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15 And she said, "Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law." 16 But Ruth said: "Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God. 17 Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me." 18 When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her. ~ Ruth 1:15-18
Today, we return to the Old Testament book of Ruth where we are beginning to see the unfolding of a love story between a man and a woman. This love story is a human metaphor for the story of redemption initiated by the God of the Bible through His Son's death on the cross. But, the purpose of this book of Ruth is to provide a demonstration of how a foreigner became the great-grandmother of Israel’s most famous king. King David had a godless Moabite on a branch of his family tree. How could a foreigner, an idol worshiper, become this famous king’s ancestor? This book seeks to answer that question.
In v.15-17 of today's passage we read, "15 And she said, 'Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.' 16 But Ruth said: 'Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God. 17 Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me.'"
Quite a number of years ago now, an author by the name of Robert Frost, penned a poem entitled, “The Road Not Taken.” It’s a poem that tells the story of a man, who, upon walking through the woods, comes to a fork in the road. It is a place of decision; a place of no return, a choice must be made for he cannot journey down both paths. Whichever road he chooses will lead him to new pathways, and new choices, and he will never stand again where he stands this day. Life is like that, isn’t it? So often we come to a fork in the road, a place where we must choose one path over another, knowing full well that whatever choices we make, will have repercussions, good or bad, or some of both, that spill over into the rest of our lives.
At a certain point in Frost's poem the man begins his journey down the road that fewer feet had traveled. And he sums up his decision with these words in the concluding verses of the poem, saying: “I shall be telling this with a sigh somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less travelled, and that has made all the difference.”
These words apply to this daughter-in-law committing herself to her mother-in-law. In New Testament terms, this is Ruth’s conversion. She not only committed herself to Naomi but also to Naomi’s God. Her commitment was personal, voluntary, and complete. After saying these words, she could never go back to Moab. Ruth made a commitment to Naomi because she had entered into a personal relationship with the God of the Bible.
I found it most difficult to pull myself away from sin in order to enter into a personal relationship with God way back in October of 1981. The death of my dad aided my decision. You see, it wasn't until I began to think of what is really important in this life that I was poised to make my decision to follow the Lord. By the way, no amount of good behavior on my behalf made me right with the Lord; that is why the Lord Jesus died on the cross. I knew that if I didn't make a clean break from the lifestyle I had garnered apart from God, I would be frustrated in my attempt to know God for myself, and that is what was made clear to me that life is really about knowing our Creator for ourselves and finding ways to make Him known to those who are trapped in a life apart from knowing God.
In Deuteronomy 23 God said, "No Ammonite or Moabite shall enter the assembly of the Lord. None of their descendants, even to the tenth generation, shall ever enter the assembly of the Lord." This curse was that none of the Moabites would ever be allowed to come inside the covenant through the tenth generation from when the curse was issued. Interestingly enough, scholars have calculated that Ruth was a member of the eleventh generation. But, the Moabite people had been, by God, shut out from redemption because of their sin.
In Isaiah 56:6-7 which was written much later than Deuteronomy 23, we read, "6 Also the sons of the foreigner who join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants, everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, and holds fast My covenant 7 Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations."
The curse was only in place until the foreigner and the cursed person turned to God in faith. When Ruth said, "Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God," she revealed that she had entered into a personal relationship with the God of Naomi, the God of the Bible. The fascinating part of this story is that Ruth was an eleventh generation Moabite. Oh, the sovereignty of our God. He knows all from the beginning to the end and we can thoroughly trust Him with our lives and the lives of those whom we love.
In v.18 of today's passage we read, "When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her."
Naomi had nothing to offer to Ruth and neither of them knew what the future held for them. The road less travelled is like that, filled with the unknown, yet Ruth decided to follow Naomi just the same. And, when Naomi saw that Ruth the Moabite had more faith than Naomi the Jew, she stopped exploring her to return to Moab. How striking that this amazing commitment comes not from an insider but an outsider. I find the faith of Ruth to be incredible. Her commitment to Naomi goes beyond time and place and ethnic background. She who knew so little understands God’s heart more than Naomi who knew so much more. With Ruth's statement, she binds herself to Naomi forever, which was why Naomi was left completely speechless.
Ruth's decision was a complete break with her past. She left behind everything she has ever known, family, friends, familiarity, and she threw herself into the unknown. What an amazing picture of repentance and of faith! A picture of repentance, because it was a complete break from her life with self at the helm. A picture of faith, because Ruth was flinging herself into the arms of her Heavenly Father. Long before Ruth could through herself into the arms of her Kinsman Redeemer as we will see, she had to throw herself into the arms of her Savior.
