NAOMI’S PERSONAL GOD (RUTH PART ONE)

1 Reply

NAOMI’S PERSONAL GOD (RUTH PART ONE)

We worship God because He is the only true God. As we put God first in our lives and call on His help in our need, others see us. God opens their eyes and they put their trust in Him as their personal God.

“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’” (Ruth 1:16).

These words may sound familiar. Sometimes a couple about to be married use this scripture verse in their wedding ceremony.

Ruth was from Moab. She said this to Naomi, her Israeli mother-in-law. How did Naomi get from Israel to Moab?

Back in Israel the country was struggling with famine.Crops wouldn’t grow. The animals and people competed for water because it had quit raining.

Naomi’s husband Elimelech at the time had decided to move their family of four temporarily to neighboring Moab. He thought it wouldn’t be all that long before the rains returned. Then they would all return home to Israel.

Time flew. Elimelech died. Their two sons grew and became eligible to marry. Postponing turning to Israel to find wives, Naomi found them each a Moabite lady to marry. Mahlon married Ruth, and Chilion married Orpah.

Over the course of ten years Mahlon and Chilion also died. This left Naomi, Ruth and Orpah with no men to help them in a male dominant culture. With all her kinfolk back in Israel, Naomi decided to return home. Hearing the famine had ended only increased her desire to go back. Her daughters-in-law agreed to go with her.

The Return to Bethlehem

The three women began their journey to Israel. On the way Naomi considered it was one thing for HER to return to Israel. It was another matter entirely to expect Ruth and Orpah to turn their back on everything they had known. Naomi now tried to convince them to return to their native country Moab.

By doing this Naomi was opening the door to allow these two women, her sons’ wives, to choose for themselves where they wanted to live. Did they want Moab and all it offered? Or did they want to leave Moab and deliberately choose Israel and the God of Elimelech, Naomi, Mahlon and Chilion?

Orpah chose Moab. Ruth chose Israel. We are left wondering if Ruth had observed something in this Israeli family she didn’t have but wanted. This family who were for a time living in Moab had refused to let their trust in God die.

Ruth with her eyes wide open now saw perhaps for the first time there was nothing in Moab as good as the God of Elimelech, Naomi, Mahlon and Chilion.

Now Ruth had a spring in her step as she accompanied Naomi to Israel. Naomi was encouraged because she had kept her faith in God alive while she lived in a foreign land.

How thankful we have stories like Ruth and Naomi’s to remind us of God’s great love for us.

We worship God because He is the only true God. As we put God first in our lives and call on His help in our need, others see us. God opens their eyes and they put their trust in Him as their personal God.

May we appreciate the God we have and value Him highly. Have a great day!

Shirley Logsdon

Additional reading

https://www.treadingwatertiljesuscomes.com/2018/12/10/the-influence-of-ruth/ 

THE INFLUENCE OF RUTH

 

 

This entry was posted in Shirley Logsdon on by .

About Shirley Logsdon

I am the only child of Christian parents who wanted me to know God personally as they did. One night during church we watched a movie depicting a family in their home accepting Jesus as their personal Savior. I was nine and realized then my desire to make Jesus my personal Savior. With the full support of my parents, I met with the pastor and prayed to receive Christ. A few years later, several of us around the same age began classes for our confirmation to become church members. The privilege of taking communion was a special time for me. . During my teenage years I was outwardly complacent, but was inwardly rebellious. I developed the nasty habit of disrupting harmony in the household by nitpicking at anything and everything. A preacher came to hold revival services at my dad’s church and nailed me silently with looks. This helped me tremendously. I turned a corner and began to respect and obey my parents in attitude and actions. I survived these years through prayer (mine, my parents and friends). The love and tenacity of my parents and God’s grace got me through these years of upheaval. I readily identify with David the Psalmist when he said in Psalm 25:7, “Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to Thy mercy remember Thou me for Thy goodness’ sake, O LORD.” Because my parents provided a stable home life for me, when I went to college my Christian values remained intact. After completing my education in 1979, I started working. For a while, I worked at temp agencies, then I did odd jobs. I settled down in a secretarial position in 1986 working for a firm specializing in retirement plan administration. In 2007, I started working for a law firm, eventually becoming a knowledge management assistant in their law library, helping to alert attorneys to new business opportunities. I am a productive citizen of my country in large part because my parents prayed for me and made clear by word and example what they expected of me. I am extremely grateful to God for them. John 15:5 is my life verse: “I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.” I am confronted with this realization every day I live, and it helps keep me on the straight and narrow path. I met my future husband at church. After a few years of our two families getting acquainted, he and I started courting. We married at the church where we met, in the presence of many relatives and friends. We have been married for 29 years. My hobbies are reading, cooking, and canning or freezing what my beloved husband grows in the garden. Also, I thoroughly enjoy writing. While my writing has included poems, most of my writing has been letters to family and friends. I like to share my faith when I write and am fond of adding a Bible verse or two to help focus on the source of our life. Since I am now retired after working 38 years, I can concentrate on keeping up with birthdays. Something else I enjoy is studying the Bible, often with others. Blogging is a new form of writing for me. I am getting my feet wet and I’m beginning to enjoy the experience.

One thought on “NAOMI’S PERSONAL GOD (RUTH PART ONE)”

We would love to hear from you