Just over three thousand years
ago the people of Moab and the people of Israel were enemies. Both groups of
people hated one another. The people of Moab had long been a thorn in the
side of Israel. They had attacked them
numerous times in the past and were a constant danger to the people of Israel. The people of Israel hated the Moabites because
they worshiped idols and did not worship the one true living God. (The
Moabites would offer their own children as sacrifices to their false god!) The
Moabites were considered evil in the eyes of the people of Israel.
So, imagine the great surprise
for Jewish people when they read the story of Ruth. Ruth was from Moab! There was a severe famine in
the land of Israel. It was so severe that a
family from Bethlehem moved to Moab in search of food. While the
family was there the husband died. His wife, Naomi, was left with her two sons.
They both married women from Moab. After another ten years had
passed both of Naomi’s sons died. Now she was a widow with no husband and no
sons to provide for her. Naomi heard that the famine in Israel was over and she decided to
return to her hometown. Her two daughters-in-law said they would go with her.
Naomi pleaded with them to stay in Moab and to return to their own
parents.
Ruth
1:8-9 But on the way, Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back to
your mothers' homes instead of coming with me. And may the LORD reward you for
your kindness to your husbands and to me. 9 May the LORD bless you
with the security of another marriage." Then she kissed them good-bye, and
they all broke down and wept.
After much pleading by Naomi
one of her daughters-in-law left to return to the home of
her parents. The other one refused to leave. Naomi told her:
15
"See," Naomi said to her, "your sister-in-law has gone back to
her people and to her gods. You should do the same."
Ruth refused to leave. Her
decision is shocking to us. She is no longer obligated to remain with Naomi.
She is not obligated to leave her home, her people, her country and go to Israel. The words of Ruth are
recorded in the Bible.
16 But Ruth
replied, "Don't ask me to leave you and turn back. I will go wherever you
go and live wherever you live. Your people will be my people, and your God will
be my God. 17 I will die where you die and will be buried there. May
the LORD punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!"
Ruth’s
statement is what we call a covenant. A covenant is different from a contract.
A contract is what you sign when you buy a car or a house. You promise to pay
the bank every month a certain amount of money for the car until the amount is
fully paid. If you do not pay, the bank will come and take the car because you
did not fulfill your part of the contract. However, a covenant is a pledge to
do something regardless of what the other person will do. Ruth says she will go
and stay with Naomi regardless of what Naomi says or does to her. A covenant is
a person’s pledge of honor. (In America, these
words of Ruth are often used in Christian wedding ceremonies. It is a beautiful
pledge of one’s vow of covenant to their spouse.)
A very
important fact in Ruth’s statement to Naomi is seen in her vow to God. “May the
LORD punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!” This
indicates that Ruth is a believer and a worshipper of Almighty God and she
refers to Him by His personal name, “I AM.” This woman from Moab had
turned away from the worship of false gods and the idols of her own people. She
was willing to leave her family and home to follow Naomi and to put her trust
in God. Even when Naomi told her to leave and go home and return to the gods of
her ancestors, Ruth said, “No. I will not turn back.” Ruth was no longer a
stranger, an outsider, but she was now part of Naomi’s family. She was a
courageous woman of faith. She placed her trust in God and became part of God’s
people.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1.
How desperate would you have to be to leave your home and
go to the land of your enemy?
2.
Does Ruth’s decision to stay with Naomi surprise you?
3.
What is the difference between a covenant and a contract?
4.
Do you think Ruth was a courageous or brave woman to follow
Naomi back to Israel?
5.
What caused Ruth to leave her family and the gods of her
ancestors?
