Ruth 1:8,9a – “Faith and Love”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

⁸And Naomi said to the two of her daughter-in-laws, “Go. Return each to the house of her mother. May the LORD do love with you as you have done with [the] dead ones and with me. ⁹May the LORD give to you and may you find rest each [in] the house of her husband...”

There are several things that strike me from these verses. First of all, every time I study in this first chapter, I’m struck by how important it is for us to slow down and realize the depth of emotional pain the people are suffering. We do them and ourselves a great disservice when we just read coldly about these three women, what they do, and what they say. Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah have been dealt life’s most bitter blows. They have been bereaved of their husbands and, in Naomi’s case, her children. In their culture, the loss of their husbands (and Naomi her sons too) has left them utterly destitute. No matter what they do, at this point their lives are hopeless. It is precisely into this hopelessness that Naomi’s faith expresses itself in the words before us. Naomi has nothing to give these girls, so she gives them faith and love.

Note again how Naomi, in the very depths of grief and loss and hopelessness, is still a woman of love. Though smitten in her own grief, she can look out and love her daughter-in-laws. First of all, it is great love that she urges the girls to go home. The fact is, it would be a great benefit to her to “keep them around.” She could certainly use their help. She certainly needs their company. But she realizes she has nothing to offer them. To follow her back to Israel is to follow her into a world where they may be hated and shunned as “foreign women.” They have a far greater chance of remarrying if they stay in Moab. Naomi looks beyond her own needs and sincerely urges the girls to do what is best for them.

Then, notice what this grieving woman says to the girls: “May the LORD do love with you as you have done with [the] dead ones and with me.” Notice how she commends these girls. It has often been the case in human history that one of the most likely sour relationships is that of mother-in-law/daughter-in-law. It is easy for a mother to think no one can care for her son like her. It is easy for her to be critical of everything her daughter-in-law does. And of course the daughter-in-law knows all of this and easily resents it. And yet what do we find here? Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah love each other. And Naomi, who could be lashing out in anger, instead commends these girls for how they had cared for her sons, and prays the Lord’s kindness on them.

Then she prays asking for each of them what she doesn’t have – a husband. She is old now. Her own chances of remarrying are very slim. They have the advantage of youth. But, rather than selfishly resenting their advantage, she actually prays its benefit into their lives.

What an amazingly kind woman! I like what someone said, “This generous, unselfish spirit is one of the secrets of Naomi’s influence. Note: If we had more like Naomi in the church, we might expect to win more like Ruth from the world.”

Then just pause a minute and note her faith. Like Job, even in the depths of her own loss, what comes out of her mouth? The LORD. She can’t look at these girls and look at life and look into the hopelessness and yet, what does she see? The LORD. As Thomas Constable said, “Here is the central theme of the Bible: all of life is traced directly to the hand of God.” That is faith itself – to see God as the Great Cause of all things.

Finally I find it interesting that Naomi specifically prays that the girls would find “rest” in the house of a new husband. The word translated “rest” can also be a “resting place.” But it is definitely the idea of rest. What strikes me is that one of the things a wife can expect from a husband, and certainly one of the things a husband should strive to provide for his wife, is “rest.” Rest in what sense? I would suggest that’s true in a lot of ways, but what first comes to my mind is security. A girl ought to grow up in a world where she “never has to worry” because her Dad “takes care of everything.” But whether she had that kind of Dad or not, she ought to have a husband who does.

I remember asking an older woman once what she appreciated about her husband. She said, “He has always been a good provider. All down through the years, if we got short on money, or the kids needed things, or whatever, I never had to be the one to think about where it would come from. My husband always took it on himself to find some part-time work or do whatever he had to in order to provide for them. I never had to worry.” That is rest.

When Ruthie wanted to start dating Josh, she asked him to meet me so we could get to know each other. Somehow, even as I spoke with this young man, I knew he would take care of my daughter. I don’t remember how, but I just knew that he would be one of those men who would always see it as his job to take care of his wife and children. Of course they ended up married and he has in fact been exactly that. He is a man. He provides “rest” for his wife, my daughter.

And of course “rest” goes beyond providing materially. We could talk about the “rest” that a wife ought to feel knowing that her husband loves her and that he loves her alone, that she has no reason to ever be concerned about this faithfulness. We could talk about the “rest” of knowing her husband loves God and having the security of how that relationship will always make her husband a “strong” man. She should find “rest” in knowing he will always protect her. And so many other ways. But every husband should strive to provide his wife with “rest.”

I believe that is a very important lesson for any man to learn.

And here we learn it from the mouth of woman swallowed up in grief, yet still having faith and still reaching out in love.