Ruth 1:8-18

Ruth's Determination to Remain With Naomi Ruth 1:8-18

8 And Naomi said unto her two daughters-in-law, Go return each to her mother's house: the Lord deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.
9 The Lord grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept.
10 And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people.
11 And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?
12 Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have a husband also tonight, and should also bear sons;
13 Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord is gone out against me.
14 And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law; but Ruth clave unto her.
15 And she said, Behold thy sister-in-law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister-in-law.
16 And Ruth said, 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:
17 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 thee and me.
18 When she saw that she was steadfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.

9.

Why did Naomi ask each of her daughters-in-law to return to her mother's house? Ruth 1:8

They would need the maternal protection since their husbands were dead. By referring to the mother's house instead of the father's house, Naomi may have indicated the girls were without fathers. If so, they had suffered tragic losses in the early deaths not only of their husbands, but also of their fathers. Even if the fathers were alive, Naomi may have mentioned the mothers on account of the close ties of the women with their mothers.

10.

What kind of wives had Orpah and Ruth been? Ruth 1:8

They had been kind, good, and loving. No reason is given to the Bible student to believe the suggestion of their being wicked women and occasioning the deaths of their husbands. Some believe judah received this kind of impression from the associations of his sons with Tamar and thus procrastinated in giving his youngest son to her as her husband. Still more believe Onan was possessed of this same fear of Tamar. The Bible narrative is clear, however, in attributing the death of both Er and Onan to their own wickedness (Genesis 38:7; Genesis 38:9). Judah's procrastination in giving Shelah to Tamar as her husband should rather be attributed to his being dilatory. Certainly nothing in the account of the lives of Ruth and Orpah suggest their being wicked and occasioning the deaths of their husbands, Mahlon and Chilion. All of the record of their lives is good.

11.

What is the meaning of the remark about the hand of the Lord? Ruth 1:13

Naomi felt the losses were punishment from God. Most people quickly jump to the same conclusion when they suffer losses. Job's friends accused him of doing evil and thus receiving punishment from the hand of God. The Apostles thought the man born blind must have sinned and received his blindness as a punishment from God (John 9:1 ff.). Since Naomi had lost her husband and her two sons after having fled from their home on account of a famine, she believed God was against her.

12.

Why did Ruth wish to return with Naomi? Ruth 1:16

Naomi had simply the earthly prosperity of her daughter-in-law in her mind. With Ruth, however, it was evidently not merely strong affection and attachment by which she felt herself drawn to her mother-in-law. She wished to live and die with her. There was a leaning of her heart towards the God of Israel and His laws, of which she herself was probably not yet fully conscious. She had acquired this faith in her married relation, It was her earnest wish never to be separated from Naomi and her God.

13.

From where did Ruth obtain her power of expression? Ruth 1:16-17

She had been accustomed to hearing similar expressions of love and devotion from her new family. Some may think her expression was inspired of the Holy Spirit. God must have been pleased with her statement of her faith and desire, but nothing in the narrative suggests Ruth's being overpowered by the Spirit of God and enabled to give an expression beyond what was natural to her. Her pleasant associations with Mahlon and his family brought these thoughts to her mind.

14.

What was the effect of the intermarriage on the two young women? Ruth 1:17-18

They had been brought out of idolatry. Orpah was not as devoted as Ruth, but she had at least begun to find her way out of the pagan society in which she had been reared. Ruth's faith was deep enough to cause her to leave her family behind, to go out of her native country into a strange land, and to seek a new life in a community where she had no prospect of happy married life. Her experience as the wife of Mahlon had brought a big change in her life.