If you have missed my first two posts in this series here are the links.
Ruth 1:1-5: The Goodness of God
We’ve made it all the way to the 6th verse and it’s only taken me 3 blog posts to get there. This blog post is already long enough, so I don’t want to take up space by summarizing what has happened so far. Let’s get right down to it, shall we?
You can read Ruth 1:6-18 here if you don’t have your Bible with you. I highly encourage you to read from your Bible.
I love how the first word in verse six is, “Then”. Naomi did the next thing. Sometimes, that can be the hardest thing to do, but we know we must do it.
Years ago, my sisters husband killed himself. It was terrible. But the days following, after the funeral and all of the family left she just did the next thing. Why? Because the alternative wasn’t really an alternative. She had 2 very small kids and she had to care for them, so she did the next thing. This was also very healing for her as she grieved her husbands terrible death.
Naomi, grieving the death of her sons just did the next thing.
“Then, she arose”
She got up. She began the return to her people and to her land. She did the next thing, and her next thing was to return to her people, her land and her God. Doing the next thing also set in motion the Lord’s plan of bringing Ruth into the lineage of Jesus.
“for she had heard in the fields at Moab the LORD had visited his people and given them food”
I love that people in Moab were talking about what the LORD was doing in Bethlehem. Does this mean there were other Hebrews there? Most likely. I have a feeling Naomi and her family were not the only Hebrews who sojourned to Moab, but they were the only ones whose story made it into Scripture and for good reason!
In verse 8 Naomi begins talking to Orpah and Ruth. You can tell she loved them dearly and they loved her as well. She told them to stay in Moab with their own people rather than go with her. This raised a few questions for me as to why she would do this?
- Was she concerned with bringing pagans with her back to Bethlehem?
- Did she think they had a better chance of remarrying and actually having a family if they stayed in Moab?
- Maybe she felt that her own life was over, she was going back to Bethlehem to die rather than die in a foreign land. She says in verse 13. “The LORD has gone against me”.
We don’t really know her reasons for doing this. But the outcome is just as interesting to me.
But, verse 11 and 12 are even more strange.
“Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands?12 Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons,”
What a strange thing to say. Or maybe not. If you are familiar with the family law of the Old Testament then this makes total sense. But since we do not live by the law of the OT anymore, let me explain. Context is always very important when studying a passage, so here is a little context for you.
Deuteronomy 25:5 says this, “If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her.”
So, Naomi is explaining to the daughters there is no reason for them to stay with her. She can’t have any more sons for them to marry. So they need to stay in Moab to find new husbands to marry so they can have children.
And with that God’s sovereignty begins to shine so brightly.
Verse 14 says,
“And they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.”
This was a hard moment for them. They loved each other so very much, BUT Orpah still left and returned to Moab while Ruth went with Naomi. I love the verbiage here of the ESV Bible.
Orpah kissed her goodbye…but Ruth clung to her.
How could they both love Naomi so much yet make such drastically different choices? I have thoughts on this.
Of course, the obvious answer is because Orpah was no longer needed in the rest of the story. She played her part and now that was done. God ordained her to return to Moab. He placed that longing in her heart and mind for her own people. But also, maybe leaving her people and her country meant death to her. Death to her country, her culture, all she knew and loved.
With that said, Ruth on the other hand saw her position beside her mother-in-law as a new life. She was ready to leave all she knew and start again. She was doing the next thing.
Both had the same admiration for Naomi but it wasn’t enough for Orpah. She couldn’t choose to follow Naomi. She couldn’t die to her old life. But Ruth couldn’t resist going with Naomi. She was ready to leave all she knew and follow Naomi. What a beautiful picture of God working in the lives of his elect through his irresistible grace. Another example of the goodness of God. Only God can change the heart. God used Naomi’s relationship with Ruth to impact her for his glory. What a blessing and gift he has given to Naomi.
And then Ruth makes her declaration of loyalty to Naomi that has appeared on wall hangings in many homes. It’s a powerful declaration with great meaning.
Verse 16-17
But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return 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. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.”
These 2 verses could be their own blog post. But I won’t.
This is such a beautiful passage because it is being said by an idol worshiping widow. The impact that Naomi has had on her life has been catastrophic to all that she knew to be true and right. She declares here that she is dying to all she knows and has loved. In spite of what Naomi has just said about her own God, Ruth says that he will be her God as well. She no longer will worship many gods, rather the One True God will be her God.
The tragedy Naomi has experienced does not scare away Ruth, rather it drives her to Naomi’s God. That is the goodness of God.
It caused me to ask myself, does my own life inspire or impact others for the cause of Christ? What about my life reflects his love, mercy and faithfulness? Do people know I belong to Him?
Verse 18 says,
“And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.”
I wonder if Naomi was shocked to hear Ruth make this declaration or if she maybe expected it. These women lived together, talked often and were very close. Had Ruth already began asking Naomi questions about life in Bethlehem, her God, their laws and such? I would imagine Naomi spoke often of Jehovah, I would imagine they did not put away all of their traditions. I would imagine there was much about this new life that Ruth already had been exposed to.
If this was the case, that would explain why Naomi had nothing else to say. Ruth was very convincing and Naomi knew there was no need to urge her to stay in Moab any longer.
A practical application here is knowing when to shut up. It may sound kind of funny at this point, but there is great wisdom in knowing when to stop talking. As my dad used to say, “The Lord gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason.” We should listen more than we talk. For some of us that is very difficult. But, I’m learning.
There’s a lot happening in this section of the passage, but over all we see two women just doing the next thing in the midst of their grief. For one her next thing was returning to her God, for the other, her next thing was turning away from her gods and following her God.
May God grant eyes to see and ears to hear HIM in all things.
Dana Bailey 