Ruth 1:15-18
Ruth’s Loyalty to Naomi
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.
So far in our study of Ruth, Naomi and her family go to the country of Moab to escape a severe famine in the land of Bethlehem in Judah. When Naomi’s sons, Mahlon and Chilion, become of age, they marry Moabite women named, Ruth and Orpah. Mahlon’s name means “sickly” and Chilion’s name means “wasting away.” As their names signify, the two young men die at a young age, leaving their Moabite wives as widows. Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, which means “my God is King” also dies. To the widows, Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah decide to go back to Bethlehem because they hear that God has visited His people and there is food in Bethlehem, Judah. The famine is over. However, Naomi, who feels very bitter, tells her two daughters-in-law to go back to the home of their fathers and their gods. Orpah kisses her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clings to her Naomi.
In today’s passage, Ruth 1:15-18, Orpah, whose name in Hebrew figuratively means the action of turning back, do as exactly as her name would suggest. She turns away from Naomi and goes back to her home and to the gods of Moab. This is the last time we hear of Orpah. She has made her decision. Ruth and Naomi continue their conversation with tears. Naomi bids Ruth to go back to her family and god in Moab, just like her sister-in-law did.
The story presents two foreign women who cannot be any more different from each other. They both are widows who were married to Hebrew brothers. Both husbands die at a young age. Both are left with their mother-in-law, Naomi, a Hebrew from Bethlehem, Judah. At first, the two young widows want to go back with Naomi to Bethlehem in Judah, because the famine in that land is over. However, from Naomi’s pleas, one turns back and goes away, and the other one clings and stays. One daughter-in-law’s name means “the action of turning back”, while the other daughter-in-law means “compassionate friend.” One daughter-in-law, we will not see again. The other one, as her name suggests, clings and stays with Naomi as a companion and a compassionate friend. In the storyline, readers are invited to examine and reflect on what they would do. Would you, after living and seeing the God of Elimelech as the King, would you stay to worship “Yahweh,” the one true God? Or, would you turn back to your homeland that is doomed for destruction because they worship gods that cannot see, hear, feel, speak, or walk?
Ruth, the daughter-in-law that remains, has a resolve. She is determined and committed to staying with Naomi. Ruth responds to Naomi’s final request with words that are probably one the most beautiful and revered words of all Scripture. Ruth says in Ruth 1:16-17, “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.” Matthew Henry speaks of Ruth’s commitment by saying, “she speaks the language of one resolved for God and heaven. She is so in love, not with her mother’s beauty, or riches, or gaiety (all these were withered and gone), but with her wisdom, virtue, and grace, which remained with her, even in her present poor and melancholy condition, that she resolves to cleave to her.” Truly, Ruth experienced, firsthand, the God of Elimelech as her God the King as well. And because of this, she could not turn back and depart. She was committed to following Him who loved her so. Though Ruth was a foreigner, she was ready to deny herself, taking up her cross, to follow her God, “Yahweh”, the LORD! I’m sure Ruth understood the ramifications of her decision. In Bethlehem of Judah, Ruth was willing to follow and be with Naomi, even if it meant her being a detested Moabite woman. She did not know, but will she experience shame? Will others smear her reputation and will she be brutally rejected? It did not matter to her. Ruth told her mother-in-law to not urge her to leave, and for Naomi to go back to Bethlehem of Judah without her.
It would be right for us to see the beauty and compassion that Ruth has for Naomi and her God. We would do well to imitate such passion and commitment in our lives too. Like Ruth, our profession of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ needs to be done with the same determination and resolve. We must be able to say to the world, as Ruth said to Naomi, “Do not bid or urge me to turn and go back, I am committed to My God who is King. Oh, how the angels in heaven rejoice and praise God when one sinner repents (Luke 15:10). Even so, we must repent and have a firm commitment to the God of Ruth, Naomi, and Elimelech as well.
Verse 1:18 gives Naomi’s response to Ruth’s commitment, “And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.” John Gill, Baptist pastor and commentator (1697-1771) said, “That she was strong in her resolutions and steadfast in her determinations not to go back to her own country, but to go forward with her; and nothing could move her from the firm purpose of her mind, which was what Naomi wanted to make trial of then she left speaking unto her: that is, upon the head of returning home.” Naomi was convinced that Ruth had godly virtues and motivation to leave her home and be her companion. Naomi also understood that Ruth’s heart was genuine, and she will have no resentment due to the unknowns in her travels or a new home in Bethlehem of Judah.
In the final application, we must take note of what is meant by having a resolve for God. We must not believe in quick decisions or emotional altar calls that beckon a weary soul to come, accept Christ, say a prayer, be baptized, and become Christ. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, wrote the book, The Cost of Discipleship, which presents his statement that following Christ demands sacrifice and ethical consistency. Bonhoeffer uses Christ’s words in Luke 14:25-33. Ruth understood the cost of following Yahweh. We too must consider the cost. But we shall see the glory when we see Christ face-to-face, and this will outshine all the struggles and persecutions that happen during our journey. All praise and glory to our God!
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Life-giving God and redeeming Son, Jesus Christ, Thank You for Your mercy and love to me. Give me a resolve like Ruth, O Lord. May I always be committed and persuaded to follow You! I confess that I cannot please You without faith. I pray that You increase my faith and help me in my walk to glorify Your name forever! In Jesus’ Name, I pray, amen!
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I Am Thine, O Lord! by Fannie Crosby in 1875
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