Friendship

Order of Service

• Hymn — God, All Nature Sings Thy Glory (#253)
• Call to Worship — 1 Chronicles 16:28-36
• Prayer of Invocation
• Apostles' Creed
• Hymn — Bless the Lord, O My Soul (Psalm 103, #103C, stanzas 1–4)
• Pastoral Prayer
• Scripture Reading — Ruth 1:6-22
• Sermon
• Hymn — Gracious Spirit, Dwell with Me (#400)
• Benediction

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Sermon Title: Friendship

Scripture: Ruth 1:6-22

I. Naomi Urges Her Daughters-in-Law to Return Home (vv. 6–15)

A. The Lord visits his covenant people with food — a sign of special grace, not merely common grace

1. Physical famine in the land signals spiritual famine, as taught in Leviticus
2. God acts in spite of Israel's faithlessness — he draws near in their misery
3. Wordplay: the Hebrew word for bread (lehem) echoes Bethlehem ("house of bread") — God provides bread for the house of bread

B. Naomi urges Orpah and Ruth to return to their mothers' houses (Ruth 1:8-9)

1. In the ancient world, widowhood was nearly a death sentence — livelihood depended on a husband's name and inheritance
2. Naomi acts in love, urging them toward remarriage and a secure future
3. Naomi calls them "my daughters" (vv. 11, 12, 13) — indicating a tight-knit, mother-daughter bond

C. Naomi alludes to the levirate law — Deuteronomy 25:5-10

1. The brother-in-law (Latin: levir) was obligated to marry his deceased brother's widow and carry on his name
2. Naomi is too old to provide another son; she does not want to burden them with waiting
3. This law prepares the reader for the coming role of Boaz as kinsman-redeemer

D. Orpah kisses Naomi goodbye, but Ruth clings to her (Ruth 1:14)

1. The Hebrew verb for "cling" is strong — used in 1 Kings 11:2 of Solomon's heart clinging to foreign women and their gods
2. Echoes the marriage language of Adam and Eve: a man shall leave father and mother and cleave to his wife
3. Orpah's departure is described as returning to "her people and to her gods" — separation from Naomi is separation from Yahweh (Ruth 1:15)

II. Ruth's Oath of Loyalty (vv. 16–18)

A. Ruth's declaration is unconditional and comprehensive (Ruth 1:16-17)

1. She renounces her Moabite people, culture, and gods
2. She binds herself to Naomi's people and to Naomi's God
3. She seals the commitment with an oath invoking Yahweh — not Chemosh, the chief god of Moab

B. The contrast between Orpah and Ruth

1. Orpah loves Naomi the person; Ruth clings to what Naomi represents — the one true God
2. New Testament parallel: John 6 — many disciples leave Jesus over hard sayings; Peter says, "Where shall we go? You have the words of eternal life"
3. To leave Naomi would be to return to false idols; to cling to Naomi is to cling to the covenant God of Israel

C. Application: Christian friendship is meant to draw others not merely to ourselves but to the God they see in us

1. We should aspire to be people others cling to because of Christ, not merely because of personal kindness
2. Our relationships ought to point to a truth and reality that goes beyond us

III. Naomi Returns to Bethlehem (vv. 19–22)

A. The whole town is stirred at Naomi's return (Ruth 1:19)

1. Naomi's original departure to Moab — enemy territory — was itself an act of faithlessness
2. She returns shamed: husband dead, sons dead, accompanied by a Moabite woman

B. Naomi renames herself Mara ("bitter") (Ruth 1:20-21)

1. Parallel to Job — Job 27:2 — who also loses everything and calls God's hand against him
2. Naomi does not need platitudes or advice; she needs a shoulder to cry on
3. God's mysterious providence: he provides exactly that comfort through a Moabite woman

C. The key word shuv ("return/repentance") occurs 12 times in chapter 1

1. The author could have used other Hebrew verbs for return but chooses the word most associated with repentance — turning back to the Lord
2. Naomi's departure to Moab and her sons' foreign marriages are implicitly condemned
3. Her return is a return to the land where God's covenant promises are bound

D. The barley harvest (Ruth 1:22) — a cliffhanger and foreshadowing

1. Closes an episode of death, grief, and destitution
2. Points forward to the harvest scenes where the drama of redemption will unfold with Boaz

IV. Closing Applications

A. Salvation comes through stubborn love

1. If it were up to Naomi, she would have sent Ruth away and died in shame — as Job repeatedly wished for death
2. It is Ruth's stubborn, unwanted love that becomes Naomi's salvation — a picture of the gospel
3. 1 John 4:10 — it is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son
4. The "hound of heaven" — God's love is more stubborn than our sin, shame, and guilt; John 6:44 — the Father drags us to the Son

B. The call to covenant friendship

1. Ruth's bond with Naomi is not based on cultural ties, shared ethnicity, or material prospects — it is grounded in the God Naomi serves
2. She bypasses her sister-in-law Orpah (a natural companion) to cling to a daughter of Yahweh
3. John 13:34 — love one another as Christ has loved you; 1 John 2:9-10 — love of the brother is the mark of walking in the light; Galatians 6:10 — do good to all, but especially to the household of faith
4. Love all people (the Orpahs), but cling to the covenant people of God (the Naomis)
5. The modern church has often inverted this priority — the love most needed is first among the brothers and sisters in Christ, not only directed outward