DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES. Ruth 1:6-18 Naomi felt like a failure and mourned her losses deeply, but she was willing to return to Judah alone, start over, and do her best to live. She took the risk of being seen as a failure by the people of Bethlehem. Ruth also faced the risk of rejection because she was a poor foreign widow without support. Faithfulness to God means doing what is right despite the risks involved.
Orpah and Ruth could stay in Moab and soon be accepted back into society. As two young widows, they would likely marry and be cared for by their own people. Naomi had no one left to care for her, so she had the most to lose by returning to Judah. However, she received the good news that the Lord had again provided food for His people. This is the first time God enters the story directly. Again, near the end, He is in the narrative and grants Ruth a child. We must remember that God is involved in every part of His people's lives, whether we see it or not. It was God’s grace that moved Naomi to go home.
God’s act of providing food to end the famine was another example of His grace. Despite famine, emigration, and death, God reversed that course. The Lord arranged for food, restoring faith, and bringing new life for Naomi. God looked kindly on His people in Israel and “came to their aid” by understanding and meeting their needs. When a superior comes to check on what is happening, it shows care and a positive outcome.
God's care for us inspires us to take risks in caring for and serving others. “We love Him because He first loved us.” When God guides us to take risks by faith in Him, we don't need to fear failure. Through His strength and direction, we are free to take risks that advance His kingdom in a way that honors Him. This occurs when faithfulness involves risks that will honor our Lord.
People, being people, are created the way God intended. It was not His plan for us all to be like robots or to have identical physical, personality, and character traits. While character is partly influenced by our genes, a child's character is mainly shaped by the training they receive at home. As life goes on, we develop specific character traits through everything we allow into our minds via our senses. Ruth lived in an idolatrous nation, and her people were ancient enemies of God's people. Still, she was mindful of God, and He remained faithful to her.
God will use anyone who is open to Him to fulfill His purposes. We don't have to follow everyone else's actions or accept what others choose to accept. Believers are called to live by higher moral standards that should surpass all societal pressures. God calls those who walk by faith to step into unknown paths and take risks that may seem foolish to others—the "What ifs" that trouble us can hold us back if we're not cautious. Fear of failure can overshadow us like a dark cloud hiding the light of faithfulness to God, even when we dislike the outcome of a situation.
Remaining strong in character and faithful to God when everyone around us is doing what seems right in their own eyes can be quite challenging, especially if you are a young, beautiful widow. It's during times like these that you prove your loyalty to your Lord and His word, will, and way. We first meet Ruth as a destitute young widow. She and her mother-in-law shared deep sorrow, great affection for each other, and a strong commitment to God. Neither pressured the other. Naomi was willing for Ruth to go back to her home. Ruth was willing to leave her homeland forever and move to Israel. The key was her willingness to make a spiritual choice.
Risks are involved whenever we go and in everything we do. Faithful Christians are willing to do what is right despite the inherent risks of our choices. God was at the center of their communication. The older woman allowed the younger to see, hear, and feel the joy and pain of her relationship with God. Do you believe that your thoughts and questions about God should be left out of your close relationships? How often do I share my honest thoughts about God with my spouse or friends? Sharing openly about your relationship with God can bring depth and intimacy to your relationships with others.
Sometimes, we make life-changing decisions and barely realize what we have done. Other times, we know the decisions we make will have far-reaching consequences. Ruth chose a path of spirituality. Ruth's loyalty to Naomi, her mother-in-law, is a clear example of love and loyalty. Her life was guided by faithfulness to God and reflected that in her faithfulness and loyalty to others. Naomi and Boaz also remained faithful to God and His laws. God Himself is certainly faithful to those in this book of Ruth, and He remains faithful to us.
To experience loyalty and love in our relationships with others, we must imitate God’s faithfulness to them. The tensions between the Moabites and Israelites had historically existed, but through a genuine life of holy character, Ruth was able to go beyond those tensions. Being a Moabitess didn’t prevent Ruth from worshiping the true God, but it did not hinder God from accepting her worship and blessing her [Acts 10:35]. No one is disqualified from serving God because of their sex, race, or background. The life of a widow was not easy. Naomi acted selflessly, and that, in turn, encouraged Ruth to follow her example. The same is true today. Selflessness in a person leads others to walk in the same way.
The three women on the road away from Moab made individual choices as they stopped to say their goodbyes. Orpah and Ruth had to decide whether to return to their home and family to resume what would have been a normal life and hope for a fresh start under family protection. Alternatively, they could choose to be immigrants in a strange land with unfamiliar people and cultural differences. Naomi had heard the famine was over. God had intervened, and there was bread again in Bethlehem. "Should I swallow my pride and return to where I came from, or should I stay hidden in this foreign land?" God had ended the famine, giving hope that the downward spiral of departure might come to an end.
Naomi had left Bethlehem with her husband and a sense of security. Over ten years passed, and as Naomi was leaving Moab, she was saying goodbye to her daughters-in-law and trusting them to God's care and kindness. She returned as a widow, poor and unable to help them, but she knew that God could. She changed her name to reflect her bitterness and the pain she felt. She lost sight of God's resources and the great value of her relationship with Ruth.
God cares for His people because He looks after them. He encourages us by placing His love in and on us. We must never ignore all the resources God gives us because He loves us and provides the strength to face our current circumstances. Never let bitterness and disappointment blind us to opportunities. Conversely, a relationship built on a strong bond with God will be one of deep mutual commitment, where each person strives to do what is best for the other. Choosing spirituality involves risking everything by placing our faith in Christ. God saves us, forgives us, restores our lives, and grants us blessings that will endure forever.
Now, on the way back to Bethlehem, Naomi entrusted the two young widows to God's care. In doing so, she was essentially ending her relationship with them so they could develop new close bonds with other men outside her family. They were freed from caring for her to start fresh lives without her influence. At the same time, she asked God to treat them kindly, just as they had treated her. She likely wanted them to be in a safe and secure place, which she could not promise.
When we take risks, we must do what God wants, which may seem normal to Him but not to the worldly people around us. Faith ventures into the unknown with confidence only in God, not in ourselves. Naomi urged them to go back because she believed God had turned against her despite the value of her previous testimony before them. She said, "God is against me, so you better not go where I go. The risks are too great."
When we venture out and are willing to take risks, there are consequences. For Naomi, she might have meant criticism either implied or spoken because of her family's actions ten years earlier. For Orpah and Ruth, it would mean sacrificing their home and family security, whether that results in acceptance or rejection toward immigrants. Orpah chose to return to familiar security, while Ruth decided to take the risk of following Naomi and her God to join her people for the rest of her life.
Ruth’s faithfulness to Naomi as her daughter-in-law and friend exemplifies love and loyalty. Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz all remained faithful to God and His laws. God’s faithfulness to His people is evident throughout the story. Ruth’s life was guided by her faithfulness to God, which showed in her loyalty to others she knew.
Being true disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ means being willing to accept criticism and misunderstanding. Our morality will set us apart. We will be committed to justice benefiting others, even when laws are passed by those lacking a consistent standard of values. This may affect us. To be loyal and loving in relationships, we must imitate God’s faithfulness. Ruth showed kindness to Naomi. Boaz showed kindness to Ruth. God demonstrated His kindness to them all by bringing them together for His purposes.
Christ showed His kindness by dying for us to give us eternal life. His kindness should inspire us to love and honor Him. Ruth demonstrated her strong moral character by remaining loyal to Naomi, leaving her homeland and customs, and working hard in the fields. Boaz displayed integrity through his moral standards, honesty, and fulfilling his commitments. When we experience God’s faithfulness and kindness, we should respond by demonstrating our integrity. God, who is always faithful, protected Naomi and Ruth.
He controls the circumstances and will lead us through them. He guides our minds and actions to fulfill His purposes. No matter how difficult our current situation may be, our hope is in God. He is capable of doing what we cannot. Trust in His protection. To be faithful, we must differ from the norms accepted by the world. Being faithful involves taking risks that honor God. There are consequences when we risk for the Lord. Whatever happens, whether it's good or bad, we will accept it from the hands of our loving Father. Following our Lord Jesus Christ may bring criticism and misunderstanding, but we must stand firm and be counted for morality and justice.
The greatest blessing Ruth received from her spiritual choices was not just prosperity, marriage to Boaz, and the child, but also the love and respect shared among them. Don’t view money and success as life’s main blessings. Instead, focus on the high quality of relationships built through spiritual choices. A risk-taker follows God’s standards of righteousness and is willing to reject the shifting morals of our deteriorating society.
Word had come to Naomi that the famine was over. God's grace never failed her, even though she felt abandoned forever. The angel of the Lord, who is always near those who fear Him, never left her. When she was leaving Moab, her two daughters-in-law walked with her on the road that led back to Judah. Each of them had lost the one she loved, but the bonds of marriage were severed by the death of each of their husbands. They had been faithful to their husbands, but now change had come; what was next? Where is the right place to go from here? To Orpah, the world she had always known called her interest. To Naomi and Ruth, glimpses of faith appear.
One turned back to her country, gods, and kin. Naomi was returning to what she had left at the "house of bread." The third one, Ruth, with faith like a small flame burning and giving her spiritual sight, committed to follow God through her famous words. Decision time had come, although she did not know the results of her choices. Because of her decisions, families, religions, and the nation of Israel, the world as a whole has been blessed by the price she paid.
We should never underestimate the importance of faith in God. Faithfulness is a choice we all can make. From that one decision made on the road in Moab, God, by His grace, blessed her - and me - as to the path I take.