Ruth and Boaz … and me
My pastor is currently in a series in the book of Ruth. I’ve always been struck by this book and how Ruth, a foreigner at the beginning of the story, figures into the lineage of Jesus. One of my favorite passages in the Bible comes from the first chapter in this book. Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law, has decided to return to the land of Judah after the deaths of her husband and her two sons – one of which was Ruth’s husband. Naomi urged both her daughters-in-law Orpah and Ruth and to return to their families, to their people, and to their gods. Orpah kissed Naomi goodbye, but Ruth chose differently.
But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where 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. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.
(Ruth 1:16-18)