Ruth 1:6-9 - When she
heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, Naomi and her
daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. With her two daughters-in-law she left the
place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them
back to the land of Judah. Then Naomi
said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back, each of you, to your mother's
home. May the LORD show kindness to you, as you
have shown to your dead and to me. May the LORD grant that each of you will find
rest in the home of another husband." Then she kissed them and they wept aloud…
It was the time when judges ruled the Israelites…but famine
had stricken the small town of Bethlehem…so Elimelech had taken his wife Naomi
and their two sons to Moab to live…where food was available. While they were there his two sons married
Moabite women…but all three men died…leaving Naomi and her two daughter-in-laws
widows. Naomi had decided to go back to Bethlehem to her family…because the
famine had ended…and intended to take her 2 daughter-in-laws with her….but
something changed her mind.
I understand the plight of widows well…it is by far the
hardest emotional roller coaster I have ever ridden. Naomi was torn between the
love she felt for these young women…the need they had for Yahweh’s healing
touch….and the knowledge that they would be foreigners in Bethlehem…and would fare
a better chance of remarriage if they went back home. So she tearfully
sacrificed her own need to have these young women remain in her daily life….and
urged them to return home to their parents. She encouraged them to return home and start
over …even if it meant hardship for herself.
It seemed strange at first that Naomi would utter a prayer
to God to protect and keep these Moabite women…but then after I thought about
it….she must have loved them very much…and it was natural for her to want to
intercede for them. They sure couldn’t
pray for themselves. Naomi must have
also wanted to make sure that these women did not feel pushed or coerced into
going with her…making her prayer so much more special and selfless.
She must have been so happy for Orpah…when she turned and started
back home…feeling a sense that she had done the right thing. But…what a wash of peace must have come over
her soul as she heard the answer of Ruth…recorded in those great verses 16 and
17…. But Ruth replied, "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 anything but death separates you and me." Orpah would return to find her hope and
healing in her family….but Ruth would find her hope and healing in her life with
Naomi…learning about Yahweh and his ability to heal.
Father …I thank you for this great story of love and sacrifice.
It reminds me of how you can work in our lives if we empty ourselves of selfishness. I t reminds me how a simple act of sacrifice
can become the instrument you use to save a soul. It also reminds me that there is more than
one way to start over. Help me this
morning to find new ways to sacrifice for others…and plant the seeds of your
love with my actions to those around me.
Build in me the type of selflessness that you instilled in Naomi….and
use those acts of sacrifice to power my own healing…showing me clearly your
plans you have to give me hope for my future…to prosper me…and use me to build
your kingdom. Amen.
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