Ruth is one of my favorite characters in the Bible. \u00a0Every time I read her story I discover new things about this dear Lady of Reckless Abandonment.<\/p>\n
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\nBut Ruth said, \u201cDo not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God\u201d (Ruth 1: 16).<\/p>\n
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\nWhat a profound statement from Ruth to Naomi, her mother-in law. \u00a0Today we are taking a trip to meet this wonderful woman. \u00a0What makes her say such words to Naomi? \u00a0What did she \u201ctaste\u201d to make such a reckless decision to leave her people to follow her mother-in-law to Bethlehem in Judea?<\/p>\n
Let us read the Bible to meet these two precious women of Faith.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cIn the days when the judges ruled,\u00a0there was a famine in the land,\u00a0and a man from Bethlehem in Judah,\u00a0together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while\u00a0in the country of Moab.\u00a02\u00a0The man\u2019s name was Elimelech,\u00a0his wife\u2019s name Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion.\u00a0They were Ephrathites\u00a0from Bethlehem,\u00a0Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.<\/p>\n
3\u00a0Now Elimelech, Naomi\u2019s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons.\u00a04\u00a0They married Moabite women,\u00a0one named Orpah and the other Ruth.\u00a0After they had lived there about ten years,\u00a05\u00a0both Mahlon and Kilion\u00a0also died,\u00a0and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.<\/p>\n
When she heard in Moab\u00a0that the\u00a0Lord\u00a0had come to the aid of his people\u00a0by providing food\u00a0for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-law\u00a0prepared to return home from there.\u00a07\u00a0With 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.<\/p>\n
8\u00a0Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, \u201cGo back, each of you, to your mother\u2019s home.\u00a0May the\u00a0Lord\u00a0show kindness\u00a0to you, as you have shown to your dead\u00a0and to me.9\u00a0May the\u00a0Lord\u00a0grant that each of you will find rest\u00a0in the home of another husband.\u201d
\nThen she kissed\u00a0them and they wept aloud\u00a010\u00a0and said to her, \u201cWe will go back with you to your people.\u201d<\/p>\n11\u00a0But Naomi said, \u201cReturn home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands?\u00a012\u00a0Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me\u2014even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons\u2014\u00a013\u00a0would you wait until they grew up?\u00a0Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter\u00a0for me than for you, because the\u00a0Lord\u2019s hand has gone out against me!\u201d<\/p>\n
14\u00a0At this they wept\u00a0again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law\u00a0good-by,\u00a0but Ruth clung to her. \u00a015\u00a0\u201cLook,\u201d said Naomi, \u201cyour sister-in-law\u00a0is going back to her people and her gods.\u00a0Go back with her.\u201d \u00a016\u00a0But Ruth replied, \u201cDon\u2019t urge me to leave you\u00a0or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go,\u00a0and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people\u00a0and your God my God.\u00a017\u00a0Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the\u00a0Lord\u00a0deal with me, be it ever so severely,\u00a0if anything but death separates you and me.\u201d\u00a018\u00a0When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.\u201d \u00a0Ruth 1:1-18 NIV 1984<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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When Ruth married into Naomi\u2019s family, she saw something different about the way this Jewish family lived their life. \u00a0She must have wondered about these people who were foreigners in their land. \u00a0They had different gods in Moab and Ruth and her people worshipped them. \u00a0However, these foreigners worshipped only one God, Jehovah.<\/p>\n
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\nYou see Naomi and her family did not leave their God and faith behind when they left Bethlehem in search of food. \u00a0They did not try to fit in so that the people of Moab would accept them. \u00a0They didn\u2019t comfort to the ways of the Moabites. \u00a0They knew that their stay in Moab was temporary and when the famine is over they were going to return home.<\/p>\n.
\nAs Naomi spent her time with the two women Orpah and Ruth, she must have told them how God took them out of Egypt to the Promised Land. \u00a0How God fought their battles as they passed through other countries on their way to the Canaan.<\/p>\n.
\nHowever, we should note that this family lived in Israel during the time when the Judges ruled. \u00a0This was a time when people lived as they pleased. \u00a0They would do all sorts of evil things in the sight of the Lord. \u00a0God would use other nations to oppress Israel in order to get them on the right track.<\/p>\n.
\nSo to have this family to live their faith in such a time as this and in a foreign land for that matter is something to be applauded. \u00a0Their faith won Ruth\u2019s heart and she didn\u2019t want to stay behind and continue to live a mediocre life. \u00a0She wanted to go with Naomi so that she could meet this God and know Him the way Naomi knew Him.<\/p>\n.
\nRuth\u2019s decision to follow Naomi to Bethlehem impacted generations for eternity. \u00a0Ruth is found in the genealogy list of our Lord Jesus Christ.
\n.<\/strong><\/p>\nLET\u2019S PRAY
\n<\/strong>Father, I realize that the time that Naomi and Ruth lived is not different to ours; I pray that as we live this life, we will fearlessly share our faith and let others know whom we serve, the One True God. \u00a0Like Ruth and Naomi, I want to live my life with reckless abandonment to you. \u00a0Help me Lord in this decision I have made. \u00a0In Jesus Name. Amen.
\n.<\/strong><\/p>\nYOUR ASSIGNMENT:
\nAnswer one, or all, of the following questions below in our comment section:
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- If you look at your own life, how are you living your faith?<\/li>\n
- Are you living in such a way that someone can leave their lifestyle to follow you?<\/li>\n
- What impact am I making for the generations to come?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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