This is a summary of the Biblical account of the lives of Ruth and Naomi. 2) She didn’t seek personal gain in her choice. Imagine Ruth noticing that the afternoon shadows had lengthened, then looking at her mother-in-law and wondering if it was time to find a place to rest for the night. Loyal love​—the kind of love that holds on to its object and simply refuses to let go—​is a powerful force for good in this darkening world. And she lived with her mother-in-law. 14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here. Ruth too was grieving. 30, 31. She asked him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me – a foreigner?” I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. (See also the box “ A Masterpiece in Miniature.”) First, let us consider how those two women came to be on that long road to Bethlehem. 19 So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. After they had lived there about ten years, If Naomi was concerned or disappointed, she evidently made sure that she showed her daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah, genuine kindness and love. 6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do. She gave her son as a husband to Ruth and then led Ruth to another husband. Ruth gets her happily ever after by marrying Boaz, but there is also the love that Ruth shows to Naomi by refusing to abandon her. Was that how Ruth felt? “Where You Go I Shall Go”, Publication download options 13 Finally, Naomi spoke up: “Go, return each one to the house of her mother. The love that Ruth felt was so strong and so loyal that she would stick with Naomi wherever she went. She also became the great-grandmother of King David, and in that way she was also an ancestor of Jesus Christ Himself. 16 Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her.” 12, 13. She had shared loneliness, anxiety and grief with Naomi, and now that the older woman was completely alone, Ruth would not abandon her. Boaz saw her and asked the young foreman who she was. 2 Now Boaz, with whose women you have worked, is a relative of ours. There the Scriptures say -- without apology, embarrassment, or qualification -- that Ruth felt the same way toward Naomi as spouses are supposed to feel toward each other. The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.” Yet, Ruth kept at it, stopping only to wipe the sweat from her brow and to eat a simple lunch in “the house”​—likely a shelter set up to provide shade for the workers. Ruth, in turn, could understand and give godly compassion and strength back to her. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab() 2 The man’s name was Elimelek, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion() They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah That, in fact, was why Ruth first came into contact with Mahlon and his family.​—Ruth 1:1. Selfless Love. In return for this commitment, Ruth the Moabite was welcomed into the story of God’s people. 9 Naomi, for her part, was eager for news of her homeland. Naomi and her family, it seems, had once been quite prominent in that little town, for the whole place was buzzing with the news of Naomi’s return. Surely, though, each found in the company of the other some measure of comfort in the face of grief. RUTH walked beside Naomi on a road that stretched across the high, windswept plains of Moab. She gratefully accepted and applied wise advice about how to work safely and in good company. The transforming power of divine love is the best argument for the truth. (Num. 12 Through the offspring the Lord gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.”. “I am your servant Ruth,” she said. (Read 1 John 4:7, 8, 20.) She pledged her life to her mother-in-law; it was an ultimate display of love. Jehovah ruled through love, not terror. (b) What can we learn from the tragedies that befell Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah? In the ancient Near East in those days, widows were treated badly. We don’t know what stirrings caused her to cling to her impoverished Hebrew mother-in-law, Naomi, so adamantly. 1, 2. (b) What challenges did Naomi face in Moab? How, though, did Jehovah provide for Ruth and Naomi? (b) How did Ruth’s journey differ from that of Naomi? 10 I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from his hometown. Ruth was venturing into the unknown, leaving her own kin, her homeland, and all its customs​—including its gods—​behind her.​—Read Ruth 1:3-6. Doing the right thing isn’t always easy. 3. 17 So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. “Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a guardian-redeemer of our family.” 3 Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes. The book of Ruth is a love story in more ways than one. The Interpreter’s Bible comments: “The writer thus emphasizes that this foreigner is a follower of the true God.”, ^ par. Ruth was willing to do hard, humble work to provide for herself and Naomi. Verses 16-17 record Ruth's loyal love: … They were alone now, two tiny figures in a vast landscape. Naomi was going home. Ruth and Naomi are not the sort of heroines you’d expect: Despite this, these two women survive and thrive. 22 Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David. Lie here until morning.” Ruth reminds us that even during dark and seemingly insurmountable circumstances, when doubts about God overwhelm us, God’s love for us is sure. 10 and said to her, “We will go back with you to your people.”, 11 But Naomi said, “Return home, my daughters. Doing the Right Thing Often Takes Great Sacrifice. She chanced upon the fields of a man named Boaz, a wealthy landowner and a relative of Naomi’s dead husband, Elimelech. It is a story about a family that lived during the time when Israel had judges. Ruth also brought out and gave her what she had left over after she had eaten enough. 24:19-21. 12 Although it is true that I am a guardian-redeemer of our family, there is another who is more closely related than I. 15 “Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. 29 How those words must have encouraged Ruth! As we cultivate that kind of love, we are imitating the outstanding example of Ruth. No, my daughters. Read about more fascinating women of the Bible, Ruth – Bible Woman – Women of the Old Testament; Bible Study Resource Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar.” When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her. Your widowed sister-in-law has returned to her people and her gods. 13 would you wait until they grew up? 8 In the middle of the night something startled the man; he turned—and there was a woman lying at his feet!

Honeysuckle Italian Turkey Sausage, Triton 20xs Top Speed, Fiji Mermaid British Museum, 12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery, Totino's Cheese Pizza Rolls,