The Story - Chapter 9 - Ruth 1:16-22

Ruth 1:20 (NIV)
"Don't call me Naomi," she told them. "Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter.”

Mothers-in-law are sometimes viewed as demanding, impatient, and ungrateful women who favor their own child over the child’s spouse. At first glance, today’s reading is in line with the reputation. Naomi seems to fit the description of a whiner and complainer.

Ruth 1:16 (NIV)
“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.”
 
Naomi has a loyal daughter-in-law at her side. Ruth’s love for Naomi is obvious to us, giving up a possible future with another man from her own country, to accompany her dead husband’s mother to a strange foreign land. A Moabite woman taking up residence in Israel is not the most pleasant prospect for a bright future. But Ruth adopts Naomi’s country and her God. Your people will be my people and your God my God.

Naomi may have shared her faith with her daughter-in-law for it seems from the Scripture above, that Ruth embraced her new God. That is the thing about idol worship; it can be easily replaced for another. If the one currently before us isn't doing the job, or a new trendier statue appears there is nothing to keep us faithful. But, once we are exposed to the real thing and experience a God who is real, a being we can feel in our hearts—well it is not so easy to reject that God with a clear conscience.

Naomi found herself alone in a foreign country. She had it rough, losing her husband and then her sons, something a mother never considers will happen. But God provided for this woman. He provided Ruth.

It is difficult to tell what was going on in Ruth’s heart and mind. For a Moabite widow to follow her mother-in-law to Bethlehem, in an unfriendly foreign land was incredible. But God provided for this woman too. Keep reading to see the rest of The Story.

Read Ruth 1:16-22 here

Listen to Ruth 1:16-22 here

Ruth 1:8-18

There is an old idiom which goes like this: "One good turn deserves another."  I heard this phrase when I was a child, never giving it much thought. This is what we find in the first chapter of Ruth.  Following the death of her husband and then here sons, Naomi decides to return to her homeland, and in the process encourages her daughters-in-law to remain in their own land and find new husbands.

According to the Life Application Study Bible, there was almost nothing worse than being a widow in the ancient world. Widows were taken advantage of or ignored. They were almost always poverty stricken. Naomi loved her sons' wives and wanted the best for them, so she encouraged them to stay. Orpah did as Naomi suggested, but Ruth did not. Ruth's words to her mother-in-law are priceless and so beautiful.

"Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” (Ruth 1:16-17)

Naomi, selflessly released Ruth from any obligation toward her, and Ruth in turn told Naomi she would not leave her ever--one good turn deserving another.  And then the greatest blessing of all was given to the two of them when God stepped in and took His turn.  We don't act  with kindness for anything in return, but our God, who knows our hearts, will take over and return our good deeds.

The idiom had its roots in the actions of a dog, turning round and round before deciding to lie down and enjoy a nap. Reality is, God is just waiting to 'bless our socks off', He wants to amaze us with His goodness.

Read Ruth 1:8-18 here

Listen to Ruth 1:8-18 here