Scripture
Ruth 1:1-18
After Naomi lost her husband and both of her sons while they were living in Moab, she was just left with her two daughters-in-law. As widows, they didn’t really have any way of providing for themselves, so Naomi decided to go back to her home in the land of Judah. When they started walking though, Naomi told her daughters-in-law to go back home to their families and remarry. Orpah, though sad, turned back to go home, but Ruth refused.
Ruth went on to give a beautiful declaration and promise to Naomi, “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 even death separates you and me.”
Ruth promised to go where Naomi went, stay where she stayed. She committed to journey and settle with her, wherever that happened to be. So, they have shared a past together, grieved together, and she’s committing to sharing in her future with her, even in death, by promising that she will die and be buried in the same place as Naomi.
Then, she said that Naomi’s people will be her people and Naomi’s God will be her God. This was very bold of Ruth—to leave behind her people, her family, her home, and everything she’s ever known, and go to a place she doesn’t know and has never been to with a bunch of people she doesn’t know. She’ll be seen as an outsider, a foreigner, there. That is scary, but it doesn’t deter Ruth from choosing that path.
So, Orpah went back to her people and her gods, but Ruth chose a new people and their God. I’m sure Ruth knew about this God. Naomi and her sons likely talked about him and the great things he has done. So, even though Ruth was a foreigner, a Gentile, she chose to align herself with the God of the Israelites. She chose him and his people over her own people and their gods. She claimed the one true God as her God.
As Christians, we claim that our God is the one true God; we choose him and his people (other Christians) in a similar way to how Ruth chose God and his people. That may mean you are following God when no one else in your family is, which is a very hard, courageous thing to do. Or maybe your friends don’t follow God, but like Ruth, don’t let that stop you from choosing and following him.
At the end, she basically says that if she doesn’t follow through on her promise to Naomi, let God deal with her. She is committing herself to Naomi, and we see in the rest of the story that she continues to follow through on that. They go back to Bethlehem and live there together. Ruth goes out and works in the field to bring back food for her and Naomi, providing for her. Then, Naomi wants to make sure Ruth is provided for, so she comes up with a plan to basically get Ruth married. It works and she marries Boaz and they have a son, Obed.
It is honorable and good to follow through on our promises to others, as well as to take care of our families and widows—Ruth was doing all of those things here. Now, things are a little different today, but there may come a time when you or your family will commit to taking care of another family member or person. Even though it can be so hard, it will be worth it. Love is never wasted.
Prayer
God, I choose you, to follow you, even when others around me aren’t. Give me the boldness and strength to do that. Would you also help me to love and care for those you bring into mine and my family’s lives, whether that is a family member, a child who needs a home, or someone who is in need. Help me to love them well.
Questions/Journal Prompts
Feel free to use these questions as a guide as you journal and/or pray.
1. Have you been in a situation when you have chosen to follow God, but others around you haven’t? If so, what was that like for you?
2. Is it hard for you to follow God when you aren’t surrounded by others who are also following God?
3. Has your family ever committed to caring for another person, whether that was a family member or someone outside of the family? Describe that.
Songs to listen to
Spend some time listening to these songs, reflecting on the words, and sitting with Jesus.
“I’m With You (Ruth and Naomi)” by Nichole Nordeman and Amy Grant https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkvFZ1fH1jg
“I Will Follow” by Chris Tomlin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ohvhmGSfxI
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