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TEAM TALK
Bible Heroes
Ruth
“Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.”
These famous words were spoken by the widow Ruth who was about to forsake her land and
her gods.
Ruth’s life story began in Moab, where, as a young Moabite
woman, she married a man from Bethlehem. Her husband,
along with his family, had moved to Moab because of a fam-
ine in the land of Judah. Tragically, both Ruth’s husband and
his brother died. Her mother-in-law, Naomi, also a widow,
was the only one of the original family still living.
Ruth’s decision
It was a terrible tragedy for Naomi to be stranded in Moab,
having lost her husband and her two sons. So Naomi decided
to return to Judah, since she heard the famine was over
(Ruth 1:6).
Her two daughters-in-law were now faced with a choice. Naomi urged them to return to their families
in Moab, for Naomi had no more sons to give them as husbands, and thus no security for the future to
offer them.
One of her daughters-in-law, Orpah, reluctantly fol-
lowed that advice and went back to her family and
her Moabite gods. But Ruth made a vow in devoted
faithfulness to Naomi, a vow that is famous for its
graciousness:
“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. Where
you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. The
LORD do so to me, and more also, if anything but
death parts you and me” (Ruth 1:16-17).
Ruth forsook her homeland, her people and the gods
of Moab. She left it all to lead a new life in a land
where she would be a stranger. She loved Naomi and
pledged to not forsake her, but to share Naomi’s
destiny in Israel. Ruth chose the God of Israel as
her God. Ruth exhibited faithfulness, respect, devo-
tion, love, friendship and humility.
This was a vow of total commitment. This was a commitment even to death. She was burning her bridg-
es behind her. So Ruth followed Naomi and came to Bethlehem in the land of Judah during the begin-
ning of the barley harvest—early spring.
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