Ruth 1 – 2
Bible Passage: Ruth 1-2
How about a little Bible trivia? Who was King David’s great grandmother? Was she a Jew? Of all the names that were recorded in the genealogy of Jesus Christ, how many were women? Can you name them? Did you know that it was not customary, in fact uncommon, for Jews to include women in their records? Did you know that Ruth is one of only two books in the Bible named after a woman?
I hope that set us thinking. Are we sufficiently curious now as to how this woman from a foreign land, once a stranger to God, His kingdom and His people, who through a series of life events, and the choices she made in those events, remained close to the household of God, worked out her salvation and found her place in the Messianic lineage (Matt 1:5-6)?
Wise and Unwise Choices
We have read and discussed at length about ‘wisdom’ as described in the book of Proverbs. I’ll like to continue along that thread and draw on some wise and unwise choices found in the first 2 chapters of the book of Ruth. They may become valuable pointers for us in making better choices at each crossroad of our lives.
Elimelech led his family to the foreign land of Moab to escape the famine in Judah. Wise or unwise choice? Elimelech would most likely have hoped to increase the chances of survival of his household in the famine by his decision. Instead, we read of a series of unfortunate deaths which occurred in the family following this decision to move to Moab. First Elimelech himself passed on, then his 2 sons. Within a span of 10 years, 3 deaths occurred in the family. Half of the total number of people in the family was wiped out. Only his wife Naomi and their 2 daughters-in-law survived.
So what went wrong? Were the deaths in his family punishment for taking things into his own hands without consultation with God?
A quick flip through my bible study reveals that the story of Ruth took place during the time of the judges – a period characterised by extreme spiritual and moral decay in Israel. The Israelites – from their rulers to the man on the street – influenced by the surrounding nations, left their worship of the true God for various forms of idol worshipping. In a time like this, and when faced with physical push factors like a famine in the land of Judah, was it wise to uproot an entire household and relocate to a land where idol-worship was deep-seated and worship of the one true God was non-existent? This was what Elimelech faced, and he had to make a choice.
What is our basis in taking one choice over another? I sometimes need to check my motivation in doing a certain task. Before heading towards a new direction, I have also learnt the hard way that seeking God’s will takes precedence over any physical push and pull factors which may exist.
Without prayers and consultation with God, no matter how great an effort we put in a task, how talented or capable we are for the job, the results are often not as good as what had been anticipated. Sometimes it means it is back to square one. We return to the exact same spot where we started from; our efforts were futile, or we could land up in a poorer state – like Elimelech. We may also not be able to share the joy of the result with God, as we have sinned in attaining our goals.
Ruth who could have set out on a new path in search of a new life for herself after her husband’s death, decided instead to follow her mother-in-law and her faith. What was so precious was that Ruth chose a path which from a physical or logical point of view, was not ‘advantageous’ to herself in any way. She later proved to be filial and hardworking, diligently working in the fields, gleaning the leftovers meant for the poor (Ruth 2:17) and sharing the fruits of her labour with her mother-in-law.
When the situation is not advantageous to us, we may have the urge to turn events around using our sharp wit and capabilities. However what God wants from us are hearts of submissiveness and a spark of wisdom to see the true value of what is laid out before us.
Naomi’s decision to return home after a series of unforeseen deaths in her family was perhaps indicative that she still kept her faith, and wanted to turn back to God. It takes great strength to be able to overcome the grief experienced by the deaths of our loved ones, it takes even greater courage to stand up and face everyone again, people who would remember you in better times and who could be pointing their fingers at you, wondering what you did to receive such misfortunes. But Naomi made her decision to return to the land of Judah and never looked back. In addition to coping with her new life, she still found time to look out for her daughter-in-law’s welfare (Ruth 2:19-23).
Wise and unwise decisions, we have to bear the consequences. I’m sure all of us hope that we make more of the former in our lives of faith. It is a mountain to climb if we do not diligently seek God’s will, and we may even take a hard tumble and land up back at base. If we want to avoid all the unnecessary pitfalls or avoid go round and round in circles, a faithful prayer can nudge us back on track and steer us in the right direction again.