“Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. 17 Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the Lord do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me.” Ruth 1:16-17 ASB
The book of Ruth is one of my all-time favorites because it is all about a woman’s loyalty, determination and capacity for provision. I have loved it so much so that inscribed on my husband’s wedding ring is “Where you go, I will go”. And with almost 5 moves in 9 years, I think I am keeping that promise!
It is a story of Ruth, a widow in a famine land, who receives the goodness and kindness of Boaz, the owner and harvester of a plentiful field. Rahab is Boaz’ mother and so Ruth becomes part of the genealogy of King David as well as Jesus. The plot is artfully constructed and exhibits a pronounced belief in the complete, but sometimes hidden provision of God that works in ordinary events. Brief as this book is and simple as it’s story, it is remarkably rich in its examples of faith, patience, culture & industry of the time, and kindness which is an indication of how God takes care of those who put their trust in Him.
