Ruth 1

Ruth 1

One of the shortest books in the Old Testament holds one of the most popular stories, the story of Ruth. It is a story about a young woman, who was not an Israelite, that found herself in the line that would eventually lead to Israel’s Messiah, Jesus. The Old Testament shows time and time again how God was drawing people from every nation unto Himself, not just Israel, but Israel never fully understood God’s purposes. It was not until the book of Acts that the Israelites finally grasped the idea of taking God’s message to the nations. Along with Rahab, the story of Ruth is one of the early examples of God’s drawing all peoples unto Himself.


The book of Ruth takes place during the time of the Judges, in a time when famine had struck the land. As a result, Naomi and her husband left Judah and went into Moab in order to survive the famine. In that land, their two sons found Moabite women to be their wives, one of which was Ruth. In a short time, Naomi’s husband and two sons all died, leaving Naomi alone with her two daughters-in-law. Those two young women, Ruth and Orpah, stayed with Naomi while she was in Moab and grieved with her.

Then, Naomi heard that there was food in the land of Judah again, so she began planning a return home. She told Ruth and Orpah to return home and to their families and leave her alone to grieve. She had no way to support these two young women and could not promise them husbands. Orpah did as she was told and returned to her home, but Ruth knew that she could not leave Naomi. Ruth did not want to think of Naomi returning to her home alone to live alone and grieve. Although Ruth probably had a desire to return to a normal life and would have probably been more comfortable living in her own land, she went with Naomi to comfort her and be with her. She sacrificed her comforts and security for the sake of someone she loved. She left all she knew and went to an unknown place for the sake of someone else. That was quite a sacrifice. She had no idea how they would support themselves, for they had no men in their life for support, but she knew that she had to be there for Naomi.

For Ruth to have been so willing to stand by Naomi’s side in her troubling time, Naomi seemed unappreciative. Granted, Naomi had lost three men who meant a lot to her. She had lost pretty much everything in such a short time, and there is definitely a time for grieving. It is normal for someone to be upset after such a tragedy, for I am sure that any of us would feel the same way. However, over time we have to learn to trust God again. We have to get to the point where we no longer blame Him for what happened. We have to get to the point where we turn to Him for comfort, for security, trusting that He will be with us through those tough times. One way in which He was providing for Naomi was through Ruth.

There are two big lessons from Ruth 1 for us today. First off, we must learn to trust God in all situations in life, good and bad. We must realize that He is in control and that He will provide for us. We must also be able to recognize His provisions. Naomi might not have realized that Ruth was God’s way of helping her through that tough time, not allowing her to be isolated. Secondly, maybe we need to be Ruth to someone else. There may be someone you know quite well who is suffering today. Maybe God wants to use you to comfort them, to just be there for them in their tough times. Sometimes we need a Ruth in our lives to help us, but we must never neglect to be a Ruth to others. We should express God’s great love for the world through the way we live our lives.

Matt