Read Ruth 1:7-14
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 into the land of Judah.
8. And Naomi said under 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.”
tarry :: means to wait clave :: means clung toWow. Wow. Wow. Crazy right? Could you imagine your husband dead, and then his mother encouraging you to start over? And instead of starting over you stay by her side? Because that’s what Ruth has done. Instead of moving forward with her life in the current scripture, she is standing by Naomi and going to help care for her.
In verse 7 Naomi and her two daughter in laws (Ruth & Orpah) was going to return to Bethlehem.
In Biblical times if a woman was unmarried or without a companion (especially a widow) they was taken advantage of, ignored, and extremely poor. This would put an extremely huge hardship on Naomi.
Naomi’s attitude about moving back to Bethlehem was very selfless and she wanted Ruth & Orpah to stay and start their lives over in Moab, no matter how hard it made Naomi’s life.
The study book says “Staying in Moab seemed like the easier choice, and Naomi was well aware of all that came along with being a woman in a foreign land.”
In life the right thing/choice is not always going to be the easiest choice. Have you ever heard the saying “work smarter and not harder”.. In reality this saying is pretty much telling us to take the easy way out? is that what God wants? For us to take the easy way out? That’s the same way with our walk with Him. If we want to grow closer we have to dig into his word, study, go to church to be fed His word, and pray. There is honestly nothing “easy” about loving for the Lord, but it is SO REWARDING. Knowing you have a Heavenly home awaiting is special.
Something I didn’t realize my footnote in my bible says “God’s law, therefore, provided that the nearest relative of a woman’s dead husband should care for his widow. But Naomi had no realities in Moab, and she did not know if any of her relatives were alive in Israel.”
Reference to Deuteronomy 25:5
5. “If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband’s brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband’s brother unto her.
The purpose of this was to carry on the dead husband’s name and inheritance. Family ties was an important aspect of Israelite cultures. If and when a widow married outside of the family, her first husband’s line would come to an end.
Naomi tried to encourage Ruth and Orpah to stay in Moab and start their lives over. Marry and be happy because Naomi had no other sons for them to marry.
Orpah agreed to stay and start over, however, Ruth decided to give up the possibility of security and children to care for Naomi. Ruth was also selfless during this decision.
What choices sometimes feel easier than following God?-I am bad with control. I’m not necessarily saying that I know everything, but as far as having a plan of the why, how long, and the when. I feel I need to be in control of those things. I personally need to know why something is happening, when it is going to happen to I can have a plan, and I need to know how long it’s going to last. I am awful with dealing with change, so this is something I am going to work on.
In what area of life are you choosing today to trust God?-I put trust in God to help me with my kids. I’m sure like any mom, we are scared of the outcomes of sending them to school, we don’t want them to get picked on, or struggle. I trust God to protect them when I drop them off and to help me teach them the ways of Him. When a problem arises it’s so easy to say “Trust God”, but it’s so hard to let go and let God. Something I know we can probably all work on.
How have you seen God’s steadfast (unchanging/loyal/devoted) love in your life?-If God didn’t show love to me after the past year I have had then I wouldn’t be here today. He walked with me every step of the way when I was struggling and he answered the prayers of those who called upon him. He helped me out of a dark place that the Devil had a wrap around on me and my life. He is devoted to loving us and being faithful to us.
Dear Lord,
Help me to be a light. Thank you blessing me and guiding me. Help me to always love like Jesus. Thank you for being faithful to me, and please help me to always be faithful to you.
-Amen