Praise the Lord! Let us take a moment to thank and praise the Lord for the goodness and mercy He extended in our life during the past moments and days and weeks and months and years, as we the devout followers of Christ are all called to live a sustainable Christian life. In fact, we are called to live a life worthy of His calling we received. Sometimes, it might be hard to live our life the way the Scripture guides us and leads us as the world and its patterns keep on changing from time to time from the way it is originally established at the time of its creation. When we look around in our surroundings or extend our eyes and ears beyond our known surroundings, we can notice that the world we live in is going through some kinds of crisis and struggles in life. Also, we can notice that untold number of people even in our known circles, including many of us, are going through and uneasiness difficult situations in life. They are struggling to meet the needs of their life – spiritual needs, emotional needs, material needs, and so on. Of course, Jesus told His disciples in advance while He was with them that in this world you will have trouble but remember that I have overcome the world, as He warned them, saying: I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world (John 16:33). As followers of Christ, we may have to face struggles of various kinds in life but remember the promise of Christ that we need to trust our Lord and savior Jesus Christ who Himself went through such struggles in life while on earth and have overcome it and now promises us that He will comfort us and give us peace of mind as we go through trials and troubles in life (refer: John 14:27; 16:33; Philippians 4:7). In a similar way, we are comforted by Christ Jesus during the times of trials and troubles in our lives, we are also called to comfort others who go through similar situations in life, as Apostle Paul stated: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). Let us also refer few more similar Scripture passages regarding helping one another …

• • We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up (Romans 15:1-2)
  • Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2)
  • Encourage and build one another up, just as you are already doing (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
  • Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness (Hebrews 3:13).

As we are comforted and encouraged by the Lord our God, let us encourage one another and stay close to the Lord our God who cares for us, as Asaph, one of the prominent worship leaders and psalmists whom king David appointed to lead praise and worship before the Ark of the Covenant testified regarding his own relationship with the Lord his God: As for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds (Psalm 73:28).

The Lord our God has blessed us with an encouraging and hopeful Scripture passage for our SftW meditation this week, which is take from the book of Ruth 2:11b-12. As the author’s name is not mentioned in the book itself or there are solid external evidences available to prove the authorship of the book, it is still not clear who exactly wrote the book of Ruth. However, many Biblical historians and scholars believe that the book of Ruth is written by Samuel the prophet as he was the last person to serve as a Judge in Israel (1 Samuel 3:20; 7:15; 12:11; Acts 13:20) and anointed Saul as the first king in Israel (1 Samuel 9:16; 10:1) and, then, anointed David to succeeded Saul as king in Israel (1 Samuel 16:13; 2 Samuel 2:4; 5:3; Psalm 89:20; Acts 13:22) [these were the very first two kings in Israel] who also mentioned about the genealogy of king David from Judah son of Jacob to David son of Jesse in the book (Ruth 4:11-12, 16-22). The book mainly focuses on describing God’s sovereignty, faithfulness, redeeming power, and His future plans for His faithful ones. In addition, the book portrays God’s loving kindness and divine providence in times of scarcity and trouble, particularly in caring for Naomi (an Israelite woman) and her daughter-in-law Ruth (a Moabite woman). There are not very many people involved in the book of Ruth. A few who are mentioned in the book include an Israelite family [Ephrathites] from Bethlehem in Judah, whose names are Elimelech and his wife Naomi, and their two sons, named Mahlon and Kilion (Ruth 1:1-2). Other figures who are important to know are the Moabite women named Orpah and Ruth [the daughters-in-law of Naomi] (Ruth 1:3-4); Boaz, a close relative of Elimelech who is also one of their guardian-redeemers (Ruth 2:19-20); another unnamed guardian-redeemer more close relative than Boaz (Ruth 3:12-13; 4:1-6); and ten of the elders of the town of Ephrathah in Bethlehem and two of the women who together built up the family of Israel, namely, Leah and Rachel [sisters] (Ruth 4:11); and a list of David’s ancestors from Judah to king David (Ruth 4:12, 16-22).

We can understand from the book that the Israelite family (Elimelech, his wife Naomi and their two sons Mahlon and Kilion) is deeply connected with Moab (where they came to stay for a while due to a famine in Bethlehem) through Ruth and Orpah the Moabite women who married Mahlon and Kilion. Elimelech, Mahlon, and Kilion die in Moab and Orpah [Kilion’s wife] return to her home but Naomi and Ruth left alone and eventually returned to Bethlehem as famine era passed, where Boaz, one of their guardian redeemers, marries Ruth and they were blessed with a son named Obed the father of Jesse of Bethlehem the father of David, one of the greatest kings ever ruled in Israel. We can understand from the Scripture that God chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens; from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance. David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them (Psalm 78:70-72). As a result, God made a covenant with David, saying: Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever (2 Samuel 7:16; also refer to Psalm 89:3-4, 35-37). When we study the New Testament, especially the gospels, we can understand that Jesus the Messiah, the anointed One of God / the Son of God], entered this lowly world as the Savior of mankind in the line of David (Matthew 1:1 [1:1-17]; also refer to Isaiah 9:7; Micah 5:2; John 3:16).

The Scripture passage we chose for our meditation (that is, Ruth 2:11b-12) is taken from the conversation that took place between Boaz and Ruth. In order to understand the context of the passage, we need to read the early part of the book of Ruth where it is recorded that a man named Elimelech and his wife Naomi along with their two sons (Mahlon and Kilion) left their native land of Ephrathah of Bethlehem and went to live for a while in the country of Moab due to a famine in the land (Ruth 1:1-2). As they were slowly settling down in Moab, the first wave of tragedy hit the family when Elimelech died and Naomi was left with her two sons (Ruth 1:3). In the course of time, both Mahlon and Kilion took wives from among the Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth (Ruth 1:4). As days passed, a second wave of tragedy hit the family when both Mahlon and Kilion died. Now, Naomi was left without her husband and her two sons but only herself and her two daughter-in-laws (Ruth 1:5). As her life was getting tougher and strenuous without her husband and sons and she heard that the Lord had come to the aid of his people back in Bethlehem by providing food for them, she decided to return to Bethlehem (Ruth 1:6) but urged her daughter-in-laws to return to their respective homes where their parents and others can care for them (Ruth 1:8). However, while Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye and return to her mother’s home, Ruth clung to her mother-in-law Naomi and urged her not to compel her to return to her home, as she affirmed:

Ruth replied, Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me (Ruth 1:16-17).

When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her and they together traveled to Bethlehem in Judah (Ruth 1:18-19). From the narrations about Ruth, the Moabite daughter-in-law of Naomi, we can understand that her loyalty to her mother-in-law Naomi was genuine and her devotion to the God of Israel was real (Ruth 1:16-17). In addition, we can also understand the importance of the lives of Naomi and Boaz who became an integral part of Ruth’s life and ultimately Boaz and Ruth became the great grandparents of David, and eventually all whose names are recorded in the genealogy of Jesus Christ were counted among the earthly ancestry of Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Matthew 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-38).

Though Ruth was a Moabite woman, she was humble enough to stay closer to her helpless and widowed mother-in-law Naomi, which uncovers the fact that Ruth …

• • … was able to treat her mother-in-law with respect, kindness and love
  • … was a woman with kindness in heart
  • … was a woman of unwavering loyalty
  • … was a woman of selfless commitment
  • … was a gracious and hard-working woman
  • … was a woman of integrity
  • … was a woman of noble character (Ruth 3:11)
  • … was a woman of faith who believed in the God of Israel
  • … trusted and placed her hope and future in the God of Israel
  • … was ready to give up on her family, friends, nation, and the deities whom she worshipped until she became the wife of Mahlon, an Israelite, and his family
  • … being a Moabitess, was bold enough to marry a foreign man and, thus, embrace a new foreign family and friends and nation and God as her own
  • … was willing to trust and take refuge under the shadow of the God of Israel rather than the deities of Moab
  • … found shelter in the presence of the God of Israel in times of trouble (Psalm 9:9; 46:1; Proverbs 18:10)

As Ruth married Mahlon, an Israelite man whose lifestyle and traditions and faith and belief systems and God and almost everything they say and do were different from hers, accepted the new realities and left her father and mother and her native land and came to live with a people she did not know before (Ruth 2:11b), each of us who accepts Christ Lord Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of our life as we declare with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead and follow Him faithfully ought to leave everything we value in life [like treasures and wealth and accomplishments and so on] behind and focus on following Jesus Christ faithfully and wholeheartedly with focused heart and mind in Christ Jesus, as Apostle Paul stated: What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ (Philippians 3:8; also refer to: Matthew 16:26; Luke 14:33; Romans 8:18). Boaz blessed Ruth as she left her father and mother and her homeland and came to live with a people she did not know before, saying: May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge (Ruth 2:12). Remember, in the land of Moab, her husband Mahlon and his family were foreigners for the people in Moab and the family was hit with tragedy after tragedy but when she came to the land of Judah [along with her mother-in-law Naomi] despite being a foreigner to the people of Judah she was welcomed and found favor in the sight of the people and the God of Israel:

• • Ruth stayed close to her mother-in-law Naomi and cared for her in her old age and God honored Ruth for her love and kindness towards Naomi
  • Ruth trusted the God of Israel wholeheartedly and His favor rested upon her for the rest of her life
  • Ruth was poor and needy and vulnerable as she arrived in Bethlehem along with her mother-in-law Naomi but God blessed her with the means of finding food and security
  • Ruth was widowed and helpless in Moab but God strengthened her and blessed her with her own family in Judah
  • God blessed her more than she could ask or imagine and the history will honor her as the immediate grandmother of king David and one of the [earthly] great, great grandmothers of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, as her name is also mentioned in the genealogy Jesus the Messiah (refer to: Matthew 1:1-17; 16:16; Luke 2:11; John 1:41; 4:25-26).

Similarly, we also will receive a great deal of blessings from the Lord our God who created us in His likeness and image and cares for us with everything we need in life if we trust Him wholeheartedly and follow His righteous laws and decrees and commands faithfully. As Boaz the Bethlehemite became the guardian-redeemer in Ruth’s life, the guardian-redeemer in our life is Jesus the Messiah who redeemed/saved us from the grip of sin and death by laying down His very life for us, as Apostle John stated: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us (1 John 3:16; also refer to: John 3:16; 15:13; Romans 5:8; Ephesians 5:2).

It is important to know the fact that both these Moabite women, namely, Ruth and Orpah, married to two Israelite men who were brothers, namely Mahlon [who married Ruth] and Kilion [who married Orpah], the sons of Elimelech and Naomi who, along with their two sons, came to live for a while in the country of Moab because of the famine in the land of Judah (Ruth 1:1-5); and both Ruth and Orpah …

• • … married the same Israelite household, which is Elimelech and Naomi’s household who came down to live in Moab from Judah
  • … went through a similar life-situations as both of their husbands passed away,
  • … decided to continue to stay with their mother-in-law Naomi who also lost her husband
  • … decided to go with Naomi their mother-in-law to Bethlehem to their husbands’ native land and into their inheritance (Ruth 1:10)
  • … started out their journey from Moab to Bethlehem with Naomi their mother-in-law (Ruth 1:6-7)

As these three widows (Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah) set out and hit the Moab-Judah Road heading out towards Bethlehem, all of a sudden Orpah [the wife of late Kilion] changed her mind and decided to return to her parents’ home (Ruth 1:14). The Scripture doesn’t say what might have triggered her to take such a decision at that point of time, as they had already started out towards Judah from Moab. Who knows, Orpah might have …

• • … worried that she had to leave her known world [Moab] and language and life-style and people [family and friends] and surroundings and go to an unknown foreign land [Judah] and language and people and live rest of her life over there
  • … worried that she might not be able to meet her family once she leave Moab and travel to Judah
  • … worried about the uncertainties of a new life in a new land and without a husband or son’s support [foreign country]
  • … thought that her parents and rest of her family members would help her to find another husband for her from Moab itself
  • … given priority to her people and country and gods rather than being as a foreigner or an outsider in the land of Judah [but Ruth thought differently / Ruth 1:16-17]… worried about the unseen dangers lying hidden in the solitary roads and pathways heading towards Bethlehem in Judah
  • … thought that the people of Bethlehem and Judah might mistreat her or endanger her life as she was a foreigner

Although Orpah loved Naomi her mother-in-law just as Ruth the other daughter-in-law loved Naomi, she didn’t want to take any risk and go with Naomi to a world that was unknown to her, whereas Ruth [knowing the risk that she was about to take] decided to go with Naomi into the same world, which is utterly unknown to her (Ruth 1:15-17). Eventually, Orpah said good-bye to her mother-in-law Naomi and her sister-in-law Ruth and returned to her parents’ home (Ruth 1:14). Keep in mind that this is the last time we hear about Orpah [who was Kilion’s wife and the daughter-in-law of Naomi and Ruth’s only brother-in-law’s wife] as we do not hear about her at all thereafter as she changed her mind and returned to her parents’ home in Moab (Ruth 1:14). Despite being left alone from the known family and friends and surroundings in Moab, or seeing all the commotions Orpah her sister-in-law caused, or knowing the fear of the unknowns in a new land [foreign land] and new people and new circumstances, Ruth clung to her mother-in-law and decided to go with her mother-in-law to Bethlehem where her late husband was born and raised (Ruth 1:15-17). Although Ruth had every right to return to her family (her parents’ home / Ruth 1:8) as her husband Mahlon is no more, she decided to go to Bethlehem in Judah and stay with Naomi her mother-in-law and care for her for the rest of her life. If Ruth decided to return to her parents’ home when Naomi urged her to return, we would not have heard about her thereafter in the same way we do not know or hear about Orpah the wife of Kilion who returned her parents home as Naomi urged her. We do not know about Orpah but we know about Ruth and continue to hear about her as God honored her for her such decision. As a result, she entered in the territory of Judah [the promised land], and was welcomed by the people in Bethlehem, and was accepted into a godly family in Bethlehem not as a friend or guest or a relative but as a family member as Boaz married her to be his wife. In a nutshell, (i) her determined decisions and (ii) precise perspectives and (iii) positive attitudes and (iv) hopeful approaches prepared her to lead the way for a godly life-style and be part of the family of God.

Dear friends in the Lord, as we are about conclude this week’s SftW meditation, let us focus on following our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ [our guardian-redeemer] faithfully. There are many things to learn from the lives of Naomi, Ruth and Orpah as we just discussed about their lives. Let us hold on to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ just as Naomi and Ruth held onto each other and together to the God of Israel. Sometimes, when we face some kinds of trials and struggles in life, just as Orpah did, even the faithful followers of Christ also may feel like giving up their faith-life and live according to the pattern of this world and follow its lifestyle as the world is alluring us and waiting for us with open hands (refer: Matthew 24:24; Mark 13:22; Acts 20:29-30). We, His faithful followers, need to cling unto Jesus our Lord and Savior who is able to keep us safe and secure in times of trials and struggles in life (Psalm 121:7; Isaiah 41:10; Matthew 28:20; 2 Thessalonians 3:3). Not only that [as God honored and blessed Ruth] the Lord will reward and bless us and anyone who follow Him faithfully more than they could ask or imagine, just as Jesus assured His disciples, saying: Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life (Matthew 19:28-29; also refer to: Mark 10:29-30; Luke 18:29-30). May the Lord God Almighty bless us all! Amen!