Choosing the Path of Blessing

A sorrowful trio stood at the edge of town. Tears flowed down the cheeks of two young women, while the face of the older women bore the traces of its sorrow with a look of determination. Nothing would move her from the course of action upon which she had decided.

The two younger women clung to the older one, as if refusing to part with one so dear. The older woman said to the younger two,

“Go, return each unto her mother’s house: the Lord deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me. The Lord grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband.”

At this, the other two wept even louder and said that they would go with her on her journey back to her homeland. But the older woman told them to turn back. They were all three widowed, and she had no more sons for her young daughters-in-law to marry.

With tears still flowing, one of the young widows, Orpah, reluctantly turned away and went back to her home. The other, however, clung to the older woman, who again told her to go and to return with her sister-in-law.

That is when this young widow, Ruth, speaks the words which would define the direction of her life from then on:

“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 thee and me.”

The story of Ruth is a remarkable account of a young woman who shows remarkable loyalty to her mother-in-law. It is easy to skim past the first chapter and settle in to the account as Boaz comes on the scene and God’s plan begins to unfold, but the first chapter holds the key to all that follows.

You see, Ruth was a Moabite, and had undoubtedly been raised in a home and society that did not worship the God of Israel. That is why Ruth’s decision to stay with her mother-in-law Naomi was so significant. By choosing to follow Naomi to Israel, she was not only leaving behind Moab; she was leaving behind its culture and its religion.

I always imagine the scene between Naomi and Ruth as happening at a fork in the road. All that Scripture says about it is that it happened “on the way to return unto the land of Judah.” Regardless of what the road looked like, Ruth had only two choices: to stay or to go.

Her choice to start down that road towards Bethlehem meant that Ruth, whether or not she knew it at the time, had chosen to walk the path of blessing. Throughout the book of Ruth, we see her studiously doing what is right. She listens to her mother-in-law’s advice as to how to behave and where to glean. She willingly works hard to provide for herself and her mother-in-law, and God blesses her with abundantly more than she had expected.

If you’ve never read the book of Ruth, you just have to experience the story for yourself from the Bible, because I can never do it justice. It is a remarkable story of God’s abundant provision and blessing, but like all stories, it had a beginning. In order for Ruth to experience the joy of God’s provision and blessing, she first had to choose to walk obediently in the path of blessing.

In Ruth’s case, the blessing of God was both material and spiritual, but blessing does not equal wealth or prosperity. Blessing sometimes equals contented fellowship with God made all the sweeter by the removal of distractions. The blessing of God sometimes takes on an unexpected shape, but it is always perfectly bestowed.

Ruth’s choice defined the course of her story, and it’s the same for you and me. God lays before us the choice of whether our story will be one of obedience and blessing, or disobedience and blight. It’s up to us to decide which path to take.

“Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.” Psalm 16:11