 |
| Ruth and Naomi by Harold Copping |
TO CHEW ON: "But Ruth said, 'Entreat me not to leave you or to turn back from following after you;
For wherever you go, I will go;
And wherever you lodge, I will lodge;
Your people shall be my people
And your God my God.'" Ruth 1:16
Ruth was about to make the second-most important decision in her life. The first had been marrying Mahlon and being joined to his Jewish family. Now Naomi was urging her to return home to her Moabite family. Orpah had already decided to go back and all eyes were on Ruth.
Her reply suggests she may have been mulling over her options for a while and made up her mind before this moment. It reflects her character and more. It shows that her marriage to Mahlon had also had spiritual implications for her. She had left behind the gods of Moab to worship Yahweh.
Now she stuck with that decision. Her profession of loyalty was deep, eloquent and has proved durable, for it is often quoted, especially in wedding services, to this day.
Her decision not only proved her character and spiritual resolve, but it had/has eternal repercussions. For Ruth was a great, great, great... grandmother of Jesus.
I ask, what do my under-pressure decisions say about my character? What do yours? Do we realize and take into consideration how today's choices will impact our future and the future of those we love?
PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for this story of Ruth with its picture of character and faith in You. Help me to be a woman of character and faith like she was. Amen.
*********
Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment