“I Want to Be Like Ruth” Study

#2 Ruth's Critical Decision to Follow Naomi and the Lord

Ruth1:6-22

(1:6-22) Introduction—Conversion: conversion—turning away from the world of unbelievers and false worship and turning to God—is the most important decision ever made by a person. To be converted is more important than the decision about where to go to school, what profession to enter, what job to take, where to live, and even more important than whom to marry. The importance of being converted cannot be over-stressed, for it determines a person's eternal destiny. If a person is not converted, he spends eternity separated from God. If he is converted, he spends eternity with God, experiencing all the fullness of life while living on this earth. And then, when he enters heaven, he experiences all the perfection, glory, honor, and reward of heaven. A person who is converted and totally committed to God knows love, joy, and peace now. The person has a deep-seated sense of purpose, fulfillment, and satisfaction, of assurance, meaning, and significance all throughout life. Then when the converted person departs this world, he is perfected to live in the presence of God and to experience the riches of the glory of heaven itself.

The decision to be converted or not to be converted, to be committed to God or not to be committed—this is the decision to make. And it was the decision Ruth had to make. If she made the right decision—a decision for God—her life would be changed forever. She would have one of the most joyful, wonderful lives imaginable. Every need of her heart and life would be met. Ruth's critical decision is the subject of this passage of Scripture: Ruth's Critical Decision to Follow Naomi and the Lord: a Picture of Total Commitment, the Commitment That Leads to Conversion and Redemption, 1:6-22.

1.  The decision of Naomi to return to the promised land: the picture of a wrong motive for returning to the Lord (v.6).

2.  The decision of Orpah to return to Moab: a picture of choosing the world over the Lord (v.7-13).

3.  The decision of Ruth to wholly commit her life to the Lord and His people: a picture of total commitment and of conversion (v.14-18).

4.  The decision of Naomi to confess her need, the terrible effects of a worldly life (v.19-22).

(1:6) Decision, Motive for— Motive, Wrong— Returning, to the Lord— Promised Land, Returning to, Example of— Naomi, Motive for Returning Home: there was the decision of Naomi to return to the promised land. Somehow she heard that the Lord had visited, blessed, or come to the aide of His people back in Israel by providing food for them. Hope arose within her heart, for she had no future in Moab. She was not only a widow, but also an alien in a foreign land. Living as a widow and foreigner in a male-dominated world meant that she would be poverty-stricken all her life. Her future was dark, bleak, offering little hope and nothing to live for. Thus, when Naomi heard that the Lord had visited and provided for the Israelites, a spark of hope was stirred within her heart, and she made the decision to return home to the promised land.

Note exactly what Scripture says: Naomi was primarily returning because the famine was now over. There was again food in Israel. Her basic interest was still food, the very thing that had driven her and her family to leave the promised land and to live among the unbelievers and false worshippers of Moab. Her decision to move back to the promised land was the right decision. But note this fact: there is no mention of Naomi confessing her sins. Nothing is said about her repenting and seeking forgiveness from God. Nor is there any mention of her returning to the promised land for the purpose of seeking fellowship with God. As Warren Wiersbe points out, her decision was right, but her motive was wrong. She was still focused on food, not fellowship with the Lord! Naomi was actually returning home a defeated believer, a widow gripped by despair and a deep sense that she was forsaken by God (1:20-21).

The one thing Naomi needed above all else was to repent. She needed to repent of her distrust and unbelief. It was her and her husband's failure to trust God that had caused them to forsake the promised land, moving to Moab among the unbelievers and false worshipers of this world. Instead of trusting God, they had turned to the world for help and for food in the famine crisis. Once again, Naomi needed to confess her sin of unbelief and distrust; she needed to repent of her apostasy. Likewise, when we sin, we must confess our sin and repent.

(1:7-13) Worldliness, Choosing— Choice, of the World— Worldliness, Decision of— Decision, to Live a Worldly Life— Rejection, Of God: there was the decision of Orpah to return to Moab. This is a clear picture of choosing the world and false gods over the Lord.

1.  Note Naomi's spiritual insensitivity, the dullness of her spirit (1:7-10). Taking Orpah and Ruth with her, she set out to return to the promised land. The fact that Orpah and Ruth were accompanying her meant a most wonderful thing: they would soon be exposed to the message of the Lord, that He is the only living and true God. They would have the opportunity to be saved, to become believers and be identified with the people of God.

For this reason, Naomi should have been encouraging Orpah and Ruth to accompany her. But she soon began to discourage them. She pressed them to return home to their families. Her suggestion reveals a spiritual insensitivity, a spirit of dullness. She was using her influence to turn them away from God, not to God. She was suggesting that they return to the world of unbelievers and false worship. Why? Why did Naomi encourage her two daughters-in-law to return home? So they could remarry; so they could find comfort and security in the home of another husband. But their devotion to Naomi ran ever so deep. As she kissed them good-bye, they began to feel the pain of separation, weeping and declaring a deep sense of obligation to her. They professed they would stay with Naomi, going with her to her people (1:9-10).

2.  Now note Naomi's carnal, fleshly insistence that her two daughters-in-law return to their families (1:11-13). Three different times Naomi insisted that they return to Moab, the world of unbelievers and false worship (1:8, 11, 12). She even assured them of her prayers, that she would be praying for the Lord to show kindness to them even as they had shown kindness to her and her family (1:8). Then she used two arguments to support her case, doing all she could to convince Orpah and Ruth to return home:

Þ  First, she could not bear any more sons who could become their husbands (1:11-13). She was simply too old. Even if she did remarry and bear sons, Orpah and Ruth could not wait until the sons were old enough to marry.

Þ  Second, they should no longer suffer her bitter trials of sorrow and poverty, for they were severe. The very hand of God's chastisement had fallen upon her (1:13). Note that she attributed the bitter trials to God's hand of chastisement; she acknowledged that God was disciplining her.

The point is this: if Naomi had been living for the Lord, she would have been encouraging her daughters-in-law to give their lives to God and to continue the journey to the promised land. She would never have encouraged—certainly never insisted—that they return to their homes in Moab, that they return to the world of unbelievers and false worshipers. But tragically, Naomi was living a carnal, fleshly, disobedient life. Consequently, she did exactly what she should never have done: urged them to turn around, not to go with her to the promised land.

3.  Unfortunately, Naomi's insistence penetrated the mind and heart of Orpah. Orpah made the decision to return to Moab, to the world of heathen and idol worshipers. She had started out on the journey to the promised land with a broken heart and a deep sense of obligation. She had committed herself to continue the journey with Naomi, the journey that would have led her to the people of God, to the message of salvation in the living and true God. She was "not far from the kingdom of God" (Mark 12:34). But Orpah, this widow, made the wrong decision, the decision to return to the world of unbelievers and false worshipers (1:14).

(1:6) Visited— Looking after— Overseeing— Taking Care of: the word visited, blessed, or come to the aide of (paqad) means to oversee, look upon, inspect with either friendly or hostile intent. The word means far more than to visit a person for a brief period of time. It has the idea of actually inspecting, looking upon, examining for the purpose of rewarding or reprimanding. Robert L. Hubbard, Jr. says this: The verb paqad plays an important role in other Old Testament events. By using it here, the writer reminded readers of other "visits" by God.

Þ  God "looked after" barren Sarah and Hannah, and they conceived and gave birth (Genesis 21:1; 1 Samuel 2:21).

Þ  [God] 'looked after' Israel and Egypt—that is, He freed her from slavery as promised (Genesis 50:24-25; Exodus 3:16; 4:31).

Þ  Later, God promises to "look after" Israel by bringing her back from exile and providing her good leadership (Jeremiah 29:10; Zephaniah 2:7; Zechariah 3:10).

Thus, paqad recalled two significant things. First, it stressed that God still cared for His people. Second, it implied that He might yet turn this story's tragedy into triumph. In some, it said that God was still committed to doing good things for His people.  

2. Deception: trying to hide our mistakes (Ruth 1:6-18)

     God visited His faithful people in Bethlehem, but not His disobedient daughter in Moab. Naomi heard the report that the famine had ended; and when she heard the good news, she decided to return home. There is always “bread enough and to spare” when you are in the Father’s will (Luke 15:17, kjv). How sad it is when people only hear about God’s blessing, but never experience it, because they are not in the place where God can bless them.

Whenever we have disobeyed the Lord and departed from His will, we must confess our sin and return to the place of blessing. Abraham had to leave Egypt and go back to the altar he had abandoned (Gen. 13:1-4), and Jacob had to go back to Bethel (35:1). The repeated plea of the prophets to God’s people was that they turn from their sins and return to the Lord. “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return to the Lord, and He will have compassion on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon” (Isa. 55:7).

Naomi’s decision was right, but her motive was wrong. She was still interested primarily in food, not in fellowship with God. You don’t hear her confessing her sins to God and asking Him to forgive her. She was returning to her land but not to her Lord.

But something else was wrong in the way Naomi handled this decision: She did not want her two daughters-in-law to go with her. If it was right for Naomi to go to Bethlehem, where the true and living God was worshiped, then it was right for Orpah and Ruth to accompany her. Naomi should have said to them what Moses said to his father-in-law, “Come thou with us, and we will do thee good; for the Lord has spoken good concerning Israel” (Num. 10:29, kjv). Instead, Naomi tried to influence the two women to go back to their families and their false gods.

Why would a believing Jewess, a daughter of Abraham, encourage two pagan women to worship false gods? I may be wrong, but I get the impression that Naomi didn’t want to take Orpah and Ruth to Bethlehem because they were living proof that she and her husband had permitted their two sons to marry women from outside the covenant nation. In other words, Naomi was trying to cover up her disobedience. If she returned to Bethlehem alone, nobody would know that the family had broken the Law of Moses.

“He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy” (Prov. 28:13, nkjv). When we try to cover our sins, it’s proof that we really haven’t faced them honestly and judged them according to God’s Word. True repentance involves honest confession and a brokenness within. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise” (Ps. 51:17). Instead of brokenness, Naomi had bitterness.

The tragedy is that Naomi did not present the God of Israel in a positive way. In Ruth 1:13, she suggests that God was to blame for the sorrow and pain the three women had experienced. “It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord’s hand has gone out against me!” (v. 13, niv) In other words, “I’m to blame for all our trials, so why remain with me? Who knows what the Lord may do to me next?” Had Naomi been walking with the Lord, she could have won Orpah to the faith and brought two trophies of grace home to Bethlehem.

The testimony of Orpah (Ruth 1:11-14).

The two daughters-in-law started off with Naomi (v. 7), but she stopped them and urged them not to accompany her. She even prayed for them (vv. 8-9) that the Lord would be kind to them and find them new husbands and give them rest after all their sorrow. But of what value are the prayers of a backslidden believer? (Ps. 66:18) Three times Naomi told Orpah and Ruth to return (Ruth 1:8, 11-12).

When she saw them hesitating, Naomi began to reason with them. “I’m too old to have another husband and bear another family,” she said. “And even if I could bear more sons, do you want to waste these next years waiting for them to grow up? You could be in your mother’s house, with your family, enjoying life.”

Orpah was the weaker of the two sisters-in-law. She started to Bethlehem with Naomi, kissed her, and wept with her; yet she would not stay with her. She was “not far from the kingdom” (Mark 12:34, niv), but she made the wrong decision and turned back. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but we wonder whether her heart was really in it; for her decision proved that her heart was back home where she hoped to find a husband. Orpah left the scene and is never mentioned again in the Scriptures.

(Ruth 1:14-18 NIV)  At this they wept again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-by, but Ruth clung to her. {15} "Look," said Naomi, "your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her." {16} 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. {17} 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." {18} When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.

(Proverbs 17:17 NIV)  A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

(Hebrews 3:13 NIV)  But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.

(1:14-18) Decision, to Follow God— Commitment, to Follow God— Identity, with God's People— Decision, Example of— Ruth, Decision of— Conversion, Example of— Salvation, Example of: there was the decision by Ruth to wholeheartedly commit her life to the Lord and His people. Ruth's decision is one of the most memorable, powerful confessions in all of Scripture. In contrast to Orpah, Ruth made a magnificent confession of total commitment, a commitment that was to lead to her conversion and redemption.

1.  Ruth demonstrated a deep, undying sense of devotion. She loved Naomi and clung to her (1:15). In contrast to Orpah, she did not give up, but bluntly rejected Naomi's pleas for her to return to Moab. But Naomi continued to insist that Ruth return to her people and her gods, just as Orpah had done (1:15). However, Ruth refused to listen to her mother-in-law. Forcefully, Ruth insisted that Naomi back off, stop urging her to leave and turn back. And then Ruth made her memorable declaration—a stunning, profound commitment (1:16-17).

Was Ruth actually converted at this point, or was she converted earlier in Moab due to the belief of Naomi and her family? Or was she to be converted later, after arriving in the promised land? Scripture does not specifically say, but she had come to trust in the Lord and to take "refuge under His wings" by the time she met Boaz (2:12). Whatever the case, the startling and total commitment now declared by Ruth is a clear picture of conversion. She made three strong pledges:

First, she made a strong commitment to family (1:16). Technically, Ruth was now a part of Naomi's family, under her guardianship. Consequently, Ruth should have obeyed Naomi's urging to leave and return to Moab. But Ruth loved Naomi and was totally devoted to her. Thus, she insisted that Naomi stop urging her to return to her people. In a straightforward manner, she declared that she would not leave. But rather, she would go wherever Naomi went and stay wherever Naomi stayed (1:16). Her devotion compelled her to remain by Naomi's side, never leaving her.

Second, she made a strong commitment to God and to God's people (1:16). Unequivocally, she declares, "Your people will be my people and your God my God." By this statement, Ruth was renouncing her Moabite roots, the world of unbelievers and false worshipers. This included both her family and her citizenship in Moab. She was now putting her faith in the only living and true God, the Lord Himself. And she was determined to become identified with the people of God, the Israelites. What a strong, striking commitment—a willingness to forsake her own family in order to know the true and living God!

Third, Ruth declared that her commitment was until death; it was total, final, and unshakable. To this she swore or took an oath: where Naomi died, she would die, and there she would be buried (1:17). She would stay with Naomi and serve the living and true God until death. With this declaration, Naomi realized that Ruth's commitment was unshakable, set as though in concrete. Consequently, she accepted Ruth's decision (1:18).

Ruth's total commitment is a strong example for us. She was not indecisive or neutral; neither can we be. Our commitment can be no different than hers. Just as she made a total commitment to God and His people, so we must make a total commitment to Jesus Christ, to follow Him and to become identified with the people of God, the church.

1)  We must be totally, wholeheartedly committed to Jesus Christ.

 2)  We must make a strong commitment to identify with God's people, the church. We must never forsake God's people, but rather love and fellowship with them, humbly serving and ministering to them.

The testimony of Ruth (Ruth 1:15-18).

Naomi was trying to cover up; Orpah had given up, but Ruth was prepared to stand up! She refused to listen to her mother-in-law’s pleas or follow her sister-in-law’s bad example. Why? Because she had come to trust in the God of Israel (2:12). She had experienced trials and disappointments, but instead of blaming God, she had trusted Him and was not ashamed to confess her faith. In spite of the bad example of her disobedient in-laws, Ruth had come to know the true and living God; and she wanted to be with His people and dwell in His land.

Ruth’s conversion is evidence of the sovereign grace of God, for the only way sinners can be saved is by grace (Eph. 2:8-10). Everything within her and around her presented obstacles to her faith, and yet she trusted the God of Israel. Her background was against her, for she was from Moab where they worshiped the god Chemosh (Num. 21:29; 1 Kings 11:7, 33), who accepted human sacrifices (2 Kings 3:26-27) and encouraged immorality (Num. 25). Her circumstances were against her and could have made her bitter against the God of Israel. First, her father-in-law died, and then her husband and her brother-in-law; and she was left a widow without any support. If this is the way Jehovah God treats His people, why follow Him?

Ruth dearly loved her mother-in-law, but even Naomi was against her; for she urged Ruth to return to her family and her gods in Moab. Since Elimelech and Mahlon were now dead, Ruth was technically under the guardianship of Naomi; and she should have obeyed her mother-in-law’s counsel. But God intervened and graciously saved Ruth in spite of all these obstacles. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us” (Titus 3:5, nkjv). God delights in showing mercy (Micah 7:18), and often He shows His mercy to the least likely people in the least likely places. This is the sovereign grace of the God “who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4, kjv).

Ruth’s statement in Ruth 1:16-17 is one of the most magnificent confessions found anywhere in Scripture. First, she confessed her love for Naomi and her desire to stay with her mother-in-law even unto death. Then she confessed her faith in the true and living God and her decision to worship Him alone. She was willing to forsake father and mother (2:11) in order to cleave to Naomi and the God of her people. Ruth was steadfastly “determined” to accompany Naomi (1:18) and live in Bethlehem with God’s covenant people.

But there was a divine law that said, “An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the congregation of the Lord; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the congregation of the Lord forever” (Deut. 23:3, nkjv). This meant permanent exclusion. How then could Ruth enter into the congregation of the Lord? By trusting God’s grace and throwing herself completely on His mercy. Law excludes us from God’s family, but grace includes us if we put our faith in Christ.

When you read the genealogy of Jesus Christ in Matthew 4, you find the names of five women, four of whom have very questionable credentials: Tamar committed incest with her father-in-law (Gen. 38:3); Rahab was a Gentile harlot (Josh. 2:5); Ruth was an outcast Gentile Moabitess (Ruth 1:5); and “the wife of Uriah” was an adulteress (2 Sam. 11:6). How did they ever become a part of the family of the Messiah? Through the sovereign grace and mercy of God! God is “long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9, nkjv). (Mary is the fifth woman in the genealogy, and she was included because of God’s grace and her faith. See Luke 1:26-56.)

3. Bitterness: blaming God for our trials (Ruth 1:19-22)

The two widows probably visited the three graves of their loved ones for the last time before leaving Moab. Then they committed themselves to the Lord and set out to begin a new life. It would be interesting to know what Naomi and Ruth talked about as they journeyed from Moab to Bethlehem. Did Naomi give her daughter-in-law some basic instruction in the Law of Moses? Did Ruth ask questions about the Jewish faith, the Jewish people, and her new home in Bethlehem? We wonder what kind of answers Naomi would have given since she was a bitter woman with a faltering faith in the God of Israel.

Naomi had been away from home for ten years, and the women of the town were shocked when they saw her. (In v. 19, the pronoun of “they said” is feminine.) Their question “Is this Naomi?” suggests both surprise and bewilderment. The name Naomi means “pleasant,” but she was not living up to her name. She was not the Naomi whom they had known a decade before. Her ten difficult years in Moab, and the sorrows they had brought, had taken their toll on Naomi’s appearance and personality. Instead of making her better, the trials of life had made her bitter, which is the meaning of the word mara.

We can’t control the circumstances of life, but we can control how we respond to them. That’s what faith is all about, daring to believe that God is working everything for our good even when we don’t feel like it or see it happening. “In everything give thanks” (1 Thes. 5:18) isn’t always easy to obey, but obeying this command is the best antidote against a bitter and critical spirit. The Scottish preacher George H. Morrison said, “Nine-tenths of our unhappiness is selfishness, and is an insult cast in the face of God.” Because Naomi was imprisoned by selfishness, she was bitter against God.

To begin with, she accused the Lord of dealing very bitterly with her (Ruth 1:20). She had left Bethlehem with a husband and two sons and had come home without them. She had gone to Moab possessing the necessities of life, but now she had returned home having nothing. She was a woman with empty hands, an empty home, and an empty heart. Because she didn’t surrender to the Lord and accept His loving chastening, she did not experience “the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (Heb. 12:11).

Not only had the Lord dealt bitterly with her, but He had also testified against her in these afflictions (Ruth 1:21). Is this Naomi’s confession of sin, her admission that she and her family had sinned in going to Moab? Is she hinting that they deserved all that they had suffered? Twice Naomi called God “the Almighty,” which is the Hebrew name El Shaddai, “the All-powerful One” (vv. 20-21). It’s one thing to know God’s name and quite something else to trust that name and allow God to work in the difficult situations of life. “And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You” (Ps. 9:10, nkjv). Naomi knew the name but did not exercise the faith.

But was Naomi really that poor and empty? Or was she simply exaggerating her situation because she was weary of body and bitter of soul? Just think of the resources she had that should have encouraged her.

For one thing, she had life; and this in itself is a precious gift from God—a gift we too often take for granted. Naomi left three graves back in Moab, but God in His goodness had kept her alive and brought her back to Bethlehem. “Fear not that your life shall come to an end,” said John Henry Newman, “but rather that it shall never have a beginning.” Naomi thought that life had ended for her, but her trials were really a new beginning. Naomi’s faith and hope were about to die, but God had other plans for her!

Naomi not only had life, but she also had opportunity. She was surrounded by friends, all of whom wanted the very best for her. At first, her sorrow and bitterness isolated her from the community, but gradually that changed. Instead of sitting looking gloomily at a wall, she finally decided to look out the window; and then she got up and opened the door! When the night is the darkest, if we look up, we can still see the stars.

One of Naomi’s richest resources was her daughter-in-law Ruth. In fact, it is Ruth whom God used and blessed throughout the rest of this book; for Ruth was a woman who trusted God and was totally committed to Him. Naomi soon learned that God’s hand of blessing was on this young woman and that He would accomplish great things through her obedience.

But most of all, Naomi still had Jehovah, the God of Israel. The Lord is mentioned about twenty-five times in this brief book, for He is the Chief Actor in this drama whether Naomi realized it or not. “I firmly believe in Divine Providence,” said President Woodrow Wilson. “Without it, I think I should go crazy. Without God the world would be a maze without a clue.” When we fear God, we need not fear anything else. On his deathbed, John Wesley said, “Best of all, God is with us!” God is not only with us, but He is also for us; and “if God be for us, who can be against us?” (Rom. 8:31, kjv)

It was barley harvest when the two widows arrived in Bethlehem, a time when the community expressed joy and praise to God for His goodness. It was spring, a time of new life and new beginning. Alexander Whyte often told his Edinburgh congregation that the victorious Christian life is “a series of new beginnings,” and he was right. Naomi was about to make a new beginning; for with God, it’s never too late to start over again.

Are you trusting God for your new beginning? After all, with God at your side, your resources are far greater than your burdens.

TYPES, SYMBOLS, AND PICTURES

(Ruth 1:6-22)