If there’s one chapter in the Bible that slaps you in the face with grief, it’s Ruth Chapter 1.
Meet Naomi, once the very picture of a hopeful life in Bethlehem with her husband Elimelech and two sons. But things turn sour. A famine forces them out of Bethlehem for a foreign land, Moab.
But life in Moab turns brutal. Tragedy follows tragedy—first Elimelech dies, and then, one after the other, her sons pass away.
Naomi’s world is shattered, leaving her clinging to nothing but the company of her two daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth.
Can you imagine the crushing despair of losing not just your home but also your family?
Naomi makes a gut-wrenching decision to return to Bethlehem. She tells Orpah and Ruth to stay behind in Moab. Orpah heeds the warning, stepping away to forge a new life elsewhere.
Ruth, however, stands at a crossroads of destiny. Does she choose the path of security or loyalty?
Sooner or later, we’re all faced with this choice.
Do we choose the path of ease? Or do we choose to remain faithful, even when the future seems bleak?
Ruth grabs Naomi by the face and declares, “Where you go, I’ll go. Your people will be my people, and your God my God.”
Even though Naomi tried to hide in her grief, Ruth remained planted by her side.
Ruth’s declaration to Naomi exemplifies Christ’s promise to us when he says, “I will be with you always.”
In the darkest pits of despair, and when the world feels like it’s caving in, you have a “Ruth” by your side. Jesus.
You have someone who refuses to leave you, even when you lash out and push away.
You may want to rename yourself according to what’s happened to you, but Christ wants to rename you according to what he’s done on the cross.
You call yourself bitter; He calls you blessed!
You call yourself worthless; He calls you worthy!
You call yourself a victim; He calls you a conqueror!
Ruth is an image of Christ to Naomi.
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