“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 even death separates you and me” (Ruth 1:16-17).
The verses quoted above are a beautiful example of how the gospel turns hearts and lives upside down.
Ruth didn’t owe Naomi anything. By rights, their relationship ended when Ruth’s husband died. Ruth could have let her former mother-in-law return to Israel by herself. That was what Naomi’s other daughter-in-law, Orpah, did.
But Ruth stayed and refused to leave.
Why?
Naomi had already made it pretty clear that if Ruth went back to Israel with her, she would have nothing. Naomi wasn’t having any more sons. No one would support either of the widows, especially not Ruth as a foreigner. Ruth would be leaving behind any chance of having a normal, carefree life—abandoning a chance to start over again in Moab, her homeland. Why on earth would she want to go anywhere with a woman who was filled with bitterness?
Despite knowing all of that, Ruth clung to her mother-in-law. “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay.”
Ruth’s steadfast devotion only makes sense when God comes into the picture. Because Naomi was wrong. If Ruth went back to Israel with her, she wouldn’t have nothing. She had a relationship with the living God, who made heaven and earth, who promised to send salvation for all people. She had everything she needed and more.
“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 even death separates you and me.”
I sometimes wonder if Ruth’s great-grandson, David, thought of her life experiences and their family history when he penned the words, “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing” (Psalm 23:1).
If you read through the four short chapters of the book of Ruth, you see time and again God’s hand in her life and Naomi’s, never leaving or forsaking them but using them to further his plan in sending a Savior for the sins of the whole world. In his grace, he even brought Ruth into the family line from whom the Savior would be born!
Yes, from an outward, worldly perspective, it looked like Ruth was turning her back on a chance at a normal life for a whole lot of nothing—an empty, hopeless future. But Ruth knew differently, and by faith, so do we.
Life with our heavenly Father is far better than anything else this world has to offer. A relationship with our Savior Jesus and eternal life purchased and won for us with his precious blood . . . that changes everything. In this world, we will undoubtedly have troubles. We will lose opportunities, friends, and possibly even family for following our Savior.
From an outward, worldly perspective, it might look like we’re turning our backs on a chance to live life how we want in exchange for a whole lot of nothing—an empty, hopeless future. But the gospel message turns our hearts and lives upside down.
Through the Holy Spirit working faith in our hearts, we see that our hope is sure and certain because it rests on the one who keeps all his promises. Our hope is built on the life, death, and resurrection of our Savior Jesus, who promises that not even death itself shall separate us from him and his love for us.
Dear Christian, may God continue to strengthen and keep you through life. May he continue to remind you that no matter what, you have everything you need with him and because of him.
Looking to learn more about the account of Ruth? Check out The People’s Bible® commentary, Judges, Ruth. In addition to getting a better grasp on the culture and times in which Ruth lived, you’ll also clearly see how the book of Ruth points ahead to your Savior Jesus and his life-changing work.
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Alex Brown is the marketing and content copywriter at Northwestern Publishing House. He has his Master of Divinity degree from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and enjoys reading, writing, and spending time in God’s creation.
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