When God Fails

Introduction

Desperation. The very word sounds cold and filled with failure. But then so does the word “bitter.” The word sounds like something that has left a very poor taste in our mouths. If you have ever felt desperate or bitter then you know something about the human condition. In desperation we look for solutions. In bitterness we look for relief. Eat a bitter food and you quickly want to follow it up with something that chases that taste out of your mouth. Desperate times call for desperate measures is a saying that suggests that solutions are not easily found when life is challenging. Interestingly enough, the phrase is thought to be a twist on a sentence from Hippocrates: “For extreme diseases, extreme methods of cure, as to restriction, are most suitable.”

We have ways of trying to deal with desperate situations. These can be helpful. When life gives you lemons make lemonade. God never gives you more than you can handle. But such thoughts often fall flat when you are desperate and bitterness is your friend. What do you say to a woman who must leave home in order to survive? What do you say to this same woman who within the span of a few years buries a husband and two sons while living in a foreign country away from family support? What do you say to the same woman who wants to return to a place of support but must return without any plan for the future and uncertain how she will survive financially? Turning lemons into lemonade doesn’t inspire. Assuring her that God would never allow too much to land on her seems rather trite. In fact, this woman is so overcome with grief that she changes her name from “Pleasant” to “Bitter.” The latter name suits her mood and her view of life and the future. She is bitter because God has failed her.

We begin a series from Ruth today and that will be followed by a series from Esther. Both of these writings are written from the perspective of a woman. Both of these writings give us insight into the spiritual realm that we do not see. Both of these writings are filled with events that tear at our hearts and minds. Both of these writings share the same view—God is still at work in difficult and challenging times. So how do we respond when God fails us? What do we do when God has seemingly forgotten us? How do we handle the silence of God when life’s loudest voice shouts defeat? Let’s explore the first chapter of Ruth and discover that the silence of God is not final.

Text

Ruth was written sometime after David is born and probably becomes king. The short writing gives us insight to what two women would have gone through to live life. While we do not know who wrote this short writing, many believe it was a woman. Ruth is a Moabite. These “cousins” of Israel knew something about Jewish practices but as the story shows Ruth didn’t understand everything about Jewish ways. Additionally, this story introduces us to a number of Jewish day-to-day practices. One last thing that comes from this writing is the understanding that God is still at work even though he is silent. There are no miracles in the writing. No clear indication of God setting things up. Instead we have a writing that focuses on the unfolding events that ultimately leads to Ruth marrying Boaz and becoming the great-grandmother to King David.

Naomi is the lead character initially. She, her husband, and two sons move from Bethlehem to Moab in order to escape a famine. For quite some time, famine was the norm in Judah. But during that time, Naomi buries her husband; her sons marry Moabite women (which would have been at best disturbing for Naomi) and then she buries her two sons. Chapter one certainly leads us to believe that the relationship between Naomi and her daughters-in-law was a good one. It is obvious that they loved each other and whatever discomfort originally from their marriage was dealt with.

Notice in verse 6, that God has come to the aid of his people by ending the drought and so Naomi decides to return to Bethlehem. Her daughters-in-law will come with her but along the road it occurs to Naomi that there is nothing for them in Bethlehem. She frees them to return to their families as widows and childless with the hope that they will remarry and have children. This is a slap of reality for Naomi. She has little recourse in returning home. She is too old to remarry. She will not have more children. She will be dependent upon his extended family for financial and emotional support. These daughters have no future in Bethlehem. They will be outsiders and will find it much easier to adjust with their own culture.

At first, both women want to stay with Naomi but Naomi will not be swayed. Verse 18 tells us that she spends quite a bit of time trying to persuade these young women to return home. Ruth will not be swayed. She loves her mother-in-law and is willing to leave her own culture and comfort to go to Bethlehem and Naomi relents. Arriving in Bethlehem there is quite a stir. People are so glad to see her but they also realize that her family situation has changed dramatically. For Naomi she chooses to change her name to “Mara” which means bitter. Four times Naomi refers to what God has done. Twice she calls God “Almighty” and twice she calls God “Yahweh.” The point—God has made my life bitter. I left full, but God has brought me back empty. God has afflicted me. God has brought misfortune on me. These are the words of a woman in anguish and desperation. God has failed her.

When God Fails

Been there? Felt that way? Experienced failure in profound ways? Surely Naomi had prayed for her husband and sons to live. Surely she had sought God’s favor. According to verse 15, her daughters-in-law worshiped other gods but she remained committed to the one true God and for her commitment she received bitterness and failure. There are times in our lives where the same thing happens. And our unmet expectations result in blaming God for not doing something that we think he should have done. And we grow disillusioned, bitter, angry, even desperate because we cannot see how any of this failure is good.

Two things. First, decisions get made and we make those decisions doing what we believe is best. Naomi and her family moved to Moab to escape the famine. Not everyone did. That doesn’t make their decision a bad one or a good one. Perhaps they left thinking it would be only a year or two. Perhaps they left never intending for their sons to marry Moabite women. Perhaps they left with every intention of growing old together. Decisions made to deal with life happen to us all. We make these decisions without knowing the future but trusting that God will still be there. The point is this is life. While there is nothing in the text to suggest that Elimelech prayed about this decision, neither is there anything in the text to suggest that God was displeased with the decision. One of the beautiful aspects of this writing is that we get to see the reality of life as it is lived. Decisions get made. God’s guidance is sought. We are neither confirmed nor denied. We wait. We decide and then things do not turn out well. Then we want to know why God allowed such to happen.

For the sake of argument, let’s assume that they had remained in Bethlehem. Elimelech would have died. Her sons would have married Jewish girls and they would have died. And while Naomi would have been supported through all of this the result would have in many ways been the same. No husband. No future sons for her daughters-in-law to marry. No viable means of financial support. Alone. Do you think she would have been less bitter? Less disappointed with God?

Second, in her disappointment and bitterness, Naomi doesn’t give up on God. Four times she blames him and each of those times is a reminder that God is still there. When we blame God for an outcome, we are still turning to him. He is big enough to handle our complaints and compassionate enough to see our bitter tears. Crying out to God still means that you believe he can do something. It is when we quit crying out to God that it means we are walking away from him. The crying out demonstrates our faith not the lack of it. Naomi returns home and the author gives us an important clue—the barley harvest was beginning. Hope is found in the harvest season. Naomi and Ruth return without any definite plans; with no sense of security, but the barley harvest is beginning. There is hope. There will be food. There will be opportunity. God will provide. What Naomi thought was hopeless is not. She has a daughter-in-law whose loyalty is like her own child’s and Ruth, unknown to Naomi, is going to be God’s blessing. Naomi cannot see it but God can. The barley harvest is beginning. Cry out to God but keep your eyes open for in the day to day existence of life, God is still there. He has not left you. The barley harvest is beginning. Cry out to God because you trust him and know that he hears.

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