And Ruth said, Do not intreat me to leave thee, to return from [following] after thee; for whither thou goest I will go, and where thou lodgest I will lodge thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God;
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
where thou diest will I die, and there will I be buried. Jehovah do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part me and thee!
Naomi has told Ruth to go home, and Ruth answers with a vow that reaches past the journey to the grave itself. She is a woman of Moab, a nation outside Israel, yet she swears by Israel's God that only death will part them.
Two daughters-in-law set out with Naomi, but only one went on. Writers put the difference down to faith, not natural feeling:
It is not mere nature, but faith in the living God that speaks in her reply... So it was real faith that spoke in Ruth's reply, a faith that used the covenant name Jehovah. It had stood the test, because nothing on offer appealed to nature.
Sympathy for God's people can look like faith. Writers point to a different first test:
The natural heart may attach itself to God's people without belonging to them. A woman like Naomi is certainly worth our sympathy, but sympathy is not the sign of faith at work. In the first place faith separates us from idols, causes us to give up our gods, and turns us to the true God.
Ruth swears by the God of Israel. To use that name she had to break with the many gods of Moab:
The gods of Moab were many, the God of Israel was one; and that one God was the true God... The principle of idolatry is an insult to God. It is an insult to His majesty. It stands against His affections, and He wants His people all for Himself. Then Ruth says, "...and your God my God." She made this definite decision. She was cutting herself off from all the gods of Moab, and finding her joy and centre in the one true God.
Ruth held on to the one person who linked her to God. Writers see the same pattern in faith itself:
Just as Ruth clung to Naomi, so faith clings to the Mediator, the one God's purposes centre on. He alone can give a sure relationship with the true God and an unshakable place before Him.
Notice what Ruth asks for. Not a home and a life, but a night's shelter and a grave:
When she made this memorable decision she knew nothing of Boaz, a picture of Christ in His present position of power. She knew nothing of the place of favour and honour that was waiting for her. Her love for Naomi controlled her, and notice that she was content not to settle and live, but to "lodge" and to "die" with Naomi. She took the path of a stranger, and what made up for it was the pleasure of Naomi's company.
Ruth does more than promise. She swears, and the oath ends the argument:
She confirmed this strong declaration with a solemn oath: "May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you." The devotion, resolve and eagerness of this speech convinced Naomi of Ruth's honesty and determination. "And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more."
The same finality is heard in plain terms: her decision had no exit clause built into it.
I am going to go right on to the end. There is no giving up, no turning back; I have made my decision, I have cast in my lot with you, your people and your God, and I am determined to go on.
How does a woman from Moab end up inside Israel's blessing? Not by any right of her own:
Ruth had no claim to the place of blessing; she came in on the ground of sovereign mercy.
The story does not stop with her getting in:
But the law does not keep Ruth out. A Moabite woman though she is, she does enter into the congregation of the Lord. The law is set aside in her favour. Her descendants are not shut out to the tenth generation; her child of the third generation sits on Israel's throne.
- Choice — Ruth's words are the language of faith, not family feeling. The natural heart can love God's people and still not belong to them.
- Break — "Your God my God" meant leaving the gods of Moab behind for good; there was no keeping both.
- Cost — she asked to lodge and to die with Naomi, not to live in comfort. She took a stranger's life before she knew Boaz existed.
- Oath — she asked God to judge her if anything but death parted them. Naomi stopped arguing.
- Outcome — she had no claim to Israel's blessing. Mercy brought her in, and her great-grandson sat on Israel's throne.