March 15th

March 15th -- Ruth 1 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ruth%201&version=NLT)

Elimelech moves his family to Moab and Naomi and Ruth return.

So during the times where there were still judges over Israel, there was a horrible famine. Because of this, a man named Elimelech moved to Moab, bringing his family (his wife Naomi and sons Mahlon and Kilion) with him. The famly was all Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. Over time, though, her husband dies, her sons marry, then they die, too, and Naomi is left alone. One of the women who married one of her son was Ruth and the other was Orpah.

So later on, Naomi hars the God blessed his people in Judah with good crops. She gets her daughters-in-law ready, then they set out back to Judah. On the way, though, Naomi tells them to go back to their parents and says God will reward them for their kindess to her. However, they weep and argue that they do not want to leave her. Naomi asks why they would want to stay, saying she won't have any more sons whom they could marry, so they should go home and remarry there. They all weep (again), and this time Orpah leaves. Ruth, however, insists on staying with Naomi. Naomi tells Ruth she should go back, just like Orpah did. Ruth, though, asks that she not tell her to go back. She says "Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. ¹⁷ Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!” . Naomi realizes how set on coming with her Ruth is, and gives up trying to convince her to go back.

When they get back to the town Naomi came from, people begin asking "Is is really Naomi?" Naomi, though, says to call her Mara, not Naomi, because "the Almighty has made life very bitter for me." She says she left full and returned empty, and does not know why God has done this to her. So Naomi gets to Bethlehem then, in late spring, at the beginning of the barley harvest, and with Ruth in tow.

Ruth, to me, is a great example of loyalty. She has no real reason to stay with Naomi. Naomi wasn't even her mom, and after Ruth's husband died Ruth and Naomi really had no real family relationship. Ruth still had her home family, yet she chose to go with Naomi. Why? She was loyal to Naomi. She had a great love for her mother-in-law, so she left what she might have had and went with her. She probably didn't even realize it, but it was blind faith. She was trusting that if she went with Naomi, it would work out. She wasn't a believer (I don't believe) at the time, but she was blindly believing in God's promises to her. I think she can be a great example of how sometimes we need to just take a blind step of faith. Not only must we take that step, but we must do it without doubting or looking back and thinking "maybe I should step back...".

Well, that shall be all. God bless! Shalom!