Where You Go
“But Ruth replied, 'Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.'”
— Ruth 1:16 (NIV)
Before Ruth said this, there had been three funerals in Naomi's family. Naomi had lost her husband and both sons, and she told her two daughters in law to go home, because staying with a widow who had no sons meant poverty. One left, which was sensible and nobody blames her. Ruth stayed, and she was a Moabite, binding herself to a God she had not grown up with.
Ruth was released from the obligation and stayed anyway, without a plan and without guarantees. She said it out loud, straight to Naomi. Someone in your life is waiting to hear you say you are staying. Tell them today. Someone in your life is waiting to hear that too. Tell them today.
Say You Are Staying
- 1Think of one person who has had it hard for a long time, with nobody noticing.
- 2Tell them today: 'I am not going anywhere.' Then ask when you can actually show up.
God, give me the courage to tell someone I am staying.
I will tell someone I am staying.
Why did Naomi tell them to leave?
She had no more sons and no means. Staying with her meant poverty for two young widows, so she was releasing them for their own sake.
Was Orpah wrong to go back?
The text does not condemn her. She did the reasonable thing Naomi asked. Ruth's choice stands out precisely because it was not required.
Why does Ruth being a Moabite matter?
She was an outsider to Israel's faith, binding herself to a God she was not raised with. She later appears in the genealogy of David and of Jesus.