May the Lord Deal With Me

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.” (Ruth 1:16-18, NIV 1984).

My Musings – First, a little background. “In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man [Elimelech] from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife [Naomi] and two sons [Mahlon and Kilion], went to live for a while in the country of Moab. Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, both [her sons] also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.” (Ruth 1:1-5, NIV 1984).

A widow, living in a foreign country, with no male offspring in a patriarchal culture where women are dependent upon men for their provision, care and welfare. Left with only daughters-in-laws, Naomi “left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.” (Ruth 1:7, NIV 1984). She had “heard in Moab that the Lord had come to the aid of his people by providing food.” (Ruth 1:6, NIV 1984). With the famine ended, returning to Judah where she had relatives offered the best prospects for her.

But what about the daughters-in-law? How would they be received and cared for in a land and culture that was foreign to them? So, “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.'” (Ruth 1:8-9, NIV 1984). Clearly, the prospects of finding a new husband to care for them would be much more promising in their own country. Orpah returned, but Ruth insisted on going with Naomi to Judah. Even if it meant she would never find another husband.

Clearly, Naomi had left a deep and lasting impression on Ruth. Behind the scenes, God was at work. Ruth would eventually marry and have a son. “And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.” (Ruth 4:17, NIV 1984). So, what you may ask? What is the significance of this? Well, “Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son [Jesus]. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:4-7, NIV 1984).

Now you know, the rest of the story. “Your people will be my people.“

My Advice – Naomi obviously lived a good life among the Moabites to have such an impression on Ruth. Though she could not know that her distant descendant would be the Messiah, and likely never knew her great-grandson would become King, the results were profound. What is not stated is that Ruth must have made an impression on God for Him to orchestrate things so. Just like He chose Mary, He chose Ruth.

We too must “live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” (1 Peter 2:12, NIV 1984). We have no idea what God may be orchestrating through how we live our lives. The world is watching. Some who are watching you may decide that your God [Savior], will be their God [Savior]. You never know.