“But Ruth said, ‘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.’” — Ruth 1:16
For early Christians coming out of a Jewish background, one of the biggest challenges was to understand how the Gentiles (that is, non-Jews) could be included as equal recipients of God’s promises.
In hindsight, the Old Testament clearly teaches that God’s plan of salvation extends to all people groups, but many of the Jewish people tended to miss that emphasis.
And, it even led many Gentiles to be confused about how they could receive the salvation that comes from Israel’s God.
Though we have somewhat different challenges in the church today, there is still a connection to this former problem when it comes to understanding what it means to be a Christian, or to belong to the people of God.
One of the basic tenets of making disciples (Matthew 28:19-20) is to teach them what it means to be a disciple.
The Book of Ruth is a wonderful Old Testament aid to discipleship.
It tells the story of Ruth, a woman who by birth was excluded from the people of God since she was a Moabite, but who by faith and God’s provision came to be a recipient of God’s covenant blessings.
Ruth had married an Israelite man, but he died, leaving her in a difficult spot as a widow in an ancient society.
Ruth’s mother-in-law gave her blessing for Ruth to return to her kindred and perhaps remarry one of her own people, but Ruth refused (as you can see in the passage cited above).
Though we are left to make some inferences about the dynamics of this relationship, the essence of it is clear.
Naomi’s character and conduct toward Ruth was a faithful testimony to God and his people.
It prompted within Ruth a great love for Naomi and a desire to commit herself both to God and his people.
And so she did.
In basic form, that is what disciples do. They commit themselves to God and his people, through the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
There is certainly more that could be said for what it means to be a disciple, but this gets at one of its fundamental aspects.
The entire Old Testament, the Law, and the people of Israel were a testament to the fact that God calls his people to be a people for his own possession.
He calls them to turn from their former way of life and from the ways of the world and to commit themselves to him.
This is only possible by his grace alone, through faith alone, all because of the work of Christ alone.
Yet, Ruth is something of a picture of what it means to heed that call.
May we all have that same conviction in us, to forsake worldliness and seek Christ and his righteousness.
Amen.
The Rev. Will Barnett is the pastor of Sovereign Grace Reformed Church in Doniphan. He and his wife, Hannah, are the parents of two boys, Henry and Judson. They are from the Puxico and Bernie areas and are excited and thankful to be back serving in Southeast Missouri. Previously, Barnett pastored a Southern Baptist Church in Arizona.
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