Homework: Complaint Department

2. Homework: Complaint Department During this week listen closely to what people complain about and the words they used to express their discontent. Specifically note: • What seems to be the most common complaint? • What do these comments tell you about what is important to people? • Do people tend to complain about events they can control? Why or why not? • What do the complaints expose about their view of God? • What do the observations teach you about yourself and your complaining?

3. Naomi’s Emptiness • She lost her home …living as stranger in foreign land • She lost her wealth during the famine in Israel • She lost her husband … lacks provision/ protection • She lost her sons … her family now faces annihilation

4. Ruth’s Commitment Life and Death. She further binds herself to do this with an oath of self-imprecation. If she reneges on her promise, she invites the Lord-Naomi's God-to stretch out his hand to strike her down. Here is an astonishing act of surrender and self-sacrifice. Ruth was laying down her entire life to serve Naomi. Burial in Israel. She is even willing to die and be buried in Naomi's land – the land of Naomi's God, not the gods of the Moabites. Given the intimate connection between land and deity in the ancient Near East, and the importance of proper burial for a restful afterlife, this was the ultimate commitment in the ancient world. God. In so doing, she is also committing her life to Naomi's God, whom she calls as a witness by his personal name, the Lord (YHWH). Naomi. She is committing her life to Naomi, body and soul, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health. New Home. Ruth was not merely relocating her home to go somewhere geographically less pleasant, as if someone were willing to move from sunny Southern California to the unbearable heat of Death Valley. That would be noble self-sacrifice; this is far more. Each of Ruth’s statements ratchets up her level of her commitment

7. Ruth 1:19-21 19So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” 20She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” • What were the townswomen saying to one another? • Do you think this is a question of concern (i.e., they are unsure whether the woman who stood before them was Naomi)? or • Is this an exclamation of astonished and joyful recognition (i.e, “Can this really be Naomi!?”) The name Naomi means “pleasant” or “lovely.” Why did Naomi change her name to Marawhen she returned to Bethlehem? Where did Naomi get the name “Mara”? Why do you think the whole town was “stirred” by the arrival of Naomi and Ruth? Was this stir one of excitement, shock, or something else? How was Naomi received in Bethlehem?

8. Ruth 1:19-21 19So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” 20She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” Has there ever been a time when you feel like you want to change your name to ‘Bitter’, just like Naomi? In what ways had Naomi been emptied? Had she been left completely empty? Think about Naomi’s complaint in verses 20-21. What do these words reveal about the state of her heart and soul? About her awareness of God during these dark days? Who does Naomi blame for her situation in Ruth 1:21? Whose fault is it really?

9. Ruth 1:19-21 19So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” 20She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” In what ways is she limiting God in verse 21? In what ways might she be giving God more “credit” than He deserves for the events in her life? Naomi calls God “Almighty” (El Shaddai) twice in this passage. If God is “Almighty” in Naomi’s mind, how has she applied that word in a negative way toward God?

10. God is Great … but not Good • Naomi’s circumstances influenced her to develop a hardened understanding of divine sovereignty • She looked at her situation and said in effect, “This bitterness is the only reality I know or can be known; this is “truth,” and by it I will redefine my concept of God • God may be able to do with her as He pleases (and who can argue?), but His pleasure lacks empathy and kindness • With such distorted (i.e., circumstance-dependent) theology and a crushed spirit, she never prayed • Instead, she despaired, resigning herself to the inevitable machinations of a cruel deity • However, the book of Ruth does not tell us that God was angry with Naomi – she was mistaken to measure God’s goodness by her level of happiness or her immediate circumstances

11. We are also Guilty of Questioning God’s Goodness • We often do this, do we not? • Suffering: Eternity Makes A Difference (by Paul Tripp) … • We judge God’s love and faithfulness by how many of our desires have been met • When our desires do not materialize, our words are telling • Angry, accusing words reveal the idols of our hearts – so do selfish prayers couched in pious and deferential language • Too often, it is not God’s will that we want, but our own will made possible by God • Had not Naomi made God the servant of her agenda? Do we not do the same?

12. Cut the Widow Some Slack! • Don’t you have a heart? Naomi had experienced an inordinate amount of death, disappointment, and grief since she left Bethlehem • Can’t we make concessions about her words in Ruth 1? Were her grief and predicament so devastating that Naomi distraughtly and almost unconsciously uttered statements that she did not mean and would not otherwise have said in less challenging circumstances? • Note: Hebrew narrative typically develops characters through dialogue … we discover what is in the heart of the character by what he or she reportedly says

13. No Excuse to Sin! • Even if Naomi’s words are more emotionally charged than rationally measured … she can’t be excused from sinning with her tongue • God’s people should exercise self-control in any circumstance and seek to honor Him at all times and in all places • If self-control is part of the fruit of the Spirit, the Bible does not put limits on it so that God’s people may blaspheme during the grimmest and most shattering moments • “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man” (1 Cor 10:13) – this comes from Paul who could list his own dreadful instances of suffering • God will not test His people beyond that they can bear and maintain in the midst of affliction

14. Ruth 1:19-21 19So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” 20She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” Naomi notes that God has “testified against” her. How does Naomi’s negative view of God’s role in the events of her life contradict what the Bible teaches about God’s character?

15. No Charge Against God’s Elect! • Naomi thought YHWH was, in effect, testifying against her in a court of law – He had allegedly turned against her • According to Rom 8:33, no one, not even God Himself, will bring charges against God’s elect sons and daughters • Jesus Christ intercedes on behalf of those who are united to Him by faith • Christians may experience effects of living in fallen world; they may undergo refining discipline of a loving Father • But nothing can reverse the justification that God has declared on the strength of: • Christ’s active obedience (His perfect keeping of the law, called righteousness, that is imputed to believers) • Christ’s passive obedience (His suffering and death that represent the imputation of believers’ sins and their punishment for sin to Him) • God does not abandon us to our sin or the effects of other people’s choices … Naomi’s situation looked bleak, but God’s finest moment in her life was about to begin

16. Ruth 1:19-21 19So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” 20She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” Why did Naomi make no mention of Ruth in her words to the women of Bethlehem? Why did the women seem to take no notice of Ruth? Do we Christians ever act like Naomi or the women of Bethlehem?

17. Choosing the Path of Ruth • Choosing the way of Ruth not only means identifying with Israel's God … it also means identifying with the stubborn, recalcitrant, and frequently offensive flock that he calls His own • Ruth found no warm welcome either from Naomi or from the women of Bethlehem, yet she committed herself to Naomi and her kin • So too we may often find the Lord's people to be a disappointing bunch, exhibiting fewer of the fruits of the Spirit than we would like – the new Israel may have far too much in common with the old Israel for our taste • Yet flawed as the people of God are, if the Lord is to be our God then His people must be our people, too. We will each add our own sins and flaws to the mix, of course, yet the impact that Ruth's faithful service had on Naomi and Bethlehem should not be missed. • One person who is totally committed to the Lord and to the community of His people, even a young believer, may make a lasting difference to the life of the flock

18. Ruth 1:22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest. The author refers to Ruth as “the Moabite” in verse 22 and does so again in later parts of the narrative. Why is Ruth’s racial identity important? Does racism exist in the Christian church? Does it exist at Redeemer? What is going on in Bethlehem when they arrive? Why is that important? How is God’s grace (once again) demonstrated here? The Hebrew construction in verse 22 makes it clear that both Naomi and Ruth “return” to Bethlehem. How can Ruth, a Moabite woman who has never been to Israel, “return” to Bethlehem?

19. THE BARLEY HARVEST • The barley fields of Boaz are setting of chapter 2 of book of Ruth • Barley was the first of the crops sown the previous winter to be harvested (see Exodus 9:31) • Bread made from this grain was an essential food of the inhabitants of the ancient Near East, particularly the poor (see 2 Kings 4:42 and John 6:9) • Barley was also used as feed for horses (see 1 Kings 4:28) • The ancient Egyptians are known to have brewed barley beer in large quantities; it is likely that the Israelites were introduced to this drink during their time in Egypt • Fermented beverages are mentioned many times in the Bible and it is clear these are different from wine (Deut 14:6; Luke 1:14). Many scholars think these are references to barley beer. • The ESV uses the word “strong drink” in the story of Hannah, the mother of Samuel (see 1 Samuel 1:15) and parts of the book of Proverbs (see Proverbs 31:4 and 6).

20. THE BARLEY HARVEST • Barley harvest celebrated by religious festival known as First Fruits • Leviticus 23:9-14 details the regulations governing this festival: “And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, and he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, so that you may be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. And on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb a year old without blemish as a burnt offering to the LORD. And the grain offering with it shall be two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, a food offering to the LORD with a pleasing aroma, and the drink offering with it shall be of wine, a fourth of a hin. And you shall eat neither bread nor grain parched or fresh until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.” What were the people to do at the beginning of the barley harvest? What did the festival of First Fruits celebrate in Old Testament Israel? On what day were they to do it? What were they forbidden to do? What did First Fruits teach Israel about the Messiah who was to come?

21. First Fruits • 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 -- “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.” How does this passage explain the significance of First Fruits in the New Testament era?

22. Case Study: Bob, a recent widower • Scenario: Bob is a fifty-five year old member of your church. He and his wife, Sally, raised three children, all college graduates with honors. The children are now living, working, and raising their own families in other parts of the country. When the children were younger and at home Bob and Sally never missed any of their school functions (Bob coached their Little League teams, Sally was a den-mother, and so on). The couple team-taught a teen Sunday School class for the past eight years. • Nine months ago Sally died suddenly of a stroke and Bob understandably hasn't been the same since. He continues to attend church regularly but sits by himself, often cries as the hymns are sung, and leaves quickly once the service ends. He asked for a break from his Sunday School teaching the week after the funeral, and hasn't shown any desire to resume since. • You approach him after the service one Sunday, affirm your love and express your desire to help Bob. He breaks down and begins to sob, saying, "I just can't live without Sally. I need her. We did everything together. Why does God seem so distant from me?"

23. Case Study: Bob, a recent widower What insights from Ruth chapter one should affect the way we view and seek to help Bob? • We're introduced to several truths in the first chapter of Ruth that help us understand how best to help Bob. The first (perhaps not in importance but in approach) is that it's okay to grieve. Death is not 'normal,' contrary to popuIar opinion. Death is the tragic consequence of Adam's sin (and ours) in God's world. We live in a sin-cursed world where people (including God's people) get sick and even die prematurely (from our perspective, that is). Naomi grieved intensely for a period of time. Bob is certainly not wrong for grieving. • Secondly, God is sovereign. He is in control of everything that happens in His universe, including what happens to families like Naomi's, and Bob's. The loss of her spouse and children certainly took Naomi by surprise, but it didn't surprise God. As the book of Ruth will vividly illustrate, God works all things together for His glory and the ultimate good of His people. As we seek to help Bob, we must minister that truth to him very gently, not as a flippant cliche, but as a hope-giving rock for his soul.

24. Case Study: Bob, a recent widower What insights from Ruth chapter one should affect the way we view and seek to help Bob? • Thirdly, God specializes in bringing good things out of difficult circumstances. That's the story of the Bible and we certainly see it in Ruth. Granted, we may not know precisely what those good things will be for Bob (Naomi certainly didn't know at the end of chapter one), but the mere fact of the matter offers great hope when the loss is still raw. Romans 8:29 indicates that the primary, good outcome of "alI things" (from 8:28) is the formation of a peopIe that resemble God's Son. • Fourthly, God's provisions may come in unexpected and easily overlooked packages. Naomi didn't recognize at first the great blessing God had given her in the person of Ruth. God has assuredly placed grace-provisions in Bob's life, too, and it's our privilege to help him begin to identify them. • Finally, God has a purpose for the surviving spouse. Bob may be thinking, "I can't live without my Sally." But Bob needs to reminded that the wise God who took his wife from this world had left him here, indicating He had a purpose for him now as a single man.

25. Case Study: Bob, a recent widower In light of these biblical principles from the book of Ruth, what can the church do to help Bob? • Psalm 68:6 says, "God sets the lonely in families." By God's design the church is a family, a network of relationships created by Christ's atoning work and sealed by the Holy Spirit. Bob's church has a wonderful opportunity to live out its identity in its response to this brother in need. How? • For starters, the church family ought to look for ways to provide Bob (and others like Bob) with expressions of fellowship. Sit down next to Bob in church. Express your appreciation for him. Let him know his tears, should they come, are welcome. Invite him to join your family for the Sunday noon meal. • In addition, give Bob opportunity to talk. Take him out for a cup of coffee and listen. Let him talk about Sally. Let him express his feelings, even his frustrations without chastening him. Don't be too quick to answer the why question (remember the trouble Job's friends got themselves into by doing that). Granted, in time he will need to do more than talk, but your listening will open the door for truth-sharing. • At some point you will want to talk with Bob about his Sunday School teaching. Help him think through some questions, like: Do I still have a heart for teaching teens? How can my God-given gifts best minister to the Body as a single man? It is so important to help hurting people see that God still has a ministry to accomplish both in and through them in His church.

26. Case Study: Bob, a recent widower Suppose you offer to meet with Bob for counseling and he agrees ... What would you want to accomplish in the first session? • In the first counseling session with any person, several objectives are essential: • We need to gather data (by listening and observing) • Establish Christ-like involvement as a servant • Begin to discern what problems the person is experiencing (from the standpoint of feelings, thinking, and behavior) • Give hope by using God's sufficient Word • That's what we'll want to do with Bob, to listen intently, to ask open-ended questions that will help us discern what he needs from us, to demonstrate selfless love for him in his season of loss, and to begin ministering the hope-giving truths of the Scriptures. What passages of Scripture might you share with him that would give him hope? We can turn to passages like Romans 15:13, Romans 8:28-29, 1 Corinthians 10:13, Ephesians 1:3-4, and 1 Peter 1:3-9 to give hope to hurting people like Bob in the initial session.

27. Scripture Passages Romans 15:13– “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Romans 8:28-29 – “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” 1 Corinthians 10:13 – “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

28. Scripture Passages Ephesians 1:3-4 – “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.” 1 Peter 1:3-9 – “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

29. Case Study: Bob, a recent widower What practical homework assignment(s) might you give Bob to help him? • This will depend largely on what happens during the first session. The purpose of homework is to begin applying biblical principles to particular needs in the counselee's life in order to help him please Christ and be God's kind of person (2 Cor. 5:9). The goal is not to remove problems, but to help him respond to problems in God honoring ways (James 1:2-4). In order to help Bob regain a sense of God's purpose for his life, we might assign the following: • Ruth. Read the book of Ruth this week, one chapter a day. Each time you read write down: a) Something you learned about God; b) Something you learned about God's plan for His people. Be prepared to discuss these insights at our next appointment. • Memory verse. Write Romans 15:13 on a 3x5 card, read it before every meal, and be prepared to quote it word perfect at our next appointment. Also, be prepared to share how this verse affected you this week. • Journal. Keep a daily journal this week, including what times you got up and went to bed, how you spent your days, when you ate your meals, what activities you performed, idle times (include what you were thinking and wanting), etc.

30. Case Study: Bob, a recent widower Suppose you meet weekly with Bob to pray with him and provide biblical encouragement and counsel, yet in the fifth session he is still saying, "I must have Sally back. I just can't live without her." What biblical truth might you share with Bob to help him think differently? • Bob needs help grasping the truth that God has a purpose for the surviving spouse, that God intends to use him now (at least for a season) as a single man. As the question indicates, this is a fifth session topic, not a first session topic, and as the scenario states, the discussion is taking place nine months after his wife died. This truth needs to be administered gently. What homework might you give Bob at this point to transform his thinking? • As far as homework goes, you can suggest a book to go through together. Perhaps, a book like Trusting God: Even When Life Hurtsby Jerry Bridges. You could then assign a chapter a week, encouraging him to underline what he considers to be the ten most meaningful sentences in each chapter, and be prepared to discuss them at our next appointment.

32. Ruth 1:6-10 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return(shub)from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the LORD had visited his people and given them food.” So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return(shub) to the land of Judah. But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return(shub) each of you to her mother's house. May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 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. And they said to her, “No, we will return(shub) with you to your people.” One of the major themes in Ruth Chapter 1 is the idea of “returning” or “going back” (shub in Hebrew). Let’s quickly highlight its use in this chapter.

33. Ruth 1:11-14 But Naomi said, “Turn back(shub), my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back(shub), 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 this night and should bear sons, would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me.” Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

34. Ruth 1:15-18 And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back(shub) to her people and to her gods; return(shub) after your sister-in-law.” But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return(shub) from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. 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 me from you.” And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.

35. Ruth 1:19-22 So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” So Naomi returned(shub), and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned(shub) from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest. Let’s focus on this last section of Ruth 1, beginning with verses 19-21 …