15 And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16 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. 17 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.” 18 And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more. Ruth 1:15-18
The above passage is often called one of the greatest expressions of love and devotion in not just Scripture, but all of literature! Chapter one of Ruth gives us this beautiful confession. Tragedy has struck Naomi’s family. Having to flee the land of Judah because of the famine, they find themselves in the country of Moab. While there, Elimelech, her husband dies, along with her two sons, Mahlon and Chilion. Talk about tragedy! Once Naomi hears that the famine in Judah is over and that the people have food, she decides to head back home to Judah.
While on the way, her daughters-in-law accompany her, and Naomi tries to persuade them to return back to Moab. Her pleading works for Orpah, but not for Ruth. Ruth will have none of it. She will stay with Naomi even if that means remaining childless and poor. She will stay with Naomi till death does them part! She will remain faithful to her mother-in-law and to God!
And she does. Ruth keeps her end of the promise and remains faithful both to Naomi and to God. At the end of Ruth, we read that she eventually marries Boaz. Why is this significant? Boaz is one of the ancestors of David, and Matthew tells us that Ruth ends up being one of the ancestors of Jesus. While the book of Ruth is about faithfulness, it ultimately points to God’s faithfulness to us.
God was faithful to Naomi and Ruth, although tragedy struck. God was faithful to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, when He remembered His promise to give a Savior. He continued that promise through Ruth! God is faithful to you and me, even though we stray from Him and sin. God is faithful to His people and never forgets His promises! Jesus is the proof of that!
As we study the book of Ruth this fall, I encourage you to join us for this study, as we see the faithfulness of Ruth that points us to the faithfulness that God shows us in Jesus.
God’s blessings,
Pastor Kooi
(Originally published in Emmaus Footprints, Vol. XXI, Number 3, October 2019)