August 24, 2008

Lessons from David’s Great-Grandmother

Ruth 4:13-17

Opening Words: It has become my custom to preach on an Old Testament character during the summer months. Over the past few years we have examined the lives of Nehemiah, Esther, Elijah and Joseph. This summer we have looked at the life of Ruth. We have come to the end of the story.

So let me remind you of Ruth’s story one last time. The mother-in-law daughter-in-law team of Naomi and Ruth has existed in Bethlehem by the narrowest of margins. They were widows and living in poverty. To exist, Ruth has been gleaning in the fields of a rich. At first she didn’t know it but she had been gleaning in the field of a rich relative of her deceased husband. His name is Boaz. He has been good to her. He has been offering her both food and protection. For three months Ruth and Naomi existed on his kindness but then the harvest season ended. It was a great time for the land owners. It was pay day! However, it was a hard time for Ruth and Naomi. There would be no more gleaning. There would be no more food.

Their only hope of survival is the Old Testament law of “kindred-redeemer.” This is not a welfare state. It is a way of taking care of the poor. This law sounds strange to our ears but not to Ruth’s generation. The law said two things. First, the land of the deceased should be purchased by a family member. It was a way of keeping the land inside the family. Second, the law said the widow of the deceased should marry a family member. Don’t think of this in sexual terms. Think of this in legal terms. Their only hope was this biblical law but not everyone listens to the Bible. (How many people here tithe? That is the Biblical standard.) It would have been easy for Boaz to walk away from Ruth but he is a man of integrity. He lives up to the law. He is willing to live up to his biblical and family responsibility.

In the text for this weekend we find out he marries Ruth and in time they have a son by the name of Obed. In time, Obed would grow and have his own son, Jesse. In time, Jesse would grow up and have his own son, David. In time, David would grow up and become the greatest king in the history of Israel. He would unite the twelve tribes and will establish them as a world power. Perhaps we will look at his story next summer but today we finish Ruth. Let me call this message Lessons from David’s Great-Grandmother.

Ruth 4:13-17 ¹³ So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. Then he went to her, and the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. ¹⁴ The women said to Naomi: "Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! ¹⁵ He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth."

¹⁶ Then Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap and cared for him. ¹⁷ The women living there said, "Naomi has a son." And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

I love the story of the small boy who, when walking down the street one day found a bright copper penny. He was so excited that he found money and it didn't cost him anything. With his head down he spent the rest of the day looking for another copper penny. As a matter of fact he spent the rest of his life with his head down looking for more copper pennies. He experienced some success. During his lifetime he found 296 pennies, 48 nickels, 19 dimes, 16 quarters, 2 half dollars and one crinkled dollar bill. In total he found $13.96. He got money for nothing! He got $13.96 for doing nothing but he missed so much because his head was down. Because his head was down he missed 31,369 sunsets, 157 rainbows and he missed the fiery beauty of hundreds of maples nipped by autumn's frost. He never saw white clouds drifting across blue skies, shifting into various wondrous formations. Because his head was down he never saw birds flying, the sun shining, and the smiles of a thousand passing people. He got $13.96 for doing nothing but he missed so much.

How much of life are you missing? It isn’t just a matter of money. There are many things that grab our attentions and cause us to miss so much of life. Is there anyone here that is preoccupied with their job? Is anyone here today afraid they are going to lose their job? Is there anyone here today who can’t find a job? Is there anyone here today who doesn’t want a job? You want a career. Is there anyone here today that is preoccupied with family? Perhaps you are worried about a parent who has a hard time remembering. Perhaps you have a parent who is living alone or driving and shouldn’t? Is there anyone here who is worried about a child? Their marriage is declining. Their emotional state is poor. Their grades are poor and they are more likely to go to jail, than college. Is anyone here preoccupied with the past? You have never forgiven yourself for your divorce. Is anyone here preoccupied with the future? You are facing a difficult decision and you are having a hard time discerning God’s will for your life. Do I have to go on? There are many things in life that grab our attention. There are many reasons people miss the rainbows and the blue skies. How much of life are you missing? Is there anyone here who wouldn’t like to experience every ounce of life?

George Harrison will always be remembered as being one of the Beatles. He had a tremendous life. He knew fame, adulation, the pleasure of mastering his craft, the sense that his was a formative influence on music. So his comment in the Beatles Anthology is instructive: "When you've had all the experiences - met all the famous people, made some money, toured the world and got all the acclaim - you still think 'is that it?'. Some people might be satisfied with that, but I wasn't and I'm still not." Wouldn’t you like to get more out of life?

Now before I go any further I feel it is necessary to make a little confession. Are you ready for my confession? Here it is. I love Ruth! Did you hear what I said? I love Ruth! I know I am a married man but I love Ruth. It has nothing to do with the threshing room floor. (However, that didn’t hurt.) I have spent the last twelve weeks with her and I have gotten involved in her story. I have been introduced to the people in her life and I have become enchanted with personality. But most of all I love Ruth because she had a great attitude about life. Her life was not easy but her attitude never changed. Her attitudes helped her get the most out of her life. I want to get the most out of my life. I want you to get the most out of your life. If we are going to get the most out of our lives, then we must hold the attitudes that Ruth held. If you reflect back on the story with me you can discover three strong attitudes that Ruth held. Those are the points to this weekend’s message. So if you are ready to learn from Ruth, David’s Great-Grandmother, say, “Amen!”

Don’t Bail Out

First, Ruth teaches us to never bail out. In other words, Ruth teaches us to never give up. Don’t be a quitter. In 1972, NASA launched the exploratory space probe Pioneer 10. The satellite's primary mission was to reach Jupiter, photograph the planet and its moons, and beam data to Earth. When Pioneer 10 was launched scientists regarded this as a bold plan, for at that time no earth satellite had ever gone beyond Mars. But Pioneer 10 accomplished its mission and much, much more. Do you remember the story? It swung past Jupiter in November 1973, Jupiter's immense gravity hurled Pioneer 10 at a higher rate of speed toward the edge of the solar system. At one billion miles from the sun, Pioneer 10 passed Saturn. At some two billion miles, it hurtled past Uranus; Neptune at nearly three billion miles; Pluto at almost four billion miles. By 1997, twenty-five years after its launch, Pioneer 10 was more than six billion miles from the sun. And despite that immense distance, Pioneer 10 continued to beam back radio signals to scientists on Earth. It is an incredible story but what makes it miraculous is that the information received from Pioneer 10 emanates from an 8-watt transmitter. That is as much power as a bedroom night light. Pioneer 10 is not qualified to do what it is doing! By simple longevity, its tiny 8-watt transmitter radio accomplished more than anyone thought possible. I tell you that story for one reason. This is it. God can work even through someone with 8-watt abilities, like me. God cannot work, however, through someone who quits.

My mother-in-law has a life long friend, who has a son named Jack. Jack is in his mid-fifties now. When he was a school boy he got some outstanding grades with very little work. Everyone agreed he wasn’t just intelligent, he was a genius. He received some impressive scholarships to some tall tower schools. He went for a short time and announced he was disappointed in the quality of the education so he quit. He went to New York to be discovered on Broadway but after a short time he quit. He was frustrated they didn’t discover his vast talent in the first week. Over the years Jack quit two marriages. Jack quit being a father. Over the years he has done every kind of possible work but it never lasts. Why? He quits. The last thing I heard he worked at the cellular phone company that promotes my circle. I am not sure if he is still there, he may have quit. In High School they said he was a genius. I think he is a fool. The world says he was a quitter. Do you know anyone like Jack? Do you know any quitters?

If there was one thing Ruth wasn’t, it was a quitter. Ruth teaches us to never bail out. Ruth teaches us to never give up. Ruth teaches us not to be a quitter. If you turn to the very first chapter of the story, Ruth had the opportunity to walk away from her mother in law. It would have been easy; no one would have blamed her. But she didn’t do it. Why? Because she wasn’t a quitter and neither are you. If you want to live up to your full potential then don’t quit. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

Don’t Get Depressed

Second, Ruth teaches us to never get depressed. In other words, Ruth teaches us to be an optimist. I love the story of the optimistic farmer who couldn't wait to greet each new day with a resounding, "Good morning, God!" He lived near a woman whose morning greeting was more like, "Good God... morning?" They were each a trial to the other. Where he saw opportunity, she saw problems. Where he was satisfied, she was discontented. One bright morning he exclaimed, "Look at the beautiful sky! Did you see that glorious sunrise?" "Yeah," she countered. "It'll probably get so hot the crops will scorch!" During an afternoon shower, he commented, "Isn't this wonderful? Mother Nature is giving the corn a drink today!" "And if it doesn't stop before too long," came the sour reply, "we'll wish we'd taken out flood insurance on the crops!" Convinced that he could instill some awe and wonder in her hardened attitude, he bought a remarkable dog. Not just any mutt, but the most expensive, highly-trained and gifted dog he could find. The animal was exquisite! It could perform remarkable and impossible feats which, the farmer thought, would surely amaze even his neighbor. So he invited her to watch his dog perform. "Fetch!" he commanded, as he tossed a stick out into a lake, where it bobbed up and down in the rippling water. The dog bounded after the stick, walking on the water, and retrieved it. "What do you think of that?" he asked, smiling. "Not much of a dog" she frowned. "He can't even swim!"

Consider these two quotes with me. Someone once said, “If you think the problem is bad now, just wait until we've solved it!” Someone once said, “A pessimist can hardly wait for the future so he can look back with regret.” Do you have any negative people in your life? I do. So I am qualified to say that negative people have the power to ruin anything. They can suck the life out of anything and everyone is happy to see them go. Do you think people are happy or sad when you go?

Ruth was an optimist. Naomi was a pessimist. When Ruth and Naomi arrived in Bethlehem everyone crowded around Naomi because they wanted an update on her life. Do you remember what she said? She said, “Call me Mara.” Mara means bitter. Her life had been bitter or hard. She had lost her husband. She had lost her sons. She wanted everyone to know how hard her life had been but Ruth said nothing. Sometimes the best thing you can say about something is nothing. She said nothing because she was an optimist. Do the people in your life consider you an optimist? And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

Don’t Just Wait on God

Third, Ruth teaches us to have active faith, don’t just wait on God. In the early years of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln became so angered at the inactivity of Union commander George McClellan that the president wrote his commanding general this one-sentence letter:

"If you don't want to use the army, I should like to borrow it for a while.”

Respectfully,

A. Lincoln

Adolph Monod once said, “Between the great things we cannot do and the small things we will not do, the danger is that we shall do nothing."

Does anyone here want to be part of a church that does nothing? In a world that is filled with problems the worst thing we can do is nothing. Think about the problems that our world is facing today. World hunger is a reality. Homelessness is a reality. Illiteracy is a reality. There are diseases that have no cures and babies are born that have no hope. The worst thing we can do is nothing. God expects you to do something! Does anyone one here want to be part of a church that does nothing? Or does anyone here want to be part of a church that meets people at their point of need? Don’t just sit there and wait for God to act to solve your problems. Do something!

What did Ruth do? She took a bath. She wore her finest perfume. She wore her finest garment and lay at Boaz’s feet on the threshing room floor. That may not be your way and you may not approve. However, you have to admit she didn’t just sit back and wait for God to act. She took matters into her own hands and demonstrated active faith. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!” Let me end with this Carl Sagan story.

A biology professor was examining his class. He asked them this question. “Suppose you could take to Mars any of the laboratory equipment used in this course. How would you determine if there was life on Mars?" There was a wide variety of answers. One student had the best answer. He said, "Ask the inhabitants. Even a negative answer would be significant." The student got an A.

If that biology class examined you what would they find? Are you living? Or are you just existing? Are you so focused on the details of life (money, school, family responsibilities) that you are missing the big picture. Life, itself, is one of God’s great gifts. God expects you to live life to the fullest. That is what Ruth did. She lived her life to the fullest. She is our example. She showed us that we should never give up on life. She showed us we should always be optimistic. She showed us we should have active faith. God expects you to do something to improve your situation. Ruth did those three things and she had a happy ending. I hope you have a happy ending too!