By Ben Shiller Jacob
An Unusual Act of Faith in Uncertainty
There was a relative of Naomi’s husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech. His name was Boaz. 2 So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor.”
And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.”
Ruth 2:1-2 NKJV
The scenario is when Ruth came along with Naomi to Bethlehem which is Naomi’s hometown. Naomi with her Husband, Elimelech went to the country of Moab where they remained when there was a famine in the land of Judah. In the course of time, Naomi lost not only her husband but her two sons there and she left with two daughters-in-law. As a result of a long conversation with Naomi, when Orpah decided to leave her mother-in-law for good, Ruth took a stern decision to cling with Naomi. Consequently, Naomi along with Ruth returned to Bethlehem as Naomi heard that the Lord removed famine from her hometown, Bethlehem, a small town in Judah. They came to Bethlehem at the time of barley harvest.
I have read the book of Ruth quite a few times in past years but never really got attracted to the beauty of Ruth (speaking of beauty, I intended her character) in the book until now. Let’s dive into the context of Ruth quickly:
- In verse 10, Orpah and Ruth both said to Naomi that they will return with Naomi to her people.
- In verse 14, Orpah who said she would go with Naomi wherever she goes, now changed her mind, and left for her life but Ruth chose to stay with Naomi.
- In verse 16, Ruth finalized by saying not to compel her to return to her family but to follow Naomi wherever she goes, stay wherever Naomi stay, Naomi’s people as well as her God will be Ruth’s people and God. Ruth even added she will die where Naomi dies and will be buried there.
When we analyze verse 10, Orpah did not do any wrong at all. As a matter of fact, we will never be able to understand the depth of Ruth’s love towards her mother-in-law without Orpah. Day to day decisions we make in our life go hand-in-hand with Orpah’s decision. Orpah took a natural decision. In fact, a wise decision! The reason I say is Orpah didn’t leave until the point where she got permission from her mother-in-law.
The beauty of Ruth stands out here in verse 14. She has all the rights to return to her family as Orpah did. However, she decided to live in faith rather than embracing her understanding. She decided to go with the helpless Naomi, a widow. What good can come out of a widow? What would be the situation if this widow is too old for procreation? I still don’t know why Ruth chose to go with Naomi. There’s no logic behind this decision. I believe Ruth was influenced by the Holy Spirit to highlight her in history. Ruth was full of compassion, devoid of her self, not thinking about her future and clung to her mother-in-law. We could see Christ in Ruth here.
To say boldly like in verse 16, probably Ruth might have experienced something special in Naomi’s God, culture, beliefs, miracles different than her tradition while she was with her mother-in-law. She might have tasted the goodness of Yahweh from Naomi.
Naomi and Ruth reached Bethlehem where both of them were received with a plethora of questions. At this point, Naomi has no more faith left in her unlike Ruth. Though Naomi knew Yahweh how good He is, she reached a point where she has not had a faith of a mustard seed because of the bitter experiences she had to face in her life. Naomi replied to everyone that her life was full of tragedies, so she does not deserve to be called Naomi but Mara. Ruth is there with Naomi while she is saying all these statements devoid of faith. Yet, Ruth had hope for her future. Her spirit within her pushes her forward, there is something great ahead of her.
Naomi & Ruth arrived in Bethlehem during barley harvest.
Obviously, Naomi might have told Ruth about her relatives she has in town during their journey. However, Ruth didn’t take advantage of any relatives of Naomi. Instead, she said to mother-in-law that to allow her to find a field where she could find favor in someone’s sight. Ruth could have stayed with Naomi thinking Naomi might get some help from her relatives or people she knows. Ruth didn’t wait for a moment thinking after all she is a woman or what she can do at this point or better to stay home, and someone might come to help eventually. Instead, what Ruth did was she finished her faith by venturing out believing and honoring God that Yahweh has assigned someone for me out there to make me fruitful and prosperous in this foreign land. When Ruth decided to walk in faith, Yahweh directed her steps towards Boaz field to redeem her life forever.
Shiller’s Takeaway
A lot of times we have heard this cliché saying let’s pray for it and wait for our blessings to come to us. This is not what our Father God expects from us. Throughout the Scripture, we hear that have faith in God. Those who believed what God told them, their names came into existence in the Scriptures. They became history. We can be a continuation of that history. By how? It’s not only by confessing our faith. It’s necessary but faith is incomplete without our action as Jacob, the apostle writes. Ruth decided not to confess only by went out to see how God of Israel is going to show mercy in her life. She challenged herself by going out to the field in a totally strange land believing that God of Israel will not only protect her from unknown but provide more than she desires. We should have Ruth’s attitude in ourselves. More often than not, we come into a place of uncertainty. Don’t get overwhelmed there. It is a great place to exercise your faith. Like Jesus said to His disciples if you love me, abide in Me. Yeah, if you are a believer of Christ Jesus, you must show to the world around that you have special thing that the world lacks which faith. Remember let your faith not remain in words only, but in action then only faith becomes complete.
Communion with a Contrite Heart
Our Dearest Father God, we thank you for the faith that You have instilled in us. Like Ruth, enable us to exercise our faith when challenges come. Not to just remain idle by praying alone but venture out to the opportunities that you have placed before us. Once again, we love You, ABBA with all that You have given us, in precious name of Jesus – AMEN!