Ruth: The Power
of a Right Choice
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Read Ruth
1:1–18
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Your people will be my
people and your God my God. Ruth 1:16
What it means to be a devoted disciple of Christ is summarized
clearly in the lyrics of the beloved song “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus”:
“I have decided to follow Jesus . . . / No turning back, no turning back. /
The world behind me,the cross before me . . . / No turning back, no turning
back. / Tho’ none go with me, still I will follow . . . / No turning back, no
turning back.”
In today’s passage, Ruth epitomized this spirit of
wholehearted commitment. She chose Naomi, her people, and her God, and there
would be no turning back. Ruth was a Moabite, that is, a descendant of Lot.
She had married into a Jewish family that had come to Moab during a famine.
While it wasn’t forbidden for an Israelite to marry a Moabite, it was
problematic (see Deut. 23:3). Then all the men of the family died, and the
mother, Naomi, and her two young daughters-in-law tragically became widows.
Under the circumstances, Naomi told them they were not obligated to return
with her to Bethlehem but should stay in Moab and marry again.
Why did Ruth refuse this offer (vv. 16–17)? No doubt she
sympathized with Naomi, who was bitter about her suffering (v. 13). Perhaps
she was a woman of kindness, loyalty, and courage. But there was more than
that to her choice: Ruth had seen something in Naomi’s family that led her to
choose God and His people above her own people, culture, and gods.
Remember that this was during the godless days of the Judges,
when “everyone did as they saw fit” (Judg. 21:25). Even during such times,
it’s encouraging to know there were Israelites who still followed the Lord.
It is no accident that Ruth, her eventual second husband Boaz, and his
ancestor Rahab (see yesterday) became part of the genealogy of Christ (see
Matt. 1:5).
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Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Devotion for Today - December 10, 2014 | Sis. Asha
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