Following the deaths of her husband, Elimelech, and her two sons, Naomi released her widowed daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah, to return to their families in Moab. Orpah tearfully accepted that release and went back to her people and their gods, walking out of the pages of Scripture, never to be mentioned again. But Ruth refused to depart from Naomi. Not knowing what hardships or heartaches lay ahead of her in a foreign land, she chose to cling to what was left of her new family rather than returning to the old.
“Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; for wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.” (Ruth 1:16)
Ruth had prepared herself to step out in faith and see what this God of Israel had to offer. As David would later put it, she was ready to “taste and see that the Lord is good.” (Psalm 34:8) Ruth’s determination to follow Naomi was the pivot upon which her life turned. On the strength of that commitment, she was brought to a new time and a new place … and found a new love.
Ruth, of course, had no idea what would open up as a result of her decision. In her wildest imagination, she couldn’t have dreamed what would flow out of her choice at that desert crossroads. All she knew was—come what may—she’d made up her mind about her life’s direction. Yet on the basis of that simple decision, her life flowered as never before.
Before the rewards, however, was the commitment.
Before the blessings and bounty was the naked decision to follow the God of Israel … no matter where … no matter what.
There was a relative of Naomi’s husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech. His name was Boaz. So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field and glean the heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” Then she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. (Ruth 2:1-3)
Boaz would ultimately assure the recovery of Ruth’s life by the self-sacrifice of becoming her kinsman-redeemer. He became a magnificent Old Testament picture of the One who laid down His self-interest, laid down His reputation, and became a Kinsman-Redeemer for you and me.
Scripture says Ruth “happened upon” the field of Boaz when the sun crept over the horizon that spring morning. A divine accident? Through the years, I have discovered that when your heart is strongly inclined toward the Lord, He will see to it that your feet end up walking in the pathways and in the places that will accomplish His purposes in you.
So many people have sat with me in my office and moaned, “Oh … if I could only find the will of God! If I could only be sure of getting hold of His will!”
Yet the will of God is found in your heart.