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Naomi Deals with Her Bitterness Ruth Chapter 1

Naomi Deals with Her Bitterness Ruth Chapter 1. Ruth begins with Naomi A woman who has endured terrible loss A decade of troubles Misery upon misery She is bitter. Famine Left her country Death of her husband Death of her two sons Loneliness Returning home with nothing.

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Naomi Deals with Her Bitterness Ruth Chapter 1

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  1. Naomi Deals with Her BitternessRuth Chapter 1 Ruth begins with Naomi A woman who has endured terrible loss A decade of troubles Misery upon misery She is bitter

  2. Famine Left her country Death of her husband Death of her two sons Loneliness Returning home with nothing

  3. She has reason to be bitter! But she never becomes bitter She heads back home with hope She graciously says goodbye But Ruth refuses to separate from Naomi

  4. 16But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.” 

  5. Why would Ruth want to stay with Naomi? A bitter woman An old woman A woman with nothing to offer A foreigner

  6. Naomi was hopeful in the Lord 6When she heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. 

  7. Naomi was gracious even in her pain 8Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back, each of you, to your mother’s home. May the LORD show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead and to me. 9May the LORD grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband.” Then she kissed them and they wept aloud…

  8. Naomi was frank about her pain 11…Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? 

  9. Naomi could struggle with her Lord 13…No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD’S hand has gone out against me!”

  10. 16But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.

  11. Ruth wants to stay with Naomi because… This old woman with a dozen reasons to be bitter was… Hopeful Gracious and kind Frank about her pain Had a healthy relationship with her God

  12. Ruth wanted to stay with Naomi Because in Naomi she saw… Hope Possibilities A future

  13. 19So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”

  14. 20“Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. 21I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”

  15. Naomi allowed herself to experience bitterness She spoke of it But she never became bitter The bitterness never reached her heart to change her

  16. What do we learn from Naomi? First It’s ok to struggle with God It’s ok to be angry with God It’s ok to verbalize our bitterness

  17. Second As we struggle with God we can still trust Him In our struggle and bitterness we can still have hope

  18. Third How we deal with our bitterness can help others see God How we trust, hope and depend on God is our witness to others

  19. Fourth Our kindness, graciousness and compassion for others during those times of bitterness can demonstrate how powerful God in us

  20. Fifth We can experience bitterness without becoming bitter We can verbalize our anger and disappointment without becoming sour

  21. Be hopeful in the Lord • Be gracious even in your pain • Be frank about your pain • Struggle with your Lord if necessary • Stay beautiful

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