A great example of Character

Ruth 1:6-16

I’ve read that character is the person you are when no one is around to see, but what if you are a Moabite woman, many would have referred to her in Judah as a pagan or dog.  If you are a woman or a man looking for an example of character, this Moabite woman called Ruth is a great life to examine.

Let’s look at the story in verses 6-10, “Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food. So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother's house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. And they said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.”

Now when we read these verses, it is imperative that we understand the history of the time and the customs of the people of that day.  It should not come as a surprise, Naomi did not have a 401K or a pension plan, no government to step in and help her plan for retirement.  She has heard God is blessing her people again in the land of promise.  So Naomi and the two daughters-in-law are on the road leading back to the land of Judah when Naomi comes to a place of reality and tells them to return home.  That was a very unselfish act on Naomi’s part, and she asked the Lord’s blessing on them for His faithful love.

I believe while the sons were alive Naomi was a mother-in-law that expressed love and friendship to these two ladies, and they would have lived together or very close to each other.  They also may have been looked down on for not marrying a local boy but marrying these Jewish boys who by Jewish law were forbidden to marry outside their race. 

As we explore verses 11-16, we see a unique lady step out of the pages of this book; we see character, love, mercy, and faithfulness come from a Moabite woman named Ruth.  What was in it for her, uncertainty and a significant change of being rejected by people who looked down on women and especially foreign women? 

Verses 11-16, “But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, would you, therefore, wait till they were grown? Would you, therefore, refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.” Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.  And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 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.”

It does not say this, but I came away with this from that final sentence, I saw my people’s god, and I saw how you worship your God, and I have made a choice to follow you and your God.  My brothers and sisters in Christ, your families and friends, are also looking at the God you serve and asking, is it worth them leaving home, and mother and father to follow Him?  And the answer is, it depends on whether your gods are seeking power and stuff, or the Living Christ.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice