Rute 1

Rute 1:16

Morris - Naomi was such a faithful witness and godly mother-in-law that both Moabite daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth, loved her dearly even after their husbands were dead. However, when Orpah had to choose, she returned to her pagan nature-gods (centered in Chemosh, "the subduer"). Ruth, evidenced true conversion to the God of creation, not only by taking God as her own Savior but by going with the people of God and entering the family of God's people. (The Defender's Study Bible) Wycliffe Bible Commentary - Whither thou goest, I will go. This section of Ruth is esteemed one of the most touching passages of literature. Ruth renounced all that she could be expected to hold dear in Moab and voluntarily chose to go to Judah and there begin an entirely new life with her mother-in-law. This choice had religious as well as cultural overtones, as we see from the words—thy God [shall be] my God. In Moab Ruth would have been expected to worship Chemosh (Num 21:29). In going to Judah, however, she would worship the God of Israel. It was a testimony both to her deceased husband and to her mother-in-law that Ruth was willing to entrust herself to the God whom they worshiped. (See context in The Wycliffe Bible Commentary or borrow Wycliffe Bible Commentary - Ruth) NLT Study Bible - Ruth swore an oath in the name of the Lord to seal her firm commitment to Israel's God (cp. Ru 2:11-12) and to Naomi. (See NLT Study Bible) NIV Study Bible (note on Ru 1:17) - May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely. See note on 1Sa 3:17. Ruth, a non-Israelite, swears her commitment to Naomi in the name of Israel's God, thus acknowledging Him as her God (see Ru 1:16). James Smith - Ruth could not bear the thought of returning to the heathen environment in which she had grown up. If she had not fully repudiated the gods of Moab before, Ruth does so at this point. She would hear no more of Naomi's urging to return to Moab. On the contrary, Ruth committed herself for better or worse to Naomi, Naomi's people, and Naomi's God. She did not even desire to return to her native Moab for burial. Nothing but death would separate her from Naomi. This commitment she sealed by a self-malediction or curse in which she used the name of Yahweh: "Thus may Yahweh do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me." The use of Yahweh's name exclusively in this oath again suggests a complete conversion on Ruth's part (1:16-17). (The Old Testament Survey Series – The Books of History) Iain M Duguid - Each of these statements ratchets up the level of her commitment a notch higher. Ruth was not merely relocating her home to go somewhere geographically less pleasant, as if someone were willing to move from sunny Southern California to the unbearable heat of Death Valley. That would be noble self-sacrifice; this is far more. She is committing her life to Naomi, body and soul, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health. In so doing, she is also committing her life to Naomi's God, whom she calls as a witness by his personal name, the Lord. She is even willing to die and be buried in Naomi's land—the land of Naomi's God, not the gods of the Moabites. Given the intimate connection between land and deity in the ancient Near East, and the importance of proper burial for a restful afterlife, this was the ultimate commitment in the ancient world. She further binds herself to do this with an oath of self-imprecation. If she reneges on her promise, she invites the Lord—Naomi's God—to stretch out his hand to strike her down. Here is an astonishing act of surrender and self-sacrifice. Ruth was laying down her entire life to serve Naomi. (Reformed Expository Commentary) Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible - Ruth demonstrated a deep, undying sense of devotion. She loved Naomi and clung to her (Ru 1:15). In contrast to Orpah, she did not give up, but bluntly rejected Naomi's pleas for her to return to Moab. But Naomi continued to insist that Ruth return to her people and her gods, just as Orpah had done (Ru 1:15). However, Ruth refused to listen to her mother-in-law. Forcefully, Ruth insisted that Naomi back off, stop urging her to leave and turn back. And then Ruth made her memorable declaration—a stunning, profound commitment (Ru 1:16-17). Was Ruth actually converted at this point, or was she converted earlier in Moab due to the belief of Naomi and her family? Or was she to be converted later, after arriving in the promised land? Scripture does not specifically say, but she had come to trust in the Lord and to take "refuge under His wings" by the time she met Boaz (Ru 2:12). Whatever the case, the startling and total commitment now declared by Ruth is a clear picture of conversion. (The Preacher's Outline & Sermon Bible: Judges & Ruth) Gordon Keddie - Ruth, however, was no longer committed to 'her people and her gods' and, in one of the most beautiful confessions of living faith ever made, she declared her resolve to go with Naomi back to Bethlehem. There is such ardour and earnestness about [Ruth's words]', said Alfred Edersheim, 'as to lift them far above the sphere of mere natural affection or sense of duty. They intimate the deliberate choice of a heart which belongs in the first place to Jehovah, the God of Israel, and which has learned to count all things but loss for the excellency of this knowledge.' The beauty of her words is unsurpassed in the rendering of the Authorized Version of 1611: 'And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or 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: where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me' (Ru 1:16,17.) With this the matter was settled. The stranger from Moab was now openly and irrevocably committed to the Lord and to his people. She who was not a Jew outwardly, after the flesh, had become, by grace through faith, a Jew inwardly and had cast her lot with God's people (cf. Romans 2:28,29). (Even in Darkness - Welwyn Commentary Series Judges and Ruth simply explained) Leon Morris adds that Ruth's "decision has religious implications of which she is not unaware. Naomi’s God will be her God. This does not mean that she has no religious principles or that she rates friendship above faith. In the very next verse she invokes Yahweh, which indicates that already she has come to trust in Him (cf. Ro 2:12). Her trust may not have been well informed, but it was real. Simeon remarks, ‘Her views of religion might not be clear: but it is evident that a principle of vital godliness was rooted in her heart, and powerfully operative in her life. In fact, she acted in perfect conformity with that injunction that was afterwards given by our Lord, “Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple”.’ (Borrow Judges & Ruth: Tyndale Old Testament Commentary) Samuel Ridout - Ruth, on the other hand, represents that remnant of the nation, which will hold fast to the promises of God, in a dim and cloudy way at first, without claiming aught as a right, but distinctly in faith laying hold upon God. This is seen in her answer to Naomi. It is not mere nature, but faith in the living God that speaks in her reply: “Entreat me not to leave thee, or 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: where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried; the Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part me and thee.” This was in answer to Naomi’s desire, that she should return to her people and her gods. It was thus real faith which made use of the covenant name Jehovah, which expressed itself in Ruth’s reply—a faith which had stood the test of having no attraction for nature offered to it. (Gleanings from the Book of Ruth) Charles M. Southgate - Ruth's choice - All the elements of a true choice of God are here described. 1. It involves the surrender of a false belief. This quiet scene may be placed beside that on Carmel. Ruth's decision is mightier in its gentleness than Israel's in its terror. In manner the two are as unlike as the dawn to the earthquake; in results as the clear ray of a planet to the flash of a meteor. In essence they are the same. Our false god has no repulsive name, such as Baal or Chemosh; its real title is self, its worship sin, its wages death. It must be surrendered. 2. True choice of God involves sacrifice. To start out with Naomi meant not pleasantness, but bitterness. Ruth followed, as she thought, to loneliness, homelessness, perpetual widowhood; against the desire of those she left, without the wish of those to whom she was going; ready to work, to beg, to die if need be, for the one who stood to her as representing God. To-day, Canaan in the Church welcomes even Moab to its circle. Earthly advantages are largely on its side. But a cross seems to wait somewhere in the way, if only that sore surrender of pride and pleasure and will which prompt the soul's real refusal. 3. God sends help to a right choice. Providences both of joy and of sorrow; attractions and repulsions of heart; subtle influences of companionship; favor and famine; marriage and mourning; our life is one long plea for Him. 4. A decision is forced. Somewhere in the way comes a test. On either side example, desire, promise; we must hold to the one and forsake the other. 5. Right decision has its great rewards. What Ruth feared proved only unsuspected blessings. Losing her life, she found it. Bishop Hall exclaims: "Oh, the sure and beautiful payment of the Almighty! Who ever forsook the Moab of this world for the true Israel, and did not at length rejoice in the change?" (Ruth 1 - Biblical Illustrator) C H