Ruth and Naomi: A Never Ending Story

 But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or 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. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me." 

Ruth 1:16-17

This is a story about loyalty. Spoiler alert: The kind of true devotion that would one day bring about the birth of David, and the eventual birth of Jesus, the Messiah. How's that for a plot twist?? I should back up a bit and mention that the loyalty being professed here is that of  daughter-in-law, Ruth to her mother-in-law, Naomi. In the world today, that type of undying allegiance would be unheard of in most cases. Mother-in-law jokes are just as common as "dad jokes." As I'm preparing to become a mother-in-law for the first time in a few short months, I could either one day become the target of these types of jokes, or I could lean in to my new title and be a Naomi. I pray for the latter example. But that will take some devotion of my own. 

Naomi had been through some hard things of her own in life, just like many of us. There was a famine in the land, which was not her own country, nor culture. Her husband passed away, and then she lost both of her sons. Understandably, she became upset and frustrated with the tragedy that had occurred in her life and exclaimed to her widowed daughters-in law in Ruth 1:13, "It is more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD's hand has gone out against me!" Meaning, they would be able to go on to remarry, but because she didn't know of any men left in her husband's family to care for her, she felt abandoned. 

When she decides to go back to her own home country of Judah, she lovingly tells her two widowed daughters-in-law to go back to their own homelands to be with their mothers. One would decide to go, but Ruth refused. It is here when she declares her undying loyalty to Naomi and makes her way with her mother-in-law to Bethlehem. Yes, that Bethlehem.

Naomi wasn't quite done being bitter over what had happened in her life, even though Ruth had shown this unprecedented devotion to her. She was still focused on what had been taken from her, and this is something we are all at risk of doing when we focus on our disappointments in life rather than the love the Lord provides. We can easily overlook our resources and our blessings when we are too focused on all the hardships that have befallen us. Naomi even wanted to change her name. Her name, "Naomi" held the meaning, "sweet," but when people greeted her as such, she answered, Ruth 1:20 "Don't call me Naomi," she told them. "Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me." Oh, girl. I totally feel you. I wanted to change my name to "Mara", a time or two. (a name meaning "bitter")

I remember when I was blogging about the loss of my brother, my dad, and then my brother-in-law all within 3 years of each other, and it felt so tremendously personal. But the thing Naomi and I have in common is that we still held our faith in the Lord. We were just disappointed and hurt by the events in our lives, and we couldn't quite wrap our acceptance around them yet. That is quite human of us, isn't it? It's the part of grieving that we need to do, and it's part of the long healing process. It's okay to not be okay with what has just occurred and to take some time to see straight again. It's when we linger too long there that bitterness can take root and then our faith can suffer. Hebrews 12:15 See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. I made the mistake of complaining about my friendship void at that time, and a dear friend reminded me, "I've been here for you the whole time." Yes, in fact, that friend was as loyal as Ruth, but because I was so grief-stricken and self-focused, I couldn't see my own blessings. I could only see what I didn't have at that time. Mara, Mara, Mara.

Ruth must have seen a genuineness in Naomi's faith, even through her bitter tears and harsh words, because her own deeply loyal words spoke a loving and humble commitment toward her. Ruth 1:16-17 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. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me. I have to be a little honest here, I'm a little intimidated by this, being a mother of my own two daughters. I would be quite lost if they chose to leave me and follow their own future mothers-in-law. This tells me that God truly had a plan for Ruth and Naomi that superseded any plan her own parents had for her, and exceeded any love there as well. When God has a plan, sometimes it doesn't make sense to our human minds, that's for sure. Isaiah 55:8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.

The fact that Ruth said, "your God will be my God," indicates that Naomi's strong faith was what was motivating Ruth's commitment and loyalty to her, and she wanted the faith that  Naomi had. I believe that when Naomi demonstrated God's kindness toward Ruth in trying to send her home, Ruth saw God's love and kindness in that act, and chose to stay with her instead. I'm very moved when I think about what Ruth must have been going through at this time. She had lost her own husband, father-in-law, and brother-in-law too.  Ruth 1:8-10 Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back, each of you, to your mother's home. May the Lord show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead and to me. May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband." Then she kissed them and they wept aloud and said to her, "We will go back with you to your people." Naomi assured them that what she wanted was for them to find husbands and have children with them, and gave them her blessing. This is how Naomi showed her faith and strength in the Lord, no matter what pain she was experiencing in her life. Romans 8:35-39 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

This is how the love of God's kindness works in our relationships. When we allow people to do what they need to do, go where they need to go, and do so with our blessing, they will gravitate toward us and not away from us. This is how we motivate others to love and honor Christ–by being His example of acceptance and kindness. Naomi, by doing what she thought was best for both women, giving them God's blessing, became blessed herself with Ruth's loyalty and love. 

When Ruth began to work for Boaz, he favored her because of all she had done to take care of his relative, Naomi. He began to look out for her and give her special privileges. Not just because of her work ethic, but because she was consistently kind and faithful. Because of these qualities, he continued to bless her and ask the other workers to treat her kindly as well. We don't see much of Ruth's outward faith here, but we do see God's provision for her, as she remains faithful and humble. This is interesting to me, because it reveals more of God's plan for her and for Naomi and for the bigger picture, as I alluded to in the first sentence–the birth of David, and what that means. 

God rewarded all of Ruth's commitments, and He rewards ours too, even if we don't notice it or feel like it at the time. Sometimes it feels like we're stuck gleaning in a field and we're just tired at the end of the day instead of enjoying our harvest. We don't feel appreciated by others for the things we do, and we don't feel that what we do even matters sometimes. This may have been Naomi's position for awhile, who knows? But God was working in both of their lives, nonetheless. God's rewards come if we remain faithful to Him, keeping the eternal perspective in mind. Maybe we won't see an immediate result, but if we follow things for a Godly reason and not a self-serving one, we will see God's purpose for it come to light one day. God makes promises and He keeps them. Hebrews 13:5 "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Whether that purpose will be revealed to us here or in heaven may remain to be seen. Psalm 138:8 The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O LORD, endures forever–do not abandon the works of your hands.

Ruth marries Boaz, and because of this union, she and Naomi both enjoyed a lifetime of financial security. David was eventually born, which would lead to the eventual birth of Jesus, the Messiah. Ruth 4:14 The women said to Naomi: "Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth." What an amazing end and beginning to this story. Who says two widows can't change the world? Who says we can't change the world when we let God into our own story? When we commit our plans to Him, they will succeed. Psalm 37:5-6 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.

 Psalm 27:13-14