I have been reading the book of Ruth again in the Bible and I noticed something that I missed before. The book tells the story of three women – Naomi, Orpah, and Ruth.
In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. The man's name was Elimelek, his wife's name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.
Now Elimelek, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband. Ruth 1:1-5
It appears that neither Ruth nor Orpah, in the ten years they had been married, had borne children with their husbands. So, the three women were all childless widows, left bereft and alone.
"To be a childless widow was to be among the lowest, most disadvantaged classes in the ancient world. There was no one to support you, and you had to live on the generosity of strangers. Naomi had no natural family in Moab, and no one else to help her. Clearly the narrative is sketching the picture of an utterly hopeless, desperate situation!" -- David Guzik, Enduring Word Bible Commentary
Naomi urges Ruth and Orpah to go back to their people and their "gods" to find husbands and build a family. It seemed a sure thing. It seemed the way of prosperity and abundance. Naomi was empty, had nothing to offer. Choosing to go with Naomi and Naomi's God, appeared to be choosing barrenness, exile from homeland and tribe, possible attack on the road or in the field, starvation, and even death. That also seemed like a sure thing.
"Orpah did the sensible, expected thing, Ruth the extraordinary and unexpected. Thus, Ruth models an adventurous faith, one willing to abandon the apparently sensible and venture into unknown territory. Whatever her motives—deep affection, a sense of loyalty, misguided idealism—she sacrificed her destiny to "cling to" an aged, hopeless mother-in-law. One may understand Orpah; one must emulate Ruth." -- Robert L. Hubbard Jr., Book of Ruth
In the end, Ruth chose to stay with Naomi and Orpah chose to go back home. Yet, who were these "gods" of the Moabites to whom Orpah returned? The national god of the Moabites was Chemosh. They also worshipped Baal of Peor, both of which demanded human sacrifice.1 In 2 Kings 3:27 we see the king of the Moabites offering his eldest son as the Israelites besieged them. So, the way of prosperity and abundance and comfort and security, the sure thing, may have cost Orpah, in the end, the thing she wanted the most - her future children. Might she have been forced to sacrifice a son, her firstborn son?
Many think the name Chemosh meant destroyer and/or subduer. What a contrast to the God whom Ruth chose! The God who is Creator and came to carry our burdens and set us free. The God of life, the God who is love. And the wonderful, marvelous thing is that Ruth, who to follow Israel's God seemingly gave up all prosperity and security – even life itself – and all hope of ever having a son, became the great-grandmother of David, of whom the Messiah would be called The Son of David. Messiah, Yeshua, Jesus, who called himself The Life, and who is the Life of the world.
Do we realize how important our decisions are? Standing at the crossroads of life and death. Do we see the future-now, but also the eternal ramifications?
God urges us to choose life. But sometimes choosing life looks like death.
Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. Matthew 10:39
For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? Matthew 16:25-26
Let us follow after Jesus and find Life. It's a sure thing.
Salvation
1John D. Davis, "Baal," A Dictionary of the Bible, Fourth Rev. Ed., 1958
Photo, Crossroads by Carsten Tolkmit (color manipulated) https://flic.kr/p/a4b7bd
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