomi’s husband stuff had become Boazes.
• Boaz is known as the kinsman redeemer His name means “strength”
6. Jesus Christ is our redeemer who has offered us Hesed
• His Kindness
• His Love
• His Mercy His grace
