BITTER SWEET
Sermon Notes
Intro:
Happy Easter everyone! My name’s Louis I’m the lead pastor here at City Awakening, it’s great to gather with you both onsite and online. At this time let’s go ahead and dismiss the children to children’s church. We like having the children worship with their families, and then dismiss them for age specific content. If you didn’t get to check your child in, please see our children’s ministry leaders in the back and they’d be more than happy to assist you with that.
If you’re a first time guest with us, we’re doing a teaching series called The Story, where we’re going through the biblical narrative from the very beginning in Genesis 1 to the last amen in Revelation 22, and today’s text brings us to the book of Ruth. The book of Ruth has a lot do with Easter and the hope we have in the resurrection of Jesus. In fact the book of Ruth is the first place in the bible where the word hope is used. It’s because the book of Ruth is about hope, whenfacing bitter days. Do you sometimes have bitter days?...Do you sometimes have days where life isn’t going well, it isn’t going as planned?...Everybody has bitter days, and the book of Ruth gives us hope when facing those bitter days. So let’s turn to Ruth ch 1 and check it out. You’ll find Ruth in the first quarter part of your bible, and we’ll be in Ruth ch’s 1-4. Title of today’s message is Bittersweet, and this is the big idea. Life is sometimes bitter, but the resurrection assures us it’ll end sweet...Life is sometimes bitter, but the resurrection assures us it’ll end sweet.
Context:
Here’s your context. The book of Ruth was written during a very bitter period of Israel’s history. After settling in the Promised Land the Israelites were supposed to be a new nation helping to restore beauty in the land of Canaan, but instead they were disobedient to the Lord. They started worshiping other gods and were just as destructive as the Canaanites they drove out of the land. So the Lord allows them to feel the consequences of their sins, he allows them to feel what life is like without him, and it’s a very dark, bitter period in Israel’s history. But the Lord gives them a glimpse of hope in this dark bitter period of their lives, and so let’s check it out.
The Word:
Ruth 1:1 states, “During the time of the judges, there was a famine in the land. A man left Bethlehem in Judah with his wife and two sons to stay in the territory of Moab for a while. 2 The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife’s name was Naomi. The names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion...” Notice how bad, how bitter things became for Israel. The Promised Land was now experiencing famine in the land. At one point the Promised Land was prosperous to the point where the Israelites described it as a land flowing with milk and honey. But now it’s become a land that’s fallen with famine so badly, that many of the Israelites left like Elimelech.
Vs. 3, “Naomi’s husband Elimelech died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 Her sons took Moabite women as their wives: one was named Orpah and the second was named Ruth.” So Naomi’s husband dies, but she still has her two sons. They marry two Moabite women named Orpah and Ruth. Both women aren’t Israelites, they’re Moabites who worshipped other gods.
Vs. 4 continues, “After they lived in Moab about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two children and without her husband.” So not only does Naomi’s husband die, but now her two sons die. That’s enough hardship to crush anybody! But she’s about to face even more hardship, because historically we know widows were often mistreated and taken advantage of in ancient civilizations, if they didn’t have male relatives to protect and provide for them. Since Naomi left Israel due to the famine, she doesn’t have any relatives to protect and provide for her. So in vs 7-12 she decides to go back to Israel, and she tells Orpah and Ruth to go back to their Moabite relatives so they’ll be protected, provided for, and can start a new life without her. Naomi’s life has become very bitter, very fast.
Vs. 13, “My life is much too bitter, for you to share...” Naomi’s life has become very bitter, very fast, and what we’re learning is our lives aren’t as stable and secure as we think. Our sweet days can turn into bitter days very quickly like Naomi. The past few months I’ve had to do several funerals, and each were unexpected sudden deaths. I knew each of them personally, and they all expected to live to see tomorrow. Their friends and family expected them to live to see tomorrow. But the reality is we aren’t guaranteed tomorrow. The reality is our lives aren’t as stable and secure as we think. The reality is our sweet days, can turn into bitter days very quickly like Naomi. She loses her husband, loses her sons, and says her life’s much to bitter to share. So she tells Orpah and Ruth to start a new life without her. Orpah leaves, but Ruth stays.
Vs. 16, “Ruth replied, ‘Don’t plead with me to abandon you or to return and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.’” That’s a conversion moment. That’s Ruth turning away from her Moabite gods, and turning to the Israelite God which is the God of the Bible. As a result, Naomi allows Ruth to travel with her back to Israel, and listen to what happens next.
Vs. 19, “The two of them traveled until they came to Bethlehem. When they entered Bethlehem, the whole town was excited about their arrival, and the local women exclaimed, ‘Can this be Naomi?’ 20 ‘Don’t call me Naomi. Call me Mara,’ she answered, ‘for the Almighty has made me very bitter. 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty.” Naomi’s life feels so bitter, she changes her name to “Mara.” In the original Hebrew Naomi means pleasant or sweet, but Mara means bitter. So she changes her name from pleasant and sweet, to bitter. Her name Mara is an expression of the grief and bitterness she’s feeling. She doesn’t reject the Lord by expressing her grief, but she does neglect to see the Lord’s salvation and provision in this bitter situation. She neglects to see that the Lord used this bitter situation for Ruth’s salvation and to give her provisional support through Ruth. She overlooks the Lord’s salvation and provision in this bitter situation. What about you?...Is the glass half empty in your life, or half full?...Are you looking or overlooking the Lord’s salvation and provision in your life?...God wants your honest prayers in bitter days, but don’t overlook the things he’s doing and providing in those bitter days.
Ch. 2:1, “Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side. He was a prominent man of noble character from Elimelech’s family. His name was Boaz.” This is where the book of Ruth turns into a romantic episode of The Bachelor. The Bachelor always has guys who are confident, clean cut, with 6 pack abs walking around with some swag. That’s Boaz! The text says he’s a prominent man, a noble man of great wealth and character. He’s rich, charming, owns a lot of land, and everybody loves him. Even his name has significance! In Hebrew the name Boaz means strength...My Latino friends tell me in Spanish my last name Tamburro means dumb donkey... Thank God I’m Italian, because in Italian it means warrior drummer. I’d rather be that than a dumb donkey...But Boaz means strength, and his entrance into the book of Ruth is a romantic hopeful moment for Naomi and Ruth. Naomi’s too old to marry him, but if he marries Ruth it’ll be good protection and provision for both Naomi and Ruth. Well in vs 2-7 Boaz sees Ruth in one of his fields with his harvesters, collecting any leftover grains that have fallen. So big, buff, Boaz comes riding on his horse, cape flapping, hair blowing in the wind like this...Nick Cage GIF...
Vs. 8, “Then Boaz said to Ruth, ‘Don’t go and gather grain in another field, and don’t leave this one...10 She fell facedown, bowed to the ground, and said to him, ‘Why have I found favor with you, so that you notice me, although I am a foreigner? 11 Boaz answered, ‘Everything you have done for your mother-in-law since your husband’s death has been fully reported to me. How you left your father and mother and your native land, and how you came to a people you didn’t previously know. 12 May the Lord reward you for what you’ve done, and may you receive a full reward from the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.” Boaz ends up rewarding Ruth with a ton of barley, she takes it back to Naomi, and Naomi’s like “Who gave you all this barley? Who’s the man that noticed you.” Ruth says “His name was Boaz...”
Vs. 20, “Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, ‘May the Lord bless him because he has not abandoned his kindness to the living or the dead...The man is a close relative. He is one of our family redeemers.” Naomi’s finally seeing the Lord’s hand at work, she’s finally seeing the Lord hasn’t abandoned her, and it’s turning her bitter days back to sweet again. She’s seeing the Lord working through Boaz, and she calls Boaz a family redeemer. A family redeemer was a relative who was willing to take responsibility for their extended family member, including the land they owned, and Boaz was willing. But the problem is there’s another relative who’s older than Boaz, which means that guys has first choice on taking in Naomi and Ruth. So in ch 4 Boaz asks the older relative if he wants to be the family redeemer, and at first the guys says yes. But then Boaz explains the details and he’s like, “Okay if you want that role, you can have it. But just so you know, you’re not only buying their land. You also have to take care of a Moabite woman, and Naomi who’s changed her name to bitter. You sure you want to get involved with all that?” The guy backs out, and Boaz steps in. Boaz buys their land, takes them in, and marries Ruth.
Ch. 4:13, “Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. He slept with her, and the Lord granted conception to her, and she gave birth to a son...16 Naomi took the child, placed him on her lap, and became a mother to him. 17 The neighbor women said, ‘A son has been born to Naomi,’ and they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.” Naomi holding Obed on her lap, being like a mother to him, shows the Lord made her bitter life, sweet again. But the book of Ruth doesn’t end there, it ends with a genealogy, it ends with King David. Historically we know over 1,000 yrs later, an even greater king comes through that same family lineage, and his name is Jesus. Jesus is the greater king who comes through the family lineage of Boaz and Ruth. Jesus is the greater king and greater family redeemer, who comes to make our bitter days sweet again. The book of Ruth starts with bitterness and death, but it ends with new life and a genealogy of new births. It ends with a historical compass pointing straight to Jesus turning the bitter sting of death, into a sweet eternal life through the power of his resurrection.
It’s exactly what all our hearts are longing for! Both skeptics and believers have a deep desire, a deep longing in their hearts for the bitter parts of life to end, and the sweet parts of life to continue. We feel it most at funerals when we lose the people we love. At funerals our souls are screaming to hold onto the sweet pleasures of life with those we love. We feel the bitter sting of their death, and we long for the sweet pleasures of their life to continue. We long for the sweet pleasures of seeing, touching, eating, enjoying life with those we love again. The good news of Easter is all those things can be found in the resurrection of Jesus, and I’ll show you. In Luke 24 the disciples are completely devastated over seeing Jesus crucified on the cross. Like Naomi they felt the bitter sting of death, the bitter sting of losing somebody they love. But Jesus is about to show them the sweet victorious power of his resurrection. Listen to what Jesus says to his close friends after he’s risen from the grave. This is Jesus in his resurrected body.
Luke 24:36, “Jesus stood among them and said, ‘Peace to you!’ 37 But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. 38 And he said to them, ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see. For a spirit doesn’t have flesh and bones as you see I have...41 But while they were still amazed and in disbelief because of their joy, he asked them, ‘Do you have anything here to eat?’ 42 So they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate.” I want you to notice 3 things Jesus says in his resurrected state. 1st he says see my hands and my feet, meaning he’s able to be recognized after he’s risen...2nd he says he has flesh and bones! He says touch me and see, meaning he’s able to be physically touched after he’s risen...3rd he says he has flesh and bones, and he eats broiled fish after he’s risen. What this means is after we die we don’t become translucent spirits, ghosts, or fertilizer to the natural world completing the circle of life. Jesus is showing us we receive renewed, imperishable, resurrected bodies with flesh and bones, which allows us the pleasure of seeing and recognizing those we love again. It allows us the pleasure of physically touching those we love again, feeling the warmth of their embrace again. It allows us even the pleasures of enjoying good food and good conversation with those we love again. Brisket? Done! Tbone steak? Done! Veggie burgers? You’re in hell...Just kidding. I actually like veggie burgers.
The point is Jesus is showing us we can have the pleasures of seeing, touching, eating, enjoying our human senses and pleasures with those we love again, through faith in him and the power of his resurrection. It’s what everybody wants, including skeptics! Everybody wants to see, touch, enjoy the pleasures of life with those we love again, never to be taken by the sting of death again. It’s why we all cling to these things, we long for these things at funerals, and Jesus is showing us we can have these pleasures through faith in him. But there’s one more thing, one more pleasure I want to show you, and it’s at the end of the bible when Jesus returns again
Revelation 21:4, “Jesus will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and there will be no more death, mourning, crying, or pain anymore...” This is what the bible teaches will happen at the end of history, when Jesus returns again. Like a parent bending down to wipe their child’s tears, Jesus will come to wipe away our tears. He’ll wipe away every tear we’ve ever experienced in life, never to return again. Tears from depression, gone...Tears from broken relationships, gone... Tears from cancer, gone!...Tears from the bitter sting of death at funerals, gone...The bible’s ending is even better than the book of Ruth’s ending, because it puts an end to the bitterness of sin, sickness, sadness, and death forever. It allows us to enjoy the sweet eternal pleasures of eternal life with Christ and all who put their faith in Christ, through the power of his resurrection.
The deepest longing in our hearts is for the bitter parts of life to come to an end, and the sweet parts of life to continue. The solution for that isn’t found in atheism, which teaches all the sweet pleasures of life die when you die. The solution isn’t found in Eastern Spirituality, which teaches you’re just a spiritual force denying you the physical pleasures of a physical resurrection. The solution isn’t found in the bottle, drugs, or self-medicating, which feels good in the moment, but when the buzz wears off the bitter pains of life resurface again. The solution is found in Jesus and the power of his resurrection, which allows for our human senses and pleasures to continue beyond the grave! Everything our hearts are longing for, the bitter parts of life coming to an end, and the sweet parts of life continuing...All these things are found, in the resurrection of Jesus.
The Big Idea:
The big idea of the message is that life is sometimes bitter like Naomi’s, but the resurrection of Jesus assures us it’ll end sweet...Just like the Lord brought hope into Naomi’s life, the Lord wants to bring hope into your life. Do you want hope for your bitter days?...Do you want hope for the bitter parts of your life to end, and the sweet parts of your life to continue?...Then put your faith in Jesus. There’s always hope for your bitter days with Jesus. There’s always hope that your bitter days, will become better days, with the power of his resurrection. If you’re a skeptic repent of your sins, believe Jesus died for your sins, and you’ll have that hope. If you’re a believer don’t neglect the protection, provision, and hope Jesus has given you in his resurrection. His resurrection assures us that even the bitter sting of death, will be turned into a sweet eternal life.