Ruth 1:15-18 (ESV)
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. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.”
And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.
And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.”
Ruth 1:15, ESV
Follow Orpah
• Naomi has not finished attempting to return to Bethlehem alone
• So she focuses on Orpah
• One can imagine seeing Orpah in the distance as she says, “follow your sister-in-law”
• Her people
• Orpah was a Moabite
• To return to her ethnic people group was to have a happier life with her own people
• It is in Moab she is likely to find security with a new husband
• Her gods
• Moab was a land of many gods, but their patron god was Chemosh
• There was also a strong view that the gods were tied to their respective lands
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Follow Orpah (2)
• It makes sense for Naomi to say this about Orpah
• But what is interesting is that she doesn’t imply that these gods do not exist
• We need to remember the time period of the Judges
• Would it be impossible for Naomi to be, in some ways, a wayward follower of Yahweh?
• If Naomi represents the average, or best, of the people at the time it should not surprise us that God sent a famine to the land in the first place!
• Naomi urges Ruth to return
• To return has been a major motif since verse 6
• She is able to drive the point home by pointing to Orpah, who is making the wiser choice to return to her people, and her gods
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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.
Ruth 1:16, ESV
Ruth’s Response
• Ruth speaks for the first time
• This is considered to be one of the greatest vows in the Old Testament
• It is also one of the most aesthetically pleasing
• Ruth gives her own imperative plea to Naomi
• Naomi has been urging both Ruth and Orpah to return to Moab
• The points made by Naomi hit Orpah hard enough to have her go
• Ruth, however, shows perseverance by telling Naomi not to urge her away
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Ruth’s Response (2)
• This goes against Naomi’s own pleas
• Ruth is going to follow Naomi despite Naomi’s urging
• Naomi should stop her urging because it’s not going to work
• Go and Lodge
• Where Naomi goes, Ruth will go, and where she lodges, Ruth will lodge
• The ESV accurately translates this as “lodge”
• This often means a nights stay, but it can mean to settle
• The reason why lodge is used likely reflects the poetic symmetry in Hebrew between “go” and “lodge”
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Ruth’s Response (3)
• This is another point against Naomi
• Naomi wanted her to go to Moab, but Ruth will only go with Naomi and settle with Naomi
• Ruth also says “your people will be my people”
• She is originally from Moab, which indicates a complete separation from her own people
• She will now be identified with the tribes of Israel
• This reminds us that Ruth is leaving behind her own people, and family, to follow after Naomi
Ruth’s Response (4)
• Ruth also rejects her religion
• She will no longer worship Chemosh or the other gods of Moab
• Instead, God, Yahweh, will be her God
• Like the previous statements about going back to Moab, these statements by Ruth go against what Naomi has already said about people and gods
• Naomi started by pointing to Orpah urging her to follow after Orpah to her people and her gods
• Now, Ruth rejects returning with Orpah, to her people, and to her gods
• She is taking on a whole new identity by following Naomi
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Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.”
Ruth 1:17, ESV
Ruth's Closing Argument
• Ruth goes farther than Naomi
• These promises could have been abandoned once Naomi passed away
• Naomi was already advancing in age, so she would probably not have to wait too long before this happened
• The promise continues…
• Ruth vows to die and be buried where Naomi dies and is buried
• Ruth is in this for the long haul
• They will not be separated even by death
• Ruth is willing to give up being buried in her own ancestral burial plot to be buried with Naomi
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Ruth's Oath
• Ruth finalizes her vow with an Oath in the name of Yahweh
• God is witness to the promises made to Naomi
• This recognizes that Ruth considers Yahweh her God
• This may strike a deeper chord with Naomi who sees Yahweh’s hand against her
• Also, this oath is similar to those in I/II Samuel and I/II Kings
• It’s self-imprecatory where the deity will “do so and more” to the person if they break the promise
• The first half, “do so/to me” is likely death, famine, plague etc.
• “And so more” any added judgments Yahweh sees fit to distribute
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Ruth's Oath (2)
• She ends the oath with a strong emotional statement
• This is not an escape clause from before
• Instead, Ruth will remain with Naomi, and will die and be buried in the land Naomi dies and is buried in
• The only separation that will occur for them in this life is death itself
And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.
Ruth 1:18, ESV
Reaction
• Naomi recognizes Ruth’s intention is stronger than her own
• Naomi’s arguments will not keep Ruth from following Naomi to Bethlehem
• Ruth’s devotion is so clearly stated that Naomi has no further argument to give to Ruth
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Main Point
• We are to see the intentions of Ruth
• She is not going to leave her mother-in-law and makes it plain with her profound speech
• Her words are some of the most moving and beautiful within the Old Testament
• When confronted by this, Naomi remains speechless, consenting to allow Ruth to return with her Bethlehem
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Application Points
• The Power of Words
• There is a saying, the pen is mightier than the sword
• The assumption being that swords make armies, but words move them
• This is true not only of armies, but anywhere language is used
• Words are powerful
• They are able to inspire people to action
• They can cause people to rise up against injustice
• They can make the foolish wise, and can be used to change history for the better
Application Points
• The Power of Words (2)
• Words are powerful
• They are able to inspire people to darkness
• They can cause people to remain complacent to injustice
• They can make the wise foolish
• They can be used to change history for the worse
• We should not be surprised to read in Scripture the importance of language
• From God speaking the world into existence
• To His final judgments on the world
• Language, words, are important to us
• How we use our words should be greatly considered by us in our lives
Application Points
• The Power of Words (3)
• “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” –Eph. 4:29
• “Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.” – Eph. 5:2
• There is a right way to speak to one another and a wrong way
• The right way will build each other up in the faith
• The wrong way will not build up but destroy
Application Points
• The Power of Words (4)
•“[14] How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? [15] And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” Romans 10:14-15
• There is a famous fake quote from St. Francis of Assisi, “preach the gospel and if necessary use words”
• The reality is, the Gospel must be preached in order for salvation to come
• The Gospel is communicated through words
• It is through the Word, through Christ, through the Spirit, which the Gospel has its authority to transform
Application Points
• The Power of Words (5)
• Today we read powerful words within the Old Testament
• It can cause us to reflect on our own relationships
• To reflect on dedication, and love
• There is encouragement to consider our words
• Let’s refrain from aggressive speech, from passive aggressive statements
• Instead, let’s build each other up in grace, showing love to one another through the power of words
• This is important for us to do for each other
• It reminds me how powerful words can be as I consider my failures as a husband and parent
• Saying things that can stick to the ones that I love
Application Points
• The Power of Words (6)
• How great it is to be able to control the tongue!
• How much more could we serve God if we learned to build up rather than destroy
• This is the encouragement
• Build each other up in the faith
• Let our words be powerful to bring glory to God
• Let’s learn from Ruth
• To see that words can change circumstances
• Words can silence, words can heal
• Words are powerful
Application Points
• Change
• As we saw from the last point, change can come from words
• God brings glory to Himself when we preach the Gospel
• From today’s text we can see inspiration from Ruth’s speech
• But there is something else we see from Ruth, the change in her life
• Some wonder about Ruth in these series of statements
• Is she now a Yahwist?
• Is she converted?
• Some would say that she is, but the truth is converted has a different nuance for us today
Application Points
• Change (2)
• When we think of converted we think of someone who once had an impersonal relationship with God who now has a personal relationship with Him
• Ruth may be converted in this way, but there is more than this that she is converted into
• Her conversion is not only in worshipping God, but a total transformation of who she is as a person
• This is reflected in her promises to Naomi
• First, there is a change of direction
• In some sense, it would be better for her to return to Moab
• She chooses a different path
• She will go with Naomi and settle with her
Application Points
• Change (3)
• Second: She has a change in corporate identity
• She will no longer be identified with the people of Moab, instead being identified with the tribes of Israel
• Third: She has a change in religious identity
• She will no longer follow the gods of Moab, the god Chemosh
• Instead, she will follow the God of Israel, Yahweh, the God of the tribes of Israel
• When we consider these changes, it makes sense to call this a conversion
• Compare her conversion to our modern understanding of conversion; where someone raises a hand or says a prayer and are converted
Application Points
• Change (4)
• All too often such individuals are not truly converted
• There is all to often no indication of change
• All too often our conversions tend to be on emotional appeal rather than an act of God
• Instead of a transformation, many of those who are, or claim to be, converted have no change in their lives at all
• When I look at Ruth I am not sure I would call her one of those kinds of conversions, a conversion without evidence
• But if we’re talking about a transformative conversion, true change, then we can see that with her dedication to Naomi and Yahweh
Application Points
• Change (5)
• Think about it from this side of the cross
• Christ calls us to repentance and faith
• Repentance is a change in direction, just like Ruth has a change in direction
• The same can be said concerning our own people
• Before conversion we live in a world with people like us
• After conversion we have new relationships with those whom we go to Church with
• They become our brothers and sisters of the faith
• With connections as deep as our biological families
Application Points
• Change (6)
• Finally there is God
• The god in our lives can be a multitude of things, though the majority stem from ourselves
• We like to make gods in our own image
• A god like us but bigger and better
• One who looks after us, and in time a god who is completely and totally impotent
• After conversion, however, we know the God and Lord of all
• He is bigger and better than anything we could imagine
• A God who is both infinite, and personal
Application Points
• Change (7)
• All of the changes in Ruth are similar to changes that occur in us
• When we repent of our sins and place our faith in Jesus Christ to redeem us of our sins, we experience a change which encompasses all of our lives
• Too often we consider Jesus an accessory for our lives
• He is not a bag, or a purse
• He is the Lord of all creation
• He must be more than someone we go to only in times of need, or someone we once prayed to
• He must be the Lord of all of us, from our finances, to our marriages, to every step we take
Application Points
• Change (8)
• Being followers of Jesus changes us
• Ruth is willing to change everything for Naomi
• How much are you willing to change for Christ?
• Our response must be the same response Ruth has for Naomi, and more
• This is the encouragement to get from this great speech by Ruth
• That we would be willing to do the same for Christ
• If you profess Christ today, don’t give Him less than all of you
• Be changed to live for Christ in all things
Application Points
• The Gospel
• We can see the Gospel here
• Whether it is within powerful words being proclaimed, or a change which comes from conversion
• The Gospel is even here in the Old Testament, waiting to be proclaimed
• The Gospel begins with our origins
• We are created in the image of God
• Because God reasons, loves, knows, can be known, has personhood, and can show hesed, we can as well
• It is here we find dignity to human life, and sanctity to all human life
Application Points
• The Gospel (2)
• Like God, however, we were able to choose
• Instead of choosing God and life we chose sin and death and have continued to make that choice ever since
• Because of this our relationships with God, within ourselves, each other, and the world are broken
• It is also because of this we have a true moral guilt before our God, making us worthy of judgment
• God did something in our darkness, sending us a great Light, and speaking to us a great Word
• This Light, and this Word, is His Son Jesus Christ
• He lived, died, and rose again in time, space, history, and flesh
• Christ’s blood cleanses us of sin, we can now have victory over sin by the power of His Spirit in us
Application Points
• The Gospel (3)
• All that is required of us is obedience in two things
• The first is repentance, we are to turn away from sin
• We must live according to the Scriptures which reveal the will of God to us, and in light of what Christ has done on our behalf
• Living in a way which is right before our God
• The second is faith in Christ
• Our own righteousness will never be able to attain the glory of God
• Instead we must cling to another’s righteousness, and that is the righteousness of Jesus Christ
• It is His righteousness which makes us right with God, allowing our relationships to be healed, and our debt of sin to be paid in full
Application Points
• The Gospel (4)
• For those who are disobedient in these things there is only judgment
• If there is no atonement for sins, then there is judgment for sins
• Our sins outweigh our own righteousness, hence all we could ever attain on our own is judgment
• For those who are obedient there is peace with God
• Our relationships begin to be restored
• Our lives are transformed
• We become inheritors of an eternal kingdom
• We will be raised in glory with Christ in which we will remain forever
