December 22, 2024 | Zach Schlegel
Passage: Ruth 4:1-22
Doing a jigsaw puzzle can be fun. However, when you first start putting one together it is a mess. Over time, the puzzle turns into a beautiful picture resembling the one on the cover of the box. Often, our life resembles a jigsaw puzzle. We try to put the pieces together so that they make sense. If we put those pieces together according to scripture, it should be a beautiful picture. We exist to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. The problem we encounter is sin. Putting the pieces together is complicated because of the trials of life. We wonder how it will all come together. When we can’t see how life's pieces come together, the book of Ruth reminds us that God is putting the pieces together, resulting in a beautiful tapestry for our good and His glory.
Now that we have come to the end of the book of Ruth, we can put the four chapters together to make sense of it all. Naomi had lost everything. She was left empty and bitter. She couldn’t see how the pieces of her life fit together. We wonder if she is going to stop trusting God. Ruth committed to staying with Naomi. In the next chapters, we see how things came together in God’s providence to care for the women. Here in chapter four, the story ends with joy and life! Naomi has a family and a grandson. God made her full.
At the end of chapter four, we can zoom out to see what God is doing on a national level. The book of Ruth begins with no king, but it ends with king David. God was using these events to raise up a king after His own heart. When life is painful and we don’t see how the pieces go together, God graciously uses the faithful obedience of His people to bring redemption. He takes those who are empty and graciously makes them full.
Sermon Outline
1. God honors those who forget their name to build up the name of others. Vs. 1-12
2. Embrace your emptiness to be filled with God’s grace. Vs. 13-22
Series Information
