Ruth: Lesson 3 – Ruth's Loyalty

Ruth: Lesson 3 – Ruth's Loyalty

The Powerful Vows of Ruth

Scripture Focus: Ruth 1:14-22 (NASB)

In this moving and powerful lesson, Chris Pope examines the loyalty and devotion of Ruth. After Naomi urged both her daughters-in-law to return to Moab, Orpah wept and kissed her mother-in-law goodbye. But Ruth clung to Naomi and refused to leave her side.

Chris points to verses 16 and 17 as some of the most powerful words in all of Scripture. So powerful, in fact, that he uses these very verses in the weddings he performs. They express a covenant commitment that goes beyond circumstance, beyond convenience, and beyond cultural expectation. Ruth declares, "Where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more, if anything but death parts you and me."

This lesson reveals the depth of Ruth's loyalty and the beauty of covenant love. It is a picture of the faithfulness God calls us to, toward Him and toward one another. Ruth's vow is not just a promise to Naomi; it is a declaration of trust in the God of Israel. She is choosing to leave behind her gods, her people, and her homeland to follow the one true God.

Connect with Chris: Email: cpope@mydrsm.com Website: mydrsm.com

Scripture Focus:

Ruth 1:14-22 (NASB) – "And they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. Then she said, 'Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her gods; return after your sister-in-law.' But Ruth said, 'Do not urge me to leave you or turn back 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. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more, if anything but death parts you and me.' When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her. Now the two of them went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came about, when they had come to Bethlehem, that all the city was stirred because of them, and the women said, 'Is this Naomi?' But she said to them, 'Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has witnessed against me and the Almighty has afflicted me?' So Naomi returned, and with her Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, who returned from the land of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest."