Ordinary People Destined For The Extraordinary

In the last few weeks, I have asked many people, "What do you remember most about the Bible story of Ruth and Naomi? What lesson did it teach you?" How would you answer? Would you say, as some did, "It was a story of unconditional love, Ruth for Naomi?" And, it was. Or, would you tell me of the goodness of Boaz to Ruth and how he redeemed her from a life of poverty? Which he did. Maybe you just remember, as some did, that Ruth was the great-grandmother of King David. And, she was. I received all these answers. In fact, up until the end of May, I would have given such an answer; but God had another lesson to teach me in the story of Ruth and Naomi. It is a lesson that I want to share with you. It is a lesson that will either bring much peace in your life, or one from which you will turn away in unbelief.
     On an ordinary night in May, I went to sleep with thoughts of just how ordinary a person I am—just an ordinary person, living an ordinary life with no apparent dynamic happenings in my day to day existence. One day is much like another--day after day, week after week, month after month--you know the rest. Probably, you can relate. That's what I thought. That is, until God spoke from within.
     Ordinary person? Maybe. But, ordinary life? Ordinary days? While I slept, God placed a new thought pattern within! An ordinary life? Perhaps to those looking from the outside, but not to my heavenly Father. When I awoke, God had put a new thought in my mind, "Ordinary people destined for the extraordinary," and I knew that was me. God gave me that thought. How many of you reading this know that you too are destined for something more than you are right now? You are destined for the extraordinary. Upon that thought, that foundation, God began to build the lesson He wanted to teach me.
     His next building block came several days later while I was on my knees.  No, I was not praying and seeking His face but was scrubbing the floor.  Isn't God wonderful! While I scrubbed, my thoughts turned to the story of Ruth and Naomi. I have loved this story for years as it so clearly teaches unconditional love. This time, however, my thoughts were not of the love of Ruth toward Naomi. This time I began to think about Naomi and about the circumstances in her life that lead up to Ruth becoming the great-grandmother of King David. Dire circumstances both in Naomi's life and in Ruth's life moved Ruth into her destiny for the extraordinary.
Naomi and Ruth
     Now it came to pass that in the days of the judges of Israel there was an ordinary family. The father, Elimelech, was a landowner in Bethlehem Judah. How many know that in Biblical times, names were more than words by which one person was distinguished from another? Many names made a statement about the character of the person. What a rich name, Elimelech--God of the King. The mother is Naomi, and her name means pleasant. The names of their two sons give us a clue of what was happening in the lives of this family. The first son was named Mahlon which means sick; and the second was named Chilion which means pining, destruction, consumption, failing.  Ruth 1:1-2 (KJV)
     "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. And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehemjudah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there." Because of media coverage, we are no longer strangers to the ravages of famine. We have seen the pictures of the hundreds upon hundreds of people squatting in the dirt with no where to go, no food to eat, and little water to drink. We have seen listless children lying at the feet of their mother with flies swarming in their eyes, their noses, and their mouths. We have seen children being carried by their father because they are too weak to walk. We have seen these people mob those who bring food and water, fighting over every morsel. Famine is not a pretty picture.
     Now, picture Elimelech and Naomi, with eyes that are dull and lifeless, looking over their barren land. Can you see their two sons holding on to their mother's legs, looking at her with large solemn eyes that beg her to satisfy their hunger? What pain Elimelech and Naomi must have felt as they looked at these two boys who were birthed out of love, sons who were to carry on the name of their father--God of the King. This ordinary family was caught in such dire circumstances that they were forced to flee their home and travel into the land of their enemy, a land of idol worshippers of the god Chemosh, the land of Moab (Judg 3:12-14, 3:28-30). "Where was their God," you might ask? "Was He hiding His face from the plight of this ordinary family of the race of His chosen children?"
     So Elimelech, Naomi and their two sons left their home, their families, their friends, and all that was dear to them and traveled to a strange land.  I have a picture of a woman walking barefoot across the sand while the hot wind blows her robe out behind her. Her shoulder bone protrudes; her arms are skin and bone; her head is bowed. Holding her hands and walking barefoot in the hot sand are two naked children. Their stomachs bulge and their little bodies seem to be nothing but bone with skin draped across. One of the children has a hand up to his eyes. Does he have sand in his eyes or is he crying because he is desperately tired and hungry? This, my friend, is how I see Naomi and her sons as they traveled to Moab. The love story of Ruth and Naomi has taken new meaning within my thoughts. "Where was God," you might ask? "Was He blind to the ravages and horrors of the famine? Why was He not moved to the point of miraculously sending rain and food from heaven at the sight of small children crying in hunger?" Ruth 1:2b-3 (KJV) "And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there. And Elimelech Naomi's husband died; and she was left, and her two sons." I wonder how many years it was before Naomi's husband died. The Bible only tells us that they continued there. Perhaps they had many years of good times together.  I'd like to think so.  I'd like to think they were a close family, a family who loved each other, who laughed and played and cried together. But, we don't know.

     Then, another circumstance came into the life of Naomi. Her husband died. Only one who has traveled this path can know the grief that comes from the loss of a husband.  The lonely days and lonelier nights. Pain... Sorrow... Fear...  To some, anger and guilt. So many emotions accompany the death of a loved one. There are times you have such a hollow feeling that you feel as though your very breath has been knocked out of you. Naomi was just an ordinary woman, and she suffered. She didn't even have the consolation of her family and friends in Bethlehem. "Where was God," you might ask? "Was He looking the other way unaware of what was happening in this family?"  How Naomi suffered, but her suffering was not over.  Ruth 1:4-5 (KJV) "And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah (meaning sloping or to droop), and the name of the other Ruth (meaning friend): and they dwelled there about ten years. And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband."

     Such grief!  A husband and now both sons! Did Naomi, Ruth and Orpah cry out, "Oh God! Where are You?  How close were their deaths to each other? Was there time to mourn for one before the other died? We don't know. Perhaps the years of famine had taken a toll on the health of Mahlon and Chilion. The Scriptures do not tell us the fate of the two other than they lived about ten years after they married. And, the final blow!  Neither son had fathered a son to carry on the name of Elimelech, God of the King.
     Dire circumstance piled upon dire circumstance upon dire circumstance.  Who would care for the women?  How would they live?  This was not a time of women in the work place. It was not a time of equal rights. "Where was God," you might ask? "Had He closed His ears to their cries? Did He not care what was happening in the lives of these women?  Was He angry because two of His chosen children had married Moabites, women of an idol worshipping land?" Ruth 1:7 (KJV) "Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters in law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah. The trip home began.  Naomi talked Orpah into returning home to Moab to her family and her gods. But Ruth could not be persuaded to leave Naomi.  She spoke words that live until this day.  Ruth 1:16-17 (KJV)

"And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me."  The two women, perhaps traveling alone, with each step came closer and closer to Ruth's extraordinary destiny—an old woman and her daughter-in-law. Their journey was one of about 50 miles (no hiking boots mind you).  It was a journey through rough terrain, the mountainous as well as the barren area around the Dead Sea. Have you ever camped overnight?  If so, you know that at night, even with others around, every noise seems to be magnified. The fire (if they had one) gives off strange shadows. Did Naomi and Ruth start at every sound? Were they afraid? How did they live? Where did they get their water for drinking? Did they have the luxury of a bath during the long trip? How many days did they walk?
     Since Naomi did not help Ruth with the gleaning when they arrived in Bethlehem, we might surmise that she was not physically able to do so. We don't know the answers to these questions. We do know, however, that God provided for them because they arrived in Bethlehem. During the journey did they ask, "Where are You, God? Have You turned Your back on us?" Did they say, "Why me, Lord?" Ruth 1:19-21 (NAS)  So they both went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came about when they had come to Bethlehem, that all the city was stirred because of them, and the women said, "Is this Naomi?" And she said to them, "Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the LORD has witnessed against me and the Almighty has afflicted me?"
     We know the rest of the story. In order for Ruth and Naomi to survive, Ruth had to glean in the fields along with the other poor people of the region. Again, through a series of circumstances, God moved her into her destiny. Boaz saw Ruth in the fields and gave her his protection as she gleaned. He ultimately redeemed her taking her for his wife. Ruth 4:13-17 (KJV) "So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in unto her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bare a son. And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the LORD, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel. And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him. And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it. And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David."
     Read again what Naomi said, Naomi, the pleasant one, who had returned to her home town full of bitterness. Read again what she said about her circumstances, "...the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, but the LORD has brought me back empty," and "...the LORD has witnessed against me and the Almighty has afflicted me?"
     What is your response to Naomi's statement? Do you defend the Lord? Or, do you agree with Naomi that everything that had happened was controlled by the Almighty? Ruth was destined to be the great-grandmother of King David and in the lineage of Jesus. What an honor. Ruth, however, was in the land of Moab, of the children of Moab. What an unlikely person, in man's eyes, to be given such an honor. Think of the circumstances that it took to get Ruth to the right place at the right time to marry Boaz and have a son. Do you suppose that Naomi and her family would have willingly moved to Moab?  I'd say no. Would Ruth have been free to marry Boaz had her husband not died?  Again, the answer must be no.
     The building blocks of this lesson of God's are becoming increasingly harder for me to  under- stand. They are less to my liking than the wonderful building blocks of a lesson of unconditional love. Can you believe that God was in control during all of Naomi's terrible circumstances? Did He plan the path Naomi walked just so that Ruth could be brought to the place where she was to fulfill her destiny? If we really believe that God is sovereign, we must allow Him to add this building block to our lesson: God was well aware and in total control of the famine, of the deaths, of the despair. Our God, who loves His creation so much that He sent His own son to die, was totally involved with the dire circumstances in the lives of Naomi and Ruth. Our God was totally involved with the dire circumstances of the cross of His own son.
Building Blocks
     Let's stack the building blocks of this lesson one upon the other as our understanding grows. Think about the circumstances in your life. Unless I am very much deceived, none of us can give testimony of nothing but good and wonderful circumstances all the days of our lives. Every one of you reading this has suffered loss of a loved one. Some may be plagued with severe illness. Others may have marital problems or rebellious children. It may be that friends have turned on you and used you for their own gain. Many of you may be adrift in a sea of financial problems where you can't see the shore. The lists of unfavorable circumstances are as many as the number of people living on earth. Each of us, just as Naomi, have our own story of dire circumstances. Have you ever considered, like Naomi, that it is God who is bringing the storms into your life?  Job 1:8 (KJV)
"And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?"  It was God who brought the terrible circumstances in the life of Job.  I admit that I had to do much seeking for understanding from God in this lesson He was teaching me.  The first building blocks of circumstances that moved Naomi to get Ruth came relatively easy. Then, He began to bring me into a place that I had not expected. He brought me to an uncomfortable place of considering the circumstances in my own life and the life of those around me. It is a place where I am having to do much knocking, seeking, and asking.  And, I know, that even as this newsletter is sent out, the building is still being built and the lesson is still being learned.  Let's look at what God says in His word about the circumstances in our lives.
Building Block: Deut. 32:39 (KJV) "See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand."  Do you believe the Word of the Lord?
Building Block: Isa. 45:5-7 (KJV) "I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things."  Do you believe the Word of the Lord? God is telling us that He and only He is in total control. Can you believe it?  Can you bring the fact that God is in total control of your life down to where you live and to your circumstances? I will be so bold as to tell you that you must believe to live in peace.
Building Block:  Jer. 1:4-5 (KJV) "Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." God told Jeremiah that He knew him, sanctified him, and ordained him a prophet before Jeremiah was formed in his mother's womb.  Jeremiah was chosen to do a special work of God's. Yet, if you have ever read the Book of Jeremiah, you know that Jeremiah faced many terrible circumstances in his life. The path (even the shoes he was to walk in) was already in the mind of God before Jeremiah, the spirit, was sent into his body. Was Jeremiah any different from you or me? The Scripture answers that question in Acts 10:34. "Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons." Can you believe that you, too, were known by God before you were formed in your mother's womb? Can you believe that you, too, were ordained for a special purpose? God's purpose, not your purpose. Can you believe?
Building Block: Ps 139:14-16 (KJV) "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them." God inspired King David to write Ps 139:14-16. Before David was born, all the members of his body were already written in God's book—before he was born!!! That means that David's members were just as God planned for them to be--from the color and texture of his hair down through the length of him to the size of his feet and toes. His body was all planned before it came to be. Was David any different from you or me? No. God is no respector of persons.  What about the blind man Jesus healed? Were his members already written in the book before his birth?  John 9:2-3 gives us our answer. "And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him." This should bring peace to those of you who suffer so in the body.
Building Block: Zech 12:1 (KJV) "The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him." Can you believe?
Building Block: Eph 1:4-5 (KJV) "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will." Can you believe?
Building Block: Matt 25:34 (KJV) "Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Can you believe?
Building Block: John 17:24 (KJV) "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world." Can you believe?
Building Block: Rom.11:36 (KJV) "For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen." Can you believe?
Building Block: Rev. 13:8 (KJV) "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."  The cross was in God's plan from the foundation of the world.  It was already prepared before Adam and Eve sinned. We are all familiar with the many prophecies concerning Jesus.  He knew the prophecies and He fulfilled them everyone. He even knew when He was fulfilling them.
     Jesus tells us in Matthew 16:24, "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." We each have a cross to bear. All the circumstances in Naomi's life were her cross that she had to bear. Your cross is that thing in your life that was purposed for you before the foundation of the world. For His pleasure, God chose to form your spirit in your particular body at this particular time in His history. For His pleasure, God chose the path you would walk and He chose the shoes you would fill. Can you believe?
     There is good news! Heb 12:2 (KJV) "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." Naomi endured, but we know she became bitter in her enduring. Naomi, however, is NOT our pattern. Jesus is! For the joy that was set before Jesus, He endured the cross. Can you trust God so much that you can say, "For the joy that is set before me, I endure my cross?" Can you say, "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, (all my circumstances) and for thy pleasure they (I and all that pertains to me) are and were created. (Rev 4:11 KJV)."  Man, a robot?
     After reading all these Scriptures about predestination and foreordained, you might begin to believe that God made man a robot. You might even get the impression that you can do whatever you want because no matter what you do, you can't change or make a difference to what God has already decided is going to happen. Oh, how I struggled with this building block! Then, God in His goodness reminded me that He made man with a will. Matt 26:39 (KJV) "And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." I can go the way of my will or I can yield my will to God in total trust and obedience and say, "Not as I will, but as thou wilt."
     The Book of Esther gives us a good example of nothing stopping the eternal purpose of God even if we do not yield to our part in that eternal purpose.  Esther 4:13-14 (KJV) "Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house, more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" Mordecai was telling Esther that her purpose might have been to save the Jews from annihilation; but if she didn't fulfill this purpose, God would raise up another deliverer. We know that Esther fulfilled her purpose. I want to fulfill mine! What about you?
     God gave man a will. He gave man a choice. God says, "If you...I will. He says, "I set before you...you choose. "If you believe, I will give salvation, healing, peace, joy—you can insert any word you desire. When I live in my will, my days are a hard struggle. When I yield my will to God and live as He wills me to live, my days are peaceful. That doesn't mean that dire circumstances don't still arise, but it does mean that I have peace that passes understanding as I go through the various circumstances that God uses for His pleasure to move me into my destiny for the extraordinary. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1Thes 5:18 (KJV)
 

Juanita Stephens  Orlando, FL  Flvoice@aol.com