“A Bright Spot in the Darkness” – FBC Morning Light (4/28/2023)

Well, a good Friday morning to you. I hope your week has gone well, and we're looking forward to a weekend of being able to gather again on the Lord's Day with God's people. Hope you're looking forward to that.

Well, yesterday I ended the broadcast saying I hope that today's devotional will be a little more pleasant for us, and I think indeed it is, at least by the time we get to the end of the devotional this morning.

It doesn't seem to start out that way. We're reading in our Bible reading plan in Ruth chapters 1 and 2, so that's half of the book of Ruth, then John chapter 17 and the 85th Psalm. I'm going to focus on these first couple of chapters of Ruth.

As these chapters open up, it seems like it's going to be just another dark section of God's Word, because you have this family and the setting is in the time of the judges, so right away that indicates to us, oh no, this is going to be a bad thing.

But this family of Elimelech, his wife Naomi, and their two sons Mechlon and Chilion, they live in Bethlehem in the land of Judah, and there's a famine in the land, so this is a bad thing. Elimelech takes his family and sojourns to Moab.

Let me pause here a minute and remind you of the Abrahamic covenant. When God came to Abraham, he promised him three things. He promised him place, posterity, and purpose. He promised him a place. He said, this land I'm going to give to you, the land of Canaan, all of it.

He promised him posterity. He said, look to the stars, and if you can count the stars, that's the offspring that are going to come out of your loins. You're going to have descendants that are innumerable.

Posterity. He gave him purpose. He said, in you, all the families of the earth will be blessed. Hang on to that, because in Ruth chapter 1, what's Naomi's experience here in this chapter? In the first place, she loses her place.

She has to leave her place behind. She leaves Bethlehem to sojourn in the land of Moab, which is outside of the covenant place, the land of promise. She leaves the place. But she still has her husband, and she still has her two sons, Mahlon and Kilion, for a while.

First, Elimelech dies, and her two sons, they take wives of the Moabite women. One takes Ruth as a wife. The other one takes Orpah as his wife. Yet, before they could have any children, these two sons die.

The only children that Naomi has. When these two sons die, Naomi concludes, I am bereft of posterity. I've lost my place. I have no posterity, and no way to gain any posterity. I have been bereft of purpose, because there's not going to be any blessing come through me.

The family is going to die off. She sees her situation as so hopeless, that when she finally does return to Bethlehem, and she comes into the village, and people recognize her and say, isn't this Naomi?

Which the name means pleasant. Isn't this Naomi? She says, no, no, no. Don't call me Naomi. Call me Marah, meaning bitter. Because the Lord has dealt very bitterly with me. How? In what way? She's been bereft of place, of posterity, and of purpose.

Even though she's able to go back to her place, it's all going to be lost. There's nobody to give it to. She's lost everything. The Lord has dealt very bitterly with me. It seems like this is another example of a depressing section or chapter in the history of Israel.

But here's where things change. In the midst of that, there is this Moabite woman Ruth, and Ruth demonstrates to her mother-in-law Naomi the steadfast love of the Lord, the covenant loyalty. It is Ruth that illustrates exactly what steadfast loyalty is all about.

Remember, the Lord is replete, he is abundant in steadfast love. He is faithful to his covenant. If the Lord is faithful to his covenant, then he's not going to renege on his word, on his promise of place, posterity, and purpose.

Ruth illustrates this steadfast loyalty, this steadfast love of the Lord in verse 16. When Naomi is going to return back to Bethlehem, she tells her daughters-in-law, go back to your homeland, your homes, because I can't provide any sons for you to marry, and you're just going to be a weight, basically, and I can't take care of you.

Orpah goes ahead and returns home, but Ruth says, no, wherever you go, I'm going to go. Wherever you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried.

The Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me. Ruth is demonstrating here steadfast loyalty, steadfast love, and that kind of love is seen in being loyal, even if it's hard, even if it's less advantageous, even if it's personally painful.

I will be loyal. Ruth demonstrates this loyalty. I don't want to give away the rest of the story, but if you've already read the book of Ruth, and I'm sure you probably have at some point or another, you know that when all is said and done, and I may leave this for Mike to develop tomorrow, we'll see if he does or not, but when all is said and done, Ruth, who thought she had lost place, posterity, and purpose, finds all three.

Maybe Mike will fill you in on that tomorrow. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for the demonstration of steadfast love on the part of Ruth, and she illustrates to Naomi the steadfast love you have for your people, that you will not renege on your covenant promises.

We thank you for your faithfulness, we thank you for your steadfast love, and we thank you for your faithfulness to your promises. Lord, I pray that you'd bless us from the book of Ruth today, and we ask it in Jesus' name and for his sake.

Amen. All right, well listen, have a good rest of your Friday and a wonderful weekend, and if you make it out to Faith Baptist on Sunday, I encourage you to join us in Sunday school or Bible study time at 9 .30, morning service at 10 .30, be back in the book of Colossians then, and then evening service at 6 o 'clock, and focusing in the book of Proverbs.

So I encourage you to come and join us. Well, have a good weekend. God bless.