Lessons Learned from... Ruth (Part 1)

The previous article in this series was Part 1 about Naomi. This current article (Part 1 on Ruth) builds upon that one but does carry its own lessons learned.

Scripture Reference: Ruth 1

We first meet Ruth when it’s told that she married one of Naomi’s two sons (Ruth 1:4). She was married for about ten years, verse 4 says, but we aren’t given any emotions for that time. Was Ruth happy, content, dissatisfied or anything in between? We have not a clue.

The next verse tells us that her husband and brother-in-law both perish. The focus in this verse is upon Naomi, but I must wonder what heartache Ruth and her sister-in-law (by marriage), Orpah, must have experienced as well. To have their husbands, their security stripped from them so suddenly surely knocked them into a spurt of insecurity and lack of confidence in their futures. What an unsettling time!

Ruth then went with her mother-in-law and Orpah away from her home country of Moab toward Naomi’s homeland of Judah, which was a foreign land to Ruth. That journey might have been overwhelming and a little terrifying for her, as she’d most likely not traveled that far or to that particular land before this time in her life. The people of Judah would have carried much different beliefs than she, as we see evidenced in a later verse in this same chapter. They possibly looked different too. Heading away from everything familiar would have been scary for a variety of reasons, and knowing she might be made fun of for being different when she arrived at the destination may have been a worry for her as well.

Yet, she accompanied her mother-in-law on the journey anyway. That took courage and bravery. It also took conviction and determination. Anything less, and she would have turned around to go back to where she was comfortable. It’s so much easier to remain where it’s comfortable, where we know what to expect. But to step out in faith and try something new when we know very little or even nothing about it… That takes gumption.

When Naomi paused to encourage her daughters-in-law to return each to their mother’s house and to await the Lord’s direction on whom they should next marry, Orpah and Ruth both “lifted up their voices and wept” and said to her, “Surely we will return with you to your people” (Ruth 1:8-10). This was an expression of loyalty and fondness for their husbands’ mother, whom they’d come to know well over the past decade.

Naomi was insistent, claiming neither young lady would wait for her to have more sons or for those sons to grow to adulthood to marry the women. Finally, Orpah chose to return to her mother’s home (Ruth 1:11-14).

Ruth, however, “clung to” her mother-in-law (Ruth 1:14). Even though, in verse 15, Naomi encouraged her a third time to leave her, saying, “Look your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law,” Ruth refused to leave Naomi’s side.

“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. 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.’”

Ruth 1:16-17 nkj

Talk about loyalty! Ruth chose not only to devote herself to Naomi but also to Naomi’s God, the God of Israel, the One Who created everything. This, I believe, was Ruth’s salvation experience (even though salvation through Christ wasn’t invented until after His ministry in the New Testament; this was when Ruth began believing in the One True God). I also admire the choice to be loyal to Naomi despite that meaning that Ruth would leave behind everything she knew and was comfortable with. That type of loyalty is rare and beautiful.

Since Ruth was so determined to travel with Naomi, the latter finally agreed to allow the former to travel along (Ruth 1:18), so they went to Judah together, stopping in a town called Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest, which will become important in a later chapter of Ruth’s book and story (Ruth 1:19-22).

Loyalty in our most distressing times can be tricky to find or exhibit, because negative emotions can be so cloying and overwhelming. Grief, especially, may be quite debilitating. Yet, in the midst of her sorrow, Ruth showed incredible fortitude and loyalty both to her mother-in-law and the God her mother-in-law served. This was a great sign of Ruth’s strong character, and it’s something we could all study and learn to live out, with the guidance of our Lord.

Lessons Learned

* When life takes a devastating turn, our loyalty should remain with God, or, if we have not yet discovered Him, it should turn to Him. He guides us in times of trouble, as He did Ruth once she lost her husband to death.

* Even when people attempt to shake our resolution with encouragements to turn and go back, if we feel convicted by God to move forward on a thing, we should let nothing deter us from pursuing it.

* When we face the unknown things of our future (job changes; moving to a new city, state, or country; or losing a loved one; for example), we should dig deep into our character and find a new dose of courage and bravery. By relying on God for this character trait to be instilled in us, we are sure to gain the strength we need to step out in faith, with courage, to follow His lead into uncharted territory.

How may you apply these lessons to your daily life this week?

Click to tweet.

The next article in the Lessons Learned blog series will be on Writing to Inspire on Monday, April 22.