“…Where you go, I will go; and where you lodge, I will lodge: your people will be my people, and your God my God: where you die, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death separates me from you.” Ruth 1:17
Dear Ones:
What is it in being attracted to someone that brings one to such a statement of devotion and commitment, as that by Ruth? It was Mrs. Cousin who wrote: “Death and the curse were in our cup, O Christ, ’twas full for Thee! But Thou hast drained the last dark drop, ‘Tis empty now for me. That bitter cup, love drank it up; Now blessings’ draught for me.” What brought Mrs. Cousin to the point of writing such statement? It was the “unearthly,” intrinsic beauty and nature of the love of Christ. No one could ever love like Him, for no one would, or could ever do what He did to win us. Ruth saw something of intrinsic love in the heart of Naomi, her mother in law. Mrs. Cousin saw a fuller expression of such love in the Lord Jesus. The vision is so great in both cases, that only the response of devotion and commitment could result. But how does one get there, that is, to see clearly, and then to be so convinced of the veracity of the vision, that one “sells all that he has to buy the precious pearl?”
The story of Ruth is one of the most beautiful ones in the Bible. But it is not a story of “soft velvet,” but of hard reality. It begins with a famine in the land of Israel. Then there is the corresponding move from Israel to a land of “strangers,” in a land of “other gods.” The stay in the foreign country results in the marriage of Naomi’s two sons, and this to two Moabite women, Orpah and the other, Ruth. Naomi’s husband dies, and also her two sons. So, we have a widow, and two daughters-in-law, bereft of means by which to live, with very little hope before them. However, in the midst of such tragedy and suffering, Ruth sees something. Naomi has never abandoned her God, the God of Israel. Her faith in Him, though sorely tried, remains in tact and living. Ruth, in the crucible of difficult circumstances with Naomi, sees reality, something that she must have, know, and experience. She has seen true faith in the living God, and the fruits of such faith in the life of Naomi. The contrast is so great and captivating, that the worship of many gods fades into oblivion, and non-existence. She WILL know and follow this God, this Christ. This is reflected in her declared devotion to Naomi when Naomi entreated her daughters-in-law to return to Moab, for their sustenance and possible well-being. Though Orpah would weep, she would return to her people. Not so with Ruth. She too would weep, but her mind was made up.
How clear was the vision, and how powerful was its effect upon Ruth? It would be stronger than any family tie, any religious affiliation, or any plea by Naomi to “return” to “her mother’s house.” (1:8) It would be so strong that Ruth would choose NOT to return to her people, and certainly not to their gods, but commit herself steadfastly to follow Naomi. Her’s was a commitment to love and care for Naomi, and this till death. Again, why? How could one leave all, and in essence, lose one’s life for the sake of another? Because of the vision that she had of spiritual reality, the beauty of the God of Naomi. She had perceived something of Him in her life. She could not explain it, but she KNEW it was real, eternally real.
Dear Father, open our eyes to see the beauty of Christ. Reveal to us the love of God as we have never seen it before. Capture our affections to the point that we too, like Ruth and Mrs. Cousin, will respond wholeheartedly to follow Thee, for as long as we shall live, wherever You would have us to go, to do whatever You would have us to trust You for. Give to us that blessed steadfastness, that quality of immoveableness, which thrust Ruth into the theater of the sovereign work of God, where, in this case, Ruth’s child would become the grandfather of David, in the lineage of Christ. We thank Thee, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad