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The Young Widow

Unlike most of the Bible’s key players, Ruth was not Jewish. She was from Moab, a region that’s now part of modern-day Jordan. She married a Jewish immigrant, but while she was still young, her husband, father-in-law, and brother-in-law all died. 

After that, her Jewish mother-in-law, Naomi, decided to move back to her home town of Bethlehem in Judah, releasing Ruth and her other daughter-in-law, Orpah, from all their obligations to her. With a bit of drama and self-pity (which—as you’ll see when you read the short, fast-moving book of Ruth—Naomi is quite prone to), Naomi urged them to stay in Moab and find new husbands.

Orpah did just that, but Ruth refused, uttering these famous words: “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) Ruth had learned enough about God from her husband’s family to know that it would be better to follow the Lord into a life of almost-certain poverty in a foreign land than to stay in her own land among people who didn’t know or follow God.

Ruth chose God over her comfort zone. And, in turn, God chose Ruth for a great honor. Through an interesting unfolding of events, she marries again and has a son. That son eventually has eight sons, the youngest of which became King David, ancestor of Jesus himself. So, because of her faith, Ruth had a role in the salvation available to the whole world—including you and me!

Have you chosen, as Ruth did, to trust the one true God for that salvation? God created us to be with Him for eternity. But, from the very first people He ever made, we’ve all sinned, choosing our own way over God’s way. That sin makes us impure and separates us from God’s perfect presence. Nothing we do can purify us and restore us to a relationship with Him.

But God, in His justice and mercy, sent His one and only Son, Jesus—fully divine and fully human—to live the perfect life we couldn’t live and take the punishment of death on our behalf. When we trust in Jesus, God accepts His sacrifice on our behalf—forgiving our sins, sending His Spirit to live in us, and granting us eternal, joyful life with Him. 

Reflect:

Is anything holding you back from trusting in Jesus today? 

If you’ve trusted Jesus, what comfort zone might He be urging you to step out of to better follow Him?