‏ Ruth 1:16-17

The ‘Creed’ of Ruth

Ruth declares that she will stay with Naomi. She has seen something in Naomi that has touched her heart. She doesn’t know what the consequences of her decision will be for her, but her choice is clear. She asks Naomi to stop urging her to leave. She is determined to be wherever Naomi is and to have fellowship with her people and her God. This is where faith leads to.

In seven statements she indicates that she does not only want to be a foreigner in Naomi’s land, but that she wants to commit herself to it forever. It is a creed that must make a great impression on us. It shows a state of heart that makes us envious. We can apply this to our attachment to the Lord Jesus and our fellow believers and to our stay in the world.

1. “Where you go, I will go, …”. This indicates an unconditional following. Is it not the wish of every believer who loves the Lord Jesus to follow Him in an unconditional manner (Rev 14:4b)?

2. “… and where you lodge, I will lodge”. By the rejection of the Lord Jesus it is night in the world. In this position the believer finds himself (Rom 13:11-14; 1Thes 5:4-7; Jn 13:30). But in the heart of the believer shines the morning star (2Pet 1:19) as the harbinger of the day that will come when the Lord Jesus will shine as the Sun of righteousness (Mal 4:2).

3. “Your people [shall be] my people …”. She declares herself one with the people of Naomi, even though they are still so unfaithful. She doesn’t select the people with whom she wants to connect herself. It is also important for us who belong to the church to realize that we have not chosen our brothers and sisters ourselves, but that the Lord has given them to us.

4. “… and your God, my God.” Above all, she chooses the God of Naomi. With this she says goodbye to the idols of Moab forever.

5. “Where you die, I will die …” Her attachment is so great that she not only wants to share in Naomi’s life, but she also wants to share death with her. This is a proof of true connectedness. For us, we died with Christ. The place of our death is the cross. True attachment to one another becomes reality to the extent that we personally prove that I am crucified with Christ (Gal 2:20). This means the end of a selfish life.

6. “… and there I will be buried.” This means the radical end of the bond between the world and the believer. Whoever is buried has disappeared from the world. This is expressed in baptism (Rom 6:4). But burial also has to do with the future. Burying is sowing. One is buried in view of the resurrection. Being buried and being resurrected belong together (1Cor 15:4). Ruth does not want to be buried in Moab when she dies. Where Naomi is buried, there she wants to be buried, for there they will rise up together to live in the promised blessing.

7. “… if [anything but] death parts you and me.” Ruth draws the full consequence from all her previous statements. The only thing that can bring separation between her and Naomi on earth is death. She does not talk about any expectations she has of her mother-in-law. She does not impose any conditions on her attachment to Naomi. Her commitment to Naomi is a proof of a faith that goes beyond what becomes visible from God in a member of God’s people.

The seven statements Ruth makes can be divided into a group of four and a group of three. The first four statements have to do with the way of faith in a world where it is night, but also where God’s people are present and where God Himself is our help. The last three statements all have to do with death. If death is taken into account, the flesh, the self, is not given the chance to assert itself.

Only those who have died and been buried can live real life. Only physical death puts an end to this life on earth. Ruth does not want to go with Naomi as a stranger to the land of God, to stay there for a while and then go back to Moab. She wants to stay there forever.

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