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The story of Ruth and Naomi is a beautiful story of loyalty and devotion. In this story we are given insight into the customs and traditions of the Jewish people of ancient times. We are also invited to learn about one of Jesus’ ancestors, Ruth the Moabite. Unlike her sister-in-law, Orpah, Ruth refuses to return to her childhood home and the gods she once worshiped. Instead she chooses to leave her own country and customs behind her; forsaking all she knows to become a stranger in a strange land.
In Ruth’s pledge to Naomi, she expresses her desire to remain both Naomi’s kin and a Jew. She states, “Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; Where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die----there will I be buried. May the Lord do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!”
It is this commitment of loyalty which goes beyond normal expectations that sets Ruth apart from her peers. It was the custom in those days for a woman to leave her family and become a member of her husband’s family. At the husband’s death, the woman was released from her marriage vows and returned to her father’s home. There she would be under her father’s protection until another suitor was found for her. Ruth’s insistence to remain with her mother-in-law is unusual. Because of this act of loyalty, Ruth is later rewarded when Naomi arranges for her to marry Boaz, one of Naomi’s relatives.
Naomi’s arrangement for Ruth helps to keep Ruth in Naomi’s family and also continues the lineage of Naomi’s son through Ruth and Boaz. This is a blessing for both Ruth and Naomi. Yet, it could not have happened without Boaz’s commitment of loyalty for family. When Naomi’s closest relative refuses to marry Ruth, it is Boaz who gladly does so.
The scripture reads, “Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, ‘Today you are witnesses that I have acquired from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon. I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, to be my wife, to maintain the dead man’s name on his inheritance, in order that the name of the dead may not be cut off from his kindred and from the gate of his native place; today you are witnesses.’”
In Matthew’s Gospel concerning the genealogy of Jesus we read, “Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David”. Ruth the Moabite, who began life as a Gentile, and married one of Naomi’s sons; then chose to leave her own country to go with her dead husband’s mother into a strange land was chosen by God Almighty to be included in the lineage of His only Begotten Son, Jesus the Christ. Although many would think it honor enough to have been the grandmother of King David, God blessed Ruth for her loyalty beyond her greatest hopes and dreams.
It is also through Ruth the Moabite that we as Gentiles are given hope for our inclusion into the spiritual lineage of Jesus the Christ. For Ruth is our example of God’s benevolence towards all who seek Him no matter whether they are Jew or Gentile. We, but through the grace of God, who would still be worshipping false gods, have been accepted through Christ to become sons and daughters of the Living God.
As we have learned from the story of Ruth and Naomi, it is when we are willing to go the extra mile as Christ taught us to do, that the Lord is released to pour out His blessings upon us. If we choose to give the Lord only that which is rightfully His already; then we are only fulfilling our duty to God. It is when we choose to give of ourselves to the Lord that which is beyond expectation of our duty to God that we truly embrace what it means to be loyal to Him.
Loyalty to God Almighty comes before even loyalty to family and friends. It is the loyalty that exceeds all normal expectations of what it means to be a Christian. This kind of loyalty is shown in a willingness to make ourselves living sacrifices for God. Serving the Living God in this way means understanding that all that we are and have belongs to God Almighty. It is a willingness and devotion to God that supersedes our personal desires or expectations in this life. It is a daily commitment to live a life that is pleasing to God and not to us.
As we have seen in the life of Ruth, when we are willing to go beyond the normal expectations of loyalty and commitment, then the Lord rewards such followers with great blessings. What may seem foolish to others, if it is of God, it is more than worth the price of sacrifice. We mortals cannot out give God.
In Matthew’s gospel, Peter tells Jesus, “Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man is seated on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life.”
This is the blessing that awaits all Christians who choose to remain loyal to Christ, no matter what price is paid in order to do so. It is only when we give the Lord all that we have and offer to serve Him no matter where He may lead us that we can truly know what it means to be blessed a hundredfold.
There are some here who believe that they cannot give the Lord any more than they have already given to Him. To you, I ask, have you given the Lord all that you have? Are your finances hurting because you have not given the Lord the tithe that all Christians are expected by God Almighty to give? Are you living each day of your life to please God or have you put your pleasures at the top of your priority list? Where is God on your priority list?
As the saying goes, actions speak louder than words. Ruth acted in a righteous way that was beyond expectations and was rewarded abundantly by God. If we truly want to see and experience the power of God in our lives than we too must follow Ruth’s example and give up all we have to follow Him.
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