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.
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.
Having heard that God has blessed her homeland, Naomi plans to go home to Bethlehem still in her pitiful condition. Even with the good news, she doesn't believe she will be blessed there.The girl, Ruth, knows the same distress that Naomi is going through. She's a widow and she's poor. She's as empty as Naomi. But Ruth has a different goal than Naomi.
Ruth ignores Naomi’s declaration that God has not blessed her and instead makes her own declaration. "I want to go to Bethlehem and worship the God of Israel."
She’s determined to live in Israel and worship their God. And further proof she has come to trust in the LORD as her Savior is recorded in verse 17 when she takes an oath in His name that only death will ever separate her and Naomi.
Ruth’s promise is a wonderful proof of a transformed life in Jesus. God has drawn Ruth to Himself. We know He has saved Ruth because she declares the LORD, God is now her God no matter what. She changed from idolatry to worship the true and living God. If anyone truly seeks to know God, God will come to them and introduce Himself.
Despite Naomi's urging her to stay in Moab, Ruth has set a life-changing goal. Because of that, Ruth is enjoying eternity with God right now.
Ruth's beautiful refusal say's to her Mother-in-law, "I'm making a change and nothing you say can change my mind. We're both going to Bethlehem!"
A person trusting Christ the LORD will trust Him even through the unknown. Ruth had no promise of anything from God. From Naomi's depressed attitude, it seems she hadn’t told Ruth of God’s provision, God’s love, or God’s protection, yet Ruth believes it.
Ruth left the familiarity of her home, her country and her native people because she trusted God to replace all of it. She didn't know what her new life would be like but she knew God would take care of her no matter what happened.
Good advice from Ruth's refusal to stay behind is this: When repenting, don’t just stop doing something, but leave it far behind. And our loyalty shouldn’t hinge on the character of the person we love.
What has God replaced in your new life as a Christian that you once thought was so important in your former life?
# #
If not commenting here, for your convenience, please use this link to place comments: SusanEstesRecommends/Facebook
No comments:
Post a Comment