When things get difficult for us today we often struggle with two basic lines of thought. One is that, God is not in sovereign, and the second is that God is not Good. In the first chapter of the book of Ruth, Nomi takes her shot at the goodness of God, but saying that “the hand of the LORD has gone forth against me!” Notice that she does not say “against us” (remember both of her daughters-in-law have lost husbands and are currently barren also). It is through this statement that we can clearly see the flaws in Naomi’s core beliefs about the character of God. She believes that God is sovereign, but she does not believe in his goodness. God is not her king in any practical sense, because in her mind he is not qualified to be king. The climax of Naomi’s unbelief is on full display in Ruth 1:15, consider the words of Naomi after Ruth refuses to leave. “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after our sister-in-law). Naomi is saying believe what you want, because the God of Israel has nothing to offer you, because He is not good and is not worthy of my trust. We see the goodness of God in the words of Ruth in verses 16-17 “Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; for wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will ledge; Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. The LORD do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me.” To express trust in and commitment to not just God’s sovereignty but also His fundamental goodness is important. Ruth embraced the salvation and new life available through the God if Israel. We need to remember that this is the same God we worship and follow today. We need to understand that bitter circumstances are a stage of life, and will arise. It is essential that before they come that we come to understand the goodness of God through all circumstances.
