ruth 1:10

Ruth 1:10 says, And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people.  Naomi's daughters-in-law said that surely they would return with her to her people.  Having married into her family, they may have felt that their best opportunity for survival was with her.  Verse eleven adds, And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?  Naomi called them her daughters, and told them to return to their people and asked why they would want to go with her.  She said she had no more sons who could become their husbands, which was the custom in that day.  Verse twelve continues, Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons;  Naomi said that she was old, and even if she could find a husband she could have no more sons.  She was looking out for them the best way she knew how.  We may find that the way things are customarily done may not always be possible to be continued, and when this happens, we need to look for the best solution for all concerned, under the leadership of the Holy Spirit if we are followers of Christ.  Verse thirteen states, Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD is gone out against me.  Naomi then asked if she were to have more sons, would they stay with her until the sons were grown so they could have husbands.  This was really not much of an option, even if it were possible.  Of course, then Naomi blamed God for her problems, if not by His directly causing them then at least by allowing them to happen.  We cannot blame God for causing our problems, either directly or indirectly, if we are Christians.  Verse fourteen adds, And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.  The three women again cried, and Orpah kissed Naomi good-bye, but Ruth hung on to her.  Both were presented with the same facts, but they reacted differently to them, just as people will do today when confronted with the same facts.  Verse fifteen continues, 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.  Naomi told Ruth that her sister-in-law had returned to her people and her gods, and that Ruth should go as well.  We should never attempt to send people back to other gods, no matter how hopeless our situation may seem.  Verse sixteen declares, 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:  Ruth told Naomi not to ask her to leave.  Then, she made a statement that is used many times to declare the love of a man and a woman, but it was made between a woman and her mother-in-law.  Ruth said that she would go where Naomi went, that her people would be Ruth's people and that her God would be Ruth's God.  Ruth made a committed decision to go with Naomi.  If we are followers of Christ, we should pray that we could lead others to accept our God, the only real God, to be their God.  Verse seventeen adds, 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.  Ruth said that only death could part Naomi and her, and she said this as a vow to God.  This may not have even looked like the best opportunity for Ruth, but she was bound by love to Naomi.  Verse eighteen continues, When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.  When Naomi saw that Ruth was steadfast in her decision, she quit asking her to leave.  When we know that someone has made a decision based on a commitment under God' guidance, we should never ask them to change it.  Verse nineteen states, So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi?  The two of them went to Bethlehem, and the people there gathered around them and recognized Naomi.  She was back with her people.  If we have been away from God' people, who as Christians are also our people, and we return, we should hope that they would still recognize us.  Verse twenty adds, And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.  Naomi told them to no longer call her Naomi but to call her Mara.  She said this was because the Almighty had dealt bitterly with her.  She was still blaming God for her situation, and we as followers of Christ can never afford to do that.  Verse twenty-one continues, I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?  Naomi said that she left Bethlehem full, or with many blessings, but had returned with nothing, because God had afflicted her.  We should never blame our problems on God.  Verse twenty-two concludes, So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.  Naomi and Ruth, her daughter-in-law but also a woman of Moab, returned to Jerusalem at the time of the barley harvest.  They were back with Naomi's people, God's people, but their situation had not changed very much.  Just because we return to God's people if we have been away doesn't mean that our situation is necessarily going to change immediately.  Naomi had not necessarily been away from God spiritually, but her attitude seems to indicate that she was not close to Him at this time.