A Journey From Bad To Better

This week, we began a new sermon series based on the book of Ruth. It is a book filled with tremendous truths even thought it is a very small book. There are only four chapters, 85 verses, and you can read the entire book in less than 20 minutes. Yet this book is filled with amazing principles.

The theme of our first sermon, in fact, the theme of the book, is one of tremendous encouragement. The over-arching theme reminds us of this great truth: When it appears that all hope is lost...it isn't! 


This week, we are going to explore chapter one through the eyes of one of the main characters, Naomi. Twelve-hundred years before the birth of Christ, Naomi and her husband, Emilech, lived in the city of Bethlehem with their two sons. This was during a very difficult time for the people of Judah. There was a tremendous famine in the land. People were starving to death. So Emilech decided to move his small family 50 miles to the east, to the pagan city of Moab. Even though it was only 50 miles away, Moab was a totally different culture. They worshiped pagan gods, and were even involved in human sacrifices.

The situation in Judah must have been extremely bad if Emilech was willing to move his family to Moab. The Bible says that Emilech planned to  move to Moab "for a while", indicating that he planned to stay there for a short time. The implication was, hen the famine in Judah was complete, he was going to move his family back to Judah. However, shortly after moving to Moab, Emilech died, leaving Naomi to raise her two sons by herself. Her journey from bad just got worse.

But that is not the end of the story. What was meant to be a short visit to Moab became a decade long stay. During that time, Naomi's sons married Moabite women. Even though she was a widow, living in a foreign land, things were at least remaining on a status quo. But then, it went from bad to worse again.

After a decade, both of her sons died. Now, Naomi was left to take care of her two daughter-in-laws. She wass alone and destitute, facing more responsibility than she should ever have to face.

But her story doesn't end there! It is not just a story of moving from bad to worse to worse. It is actually a story of moving from bad to better. Even though she was at the point where it appeared she had lost everything, a new life was waiting for her right around the corner.

The Bible says that Naomi received word that the famine had ended in Bethlehem, and Ruth 1:7 is a key verse:  “With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.” Remember, the word Judah literally means praise. Naomi is going back to the land of praise, the land of blessing. If you don't like the situation you're in right now, Naomi’s example gives us three action steps to move from worse to better. We will be exploring those action steps this week.

But for today, remember this...when it looks like all is hopeless...it isn't!