March 19, 2019
My Dear Brothers and Sisters, I greet and bless everyone in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. The blessed word that God has given for you today is from the book Ruth 1:18, “When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her.”
My Dear Brothers and Sisters, from the above verse we come to understand that Ruth was determined not to leave her mother in law alone. The above context shows the intimate relationship between Ruth and Her mother in law Naomi. For Naomi went with her husband and her two sons to Moab from Bethlehem for a better living. Suddenly her husband Elimelech died. Thereafter she gave her sons Mahlon, and Chilion in marriage to the Moabites women. One was Orpah and the other was Ruth. They had just begun to live a happy married life when all of a sudden both her sons died without begetting any children.
So the two young women became childless widows. It was a miserable and painful moment for Naomi. She was an elderly widow, and two young widows were around her. One was Orpah and the other was Ruth. Now at the same time in the same house, there were three windows. Naomi was broken hearted. She was pained to see her two childless daughters-in-law. We really don’t know what caused the death of her sons, nor do we know why the women were childless. We only see the glimmers of the women’s gentle words and the daughter in laws tears.
She tells her daughter in laws, “No my daughters, for it grieves me very much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.” She felt that God had departed from her and therefore she had lost all her blessings. So she called her daughter in laws and asked them to return to their father’s house. Then they lifted up their voices and cried again. Orpah kissed her mother in law and went to her home. But Ruth refused to return to her father’s house. She held on to her mother-in-law firm and said, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” She held on to Naomi. She said, Where thou die, will I die, and there will I be buried. When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, then she stopped speaking about it unto her. She did not compel her any further about returning to her father’s house.
My Dear Brothers and Sisters, thus we see the intimate relationship between Naomi and Ruth. It is beyond expression. It is an experience from within the heart. Whatever Ruth’s circumstances may be, her clinging to her mother in law is a gift of grace, that Naomi couldn’t see in the beginning. Naomi seems to think the young widows will fare better by departing to their parent’s house and restarting their lives all over again. She had a good heart towards her daughter in laws. It is really painful that nowadays, we do not see such a sound relationship between mother in laws and daughter in laws. Let’s hope to see a better relationship between family members and siblings within the family. May this message enlighten the hearts of the readers to change their attitude.
God bless you and thus be like Ruth and Naomi in future.
Prayer:
Our loving heavenly Father, We thank You for this blessed day. Thank You, Lord, for showing to us the characters of Ruth and Naomi who cared for each other. Teach us to be like the Lord in our lives. Help us to be tenderhearted and loving to one another. May we share the love with one another and bear one another ’s burden. In Jesus Name we pray.
Amen.
