Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she
might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab
how that the LORD had visited his people in giving them bread. 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 unto the land of Judah. And Naomi
said unto 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. 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. And they said
unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people. 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? 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; 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. And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah
kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her. (Ruth
1:6-14)
I especially like the poignant Spanish benediction, “Vaya con Dios!” (Go
with God). Too many Christians are attempting to get God to go with them, and
most often to a place that God refuses to go. But when we go with God, our path
will be straight and our steps sure. Naomi came down to Moab (Ruth 1:1-5) with
her husband, Elimelech, and two sons, Mahlon & Chilion, from the House of
Bread and Praise to the accursed land of Moab. I am not sure that she came
willingly, but the account intimates that she did for, once her husband had
died, she did not immediately return to the place of promise that God had
placed her at birth. Naomi was forced to face even greater loss before she
would resolve to return HOME. She would finally lose both of her dear sons and
be left with no blood relations – only two daughters-in-law from the land of
Moab. I say ONLY, but that is a misnomer, for one of those girls would forsake
all for Naomi and make the most profound statement of love found in any
literature, anywhere. But that will be discussed in tomorrow’s devotion. Today,
I want to focus on Naomi’s decision, and the differences in the two
daughters-in-laws, Ruth and Orpah.
Our ill-begotten decisions often are more starkly revealed when we remember
back to a time when we enjoyed the favor of God, family, and country. Naomi has
come down to Moab, out of the favor of God, and finally lost EVERYTHING that
God had given her save her very life. She remembers the fields of Bethlehem,
the greetings in the village of her friends and relatives, the snug realization
that she was where God had planted her. She remembered, perhaps, running along
the fields lined with sycamore trees as a child, the joy she felt in the warm
sun of home. There her conscience was unburdened by any thought of being in a
place not favored by God. These thoughts had come to haunt Naomi’s peace of
mind for some time now. But the tragic loss of her two sons drove home that
deeply buried passion to return to Bethlehem-Judah. All the acts of God and man
begin with a dream – a thought – and then is realized by action. “Then
she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of
Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the LORD had visited
his people in giving them bread.”
A desire for something different had brought Naomi into Moab
in the first place. Now a desire for something old, something enduring,
something blessed, compelled her to ARISE from the ruins of Moab and return to
the golden fields of Bethlehem. It is not coincidental the Prodigal Son first
realized his depravity in a far country, he then resolved to ARISE, and then he
followed that resolution with ACTION: I
will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have
sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy
son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father.
(Luke
15:18-20) I love
every Word of Jesus, and I love these last ones quoted as well, for all that He
said was devoted to our best interest if we will but hear and believe. When we
have rebelled against God, we will soon find ourselves devoid of every
blessing. Hurt and wounded by the devil, as the Jew on the Road to Jericho, we
cry out in despondency for a restoration of those blessings enjoyed at some
other time when we had “Gone with God” on the path of life. The great point
illustrated is this: anytime we decide to “Go with God” we will be arising from
some very low place, because you cannot return to God without first arising
from the depravity into which your own ill-advised actions have taken you.
It is a commendable mark of devotion that both girls would
follow Naomi “on the way” to Bethlehem. The text does not tell us whether they
went on the way simply to see Naomi off to Bethlehem, or if they cherished some
unspoken thought of going all of the way. Many good people undertake to follow
Christ, but they are diverted by some personal interest on the way and,
tragically, turn back without going all of the way.
I pray the Holy Ghost will intimately commune with you as
you read the lovely words of this story as recorded in the Book of Ruth. Though
I cannot explain it, I can say with great certainty that He does so commune
with me when I sit down to write of it. I am able to consider thoughts that are
alien to my unworthy character as I make a futile effort to describe the
magnanimous beauty of the account of Ruth and Naomi. “Naomi said unto 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. 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.” Just as
we may love Mary Magdalene with the most tender of emotions, we are compelled
by love to Ruth as well. She is the greatest expression of pure and Godly love
that any person of Scripture illustrates.
Though heart-broken and weighed down with misery of her
losses, Naomi finds the strength to counsel her two very fine daughters-in-law
to return home and be blessed of the Lord – the Lord whose will she departed
when she came into Moab. These two are truly fine young ladies. They were
loyal, unto death, to their husbands, and they are loyal to Naomi now. Their
hearts contain a love and devotion that is rare in our day. At Naomi’s
sweet counsel, the girls realized the enormity of the cross-roads at which they
now stood – to either follow Naomi ALL OF THE WAY, or return to a comfortable
life in Moab. They both wept hot tears of love and remorse. The kiss Naomi gave
them aroused unspeakable emotions of the tragedy of daily life for all peoples.
Would it not be an immeasurable blessing if all three could remain together
forever and face the problems of life just as they had suffered much together
in the past? Both girls truly loved Naomi, but one loved Naomi without
qualification. One was willing to go part way to see Naomi off, but the other
was not willing to stop following after the darling of her heart (Naomi).
I will interject a thought here that may seem foreign to the
story, but it is not: Do you truly love the Lord Jesus Christ? If the answer is
yes, and many do, then the second part seals the whole – do you love the
Lord Jesus Christ enough to go all of the way with Him and not turn back? Do
you love Him so much that, despite the allure of comfort and social advantage,
you will forsake all, as Ruth will do, and follow Him all of the way? The
church of our day is more like a half-way house – filled with those who will
start on the way, but turn back as did Orpah at the borders of Canaan. No
person has ever gotten to his intended destination by going part way. Even the
last step is required to arrive at one’s destination. It is important we start,
but it is more important we finish the journey.
Naomi offers no pleasant entreaty to persuade the girls to
go with her but, conversely, mentions every discouragement. Naomi is too old to
have a husband and more sons and, if she did have sons, could the two girls
wait until they were grown up to marry with them? Jesus does not sugar coat His
counsel to those who seek the Kingdom of Heaven: “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the
righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the
kingdom of heaven.” (Matt 5:20) The Pharisees worked hard at
their paltry works of righteousness, but came not near the standard. There
attempts were based on false assumptions – that they could actually be
righteous enough to merit heaven. No one can be righteous on his own merits. He
must have a Redeemer and a substitute that is worthy to bear the wages of the
sins he has committed. That would be the Lord Jesus Christ, but as with Ruth,
it must be Love that is the key to our walk with Him. He loved us first, and
therefore, our hearts must echo that love for Him that compels us to go all of
the way to the cross.
The heart of both Ruth and Orpah was stricken as with a
sword at the thought of parting with Naomi, but one had a heart that was
sterling all of the way through – the greatest example of the enduring love of
womanhood, or any other creature, ever revealed to our eyes. Ruth did not, for
an instant, consider the hardship she might face in Bethlehem. She simply loved
too much to turn back. Her heart was set on Naomi – nothing else could be
considered.
Do you love Christ that much, dear friend?
