Ruth. Faithful, Obedient, and Blessed

The story of Ruth begins with Naomi. And it begins rather sad. Naomi's husband Elimelech dies. She is left with her two sons, Mahlon and Chilion. Both take wives, Orpah and Ruth, who were Moabites. Then Naomi's two sons die and she is left with just her daughters in law. Naomi then proclaims she is changing her name to Mara, which means bitter. Her loss was that great. She then urges her daughters in law to go back to their mothers house. Orpah decided to go, but Ruth decided to stay and remain faithful to Naomi till death. 

The Faithful Ruth

But Ruth clung to her. And she said, “See, your sister- in- law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister- in- law.” But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where 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. Ruth 1:14-17

Ruth was determined to stay with her mother in law till death. She obviously loved this woman dearly. 

Would we be considered loyal or faithful women? I would argue that women today lack this description. Yes, they may be faithful to their immediate families, but it ends there (and some are not even faithful to their families). Women today are selfish, empowered by the feminist movement, determined to make a name for themselves (not always a bad thing when perspective is kept right), seeking gratification. 

What does it mean to be faithful? It is a giving of yourself in order to lift up another higher than yourself. When I think of faithfulness, the first thing that comes to my mind is the heart of a servant. Willing to put their desires aside in order to fulfill the desires of another. 

As a wife and mother, this is hard to do! No, you wouldn't look at me and say I am unfaithful to my family. But how many times as women do we put our desires above those of our children and husbands? Even the longing for selfishness is unfaithfulness. Does that mean that we don't need time to ourselves? No! We need moments everyday where we can get a few moments to ourselves. Whether that is to spend time in God's Word, enjoying a cup of coffee as we seek God. We need those moments in order to be better wives and mothers. What I am talking about is sacrificing time with our husbands or children to pursue selfish things. That could be spending too much time out with your girlfriends (not a bad thing to spend time with girlfriends, but when your family suffers at the expense of Mommy having a good time then your being unfaithful), spending too much money on things for yourself, letting the house go unclean, not spending quality time with your children or spouse, and neglecting your responsibilities in the home. All point to unfaithfulness. 

Ruth gave up everything to be faithful to her mother in law after her husband died. And God blessed her for it! 

The Obedient Ruth

Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.” Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother- in- law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” Ruth 2:8-12

Ruth decided to work in the fields to help Naomi. Ruth decided to work in the fields of Boaz, who was a relative of Naomi's husband. While she was working in the fields, Boaz saw her and immediately took an interest in her. He instructs her not to leave his field for her own protection, as I am sure she was beautiful and if she went somewhere else she would not have the protection Boaz could promise. She obeys. Boaz also has noticed her faithfulness to her mother in law. Boaz makes a point of providing for her because of her faithfulness and obedience. 

She then goes back to Naomi and brings her the barley she had worked for and even the rest of the food she was given. She explains to Naomi how she had worked for Boaz. 

Then Naomi her mother- in- law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you? Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.” And she replied, “All that you say I will do.” Ruth 3:1-5

Ruth obeyed Naomi even in this. What Ruth did was the equivalent of asking Boaz to take her as his wife. Which would redeem her family. 

The Blessed Ruth

 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter- in- law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. Ruth 4:13-17

Boaz chose to redeem Ruth and took her to be his wife. He saw her faithfulness and her obedience. He knew she would be a faithful and obedient wife to him. God richly blessed Ruth. She gave birth to a son whose name was Obed. Obed was the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David! Jesus was born into the lineage of David! 

How will your faithfulness and obedience influence your heritage? Will God richly bless you? We need to strive to be faithful, and obedient women! Obedient to God, our husbands and obedient to any other authority that God places into our lives! Let us strive to instill faithfulness and obedience into future generations as well!