Weekly Devotion no 57
24 September 2021
Bible reading – Ruth 1[1]
There was a time when Israel didn’t have kings to rule over them. But they had leaders to help them. This is a story about some things that happened during that time. There wasn’t enough food in the land of Judah. So a man went to live for a while in the country of Moab. He was from Bethlehem in Judah. His wife and two sons went with him. 2 The man’s name was Elimelek. His wife’s name was Naomi. The names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were from the tribe of Ephraim. Their home had been in Bethlehem in Judah. They went to Moab and lived there.
3 Naomi’s husband Elimelek died. So she was left with her two sons. 4 They married women from Moab. One was named Orpah. The other was named Ruth. Naomi’s family lived in Moab for about ten years. 5 Then Mahlon and Kilion also died. So Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.
6 While Naomi was in Moab, she heard that the Lord had helped his people. He had begun to provide food for them again. So Naomi and her two daughters-in-law prepared to go from Moab back to her home. 7 She left the place where she had been living. Her daughters-in-law went with her. They started out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.
8 Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Both of you go back. Each of you go to your own mother’s home. You were kind to your husbands, who have died. You have also been kind to me. So may the Lord be just as kind to you. 9 May the Lord help each of you find rest in the home of another husband.”
Then she kissed them goodbye. They broke down and wept loudly. 10 They said to her, “We’ll go back to your people with you.”
11 But Naomi said, “Go home, my daughters.
Why would you want to come with me? Am I going to have any more sons who could
become your husbands? 12 Go home, my daughters. I’m
too old to have another husband. Suppose I thought there was still some hope
for me. Suppose I married a man tonight. And later I had sons by him. 13 Would
you wait until they grew up? Would you stay single until you could marry them?
No, my daughters. My life is more bitter than yours. The Lord’s power has
turned against me!”
14 When they heard that, they broke down and wept again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye. But Ruth held on to her.
15 “Look,” said Naomi. “Your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.”
16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t try to make me leave you and go back. Where you go I’ll go. Where you stay I’ll stay. Your people will be my people. Your God will be my God. 17 Where you die I’ll die. And there my body will be buried. I won’t let even death separate you from me. If I do, may the Lord punish me greatly.” 18 Naomi realized that Ruth had made up her mind to go with her. So she stopped trying to make her go back.
19 The two women continued on their way. At last they arrived in Bethlehem. The whole town was stirred up because of them. The women in the town asked, “Can this possibly be Naomi?”
20 “Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara. The Mighty One has made my life very bitter. 21 I was full when I went away. But the Lord has brought me back empty. So why are you calling me Naomi? The Lord has made me suffer. The Mighty One has brought trouble on me.”
22 So Naomi returned from Moab. Ruth, her
daughter-in-law from Moab, came with her. They arrived in Bethlehem just when
people were beginning to harvest the barley.
Reflection
This week we’re starting a new series looking at the story of Ruth. This story is set during the time of the judges where Israel had turned away from God. The book of Judges is full of the most horrendous things that the people did in these times.
However, our story is in stark contrast to the general narrative of the time. It can be seen as bridging the gap between the godlessness of the times and God’s solution to come. In this story, we will see how God takes ordinary people into his purpose and uses them in inexplicable ways in terms of the ordinary. We will have the benefit of hindsight in reading this story, of seeing the bigger picture consequences of the seemingly ordinary events and hopefully, we will be encouraged that this God whose handiwork we see in the lives of Naomi, Ruth and Boaz, is also at work in our lives, even if we can’t see it for now.
Today’s chapter is full of decisions and dilemmas and we’re introduced to some of the characters of this story.
Elimelek decided to take his family away from the Promised Land, from their faith community, to a place with foreign gods and values in order to feed them. His sons ended up marrying outside of their faith, something forbidden in God’s Law and he and his sons died in this foreign land, away from the land that God had designated as holy.
Naomi is in a vulnerable and precarious situation. She is living in a foreign land without husband or sons to protect her. Nor had she been blessed with grandchildren. Her family had left the Promised Land searching for life and blessing, but in the end found only death and bitterness. By God’s grace He ends the famine and so Naomi turns back to God and returns to her homeland.
Ruth married a foreigner. They didn’t have any children and then he died. She followed her mother-in-law, whom she clearly loved. But more than that, she decides to follow Ruth’s god – the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This was a costly decision as it meant she left her family and her gods and her previous way of life.
Elimelek made a
decision to turn away from God. Naomi made a tentative decision to return to
God and Ruth made a wholehearted commitment to God. When we make our decisions,
do we consider which option will enable us to glorify God and serve Him? And
like Ruth, are we counting the cost of discipleship and following God anyway?
Hymn
Verse 1
Guide me, O thou great Jehovah,
pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak, but thou art mighty;
hold me with thy pow'rful hand;
Bread of heaven,
Bread of heaven,
feed me 'til my want is o’er,
feed me 'til my want is o’er.
Verse 2
whence the healing stream doth flow;
let the fire and cloudy pillar
lead me all my journey through;
strong Deliv'rer,
strong Deliv'rer,
be thou still my strength and shield,
be thou still my strength and shield.
Verse 3
bid my anxious fears subside;
Death of death, and hell's Destruction,
land me safe on Canaan's side;
songs of praises,
songs of praises
I will ever give to thee,
I will ever give to thee.
Prayer
O
God,
you
declare your almighty power
chiefly
in showing mercy and pity:
mercifully
grant us such a measure of your grace
that,
running in the way of your commandments,
we
may obtain your gracious promises,
and
be made partakers of your heavenly treasure;
through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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