Spend time in prayer and silence with God asking him to meet you and speak to you.
Bible Reading
When Naomi heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, she and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.
Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back, each of you, to your mother’s home. May the LORD show you kindness, as you have shown kindness to your dead husbands and to me. May the LORD grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband.” Then she kissed them goodbye and they wept aloud and said to her, “We will go back with you to your people.”
But Naomi said, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me-even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons-would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD’s hand has turned against me!” At this they wept aloud again.
Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her. “Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.” But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.
– Ruth 1:6-18
Devotion
People find the story of Ruth and Naomi compelling for many reasons, but often it’s because of the portrayal of love and devotion between the two women. If there’s one earthly relationship usually fraught with tension, it’s probably that between in-laws. The love demonstrated by these two women offers us glimpses of what God intended for families before, during, and after marriage.
Ruth’s request in verse sixteen also hints at another spiritual truth: the importance of “spiritual adoption.” It overcame potential in-law problems, held families together through hardship, and showed that parental love can transcend biology. It also provides us an intriguing foreshadowing of the adoptive relationship offered by God.
The Big Question
What examples of this deep devotion between people have you seen or heard about? How do these examples reflect God’s heart for relationship?
Conclude in prayer and silence reflecting on what you’ve learned.