Ruth is one of my favorite books in the Bible. I have always resonated with Ruth. In fact one thing I insisted was in our wedding was the reading of Ruth 1:16-17 (ESV):

“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.”

Ruth’s devotion to the vow she made when she married Naomi’s son always struck a cord in my heart. 

I didn’t realize how true those words would become in our marriage. Especially the part of where you go I will go. I didn’t know then what the plans of the Lord were for Brett and I, and many of those plans were to move all over the place! In fact Brett and I have lived in three different states, and another country, and he isn’t even military. God blessed us with the privilege of living in different places and learning how others view the world over the past 20 years. I am so thankful for the people I’ve met, the lessons I’ve learned, and the experiences I’ve had all because of living in different places. 

Ruth Shows us What True Devotion Looks Like 

Ruth is a great example of what true devotion looks like. While her sister-in-law quickly went back to her people, Ruth understood the vow she made when she married Naomi’s son and kept her promise. 

Even when they returned to Israel, Ruth showed what true loyalty looks like. 

“And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech. 

She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.’ So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.” ‭‭Ruth‬ ‭2‬:‭2‬-‭3‬, ‭7‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

Ruth worked hard to gather enough food to feed herself and her mother-in-law. She realized that Naomi wasn’t in any condition to go out into the field and work all day in the hot sun. Ruth took on the responsibility of feeding herself and her mother-in-law. She did this by doing something both physically demanding and dangerous. 

God Set It Up In The Beginning

Barley harvesting season starts in late March and ends sometime in May. While the weather there isn’t likely to be extremely hot, it’s still grueling work. Ruth would gather the stalks of grain left behind by the harvesters hired to glean the field. This was something the Lord commanded the Israelites when they first entered into the Promised Land. 

“And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.” ‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭23‬:‭22‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

In Deuteronomy the widows are added to the list of people who can gather the leftovers. 

God knew there would be people like Ruth and Naomi. Widows, who still needed to eat. This was God’s way of providing for those who couldn’t or didn’t have the means to plant fields and harvest them. The sojourner didn’t own land to plant and harvest as they were either just passing through or living there as a foreigner and didn’t own land. Of course widows needed extra help. We still see this same kind of mindset in the church today. When a woman doesn’t have a husband, often the other men in the church will help her out with car issues, household projects that she can’t do as a woman, and anything else she needs. We are told to care for the widows. God cares deeply about the widows and those children who lose their fathers to death. 

Ruth Is Our Example

Ruth is a great example for all of us of how God desires families to run. We are supposed to take care of each other. In God’s design, all members of the family love, nurture, and support each other. I recognize this is not always possible. For some, like myself, we live far away from our families and can’t be there physically to care for our families. Still, we can keep in contact with them and check in. We can encourage our family members who live far away to seek the Lord, and rely on him to fill the gaps that we can’t fill because of the distance between us. The Lord is really good at picking up the slack of those things we can’t do for one reason or another. 

Others can’t care for their family members because of the extreme abuse endured by their family. In this case, putting up very strong and strict boundaries is a must. If the family members refuse to comply with the boundaries set, separation may be required. The step of separation is a step that requires lots of prayer and guidance from both the Lord and those people who you trust to give good, Godly advice. Even in the case of separation, you can still support your family from afar. How? You can and should be praying for them. You can pray that God will heal those broken parts of them that sabotage relationships. Praying for God to bless them is one way to heal your own heart and brokenness from those evil things done to do. My husband loves to point out the verse in Acts that tells us to pray that God will bless people to turn them away from their wickedness.

“God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.” Acts‬ ‭3‬:‭26‬ ‭(ESV‬‬)

Forgiveness Is The Key

Remember the most important thing you can do is to forgive them. The Bible tells us over and over and over to forgive. Jesus himself tells us to forgive so that we can be forgiven:

“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭14‬ ‭(NLT‬‬)

Even if you just start declaring out loud, “I forgive them.”, that is a start. You may not even really mean it at first, and that’s ok. You can ask Jesus to help you to want to forgive them. Just work with the Lord on forgiving them so that the unforgiveness doesn’t turn into bitterness and wreck your life even more. 

We are going to pause our study on Ruth and the family here. Next week, we will look at the truth that Ruth wasn’t ever supposed to marry an Israelite to begin with. I hope you will join me!