HIGHLIGHT
Ruth 1:16 (ESV): 16 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.
EXPLAIN
Judges ends with really nasty stories of sexual exploitation of various kinds, war and revenge. Ruth begins with a family “giving up” on God’s people and becoming part of the “world”, only to experience disaster as the husband and both sons die prematurely.
Yet Ruth, the Moabite wife of one of those sons, experienced the truth and grace of God through the life of her mother-in-law. When Naomi would return to Israel, Ruth insisted on going with her.
APPLY
The story of Ruth gives us hope that even though our world may be dark and ugly with sin, God creates beauty through people who respond to his call.
RESPOND
Heavenly Father, help me to be one of the few who choose to follow you fully, even though the world may be caught up in sin, doing what is right in their own eyes. Amen.