“God made a Way!”

“Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the LORD had visited his people and given them food. So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.” Ruth 1:6-7 (ESV)

Most of us have heard about the historical events of Ruth and Naomi and how Naomi’s husband and their two sons were living in Moab, some 50 miles or so from Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, where they were originally from. It indeed seems to be a tragic story of how it seems the world turned its back on one of God’s chosen people. But that would only be one side of the events. Let’s take a look at the “Rest of the Story”.

The story of Ruth took place during the Judgeship period of Israel, from the death of Joshua, who led the people into the promised land, until the reign of Israel’s first king, Saul. During this period of time, the nation really struggled with faithfulness in worshiping the true living God, “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 17:6). The people of Israel had a repeating cycle of “Sin, Oppression, Repentance and Deliverance” that characterized the nation. If you read through the Book of Judges, you will see this happening over and over again. The people sinned against God and worshiped false idols; God would judge the people and send in an outside nation to Oppress the people. Then, after years of foreign control, the people would come to their senses, repent (change their minds) of their rebellion against God, and pray for God’s help once again. Then God would hear their honest prayers and would send a deliverer to lead the people out of bondage. Think of Gideon or Samson and how God used them to deliver Israel. (Judges Chapter 6).

It was during one of the oppression cycles of Israel, when Naomi’s husband Elimelech took Naomi and their two sons and left Israel because there was a famine in the land, and moved to the foreign land of Moab, more than 50 miles to the southeast of Israel. While in this foreign land of Moab, Naomi's husband died, her two sons found Moabite wives and lived there. After some time, both of her sons died, leaving the three women, Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah, without any means of support. Without her husband or her sons to provide for her, Naomi was at the mercy of foreigners for her survival. Remember the repeating cycle of Israel’s history: Sin, Oppression, Repentance, and Deliverance? In verse 6, we read “the LORD had visited his people and given them food.” So now Israel had suffered through the famine that caused Naomi to leave the country, had repented of turning away from the Lord, had been delivered from the oppression of another nation, and was now being delivered and blessed by God.

So now there was hope for Naomi, her people, the Israelites, and her God, the only true God, were available to rescue her from her desperate situation. She would return to Israel to her hometown of Bethlehem, to find a way to live out her days under the protection of God and His chosen people.

If you continue to read Chapter One, you will see the results of a true love that Ruth had for Naomi, and for Naomi’s God, known as the great “I Am”. Some have asked the question, how in the world could Ruth believe in Israel’s God? She was a heathen, from the land of Moab, who did not worship the true living God. I personally think the answer is clear: God chose Ruth to come and follow Him. He used Naomi, her husband, and her sons to show Ruth the true nature of God Himself. We aren’t told about their daily influence on Ruth, but we can see the outcome. We aren’t told that this family recited the “Shema” every day: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Deuteronomy 6:4-9. The Jewish people would repeat this law every morning and every evening, they would teach it to their children, and I’m sure Ruth heard this along with many other truths about the one true living God.

So, in the famous verse 16, where Ruth states, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return 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.” She stated her love for Naomi and for the God of Israel. It’s no surprise to me that God had been softening Ruth’s heart for years while living with her husband’s family. I don’t know when Ruth made the decision that the gods of Moab were wrong and the true God of Israel was right (that’s called repentance) and she was persuaded to follow God (that’s called faith), but it happened, and God blessed Ruth and Naomi for their obedience.

As I read the story of Ruth, I don’t just see one daughter-in-law’s love for her mother-in-law; I see God’s love for His chosen people. When Naomi had no way of living in Moab, God made a way for her. The verse in Mark 10:27, “Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man it is impossible, but not with God." For all things are possible with God.” It works out exactly for Naomi and Ruth. You see, friends, when we look at our circumstances and the mess we have made of our lives on our own, we only see the impossible, and we despair. Just like Naomi did while she was living in Moab. But with the true God of the universe, “all things are possible with God.”

When there is no way, God makes a way. When we are lost in our sins, being separated from the true living God, and cannot make our own way to Him, He has already provided a way. His name is Jesus. Jesus is the only way to God the Father. All you need to do is what Ruth did: repent (change your mind about how to get to God) and believe (be persuaded) that God has made a way for you to become one of His chosen.

"Living in Grace is not about what I can do, but about what Jesus has already done!"