The little Book of Ruth is only four chapters long. But it answers an important historical question. In the midst of the social and moral chaos of the period of the Judges (The previous Book of Judges ends with “In those days, Israel had no king. Everyone did as he saw fit” while Ruth begins with “In the days when the Judges ruled….”), this beautiful narrative tells us how Israel came to experience a spiritual renaissance with the ascension of David and the Davidic dynasty (The book ends with a brief genealogy of king David).
In answer to the question, how is it that Israel attained such a spiritual high point in the reigns of David and Solomon after experiencing such a spiritual low point during the time of the Judges? God says, “Look at Ruth.”
So what was it about Ruth that brought about such a tsunami of righteousness?
The answer lies in the quality of Ruth’s love for her mother-in-law, Naomi, as opposed to the quality of Orpah’s love for Naomi. Except for this critical difference, every other detail of Ruth and Orpah’s lives are exactly the same. Both of them are Moabite women. Both of them marry the sons of Elimelech and Naomi. Both of their husbands die premature deaths. Both of them are childless. Both of them love Naomi and follow her on the road back to Israel. And both of them are encouraged by Naomi to return to their homeland.
But it is at this point that the difference in the quality of their love for Naomi emerges. It’s as if God is performing a scientific experiment to see what happens when the only difference between two people is how deeply they love someone. While Orpah loves Naomi, it becomes evident that she loves her with a love of convenience, a love that says, I will love you so long as it fits into my own agenda. Her love for Orpah had a limit and it led her to kiss Orpah goodbye and return to her homeland in Moab.
But Ruth’s love for Naomi was a love of commitment born out of her faith in God. It was a love that says, “I will love you no matter what.” Ruth’s love led her to cling to Naomi (the Hebrew word here is the same word used in Genesis 2:24 where a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife). Ruth had nothing to give Naomi other than herself. She was an alien, a widow, childless and destitute. In Naomi’s eyes, she was worthless – nothing but an extra mouth to feed.
But in God’s eyes, she was engaging in an act that would quite literally change the world. God says, “Do you want to know how it is that the Davidic dynastic could arise out of such miserable circumstances as the period of the Judges? Then look at Ruth’s love for Naomi. It was her radical act of commitment that set inmotion all the good that followed.”
And so the question is, what kind of love are we going to have for ourcare receivers? Are we going to love them with a love of convenienceso long as it doesn’t interfere with our lifestyle? Or are we going to love our care receivers with a love of commitment, a love that says, “We willnever desert you? The distinction is critical and has long lasting implications for our care receivers, for ourselves, for our churches and forthe culture in which we live.
This post first appeared in Developing a Men’s Team Ministry to Widows, Widowers and Single Parents, by Herb Reese, and in NewCommandment.org.
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Learn how to form teams of men for every widow, single mom
and fatherless child in your church at NewCommandment.org.
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