THE BOOK OF RUTH - Part 4 (No Place Like Home)

PART IV, No Place Like Home

by Bishop Jerry Ogles

 

19 So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi? 20 And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me? 22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest. (Ruth 1:19-22)

 

            There are important lessons on choices we make in our lives, and how those decisions are hurtful to us, and those close to us, when made outside the counsel of Almighty God. There are a couple of old German Dutch sayings which go: “We grow too soon old, and too late smart,” and “It is better to lose the anchor than the whole ship.” These wise old sayings suggests to our minds that time is fleeting, and opportunity flies away; however, with only a small bit of time left, after all the time wasted, we should make the best of that time remaining in life. Though Naomi has wasted some of her best years in Moab, she has, in her latter days, returned to the place of her birth and the favored home of blessing. Better late than never, and even with our last remaining days, we can find that favor of God in our lives. An example of this fact can be found in the life of the great composer of the Messiah, George Friedrick Handel who was discouraged to continue composing until, at age 54, he met with phenomenal recognition in his work of Messiah. Though our ship of life may be grounded on the breakers or stones of the far shore, we may yet reach out for that life preserver that the Lord makes continually available to ship-wrecked seaman.

            Though Naomi left Bethlehem Judah with a husband and two sons, she now returns with a single soul so well favored by the Lord – Ruth. There have been very few women of the character of Ruth. She is a singular example to all women – and to those of us less lovely men. She had a character of faith and love that was not affected, but genuine and pure to such a degree that the Lord allowed her to be included in the accounted genealogy of the Lord Jesus Christ. She was, as well, privileged to be the great-grandmother of King David. So the line of David and Jesus descends from a Jew and a Gentile. 

            “So they two went until they came to Bethlehem.” We may start out with more than we finish with in the way of souls. Churches certainly seem to do so. Three began the journey, and one (Orpah), turned back. Confucius said that “the journey of one thousand miles begins with the first step.” He could have added wisdom to that statement if he ended his comment with “and ends with the last step.” Unless the last step is taken toward Bethlehem, one falls short of the journey. But “they two went until they came to Bethlehem” – all of the way! The lesson of life here is that a journey worth beginning is worth completing. 

            “And it came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi?” The women travelled together apparently on foot to Jerusalem. The going must have been slow due to Ruth’s aging mother-in-law (Naomi), but determination and perseverance will at last realize success. After so many years, and such great losses, Naomi once more graces the gates of Bethlehem. She had been away so very long that all of her family, friends, and neighbors considered that she must be dead – but God never gave up watching over Naomi even if she had been in a far country, and a great distance out of His divine will. The whole city was anxious to see Naomi. They probably could not believe their eyes for two reason: 1) As stated earlier, they presumed she had perished in Moab; and 2) The years had not been kind to Naomi. Her name means pleasant, but she does not appear at all to fulfill the merits of that name anymore. That is the toll that living away from God can take on a body. They all wondered, “Is this really Naomi?” Well, yes, it WAS Naomi. Though the container was battered and bruised, the soulful contents were the same.

            It is amazing how ingeniously we are able to find ways for blaming God when we have departed from Him. When the women asked, “Is this Naomi?” she responded, “Call me not Naomi (pleasant), call me Mara(bitter): for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.” That is like a young child going into the briar patch where his mother has forbidden him to go, and then blaming his mother for all of the cuts and scratches he got there. We go where God has not told us to go, get into deep ruts and troubles, and then have the audacity to blame God for what has happened to us! Has God really dealt bitterly with Naomi in Moab where God was not a partner to her misfortune. She placed herself in jeopardy by going where she was not supposed to go, and she did so with her eyes open.

            At this point in the lesson, I will ask a question of the reader: Why did Naomi leave Bethlehem-Judah in the first place and travel to Moab? Was it not due to famine in Canaan? “Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.” (Ruth 1:1) Naomi and Elimelech were of the higher strata of society in Bethlehem. Famine may have placed a great want on the common people of the city, but those who were in Naomi’s class were by no means starving. They left for better opportunity – and lost all. See how Naomi blames God for her predicament: “I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?” Don’t blame God for the consequences of sin – sin bears its own punishments. Observe that Naomi went out full(that is right, in the midst of a famine she and her family were quite well off and able to endure the deprivation of famine.) Do you know that the Lord never moves – He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Our sins MOVE us from God. Naomi blames God for her returning empty, but God never told Naomi to go to Moab. Naomi took herself away from God’s protection in Moab, but blames God for all that transpired there.

            I love this last verse of Ruth, Chapter 1: “So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.” It is always ‘harvest time’ when a soul returns to, or comes for the first time, to the Lord. The very best time to return home is NOW – during the time of barley harvest. Home is certainly where the heart should be, but often wanders from it. Home is where God is pleased for you to be always. Wandering about in the briar patches and pig sties of the world will never profit no matter how large the berries appear. I have been to the briar patch, and I have been in the pig sty as well. They are not the place to grow and to live a rewarding life. One cannot move without getting cut by the briars, or walk without stepping in unmentionable filth. So why go there. Why not remain close to God – even by His side (hand in hand). The times of my childhood when I felt most secure was when I walked, hand in hand, with my father. Regardless the city traffic, or the beasts of the woodland hills, I felt secure when my father held my hand. Do you believe that the old Serpent of the Garden will dare approach if you are walking hand-in-hand with God? No, he has learnt a lesson. He has already been vanquished from Heaven and from the Garden eastward at Eden, and he is just about to be banished from the inhabitable main-lands of the earth into the fires of the deep.

            But the only way you can walk with God is to surrender that old wicked, human will (erroneously called Free Will) to His divine and perfect will. Amos has already posited the question: “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3) Are you, my friend, in perfect agreement with God – enough so that you may place your hand in His and walk side by side on the same path? If not, why not leave Moab now and return home to God?

 

 :

 

ARTICLE III

Of the Going Down of Christ into Hell:

 

As Christ died for us, and was buried, so also is it to be believed that He went down into Hell.

 

This article is derived from the Augsburg Confession as well as such early men such as Augustine and Chrysostom

 

Christ commands us to take up our cross and follow Him – all the way. In our daily lives we die daily to Christ. We have our calvary just ahead, too, and then a borrowed Tomb. But what of the intermediate moments. Like Lazarus, we are escorted to the bosom of Abraham at death, but what is the bosom of Abraham. We are gathered, as was Isaac and Jacob, to our fathers at death. No one can tell me for certain what that means. Remember the words of Ecclesiastes, 12: 5-7 “5 Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets: 6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. 7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” Our redemption is complete when those spirits are reunited with that glorious body that awaits us.

 

The Apostles Creed is a summary of the salient doctrines of the Thirty Nine Articles. That Creed also makes the claim that Christ descended into Hell. This is not an inference without biblical grounds for Christ paid the full price that we would have paid did He not redeem us at Calvary’s Mount. However, the matter is inferred, and not boldly stated in Scripture, that Christ went down into Hell.  

I have an extensive collection of comment on the Thirty Nine Articles, but they are so full of word salad that it is difficult to condense into s brief study.

I have relied upon the simplest explanation of the subject given in Browne’s Commentary of the Articles, upon Griffith-Thomas’s, and upon the work of Herman Witsius in his 17^th century study of the Apostles Creed. 

 

Did Christ ascend to Heaven at his death and burial? I think not because He was not yet ascended to the Father when confronting Mary outside the open tomb. So, in what activity was Christ involved while His body lay dead in the tomb, or was He involved in any activity at all.

 

There are a number of the Psalms that are considered Messianic in nature  - that is, they reflect episodes and sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ. The 22^nd Psalm describes His suffering on the cross in its first half, and His glorious resurrection in the 2^nd. 

 

Another such Psalm is the 16^th which reads in 10, “10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” This verse apparently refers to our Lord Jesus Christ since He is the only person to die whose body saw no corruption.

 

Another such reference is found in Psalms 68:18 “18 Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.”

 

Perhaps the New Testament will clarify in our minds much of the mystery. In Acts 2:27, we read: “26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: 27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” Admittedly, this requires a broad measure of inference, but what else does this mean than that one was in that place called Hell and was not left there. Who brought him out? And what of 1 Peter 3: 18-20,   18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.” Some theologians believe that Christ descended into Hell to preach to the souls that had believed in the promise made to Abraham with the good news of their salvation. The subject is deep, but the good news remains that Christ died that we might be set free from the bondage of sin. That is a comfort regardless of the issue at hand.

 

THE FAMILY ALTAR 

April 16.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which

according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto

a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."

1 Pet. 1:3.

Human hopes are like pretty, but elusive butterflies — always

on the wing ! Though the children of men eagerly chase after them,

they rarely, if ever, catch them. It is even as Wordsworth sings:

"Hopes, what are they? Beads of morning Strung on slender

blades of grass; Or a spider's web adorning In a strait and

treacherous path.". How few men realize their "great expectations"

in life! But of the hopes of the hypocrite and the wicked the

Bible says, they are like spider-webs and shall utterly perish.

To the unbeliever the grave spells the end of all his fondest hopes.

Death for him means the end of all. Whoever has witnessed the

utter despair of unbelievers at the grave of their loved ones, and

has heard their heart-piercing wails of hopeless grief, knows what

it means to be without hope. It is different with God's people,

with true Christians. By nature their hearts also are bereft of

all blessed hope for eternity. But God in His abundant mercy

has begotten them again unto a lively hope by the resurrection

of their Savior. Because He lives, they firmly know and believe

that they and their dear dead ones shall live also. Though they

also weep, weep bitterly, at the grave of their loved ones, they

do not weep as those which have no hope. With the eyes of faith

they see in the coffin the cradle of a new and glorified body, and

in the grave a chamber of undisturbed repose, in the graveyard

God's acre, where the Lord sows seeds of immortality. Yes, their

hope is a lively hope, displaying and exercising its divine and

comforting power when to human eyes everything seems dark and

hopeless. And by what means does the Father of mercies and

the God of all comfort work this blessed hope in them? Peter

tells us in v. 23 : "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but

of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth

forever." Then let us diligently use the Word of God and ask

Him in our daily prayers to work such lively hope in us; for

we know not when death shall come to our doors. In the midst

of life we are in death. But if we have this hope of everlasting

life in us by the resurrection of our Savior, we can welcome death

at all times as a smiling angel of peace sent by the heavenly

Father to carry us home, home to Jesus.