Loyalty
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16 And Ruth said, Intreat 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:
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.
INTRODUCTION
“Loyalty is a rare commodity in today’s world. Employers deplore the lack of it in the workplace. Church leaders grieve its disappearance in churches, and its absence is a major cause of family problems and the diminishing number of long-term marriages” (Redick, n.d.).
1. Our lesson today is a story of a woman who demonstrated loyalty.
2. The story of Ruth begins when Naomi decides to return to Bethlehem in Judah.
3. The time frame of this story is the generation following Joshua’s invasion of Jericho.
The story of Ruth begins when Naomi decides to return to Bethlehem in Judah.
4. Elimelech and Naomi left the Promised Land because there was a famine in the land.
I. RUTH’S EARLY LIFE
A. Ruth’s Birthplace—Moab
5. After leaving Bethlehem, Judah, the boys married Moabite women.
I. RUTH’S EARLY LIFE
A. Ruth’s Birthplace—Moab
I. RUTH’S EARLY LIFE
A. Ruth’s Birthplace—Moab
1. Ruth was a Moabitess.
2. God’s people were never to intermarry, or even convert a Moabite.
2. God’s people were never to intermarry, or even convert a Moabite.
An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the Lord for ever:
An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the Lord for ever:
3. Apparently God made an exception.
Deuteronomy 23:33. Apparently God made an exception.
3. Apparently God made an exception.
“Ruth was a remarkable fruit of an unfortunate scenario. Ruth’s conversion to Naomi’s faith was an unexpected.
“Apparently, God Himself was impressed with Ruth’s conversion, because He chose to send the Messiah through Ruth’s offspring” (Davis, 2000, winter, p. 51).
4. We know nothing of Ruth’s own family.
5. All we know is that she married Naomi’s son, Mahlon. Which made her an in-law.
B. Time to Return
1. Three graves were dug over a ten-year span; all three women were left widows.
2. Naomi offers the two younger women freedom from the responsibility of staying with her and providing
for her.
3. In fact, she encourages them to return to their parent’s homes while they are still young enough to re-
marry.
4. One of them, Orpah, does return, and we hear nothing more of her.
5. The other, Ruth, does not, and her response to Naomi is an expression and demonstration of unwavering
loyalty.
6. In this study Ruth’s loyalty is an example of something all too rare.
7. Oh, that we could have more of it among God’s people today!
II. SOME IMPORTANT TRUTHS ABOUT LOYALTY
A. You Cannot Have Loyalty without Liberty
“‘Look,’ said Naomi, ‘your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her’” ().
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.
1. The story of Ruth demonstrates what we all need to know: Loyalty cannot be demanded, coerced, or purchased.
2. When people choose to backslide or leave the church, the pastor is very limited in what he can do.
a. We have to let them go!
b. We have to give them the liberty to walk away.
b. We have to give them the liberty to walk away.
3. What they lack is loyalty, and loyalty cannot be demanded, coerced, or purchased.
“You can issue ultimatums, you can bark orders, you can pronounce condemnations all day long, but none of these things will produce loyalty in people who do not want to be loyal. They must be given the freedom to depart” (Redick, n.d.).
4. This is an important truth for those who are married, or even those who are dating. You have to give freedom to choose if there ever is to be loyalty.
“A New England girl had just become engaged when the Civil War broke out. Her fiancé was called into the army, so their wedding had to be postponed. The young soldier managed to get through most of the conflict without injury, but at the Battle of the Wilderness he was severely wounded. His bride-to-be, not knowing of his condition, read and reread his letters, counting the days until he would return.
“What those persons who refuse to be loyal to anything beside themselves usually do is drift. In their conceived ‘freedom,’ they go carelessly from one thing to the next to the next. They studiously avoid commitment. They zealously guard their free time and their sel sh interests. They form no bonds and no bonds are formed with them. They live for themselves and themselves alone” (Redick, n.d.).
“A New England girl had just become engaged when the Civil War broke out. Her fiancé was called into the army, so their wedding had to be postponed. The young soldier managed to get through most of the conflict without injury, but at the Battle of the Wilderness he was severely wounded. His bride-to-be, not knowing of his condition, read and reread his letters, counting the days until he would return.
5. Ruth lived in the time of the judges, a time very similar to ours.
In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
6. People did only what they wanted to do—those things that gratified.
B. You Cannot Put Conditions on Loyalty
And Ruth said, Intreat 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:
1. Ruth’s declaration of loyalty was unconditional.
a. Whatever the path.
b. Whatever the place.
c. Whomever the people.
b. Whatever the place.
c. Whomever the people.
b. Whatever the place.
c. Whomever the people.
2. Notice the open-ended nature of the words.
2. Notice the open-ended nature of the words.
3. No “ifs, ands, or buts.”
4. Unconditional commitment—that’s what loyalty is.
5. Whatever path you choose, wherever the path may lead, whomever I meet on the path, I will stick with
you!
3. No “ifs, ands, or buts.”
4. Unconditional commitment—that’s what loyalty is.
5. Whatever path you choose, wherever the path may lead, whomever I meet on the path, I will stick with
you!
“A New England girl had just become engaged when the Civil War broke out. Her fiancé was called into the army, so their wedding had to be postponed. The young soldier managed to get through most of the conflict without injury, but at the Battle of the Wilderness he was severely wounded. His bride-to-be, not knowing of his condition, read and reread his letters, counting the days until he would return.
“A New England girl had just become engaged when the Civil War broke out. Her fiancé was called into the army, so their wedding had to be postponed. The young soldier managed to get through most of the conflict without injury, but at the Battle of the Wilderness he was severely wounded. His bride-to-be, not knowing of his condition, read and reread his letters, counting the days until he would return.
Suddenly the letters stopped coming. Finally she received one, but it was written in an unfamiliar handwriting. It read, ‘There has been another terrible battle. It is very difficult for me to tell you this, but I have lost both my arms. I cannot write myself. So a friend is writing this letter for me. While you are as dear to me as ever, I feel I should release you from the obligation of our engagement.’
The letter was never answered. Instead, the young woman took the next train and went directly to the place her Fiancé was being cared for. On arrival she found a sympathetic captain who gave her directions to her soldier’s cot. Tearfully, she searched for him. The moment she saw the young man, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. ‘I will never give you up!’ she cried. ‘These hands of mine will help you. I will take care of you’” (Redick, n.d.).
C. You Cannot Put an Expiration Date on Loyalty
“Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried” ().
Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.
“Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God” ().
1. Ruth’s declaration of loyalty was unconditional. a. Whatever the path.
b. Whatever the place.
c. Whomever the people.
2. Notice the open-ended nature of the words.
3. No “ifs, ands, or buts.”
4. Unconditional commitment—that’s what loyalty is.
5. Whatever path you choose, wherever the path may lead, whomever I meet on the path, I will stick with
you!
1. Geese are Fiercely loyal animals.
“Loyal unto death, geese are fiercely loyal animals. Unlike many other animals, geese choose their mates and stay with them ‘until death do they part.’
A goose will only seek out a new partner when his or her original mate has died, and some will refuse to mate again. This is particularly interesting since geese can live to be 25 years old.
These birds are also very protective of their loved ones.
If a goose’s mate or gosling becomes sick or injured, she will often refuse to leave her ailing family member. This protective instinct takes priority over her own survival; she will remain by her loved one’s side even if winter is approaching and the other geese in her group are heading south.
Emotionally, a goose will respond to the loss of her mate or unhatched eggs by secluding herself from others and taking the time to mourn.
Nobel laureate, Konrad Lorenz-- found that geese express grief in a manner similar to young children when he wrote that
‘the eyes sink deep into their sockets, and the individual has an overall drooping experience, literally letting the head hang’” (About Ducks & Geese, n.d.).
2. Today, we need loyalty more than ever.
“In marriage, we need loyalty that stands out in the open and boldly declares,
‘I bind myself to you in the presence of God and anyone else who cares to listen. God strike me dead if I ever renig [sic]!’” (Redick, n.d.).
“I want you to understand and be fully aware of my feelings concerning the marriage covenant which we are about to enter. I have been taught at my mother’s knee, and in harmony with the Word of God, that the marriage vows are inviolable, and by entering into them, I am binding myself absolutely and for life. The idea of estrangement from you through divorce for any reason at all (although God allows one—infdelity) will never at any time be permitted to enter into my thinking. I’m not naive in this. On the contrary, I’m full aware of the possibility, unlikely as it now appears, that mutual incompatibility or other unforeseen circumstances, could result in extreme mental suffering. If such becomes the case, I am re- solved for my part to accept it as a consequence of the commitment I am now making, and to bear it, if necessary, to the end of our lives together.
I have loved you dearly as a sweetheart and will continue to love you as my wife. But over and above that, I love you with a Christian love that demands that I never react in any way toward you that would jeopardize our prospects of entering heaven, which is the su- preme objective of both our lives. And I pray that God Himself will make our affection for one another perfect and eternal” (cited in Dobson, 1980, pp. 14-15).
III. GOD TAKES NOTICE OF LOYALTY
1. Ruth’s loyalty would eventually be noticed by Boaz.
“Boaz replied,
And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore. The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.
A. Gleaned in the Right Field
1. It is encouraging to see how divine providence worked on her behalf.
And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter. And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech.
2. It was no stroke of luck that Ruth happened to come into the eld of Boaz.
3. God’s hand guided Ruth into the very eld of the man who would become her benefactor.
“So Boaz said to Ruth, ‘My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another eld and don’t go away from here. Stay here with my servant girls’” ().
“So Boaz said to Ruth, ‘My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with my servant girls’” ().
Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens:
“Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the girls. I have told the men not to touch you” ().
Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.
“At mealtime Boaz said to her, ‘Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar’” ().
“So Boaz said to Ruth, ‘My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another eld and don’t go away from here. Stay here with my servant girls’” (). “And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have lled” ().
“And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have lled” ().
“Watch the eld where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the girls. I have told the men not to touch you” ().
“At mealtime Boaz said to her, ‘Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar’” ().
“And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled” ().
“And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have lled” ().
“At mealtime Boaz said to her, ‘Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar’” ().
“At mealtime Boaz said to her, ‘Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar’” ().
“As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, “Even if she gathers among the sheaves, don’t embarrass her. Rather, pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her” ().
B. THE REWARDS OF LOYALTY
1. It is doubtful that Ruth could have found a more eligible bachelor, or a more godly man than Boaz. 2. If God had not had a hand in their lives, everything would have been dramatically different.
3. Our children should learn the priceless bene ts of depending on God for the selection of a mate.
a. We must remember that Ruth did not go out into the eld looking for a husband. b. The husband found her.
c. She went to the eld to work, and her work was noticed.
4. Their descendants included King David, King Solomon, and Jesus Christ.
“Godly marriages send a ripple effect of blessing in every direction. It blesses parents, children, grandchildren, relatives, and friends for generations” (Davis, 2000, winter, p. 54).
CONCLUSION
1. May God help all of us exhibit the kind of lasting loyalty Ruth exemplified.
2. May those who are still single take heed to the Word of God, and seek out life-partners who love God with all their heart, soul, and strength!
3. And the corollary to that, of course, is to make sure that we ourselves love God with all our heart, soul, and strength.
with all their heart, soul, and strength!
3. And the corollary to that, of course, is to make sure that we ourselves love God with all our heart, soul,
and strength.
4. May those of us here who are married be reminded of our vows that we made before God and our families and friends, and fulfill the promises we made, whether it was last month, last year, twenty years ago or fifty plus years!
5. May we be loyal to the church, not easily shaken loose, not like the church hoppers who never make a commitment.
6. May we be people of lasting loyalty.