Rut 1:7-17 | KingComments | STEP | After the prehistory in the previous verses, the actual story now begins. This story is mainly given in the form of conversations. More than three-quarters of the book consists of conversations. The first conversation starts in . The reason is Naomi’s return to the land of Judah. With this she gives in to the longing that the LORD has worked in her heart. Here too she resembles the prodigal son who stands up and goes back after his remembrance of home ( ). When she leaves Moab, her two daughters-in-law go with her. They have somehow become attached to Naomi. The young women are not frivolous women. Although they are free to marry someone else, they still want to stay with Naomi. Once they are on their way, Naomi suddenly considers that her daughters-in-law have no future in the land she is going to. She doesn’t want them to come and tells them to go back. Because of their Moabite nationality they have no future in her land. They had better go back “each of you to her mother’s house”. There they have enjoyed their Moabite education and from there they just have to start a new life. Naomi no longer has a view of the God of Israel, the only, true God. Her daughters-in-law have come into contact with Him through their marriage. Although there must not have been much to see of Him, there must have been something visible. However, Naomi has become bitter, and for the women, life with her boys has turned out to be a great disappointment. Can she still warm up for that God? Can she tell her daughters-in-law with warmth about that God? She advises them to remarry and have children. In this way they “may find rest, each in the house of her husband”, Naomi thinks. This means that Naomi sends them back to the world where there is no place for the true God. It may be that she does so because she is very disappointed in God. She may return to her native land, but that is because she knows deep inside that she belongs there, rather than she is motivated by a longing for the LORD. She has to get to know the LORD again. Now that she has heard that there is food in Israel again, she sees no more reason to stay in Moab. Although she is disappointed in the LORD, she still gives her daughters-in-law His blessings. This shows that, despite disappointment, she still clings to Him. At the same time, it appears that her thoughts about Him are confused. Her statement sounds pious and her wish is sincere, but it is an impossibility, for how can the LORD bless a life in idolatry? This confusion is often present in someone who has deviated and is on the way back, but has not yet been restored into fellowship with the Lord. From the past there is a certain knowledge of the Lord, but there is no longer clarity about the conditions attached to living in fellowship with Him. Fortunately, the Lord has patience with someone who is returning back from darkness on the way to light. He will make the light shine brighter and brighter ( ). This will become clear in Naomi’s life. In the way that Naomi goes from darkness to light, we also see the way that Israel will go in the future. From the darkness of the great tribulation the light will start to shine for the remnant when they come face to face with their once rejected Messiah. The day will come for them when the Messiah will shine brightly as the “sun of righteousness” ( ). The testimony Naomi gives of her daughters-in-law is beautiful and to be envious of. Both women loved their husbands and they also loved Naomi. There are also people today who, although unbelieving, are committed to good family relations. That is praiseworthy and will be blessed by the Lord. If men observe any institution of the Lord, this will have a beneficial effect on the relationships between them. The abandonment of, or even consciously breaking with the family bonds established by God, will chill the climate of interaction between people. Naomi’s proposal shows that her religious life is still on the back burner. She is on the way back to the LORD, but she is far from being able to help others to find that way and to go that way. There is nothing by which she can encourage them to seek the LORD. On the contrary, she discourages her daughters-in-law from joining her. A few times she mentions the name of the LORD, but that cannot conceal the fact that she eventually wants to send her daughters-in-law back to their idols ( ). Would she be ashamed to arrive in Bethlehem with two Moabite daughters-in-law? She can imagine what people will think. No, they can’t come along. When a believer has gone astray, he suffers damage to his own soul. Those who live outside of fellowship with God cannot help others to find Him either. A backslidden believer is more of a stumbling block than a help for anyone to find the Lord. Such a life is not a testimony to the Name of the Lord. The Christian testimony has collapsed and no longer attracts because the Christian testimony has waxed cold in the pursuit of their own interests. Christ is not central, but one’s own self. Christians living this way can only say to others that they should stay where they are. Their own life with Christ radiates nothing. The disappointment they have experienced in their path of deviation and the bitterness resulting from it, are not yet overcome. Only when the soul has been fully restored in the fellowship with the Lord and all that is wrong has been confessed a clear testimony can be given again. When Naomi has finished her advice, she kisses her daughters-in-law. It only stirs up strong emotions in her daughters-in-law, attached as they are to their mother-in-law. With tears they assure her that they will go with her to her people. It is almost impossible to understand, but instead of agreeing, Naomi again makes frantic attempts to keep them from their intention. The first time she has pointed out their origins and the future in their own country ( ). With the second attempt she points out that there is nothing more that binds them to her and that there is no change to be expected for the future either. She makes it clear that the women should not expect her to make any contribution to a life that is meaningful to them. She declares any hope of it unfounded. Everything is worse for her even than for them because she is dealing with a God Who is against her. It is as if she is saying to her daughters-in-law: ‘It’s better not to have to deal with such a God.’ Thus, she gives a very wrong impression of the LORD. She blames Him for all her difficulties. As if it is His hand that has brought her to Moab, and not her and her husband’s self-willed choice. That God is a God full of goodness and grace, even for strangers, does not arise in her mind.

‏ Ruth 1:7-17

Naomi and Her Daughters-In-Law

After the prehistory in the previous verses, the actual story now begins. This story is mainly given in the form of conversations. More than three-quarters of the book consists of conversations. The first conversation starts in Rth 1:8. The reason is Naomi’s return to the land of Judah. With this she gives in to the longing that the LORD has worked in her heart. Here too she resembles the prodigal son who stands up and goes back after his remembrance of home (Lk 15:20a).

When she leaves Moab, her two daughters-in-law go with her. They have somehow become attached to Naomi. The young women are not frivolous women. Although they are free to marry someone else, they still want to stay with Naomi. Once they are on their way, Naomi suddenly considers that her daughters-in-law have no future in the land she is going to. She doesn’t want them to come and tells them to go back. Because of their Moabite nationality they have no future in her land. They had better go back “each of you to her mother’s house”. There they have enjoyed their Moabite education and from there they just have to start a new life.

Naomi no longer has a view of the God of Israel, the only, true God. Her daughters-in-law have come into contact with Him through their marriage. Although there must not have been much to see of Him, there must have been something visible. However, Naomi has become bitter, and for the women, life with her boys has turned out to be a great disappointment. Can she still warm up for that God? Can she tell her daughters-in-law with warmth about that God? She advises them to remarry and have children. In this way they “may find rest, each in the house of her husband”, Naomi thinks.

This means that Naomi sends them back to the world where there is no place for the true God. It may be that she does so because she is very disappointed in God. She may return to her native land, but that is because she knows deep inside that she belongs there, rather than she is motivated by a longing for the LORD. She has to get to know the LORD again. Now that she has heard that there is food in Israel again, she sees no more reason to stay in Moab.

Although she is disappointed in the LORD, she still gives her daughters-in-law His blessings. This shows that, despite disappointment, she still clings to Him. At the same time, it appears that her thoughts about Him are confused. Her statement sounds pious and her wish is sincere, but it is an impossibility, for how can the LORD bless a life in idolatry?

This confusion is often present in someone who has deviated and is on the way back, but has not yet been restored into fellowship with the Lord. From the past there is a certain knowledge of the Lord, but there is no longer clarity about the conditions attached to living in fellowship with Him. Fortunately, the Lord has patience with someone who is returning back from darkness on the way to light. He will make the light shine brighter and brighter (Pro 4:18). This will become clear in Naomi’s life.

In the way that Naomi goes from darkness to light, we also see the way that Israel will go in the future. From the darkness of the great tribulation the light will start to shine for the remnant when they come face to face with their once rejected Messiah. The day will come for them when the Messiah will shine brightly as the “sun of righteousness” (Mal 4:2).

The testimony Naomi gives of her daughters-in-law is beautiful and to be envious of. Both women loved their husbands and they also loved Naomi. There are also people today who, although unbelieving, are committed to good family relations. That is praiseworthy and will be blessed by the Lord. If men observe any institution of the Lord, this will have a beneficial effect on the relationships between them. The abandonment of, or even consciously breaking with the family bonds established by God, will chill the climate of interaction between people.

Naomi’s proposal shows that her religious life is still on the back burner. She is on the way back to the LORD, but she is far from being able to help others to find that way and to go that way. There is nothing by which she can encourage them to seek the LORD. On the contrary, she discourages her daughters-in-law from joining her.

A few times she mentions the name of the LORD, but that cannot conceal the fact that she eventually wants to send her daughters-in-law back to their idols (Rth 1:15). Would she be ashamed to arrive in Bethlehem with two Moabite daughters-in-law? She can imagine what people will think. No, they can’t come along.

When a believer has gone astray, he suffers damage to his own soul. Those who live outside of fellowship with God cannot help others to find Him either. A backslidden believer is more of a stumbling block than a help for anyone to find the Lord. Such a life is not a testimony to the Name of the Lord. The Christian testimony has collapsed and no longer attracts because the Christian testimony has waxed cold in the pursuit of their own interests. Christ is not central, but one’s own self.

Christians living this way can only say to others that they should stay where they are. Their own life with Christ radiates nothing. The disappointment they have experienced in their path of deviation and the bitterness resulting from it, are not yet overcome. Only when the soul has been fully restored in the fellowship with the Lord and all that is wrong has been confessed a clear testimony can be given again.

When Naomi has finished her advice, she kisses her daughters-in-law. It only stirs up strong emotions in her daughters-in-law, attached as they are to their mother-in-law. With tears they assure her that they will go with her to her people. It is almost impossible to understand, but instead of agreeing, Naomi again makes frantic attempts to keep them from their intention. The first time she has pointed out their origins and the future in their own country (Rth 1:8). With the second attempt she points out that there is nothing more that binds them to her and that there is no change to be expected for the future either.

She makes it clear that the women should not expect her to make any contribution to a life that is meaningful to them. She declares any hope of it unfounded. Everything is worse for her even than for them because she is dealing with a God Who is against her. It is as if she is saying to her daughters-in-law: ‘It’s better not to have to deal with such a God.’

Thus, she gives a very wrong impression of the LORD. She blames Him for all her difficulties. As if it is His hand that has brought her to Moab, and not her and her husband’s self-willed choice. That God is a God full of goodness and grace, even for strangers, does not arise in her mind.

The Choice of Orpah and Ruth

Then we see God in His sovereignty using Naomi’s persistent misrepresentation of affairs to test the faith of Orpah and Ruth. Her discouragements reveal the state of the heart of each of them. The considerations are made and the decision falls. Both women weep again, but now they are no longer saying that they will both go with Naomi to her people (Rth 1:10). Orpah chooses to go back and follows Naomi’s bad advice. She looks no further than life on earth. She lacks the faith that makes a person look further and deeper than what he can superficially discern.

Orpah gives Naomi expressions of love by kissing her; Ruth gives Naomi her heart. The faith that is lacking in Orpah is present in Ruth. It is remarkable how much Ruth has been attracted to Naomi. This is only possible because she has seen the presence of God in Naomi’s life. Ruth has looked deeper than the miserable state in which Naomi ended up. She even looks through the words Naomi speaks that are meant to keep her from God.

It makes Ruth’s faith all the clearer. She does not believe because of Naomi, but despite of Naomi. After all, how tragic it is that Naomi once again says to Ruth that she should follow her sister-in-law to her people and her gods! However, Ruth’s faith sees right through everything behind Naomi a God Whom she also wants to know as her God because this is the only true God. That’s why she doesn’t turn away from Naomi, but rather clings to her.

Orpah looks at what she left and therefore returns. Ruth is looking forward to where she is going and that’s why she goes with Naomi. She goes in faith. She is one of those from whom it is written: “And indeed if they had been thinking of that [country] from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better [country], that is, a heavenly one” (Heb 11:15-16). This is incomprehensible to unbelief because all circumstances are against her.

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.