Sermon 2: Decisions, Decisions, Decisions
Series: Ruth
Chuck Sligh
June 9, 2019
NOTE: A PowerPoint presentation is available for this sermon by request at chucksligh@hotmail.com. Please mention the title of the sermon and the Bible text to help me find the sermon in my archives.
TEXT: Please turn in your Bibles to Ruth 1.
INTRODUCTION
Illus. – On December 7, 1941, a lieutenant made a decision that had huge consequences. At seven o’clock on the morning of two US soldiers were on duty at a small radar station in the Pacific Ocean. Suddenly, their radar screen filled up with hundreds of dots, until entirely filled. These soldiers quickly notified their young supervisor, a lieutenant.
No other officer was around, it being a Sunday, so the lieutenant thought these must be planes from California, and without another thought, said these critical words: “Don’t worry about it.” Twenty minutes later, at 7:50, the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor began. 353 Japanese airplanes swarmed over the harbor, and within a couple of hours, America lost 8 battleships, 6 major airfields, almost all its planes and 2,403 men.
There would have been time to scramble the planes at Pearl Harbor, prepare the battleships and shelter the men, but this lieutenant, in the most important moment of his career, made a very seemingly trivial decision that had momentous consequences.
Illus. – In 1941, Bedford, Virginia, a community of fewer than 4,000 people, was home to a National Guard unit, Company A of the 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Division. That unit was called into federal service when the U.S. entered World War II. 37 men from Bedford made a fateful decision: They decided to serve their country and join the fight, later becoming known as “The Bedford Boys.”
Company A was in the first wave of the D-Day invasion at 6:30 a.m. on June 5, 1944.
19 of the Bedford Boys were killed on the beaches of Normandy that day, and three others died before the war was over, a total of 22 out of the 37 who enlisted.
Those 35 men made a decision; they did not shirk their duty; they proudly fought in the greatest amphibious invasion in world history; they died for our freedoms. And Bedford, Virginia mourns these brave men even today.
Our study today speaks to us of the importance of decisions. Our life is shaped largely by the decisions we make. I am what I am— both for good and for bad—as a Christian, as a husband, as a father, as a worker, and as a human, largely because of past decisions I have made in my life.
Someone once said that “Decision determines destiny.” Another put it this way, “History is made whenever you make a decision.”
Every day you are pressed for decisions, decision, decisions, but there are some that have earth-shattering—even eternal—consequences. In our text we see three decisions made which influenced the lives of three women forever. These women—Naomi, Orpah and Ruth—had all lost their husbands in Moab. They were all widows; food was scarce; and Naomi was living as a foreigner in Moab with no relatives to help her. All three apparently had no means of supporting themselves and there’s no mention of any male relatives to protect or provide for them—a death sentence in 1200-1020 BC when Ruth is thought to have taken place. Indeed, they were facing some very difficult times.
Often, the most crucial decisions in life are those we must make in the midst of trials and difficulties. We can run from our problems…or meet them straight on. Which we do is determined by our decisions.
Now, as these women faced these trying times, let’s examine the decisions they made:
I. FIRST, NAOMI DECIDED TO COVER UP – Verses 6-15
“Then she [i.e., Naomi] arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab…that the LORD had visited his people by giving them bread. 7 So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah. 8 And Naomi said unto her two daughters-in-law, ‘Go, return each to you to your mother’s house. May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead, and with me. 9 May the LORD grant that you may find rest, each of you, in the house of her husband.’ Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voices, and wept. 10 And they said to her, ‘No, we will return with you to your people.’ 11 And Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters: why will you go with me? Are there still…sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? 12 Turn back, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say, I have hope, even if I should have a husband also tonight, and should also bear sons; 13 Would you wait until they were grown? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters; for it grieves me much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me.’ 14 And they lifted up their voices, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law; but Ruth clung to her. 15 And she said, ‘Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people, and to her gods: return…after your sister-in-law.’”
Naomi made a logical decision—to return to the land of her people, Bethlehem-judah. But note something unusual that Naomi did: she tried to get rid of her daughters-in-law! I was perplexed about why Naomi would tell her daughters-in-law in verses 11-13 to stay in Moab where they would worship idols and where paganism reigned. Then, when Ruth did not follow Orpah back to Moab, note what Ruth said in verse 15 – “And she said, ‘See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people, and to her gods: return…after your sister-in-law.’”
I wonder why Ruth gave such bad advice for them to go back to their gods. The Bible doesn’t answer that question but let me speculate and offer a couple of ideas and see what we can learn from them.
1. First, perhaps she was trying to get rid of the evidence!
If she brought Ruth and Orpah back to Bethlehem, they would be living proof to her family and friends that, in violation of God’s commandments, her sons had married women of Moab who were not believers in the true God of Israel.The Law of Moses strictly forbade marrying non-Jews, because, as Deuteronomy 7:3-4 says, For they will turn away your son from following me, that they may serve other gods….” If this was Naomi’s reason for encouraging her two daughters-in-law to return, they were reminders of her and her husband’s failure to rear their children up in the teachings of God. In this scenario, Naomi’s wrong decision was not in going back to her land and people, it was her decision to try to cover up things.
Proverbs 28:13 says, “He who covers his sins shall not prosper: but whoever confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy.”
Covering up our sins is always a bad idea. It’s best to confess our sin and just be honest and forthright about our failures and let them be object lessons to others of the pitfalls of sin and personal warnings in our own lives in the future. In fact, covering up sin almost inevitably PERPETUATES sin. The most dangerous thing in a person’s life is to have a secret life. Once a secret life develops, wicked habits are maintained and nurtured, and Satan uses them as a strategy to keep us defeated.
You see, one of the greatest deterrents to sin is the shame of exposure. When we expose our sin to the light, it acts as a deterrent to that sin and provides us with accountability for our actions.
Once sin becomes a habit, it requires radical measures to root out, which is why Satan tries to get us to cultivate a secret life and cover up our sins. He knows that if he can make you think you got away with sin once with no measurable consequence, the temptation will be easier to give in to again because you think you get away with it. What happens is that the secret life leads to habits which lead to a lifestyle that men and women carry on throughout their lives.
Now note the RESULT of Naomi’s decision to cover up instead of confess up: It caused her to think only about herself and her temporary distress instead of Orpah’s and Ruth’s eternal destiny, prompting her to give ungodly counsel.
Psalm 1:1 says, “Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful.”
What kind of a believer says, “Go back to your old gods”?! Think how far Naomi had slipped to give such advice.
Sadly, Orpah listened to Naomi’s wrong counsel and returned to Moab. There, she would most likely never know God, which meant for all intents and purposes, Naomi’s wrong advice led to Orpah’s eternal doom. You see, our decisions have consequences; sometimes very far-reaching consequences!
2. Of course, we don’t know for sure if Naomi’s issue was sin per se, so there’s another scenario to consider.
We cannot always blame the actions of children on their parents. These were grown men and they could make their own decisions. For all we know, Naomi may have advised against the marriages.
Even so, parents have a way of turning blame back on themselves when their kids go wrong. To save face with other believers whom they fear will judge them, they often try to paint a false picture of themselves to others.
We have a problem with being honest and real about ourselves, don’t we? We want to look good to our brethren, so we play up our victories, but aren’t fully honest about our fears, our failures, our lack of insight in our past. When we don’t measure up to an ideal standard, that is always an IDEAL, by definition, not something any of us can full achieve, we’re tempted to cover up, to put up a false front, to act a part, to put on a mask, even when we did our best to do right and things didn’t go the way we hoped they would, especially with our kids who are not robots and have wills of their own.
With all the men in the family now deceased, Naomi felt that she had no choice but to return to Bethlehem-judah for survival. In this second scenario, she tried to cover up the evidence to look good to her village and family upon her return.
I believe God wants us to be real and transparent and authentic. I’m not saying we should parade our shortcomings or our real or perceived failures before others, but neither should we be dishonest about them.
Paul commands us in Ephesians 4:25, “Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor…”
The underlying problem with our lack of transparency is our pride.
Yet Peter reminds us is in 1 Peter 5:5 – “All of you, clothe yourselves in humility for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
If you want God to resist you, remain proud and cover up and put on a false front of perfect kids, or a perfect marriage, or a perfect prayer life or perfect faithfulness in your Quiet Time, but if you want God’s GRACE in your life—and you need a LOT of that—be humble and honest about yourself.
II. SECOND, NOTICE THAT ORPAH DECIDED TO GIVE UP
Verses 14-15 – “And they lifted up their voices and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law; but Ruth clung to her. 15 And she said, ‘Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people, and to her gods: return…after your sister-in-law.’”
We see in verse 6 that Orpah started to go with Naomi to Bethlehem – “And [Naomi] arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab…”
Both daughters-in-law committed themselves to go with Naomi in verse 10 – “And they said to her, ‘No, we will return with you to your people.’”
Apparently Orpah had every intention of going to Bethlehem-judah with Naomi. But once she began to contemplate the consequences of her decision—she gave up!
Orpah was a woman of indecision: She started to go with Naomi; she shed many tears; she kissed Naomi affectionately…yet she turned back and returned to Moab. Orpah is a picture of people who are close to faith in God, but never quite cross over the Rubicon to true faith. Orpah was very emotional; her desire to follow seemed real; she promised she would go with Naomi; but she went back to her idols—to darkness—to the world.
You know, it’s possible to get very close to the kingdom of God and still not enter in. It’s possible for a person to show a great deal of emotion and determination, and yet never actually cross that line to true born-again salvation.
The counsel of Scripture is, Isaiah 55:6-7 – “Seek…the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return to the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”
The implication is that God is not always near the sinner in the sense that He is not always willing to continue working in a person’s heart. The sinner cannot find God in his own time and plan. No one finds God without God first seeking and drawing him or her to Himself. When God is working in your life, you’d better seek Him out with all your heart and with all your being. When He stops working to woo you to Him, your spiritual eyes become glazed and you can come to a place where you may never want to be saved. And if those spiritual desires are not stirred again, you’ll be condemned for eternity. Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near!
Now note the RESULT of Orpah’s decision to give up:
First, she returned to Moab which was a center of idolatry and worldliness.
Second, she most likely never found the true God, and thus, in all probability, went into eternity a lost sinner without God.
Third, she is never heard of again in history. She literally walks right off the pages of history. But there’s one more person who makes a decision, and her decision wrote her directly INTO God’s story of redemption….
III. THAT IS RUTH, WHO DECIDED TO STEP UP.
Ruth stepped up and did what she thought was the right thing to do. Ruth’s motive was love for Naomi and love for Naomi’s God – Note verses 16-18 – “And Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you, or to return from following…you, for where you go, I will go; and where you stay, I will stay; your people will be my people, and your God my God. 17 Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also, if anything but death parts you and me.” 18 When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her.”
Ruth stepped up and declared her love for both Naomi and God. When faced with troubles in life, the only right thing to do is to step up and trust God. Unlike Orpah, Ruth made the right decision. Unlike Naomi, Ruth made the right decision with the right motive.
Now note one thought that is expressed over and over again in chapter 1: That is the thought of GOING BACK. It’s phrased differently in each instance, but each time it means the same thing. The terms used are “go back,” “turn back,” and the word “return.” They’re found four times, in fact:
Verse 8 – And Naomi said unto her two daughters-in-law, ‘Go, return each to you to your mother’s house…”
Verse 11 – “And Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters: why will you go with me?...”
Verse 12 – “’Turn back, my daughters, go your way…’”
Verse 15 – “And she said, ‘See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people, and to her gods: return…after your sister-in-law.’”
Naomi tried to pressure Ruth to go back.
And you know, we’re under that same kind of pressure today, aren’t we? The world, the flesh and the devil cry out to believers, “Go back to your old life!” Sadly, just as backslidden Naomi did, even many worldly Christians and so-called Christians entice us to settle for a watered down version of Christianity that says you can go back to the world, and still have God’s blessings too.
But God says, “No, don’t go back. No matter how difficult the situation you may be facing; no matter how fiercely the storm may blow; no matter what the world offers, no matter what your burdens, DON’T TURN BACK!”
Ruth made the right decision. Now note the RESULTS of Ruth’s decision to step up:
First, it gave her a good reputation, or what we say in Christian lingo, a good testimony – If we read ahead to chapter 2, verse 11, we read, “And Boaz answered and said to her, ‘All has been told me about what you have done for your mother in law since the death of your husband: and how you have left your father and thy mother, and the land of thy native birth, and have come unto a people you did not know heretofore.”
I’m getting ahead of myself, but the second result of her decision is she became the ancestor of Christ through her coming to Bethlehem, turning to Israel’s God, and meeting and marrying Boaz.
I’ll save the details for the last sermon in the series but let here’s a preview: What unfolds in the rest of the book is that Ruth meets her knight in shining armor, a man named Boaz. They marry, and she bears a son named Obed. Obed had a son named Jesse, who had 12 sons—the youngest of whom was named David. Yes, THAT David—the shepherd boy who slew Goliath, who became King David, who would create a great kingdom, and who wrote a substantial portion of the book of Psalms, a book of the Bible universally loved and treasured by God’s people throughout history.
But there’s an even greater contribution of Ruth than an earthly king. Many prophets prophesied that the great Messiah would come through the line of David, and Matthew begins his Gospel with an extended genealogy that begins with this non-Israelite Ruth and her Jewish husband, Boaz and culminates with the birth of Jesus, the Messiah promised of God, the Savior of the world.
Now think about the import of this: What if Ruth had listened to the advice of a backslidden or at least a two-faced Naomi? If Ruth had listened and gone back to her people and their false idols…we would never have heard of Ruth; she would have never met Boaz; Boaz would never have had a son named Obed, and thus there would never had been Jesse or David, and no kingdom of David—and hence no line of David, and God would have worked through a different family line to bring the Messiah into our world to be our Savior.
You see, decisions ARE important, and decisions DO have consequences.
CONCLUSION
In closing, when faced with a difficult situation in life, it’s important to make right decisions:
1. Don’t COVER UP your sins and failures, like NAOMI did, or try to portray your life or your family or your Christian walk differently than it really is. – Be humble and be real.
2. Don’t GIVE UP and return to your former, sinful life, as ORPAH did.
3. Instead, STEP UP, do the right thing, follow after God, and trust in Him, as RUTH did.
