Proclamation:
“But
Ruth replied, ‘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. Where you die I will die and there will I be buried …’” Ruth 1:16-17 (NIV)
Explanation:
These
words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by an unknown
human author, but some credit it to Samuel because of the timing when the
judges ruled Israel. Ruth, the
daughter-in-law of Naomi, demonstrates an excellent example of love, commitment,
and devotion to her mother-in-law. After
her father-in-law and her husband died, Ruth would not leave her mother-in-law’s
side and vowed to stay with, even after death.
Ruth was a Moabite and her people worshiped idol gods, (Ruth 1:15) but
thanks to Naomi and her son, Ruth was exposed to The Lord God and was converted.
Application:
People
often say the words, “I love you” but their actions are not always consistent
with their words. Ruth, the great, great
grandmother of David, demonstrated her love for her mother-in-law by vowing
never to leave her. She even vowed to be
near her in death by being buried where she is buried. In this life, very few people will go with us
wherever we go. Some people will go as
far as to become extended family members and our people will become their
people. However, most people will not go
as far as to change their religious beliefs and worship The Lord God with us. In marriage the two people are to become as
one person. (Ephesians 5:31) There is
rarely this level of commitment in any other relationship. Parents are willing to die for their children,
and some children are willing to die for their parents, but they do not go with
them everywhere they go. When we make a
commitment to love The Lord God, nothing in the world, or in our lives, should
be more important to us than Him. He
will never leave us or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5) Nothing can separate us from the love of God.
(Romans 8:35 and 8:39)
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