Ruth 1:14-22 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Ruth 1:14-22. Let’s go!
Ruth 1:14 (NIV)
14 At this they wept again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-by, but Ruth clung to her.
On verse 14: Orpah and Ruth were both completely within their rights to go back to their own people after their husbands had died. Orpah did nothing wrong by leaving especially after Naomi had told her to do so. But God was doing something extraordinary in Ruth’s heart.
Ruth 1:15-18 (NIV)
15 “Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.”
16 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.
17 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.”
18 When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.
On verses 15-18: Ruth decides to stay with her mother-in-law Naomi, go back to Naomi’s home country of Israel, and even adopt Naomi’s people and God as her own. All of this is incredible when you consider that:
– It was her mother-in-law! (I’m kidding. A common stereotype is that a mother-in-law can be a “monster-in-law”. But the truth is that I’m blessed with a wonderful mother-in-law, and I’m sure I’m not the only one.)
– Ruth probably would have had a much easier life if she had just stayed in her own country of Moab. In Moab she had her family, her friends, her connections, her culture, and her language. She would have had an easier time getting remarried in Moab if she wanted to.
– The Israelites considered Moabites like Ruth to be their mortal enemies. In fact, do you know how the nation of Moab was born? According to Genesis 19:36-37, Lot, the granduncle of Jacob (later known as Israel), slept with his own daughter and gave birth to a son, whom they named Moab. Since that time on, the Moabites were at odds with the Israelites. For example, in Numbers 22-24 the king of Moab hires a sorcerer Balaam to curse Israel. In Judges 3:12-30, the Israelites and Moabites are at war with each other for many years. In Deuteronomy 23:3 it said that a Moabite was not allowed to enter the Lord’s assembly in Israel. Even though Israel had laws regarding taking care of foreigners, there was a good chance, given the acrimonious history between Israel and Moab, that a foreigner like Ruth would face some cruel treatment and discrimination in Israel.
Despite all this, amazingly Ruth commits to going with Naomi. We don’t know for sure what her reason was. Maybe Ruth was concerned for Naomi’s well being even more than for her own. Maybe it’s because Ruth and Naomi had a special relationship that Ruth didn’t want to lose. Maybe she saw something in her mother-in-law, who worshiped the LORD, that she didn’t find in her own people of Moab. For whatever reason, when you consider how the book of Ruth ends, it is clear that God was working in Ruth’s heart.
What can we learn from all this? Don’t rule someone out just because they come from a background or culture that is different from yours, or even a culture that has had conflicts in the past with your own. What matters far more than a person’s background is a person’s heart.
Ruth 1:19-22 (NIV)
19 So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”
20 “Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter.
21 I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”
22 So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.
On verses 19-22: Here’s a powerful lesson my wise wife Sharleen shared with me on these verses. Notice that Naomi is obviously still grieving the loss of her husband and two sons. She says 3 times in chapter 1 that God has made her life bitter and full of misfortune (v13, 20, 21). No one can deny that Naomi had suffered incredible loss, but it’s also true through she also received incredible blessing such as an amazing friend in Ruth. At this time Naomi was only focused on her problems, complaining about everything that was wrong, and even blaming God, saying “God has made me empty and I’ve got nothing.” (v21)
What can we learn from this? In a time of loss it is important to grieve and to have a support network (including God and people). But when you’re going through tough times, beware throwing a pity party for yourself. Otherwise you will only make it harder for yourself.
Are you so focused on the problems that you’ve taken for granted God’s blessings? Even in our most difficult situations, let’s choose an attitude of gratitude because there are always blessings to thank God for.
Thank You, Heavenly Father, for the powerful lessons we can learn from today’s passage. I pray that I would stay loyal to the right people and choose an attitude of gratitude, even in the most difficult situations. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
