Sorrow:
Are You Bitter towards God?
Ruth 1:19 -22
October 9 2011

GLOOM, DESPAIR AND AGONY ON ME From the TV Show "Hee-Haw" (1969 -1992)
Buck Owens & Roy Clark
Gloom, despair, and agony on me
Deep, dark depression, excessive misery
If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all
Gloom, despair, and agony on me

We figured she was rich, loaded to the hilt
And we figured she had class like the Vanderbilt’s
'Cause we had heard for years how she was so well reared
How was we to know they meant the way she was built

Chorus

How many of you can sympathize with these words:

So much of life is built on perceptions. Now these perceptions can have reality tied to them as find in so many various cases in the Bible, but none is more apparent than in the case of Job; the question lies in how do we deal with life’s so called perceptions?

Job 1:14 - 19

14 A messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were eating grass nearby, 15 when the Sabeans attacked and carried them away. They killed the servants with swords, and I am the only one who escaped to tell you!”
16 The messenger was still speaking when another messenger arrived and said, “Lightning from God fell from the sky. It burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who escaped to tell you!”
17 The second messenger was still speaking when another messenger arrived and said, “The Babylonians sent three groups of attackers that swept down and stole your camels and killed the servants. I am the only one who escaped to tell you!”
18 The third messenger was still speaking when another messenger arrived and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine together at the oldest brother’s house. 19 Suddenly a great wind came from the desert, hitting all four corners of the house at once. The house fell in on the young people, and they are all dead. I am the only one who escaped to tell you!”

 We are never given any indication that Job knew why these things had come his way, but we today with the ability of God’s word know exactly why these events happened and those yet to come upon Job.
Let’s go back to verse 12
12 The Lord said to Satan, “All right, then. Everything Job has is in your power, but you must not touch Job himself.” Then Satan left the Lord’s presence.
Job 2:3 - 7
3 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? No one else on earth is like him. He is an honest and innocent man, honoring God and staying away from evil. You caused me to ruin him for no good reason, but he continues to be without blame.”
4 “One skin for another!” Satan answered. “A man will give all he has to save his own life. 5 But reach out your hand and destroy his flesh and bones, and he will curse you to your face.”
6 The Lord said to Satan, “All right, then. Job is in your power, but you may not take his life.”
7 So Satan left the Lord’s presence. He put painful sores on Job’s body, from the top of his head to the soles of his feet.

There are many events that come into our lives for no apparent reason, death by drunk driver, collapse of stages at fairs, planes fall out of the sky, bridges collapse, cancer, Alzheimer’s . All these lead us to question the same question, Why?
We then have events like cirrhosis of the liver, Aids, STD’s, fetal alcohol syndrome. These have known reasons for the result, but we still end up asking, Why?
In response to all of these events, we end up asking, “Why do so many “bad” things happen to so many “good” people?”
Before we move on let’s get one thing clear about “good” people and this comes directly from none other than Jesus Christ;
Luke 18:19
19 So Jesus said to him,  “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.
Or  Isa 64:6a
6     But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousness’s are like filthy rags;

For those of you that may have looked back or maybe even remember Job 1:1 where God calls Job “Blameless and upright”, does not mean he was sinless. Job, being a human being was a sinner, but in his fear or reverence of God, it allowed him to live a life that was one of integrity, and sincerity in all his relations in life.
You may be asking about this time, “How does this relate to Naomi and Ruth?”
If you remember back to Ruth 1:1 – 2 we read how Elimelech packed up his wife and two sons and moved them to the land of Moab, and this occurred during a severe drought in the land of Bethlehem in the land of Judah.
We are not given all the details as to why Elimelech moved his family, but he must have thought that moving, based on his perception was the better choice than staying in Bethlehem. It was during this move that not just Elimelech died but so did his two sons.
We are now left with three widows who based on their perception make choices on which way to go in life. Naomi, tries to convince her two daughters in laws to return back to their mothers home thinking that there would be the best opportunity to find security and a possible future husband. One girl, Orpah takes the opportunity and goes back home, but Ruth, has decided to stay with Naomi.
This brings us to the borders of Bethlehem of Judah.
One of the challenges in reading events like these is we do not get to hear voice and tonal inflections, so we are left questioning how these next few sentences were spoken. Some feel that they were spoken with the sharp tone of a woman that was scorned and broken, while the evidence gives rise to suggest something other than that.
In my last message I asked the question, If someone was trying to persuade you to stop following them because the person they were following was not a good provider or leader, would you be willing to follow? Orpah decision based on what Naomi was saying did not want to take the chance, but despite these same words to Ruth, Ruth decided to stay the course, why?
Maybe we can pick something up from the women of Bethlehem.
Vs 19 “Is this Naomi?

Ten years had apparently taken a toll on Naomi, in both physical appearance and character. When Naomi left Bethlehem ten years ago she was living up to her name of “Pleasant” but as she walks into town today she is different, so the women who knew Naomi from ten years ago are both surprised and bewildered by and at her appearance.
When Naomi sees the women and hears their question she immediately tells them that she is not the same person who they once knew.
Ruth 1:20
20 Naomi answered the people, “Don’t call me Naomi. n Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very sad (Bitter).
What makes Naomi think or feel this way, perception?
21 When I left, I had all I wanted, but now, the Lord has brought me home with nothing. Why should you call me Naomi when the Lord has spoken against me and the Almighty has given me so much trouble?”
Naomi is bitter towards God, based on the perception of what she perceives she no longer has.
Why did Elimelech take his family to Moab in the first place? Because they perceived the land had nothing to offer them.
Why did the land have nothing to offer them, why was Naomi so unhappy? Why are you so unhappy?
The simple answer is we stop focusing on God and turn inward. When the nation of Israel stopped listening and focusing on God, He allowed the land to stop producing for them.
The Scottish preacher George H. Morrison said, “Nine-tenths of our unhappiness is selfishness.
If you are unhappy today, especially towards God, I want to ask you, “What do you think that God is withholding from you that you think or feel that you deserve? The loss of a job, poor health, depleted finances, death of a loved one. Do you think you are better than Job?
What about those in Hebrews Chapter 11:35b - 38
Other believers were brutally tortured but refused to be released so that they might gain eternal life. 36 Some were made fun of and whipped, and some were chained and put in prison. 37 Some were stoned to death, sawed in half, and killed with swords. Some wore the skins of sheep and goats. Some were poor, abused, and mistreated. 38 The world didn’t deserve these good people. Some wandered around in deserts and mountains and lived in caves and holes in the ground.
You Can’t Avoid Struggles
It would be so nice to be able to go through life without any struggles, but I don’t think that is a reality, for even Jesus Christ himself spent many hours struggling over various issues in life. Since we can’t remove these struggles of life, then let us figure out what we can do.
We can’t control the circumstances of life, but we can control how we respond to them.
Remember Job 1:13 – 19 where he got the devastating news about all of his loss, what was his response? Job 1:20
20 When Job heard this, he got up and tore his robe and shaved his head to show how sad he was. (He expressed his sorrow) Then he bowed down to the ground to worship God.
Or after he received the boils all over his body;
Job 2:10b We accept the good that God gives us. Shouldn’t we also accept the bad?”
1 Thessalonians 5 :16 - 18
16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Whatever happens, give thanks, because it is God’s will in Christ Jesus that you do this.
Why is all this so important?
Ruth 1:22b They happened to enter Bethlehem just when the barley harvest began.
Naomi entered the town of Bethlehem in the land of Judah just as the harvest was about to begin. Little did she know how close she had come to missing the joy that comes with the harvest?
This brings me back the unanswered question of, “Why did Ruth stay with Naomi? Scripture doesn’t give us a reason, but Ruth saw something in Naomi despite the hard times that Naomi went through to want to stay by her side.
The question I want to ask you here and now; would somebody see the love of Christ in you despite what you are going through? Would there be a Ruth following you or would they be an Orpah?
The nation of Israel knew the name of God but only enjoyed life while they obeyed Him. Can I take all your troubles away, unfortunately not?  Since I am not able to do that for you, I want to leave you with these words that were written to the Hebrews as they were being challenged in life.
How to overcome Earthly Perceptions
Hebrews 12:2 – 3
2 We must focus on Jesus, the source and goal of our faith. He saw the joy ahead of him, so he endured death on the cross and ignored the disgrace it brought him. Then he received the highest position in heaven, the one next to the throne of God.   3 Think about Jesus, who endured opposition from sinners, so that you don’t become tired and give up.
Don’t let the perceptions of this world get you down, God has promised those who believe in Him so much more than we can even being to perceive. Don’t let your perceptions destroy your future hope.