Women of the Bible: Ruth
Ruth 1:16-17:
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."
I have always loved the story of Ruth. It is a touching tale of the powerful friendship that occurs between two women. As a midwife, I am obviously a huge believer in the value of women supporting one another. More importantly though, it is a testament to the change that happens when we decide to follow God.
In the book of Judges, which precedes the book of Ruth, we learn that the Israelites have gone off the rails without Moses and Joshua to lead them. God had warned them of the consequences of turning away from Him, and famine was the result. Naomi and her husband and two sons are faced with starvation in the region of Judah and they decide to flee to Moab. The Moabites and the Israelites were essentially enemies, with God even commanding the Israelites to not “seek their peace or prosperity,” and banning the Moabites from temple worship for ten generations. This context shows us the dire situation that Naomi’s family was in to decide to flee to Moab. It would have been humiliating for them to seek refuge among the Moabites.
Sometime after they arrive in Moab, Naomi’s husband dies and her two sons take Moabite wives- Orpah and Ruth. Things go from bad to worse when both of Naomi’s sons die as well, leaving the women destitute. I find it interesting the parallels between Job and Naomi. Job suffered immensely, and yet since he was a man of means (and just a man), it would be impossible for him to be as low as Naomi was in this moment. She was a widow with no living male relatives in a foreign, hostile territory.
Naomi hears that the famine in Israel has ended and decides to return to live among her own people. She instructs her daughters-in-law to return to their families. Orpah obeys, but Ruth makes her allegiance clear when she declares, “where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.”
This was an absolutely radical, bold statement. Moab was a pagan nation, an enemy of Israel. Still, Ruth chose to turn from her own culture and family, follow Naomi into Israel, and worship the one true God.
To briefly summarize the rest of the story, Ruth finds favor with and marries Boaz. They have a son and Naomi has an heir. Ruth’s dedication to her mother-in-law lifts her out of despair and poverty. She proves herself, “more than seven sons.” But, here’s the really remarkable part of this story: Ruth had other options, easier options, and yet she CHOSE to follow Yahweh and make future for not only herself, but her mother-in-law too.
Ruth sets an example of the change that occurs in us when we choose to follow God. God calls us to trust, obey, love, and follow Him. May we be like Ruth and follow Him boldly and willingly into whatever He has called us to.