Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. The man's name was Elimelech, his wife's name Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.
Now Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.
When she heard in Moab that the Lord had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.
Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back, each of you, to your mother's home. May the Lord show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead and to me. May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband."
Then she kissed them and they wept aloud and said to her, "We will go back with you to your people."
But Naomi said, "Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me — even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons - would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord's hand has gone out against me!"
At this they wept again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-by, but Ruth clung to her. "Look," said Naomi, "your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her."
But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me." When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.
Ruth 1:1-18
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
In the Book of Judges, we don’t see the best in Israel by a long shot. Instead, we see a people who chose over and over again to turn away from God and force Him to discipline them through oppression. We also saw Israel’s tribes begin to enter into odds with one another, particularly as the Book of Judges ended with the Israelites fighting the tribe of Benjamin results. Yes…after studying the Book of Judges, we find ourselves yearning for some good news. Thank goodness we find just that in the Book of Ruth.
As the first chapter opens, we learn that the events of the book take place “in the days when the judges ruled” as a famine struck the land. We’re introduced to “a man from Bethlehem in Judah” named Elimelech who “together with his wife”, Naomi, and “two sons”, Mahlon and Kilion, “went to live for a while in the country of Moab”. It was there in Moab that tragedy struck.
For “Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died” and left her widowed “with her two sons”. The sons “married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth”. But after “they had lived there about ten years”, we read where “Mahlon and Kilion also died”, leaving Naomi not only with no husband but now no sons as well.
Scripture then tells us that Naomi had heard “that the Lord had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them,” and so she decided to return home with her two daughters-in-law. They set out “on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah”. As they began their journey, we see where Naomi told her daughters-in-law, “Go back, each of you, to your mother's home. May the Lord show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead and to me. May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband." Naomi displayed great unselfishness in her words. She would be willing to endure loneliness rather than keep her daughters-in-law from having to miss out on new lives for themselves with new husbands. Her words definitely had a big impact.
For we see the love that Naomi’s daughters-in-law had for her. As she “kissed them”, they “wept aloud” and refused to leave her saying, “We will go back with you to your people." Naomi once again encouraged them to leave her saying, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me — even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons - would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord's hand has gone out against me!" Naomi obviously loved her daughters-in-law very much…so much so that she wanted them to move on, despite their insistence to remain. Still she left the choice up to them.
Still weeping over the matter, Orpah decides to return to Moab and her family, leaving Naomi as she requested. She “kissed her mother-in-law good-by” and departed but Ruth “clung to her” and refused to leave her, despite Naomi saying, “Look…your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her."
Ruth, in an amazing display of love and loyalty, replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me." And scripture tells us that when “Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her”, she accepted that Ruth would remain and “stopped urging her”.
In Ruth, we see an amazing person…a person I feel we could all strive to be like. For in her, we see the definition of so many awesome qualities…qualities that will bring us closer to righteousness and holiness if we put them into practice as she did.
First, Ruth defines loyalty. Naomi clearly spelled out what her daughters-in-law would not get if they remained with her. For she wouldn’t be able to bear any children even if she had a husband to bear them for. Loyalty means staying true to someone, no matter what the circumstances. In Ruth, we see loyalty in the purest sense.
Next, we can see where Ruth also defines faith. She didn’t know what would lie ahead as she went back to Judah. She would be in the midst of different people with a different god from the gods she had been accustomed to. Yet, she vowed to go forward anyways…making Naomi’s people her new people and Naomi’s God her God. Somehow in Ruth, we see an assurance that things are going to work out. The world would call her courageous. God would see her as a woman stepping out on faith.
Finally, we see where Ruth defines devotion and love in its deepest sense. For she loved her mother-in-law so much that she was willing to put her life aside to ensure that Naomi would have companionship…someone to fill the void left by the loss of her husband and sons. In Ruth, we see where true devotion and love often means sacrifice. And it’s little wonder then why Ruth was only one of four women in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus…for her actions modeled the actions of Jesus who also showed how devotion and love require sacrifice…in His case, the ultimate sacrifice on the Cross.
Indeed, the Book of Ruth is a breath of fresh air in the Old Testament. For we see function in the midst of dysfunction during the time of Judges and see in Ruth someone we should all try to be more like…someone loyal, faithful, loving, and devoted…someone through which we can see so much of Jesus. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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