“Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee. For where you go, I will go. And where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people and your God shall be my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried” Ruth 1:16-17.
I think Ruth would be shocked to know her words are now routinely spoken during weddings. The words were originally spoken in a moment of grief, crushing loss, and hopelessness. Naomi was Ruth’s mother-in-law. Naomi’s husband had died, and Naomi’s son, Ruth’s husband, had also died. The two were facing lives of not only grief but desperate poverty. There was no fate worse than being a widow. A contemporary re-enactment might go something like this:
Naomi: “Go back to Moab!”
Ruth: “No. I love you, Mom! Stop backing away from me.”
Naomi: “I’m not your mom! Don’t try to hug me! I’m an old woman God forgot about! Go home to your real mom! Stop following me.”
Ruth: “But you’re my real mom now! You know how I feel about you!”
Naomi: “Wipe your tears and let me go. Stop holding on to me. I don’t need you. I don’t need anyone. If God has abandoned me, you should too!”
Ruth: “I’ll never abandon—”
Naomi: “Let go of my knees and leave me alone! I’m gonna’ lose my voice screaming at you!”
Ruth stops suddenly. She takes a deep breath and a long pause. Wipes tears from her face. Stands and holds Naomi’s frail shoulders in her hands. She speaks slowly, deliberately.
Ruth: “Never again ask me to leave you. Wherever you go, I will go. Where you live, I will live. For the rest of my life, your people will be my people. Your God will be my God. And where you die, I will die. I will never turn my back on you.”
While listening to these words, Naomi tries to twist free from the grip of her daughter-in-law. But finally she stops fighting, burying her face in Ruth’s embrace. The two women sob together, shaking in grief before the lights slowly go down on the scene.
There was nothing remotely romantic about this–nothing to make anyone think wedding thoughts. It was a scene of grief and wailing and desperation, one of the most difficult moments of their lives.
Yet Ruth found direction during this moment. I am convinced the Holy Spirit led her as she gathered her thoughts and spoke words God put in her heart. In the midst of desperate hysteria, Ruth managed to state things in words both wise and persuasive.
And her powerful words changed everything, as good words often do. Ruth, a Moabite, committed her life to Naomi, a Hebrew, and God blessed them both for it. Ruth was an outsider, an undocumented worker from a foreign nation, a widow without a son—Ruth was disadvantaged in every way that mattered. Yet God would soon reward her with a son, Obed. And in a symbolic way, Obed was also Naomi’s son. “And the neighbor women gave the child a name, saying, ‘There is a son born to Naomi. And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David” Ruth 4:17.
God did not simply give Ruth Obed. As indicated by the Bible’s numerous and lengthy genealogies, the birth of a child is not the birth of a single man or woman, but the beginning of a line of men and women, a lineage that could last a thousand generations. Obed fathered a line of children—a line blessed by God like no other. Following Obed, God gave Ruth a grandson, Jesse, and a great-grandson, David. That’s right, KING David.
An interesting website “curated by Messianic Jews” adds that this is about more than just the ancestral line. It’s about the kind of courage and character that can be passed down in families: “Can we not see a reflection of Ruth’s character in David’s courage, daring spirit, and commitment to God? … Ruth and Naomi shaped and influenced the character of the man who would rule the nation, thus leaving a lasting legacy on their peoples’ history.”[1]
Thus, Ruth the Moabitess is an ancestor of Jesus, Matthew 1:5. Why would God choose her? The question is, why WOULDN’T God choose her! She selflessly gave up all her choices to take care of Naomi. This was a woman of courage, commitment, and love. May God make us more like her!
ΑΩ
[1] https://inheritmag.com/articles/five-things-about-ruth-that-nobody-talks-about
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