1:16-17 "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."
The story of Ruth is a great little story. It tells of love and loyalty. Ruth was not a Hebrew. Her husband and his family were. When he and his brother and father died in a war, Ruth had a choice to make. She could return to her family or stay with her mother in law. She chooses to go with Naomi back to Judeah. Her loyalty to her new family, nation and God is apparent in the verses above.
I love this story because it is a great example of family loyalty and love. Ruth shows loyalty to her mother in law, Naomi, and makes the choice to help take care of her. Ruth works hard and devotes herself to her new Hebrew culture. Levitical law allows the next closest man kin to marry a relatives widow. This allows the family live to continue. Boaz was not this kinsman redeemer, but he sought that man out to ask if he could step into that position. He had watched Ruth in his fields. I guess you could say thats when he fell in love with her. I think Naomi knew what she was doing when she sent Ruth to those fields to glean leftover wheat. She knew Boaz would be a great man for Ruth. What a great matchmaker.
My grandfather, Pop, used to say that once you marry into the Evans family, you are family. There are no in-laws. And that's how everyone is treated. You're Family. I feel very loyal to my family. I would do anything I could for them. Hopefully, someday, I'll have the chance to feel that way for my husband's family as well.
The love story between Boaz and Ruth is amazing as well. The way they treat each other is amazing. He asks his workers to leave a little extra wheat out for her to gather. He took care of her because she was taking care of Naomi. She also, respected him. She knew who he was and asked for his provision. He saw great qualities in her and loved her for them. It's just comforting. Ruth had someone to take care of her, and Boaz was more than willing to do that.
Because of Ruth's loyalty, she has earned a place in history. She was the great grandmother of David. Who knows if she ever had the chance to watch him grow up, but wow. This also means that she is in the lineage of Christ! What a family tree to belong in! God rewarded her loyalty to Naomi and her faith in Him.
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