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10250 North Freeway @ West Road
Houston, Texas 77037
Tel: (281) 447-8484
Outlines on the Book of Ruth
Copyright - Lester Hutson - 1978
This material is copyrighted and may not be copied or reproduced without the express
written permission of Dr. Lester Hutson
Chapter 4
THE RESULTS OF
GOD'S CHASTENING
Introduction: Already we have discussed the repentance of Naomi and the conversion of Ruth, both of which were results of the chastening of the Lord upon Naomi. Yet, the remainder of chapter one shows even greater depths in Naomi as the result of God's chastening in her life.
I. UNLIKE MOST CHRISTIANS, NAOMI LEARNED THAT THERE IS NO RESISTANCE AGAINST THE LORD ONCE HE DETERMINES TO INTERVENE IN YOUR LIFE:
A. In verses 20 and 21, Naomi twice credited "the Almighty" with her current condition:
1. "The Almighty" is rendered from the Hebrew name of God, "sadday" or "shaddai", and conveys the truth that God is over all. There is no power above him or equal to him. He is the ultimate in authority and all powers are subject to him.
2. Naomi had found that "the Lord" (yahweh or Jehovah) is irresistible. In the same sentence, she not only speaks of him as the Lord, but also as the Almighty. Perhaps, like some of us, she had thought she knew that about the Lord before she ever left Bethlehem-judah to go to Moab; but what she knew intellectually, now she had learned experimentally. She had learned, firsthand, that if he sends disaster, that disaster cannot be averted. Naomi had come to recognize the force of job's questions in Job 9:4, "Who hath hardened himself against him [the Lord], and hath prospered?"
3. Naomi had tried to harden herself against the Lord. She had left his appointed place for her, to mix herself with ungodly people for the sake of material prosperity; and in so doing had lost everything she had. Out of her own mouth she admitted, "I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty." Notice: FULL - EMPTY. This had been Naomi's course in life in spite of all she could do to prevent it.
4. But, the remarkable and unusual part about Naomi is that she recognized that her problems had come upon her by the hand of the Lord; not by chance, bad luck, or the hand of the Moabites. The Lord had made her empty; not the Moabites. Folks, it's rare when a Christian these days has enough wisdom to recognize the Lord's dealings in his life as did Naomi.
B. You've learned a tremendous and valuable lesson, when you learn that your life is in the hand of, and at the mercy of, God:
1. As we shall soon see, what happened to Naomi was for her good (which is how God always deals with his children, Romans 8:28); but due to her own stubbornness and rebellion, she made God deal harshly with her.
2. It is vain to think you can go to Moab or anywhere else and hide from or escape God's long hand as David pointed out in Psalms 139:1-13.
3. He can and will do whatever is necessary to reach his children, and bring them into fellowship with him, regardless of where they go or how far from their minds they might endeavor to put him. His promise is "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth," Heb. 12:6.
4. Not one member of us in God's family can escape this chastening or discipline of the Lord. We can make it lighter upon us by obedience or more severe by disobedience. But, as Naomi learned, we can't escape it or resist it.
II. NAOMI CONFESSED THAT GOD'S CHASTENING IN HER LIFE HAD BROKEN HER:
A. When she and Ruth arrived in Bethlehem-judah, verse 19 says, "all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi:"
1 . Leon Morris has pointed out in his commentary on Ruth that the gender of the pronoun "they" in this passage is feminine, which would indicate that the women of Bethlehem were the ones most interested.
2. Those who had known her, but not seen her for 10 years, could see a tremendous change in her. The chastening of the Lord in Moab had left its mark. Notice theirs is a question: "Is this Naomi?" as if to indicate that they could scarcely believe what they saw.
B. In response to their question, Naomi answered, "Call me not Naomi, call me Mara:"
1. Naomi means "pleasant one" and Mara means "bitter." This lady is no longer the pleasant one she was ten years ago. She said call me bitter, because the Lord's dealings with me have been bitter.
2. Sin and rebelliousness in the life of a child of God always results in bitter dealings by the Lord. Generally the degree of austerity from the Lord will be in proportion to the degree of stubbornness in the heart. The Lord will employ just as drastic measures as he has to in order to return us to a right walk with him:
a. Hebrews 12:11 says, "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous. "
b. Scourgings have no reputation of ease. Thus, King David said in view of his sins, "For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed," Psalms 31:10. He admitted in Psalms 118:18, "the Lord hath chastened me sore,"
C. Because of their sins, some of the Corinthians were "weak and sickly" and some had died, I Cor. 11:30.
3. These bitter dealings of the Almighty succeed in breaking down stubborn children:
a. The people of Bethlehem-judah could see that Naomi was physically and mentally broken and empty.
b. She is a clear example of how the Lord can, and often will, take a backsliding Christian's money and leave him flat broke and on the rocks economically. On other occasions, he breaks the health, takes a limb, or takes a loved one. He has been known to place an invalid or handicapped child in the family.
c. The hard lashes of God will tell on your body and personality so that you may not appear very beautiful or pleasant to those around you. David wrote, "when thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth," Psalms 39:11.
d. The world has nothing to offer a child of God. Our inheritance is in Christ, and all spiritual blessings are in him, Eph. 1:3. Therefore, when Naomi was in the house of Bread, she was "full"; but when she turned to Moab, she found nothing there to replenish her supply. The result was, she soon was "empty."
III. ONE OF THE PINNACLES OF THIS BOOK IS THE STATEMENT OF VERSE 22 "SO NAOMI RETURNED":
A. The chastenings of God had been severe, and had left Naomi broken; but they were not in vain-
1. They were successful in getting Naomi out of Moab (the world) and into Bethlehem-judah. And, they put her there in a right frame of mind so that she was now ready to be used of God.
2. Here is a beautiful example of the designed purpose of the chastening of the Lord finding its fulfillment. Hebrews 12:11 says, "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: Nevertheless afterwards it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." God's chastening produced the desired effect in Naomi's life.
3. Verse 22 says "So" Naomi returned. The word "so" refers to the manner of God's dealing that resulted in her return. The Lord, with the instrument of chastening, "brought" (vs. 21) Naomi back to the land.
B. While Naomi was in Moab, she had repented as a result of the chastening of the Lord upon her; and that repentance had eventuated in her arrival back in Bethlehem-judah:
1. Verse 19 says, "So they two went until they came to Bethlehem." Notice that they "two" went. Naomi and Ruth were now of the same mind ("steadfastly minded," vs. 18), so they both longed to be in the place where God wanted them.
2. Notice also that they "went until they came". Naomi and Ruth, now having the proper frame of mind, not only started, but they finished the journey necessary to reach the "House of Bread." Multitudes stop short. They start well, but instead of becoming mature (Heb. 6:1), they stop and continue to feed on the "manna" of the wilderness (Num. 11:6) rather than reaching "the old corn of the land," Josh. 5:11.
3. So, Naomi could praise the Lord that his chastenings upon her had brought her back to the place where she needed to be. Her life in Bethlehem-judah, though broken, was far better off than it would have ever been in Moab, even in flourishing material prosperity. Praise God for such severe dealings that bring us all the way back to what we ought to be. With Paul we can say, "Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong," II Cor. 12:10. He said in verse 9, "Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities." Folks, when we realize that our God causes "all things" to "work together" for our good (Rom. 8:28); and that includes his most severe chastenings, then we can rejoice and be glad. Better it is to be broken and pleasing to God than to be flourishing in the courts of the world.
C. It was only when Naomi became broken that God could use her to his glory:
1. As the coming considerations of this book will show, once back in the land and the center of God's will, Naomi was used of God in a tremendous way. And, the girl, Ruth, that she brought back with her was also mightily used of God. But, none of this glory to God was possible until Naomi's stubborn, rebellious will was broken.
2. And, God never does use a child of his to his glory until self-will and stubbornness is broken. "God resisteth the proud" (I Peter 5:5), but "a broken and contrite heart, 0 God, thou wilt not despise," Psalms 51:17. Gideon's 300 soldiers are a beautiful type of how self must be broken before God can use us. Every soldier had to break his pitcher (representative of self-will) before his light (God in him) would shine. When Mary broke the box of spikenard on the Lord, then came forth the precious odor and Jesus was honored thereby, Mark 14:3-9. And, likewise, once you break self and pour your life on the Lord, he is honored thereby.
3. So, Naomi was broken and unattractive to those, who saw her. The marks of sin and the resultant lashes of God upon her were so deep as to cause her old friends to stare in disbelief. Yet, all this had brought Naomi home; and she was beautiful to God. He saw in her a vessel that he could use: a spirit that would honor him. She was outwardly ugly, but inwardly beautiful; and how much better that is than the reverse! Naomi had learned a bitter, yet sweet lesson. The lesson was bitter to take, but the outcome of it was sweeter than honey. And, such is always the result of God's chastening upon those, who are corrected thereby. As Hebrews said, the chastening may seem "grievous"; but "it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby," Hebrews 12: 11. Thus, how sweet are the results of chastening!