Your People Shall Be My People
But
Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters, why will you go with me? Do I still have
sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters, go
your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope
for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, would you then
wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my
daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for
you, because the hand of the LORD has turned against me.” Then they wept aloud
again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung
to her.
So
she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods;
return after your sister-in-law.” But Ruth said, “Do not press me to leave you
or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I
will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your
God my God. Where you die, I will die – there will I be buried. May the LORD do
thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!” When
Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.
Ruth 1:11-18
Have
you ever thought that your life is not made by the dreams you have but by the
choices you make?
You
have plenty of choices in life. And most times the choices boil down what you
want as opposed to what is best for others.
Both
Ruth and Orpah had choices to make. Their
mother-in-law Naomi told them they should go home. She did not want them to
feel any obligation to her, in spite of the fact that her loss was far greater.
She had lost her own husband and both of her sons.
Orpah and Ruth
could either go home and start a new life, or stay with Naomi to help her in
her time of need. They knew very well that if they lived with her, it would
mean living in a foreign land as widows for the rest of their lives, since few
Jewish men would want to marry a foreign woman.
Ruth
chose to serve the needs of Naomi rather than to serve herself. Orpah chose to leave Naomi for what she thought would be a
better life. Ruth went on to play a significant role in Jewish history and
became an ancestor of Jesus.
Make the best choice.
Choose to serve others.
Serve God by serving others.
Our Daily Bread –