Ruth

Are you a Ruth? As we go through the book of Ruth lets see what we can do to better our lives as Ladies serving the Lord. I'm not sure how many lessons will come from this but I goal is for it to not be my words but what the Holy Spirit would have me write.

Naomi and Her Daughters-in-Law
Ruth 1

1 Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.

² And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehemjudah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.

³ And Elimelech Naomi's husband died; and she was left, and her two sons.

⁴ And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years.

⁵ And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband.

⁶ Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the LORD had visited his people in giving them bread.

⁷ Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters in law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah.

⁸ And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to her mother's house: the LORD deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.

⁹ The LORD grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept.

¹⁰ And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people.

¹¹ And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?

¹² Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons;

¹³ Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD is gone out against me.

¹⁴ And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.

¹⁵ And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law.

¹⁶ And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:

¹⁷ Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.

¹⁸ When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.

¹⁹ So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi?

²⁰ And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.

²¹ I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?

²² So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.

 

I love this passage of scripture. Let's look at the daughter-in-laws. Naomi told them to return to their land and to their gods. Of which Orpah did but Ruth on the other hand refused. This is where I want to look at verse 16

 

First Ruth says, "whither thou goest, I will go" There's a lot of devotion to her mother in law to do this. Do we have that type of devotion to the Lord, to our husbands, as Ruth did to the Lord and to her mother-in-law?

 

If your husband says, "We're packing up and moving to 10 Buck 2 are you going to go willing? I believe that even though Ruth wasn't following her husband, she was following one who knew the Lord.

 

The next thing is still in verse 16, "thy God my God" Did you notice when Naomi told her daughter-in-laws to return to their land she said gods not God. In the land of her husband and sons they, I believe served false gods but because Naomi had returned home she specifically said, "Call me not Naomi, call me Mara; for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me." verse 20. I believe that she knew the Lord and that she knew she gone against what he wanted for her.

 

Does this mean that Naomi had married a non believer. I do not know but seeing how God had dealt bitterly with her I would say she knew she had done wrong; after all Moab was not a good place. So why would she send her daughter-in-law back? As we go through the book of Ruth we will learn more about Naomi and Ruth.

 

My question to you, are you willing to serve the God who created you, who disciplines you when you do wrong, the one who blesses us, you beyond measure? Ruth apparently saw something in her mother in law and she wanted a part of that.

 

Going back to verse 16 we should be willing to go where the Lord leads, to sleep where he provides no matter the niceness of it, to serve the people he leads you to, and most importantly to serve Him the one whom we put our faith in.

 

As I started really looking at this and really thinking on verse 16, that is what Missionaries, Pastors, Evangelist anyone who's willing to say Lord, I'll go where you lead, we do. I think back to Christmas of 1990 when my then boyfriend, proposed to me. Before he asked if I would marry him, he asked will you willing go with me to Poland? Without hesitation I said, Yes! Now we didn't end up in Poland but I believe the Lord knew I would go no matter where my husband was called to. The People my husband has been called to serve are wonderful people and they not only are his people, his flock, his congregation but they are mine also. No I don't preach, but I'm there if they need me. I also serve the same God, the Only God that my husband serves! So friend are you going to be a Ruth like is talked about in verse 16?

 

My prayer is that if you were saying, NO I won't go to Africa with you or What you want me to leave my home to serve a people I don't know, that this will help if only a little.