(Ruth 1:15-22) Then she said, “Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Ruth said, “Do not plead with me to leave you or to turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you sleep, I will sleep. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. 17 Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord do so to me, and worse, if anything but death separates me from you.” 18 When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her about it.
19 So they both went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they had come to Bethlehem, all the city was stirred because of them, and the women said, “Is this Naomi?” 20 But she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has afflicted me?”
22 So Naomi returned, and with her Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, who returned from the land of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
Ruth had obviously become a believer at some point, deciding to make Israel's God her Lord God. She had denied herself, picked up her cross, and followed the Lord. In faith, she committed herself to an unknown future, heading into a land she knew nothing about. And even though she might have felt fear or doubt, she was determined to show Naomi unconditional love, committing herself to looking after her mother-in-law. And it was definitely unconditional love, because it seems like Naomi didn't try all that hard to be loveable.
Naomi had become very bitter, while saying very negative things about God. She blamed God for all her hardships, even though the consequences were a result of her own actions. And Naomi's comment about returning "empty" would have also been insulting towards Ruth. Totally empty? Yes, Naomi returned without her husband and her sons, but she had with her a very loving, caring daughter-in-law who was willing to stick by her side until death!!!
As for leaving "full"... was she really? Remember that she and her husband didn't trust that God would sustain them while staying in Israel. As believers, the Lord provides for us, fills us and fulfills us. It is only the Lord who can make us whole, and complete! He gives life, and in Him, He is all that we need!
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