Grasp the Gospel — Bible Comprehension Quizzes

Ruth 1 Devotional

Brought Back, Not Abandoned

“But Ruth replied: “Do not urge me to leave you or to turn from following you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.”Ruth 1:16 (BSB)

Ruth opens with one loss after another. A famine drives Elimelech's family from Bethlehem to Moab, and there Naomi buries her husband and both of her sons (1:3-5). Hearing that the LORD has given his people food again, she starts for home (1:6). Orpah turns back, but Ruth clings to her and vows that Naomi's people will be her people and Naomi's God her God (1:16-17). In Bethlehem Naomi says the Almighty has dealt bitterly with her and the LORD has brought her home with nothing (1:20-21).

The chapter does not scold her. Her grief is real. But the reader can see what she cannot yet. She is not as empty as she thinks. A daughter-in-law who will not leave her walks beside her, and they arrive just as the barley harvest begins (1:22). When your own road seems to lead back to nothing, you can grieve honestly and still trust that God is at work in details you cannot yet see.

To think about: Where does your life feel empty right now, and what signs of God's quiet care might you be overlooking?

About Ruth 1: Naomi and Ruth Return to Bethlehem

Famine drives Naomi’s family to Moab in the era of the judges, and there her husband and both sons die. Hearing the LORD has provided food, she heads home; Orpah turns back, but Ruth vows to take Naomi’s people and God as her own, and Naomi reaches Bethlehem lamenting that the LORD has made her life bitter.

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