Session 12
EXPLORE THE TEXT
We need to allow others to minister to us.
16 But Ruth replied:
Don’t plead with me to abandon you or to return and not follow you.
For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live;
your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.
17 Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried.
May the Lord punish me, and do so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.
18 When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped talking to her.
Remind adults about the contrast between Ruth and Orpah.
Explain the structure of Ruth’s pledge and its intensity.
This is the first time Ruth speaks in the book that bears her name.
First: Don’t plead with me to abandon you.
Orpah was gone, but Ruth had no desire to return to her past.
The Hebrew word translated abandon underscores the passion
of Ruth’s fidelity. She begged Naomi to stop challenging her desire to make the journey to Israel.
Ruth offered a poetic, three-part statement of loyalty to her mother-in-law.
Naomi’s people would become Ruth’s people, and Naomi’s God would become Ruth’s God.
The pledge to live with Naomi was a promise of companionship, while the pledge to follow Naomi’s God was a promise of commitment.
This is especially interesting considering the law made it clear that no Moabite could enter the Lord’s assembly to the 10th generation (Deut. 23:3).
Some scholars believe this does not represent a full conversion for Ruth
since she used a more generic name for God (Elohim).
However, it likely suggests a first step toward a deeper faith down the road.
Summarize this content from page 113 of the PSG:
“Ruth’s words capture the beauty of true love.
She opened her heart to her mother-in-law without reservation or hesitation.
She begged for Naomi to accept her decision to remain with her.
She enjoined her life to Naomi’s and called on God to witness her promise.
Ruth’s unselfish loyalty has been quoted, praised, and shared throughout generations.
In an age of self-promotion and individualism, loyal love stands out like a rare jewel.”
Once she heard Ruth’s passionate plea, Naomi stopped trying to convince her to follow Orpah back to Moab.
Naomi realized that Ruth wanted to stay by her side, no matter what.
By pledging her loyalty to Naomi,
Ruth was also surrendering her future to God.