LIFE ON THE ALTAR

Taken from the book, Reflections on the Book of Ruth, by A. B. Saint

Chapter 4

And Naomi said, Behold thy sister in law is gone back unto her people,
 and unto her god: return thou after thy sister in law. 
And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee:
for where you go, I will go; and where you lodge I will lodge: thy people shall be my people,
and thy God my God: Where you die, 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 15-17

Last time we saw that Orpah had turned back, turning away from the prospects of a new life she returned to the old. Perhaps feeling homesick and making it only as far as the bend in the road the doubts began filling her mind. With each step we can only imagine some of the thoughts that might have raced through her head. After all, Moab was the only place she had ever known so what would life be like for her in Bethlehem? How much would she be expected to change whilst living there? Is it likely that another Israeli man would be interested in marrying her, a Moabite woman?   

In a sense, just like Lot’s wife, she looks back and remembers what she is leaving behind and with a kiss she departs. Is it not true that when people part company for the very last time, a smile, a wave, a friendly word, is challenging enough, but a kiss is much closer to home? There was genuine sadness when having to say ‘goodbye,’ on that day. Orpah saw the bend in the road ahead, but unlike Helen Keller, whose famous quote comes instantly to mind who said:  “A bend in the road is not the end of the road unless you fail to make the turn,”  Orpah, failing to make the turn left both Naomi and Ruth now completely on their own, for in a sense the story was never to be about Orpah, rather it was to be centred around Ruth, but of course Naomi at that time was not to know this.

Ruth was different from Orpah. How true it is that two people, both of the same sex, similar age, growing up in the same neighbourhood, rubbing shoulders maybe with one and other at work, worshipping at the same Church perhaps, having a similar start in life, yet their end can be entirely different. Orpah slips back into the shadows and as far as the story goes is remembered no more. The Word of God, though not in any way unkind, puts closure on her.

For Ruth however things are different as she begins to come more fully into view. Stepping out in faith we see her being led by God. There is something about this woman that instantly draws us to her. Not easily swayed by others, Ruth, it would appear was her own person and when saying this I do not mean she was a woman who foolishly ignored boundaries and would thereby often lose control, but rather she was a person possessing that strength of character which can only be admired by those around.

This I think is a valuable lesson in life for us to follow, for many of us find the easiest way is to just follow the crowd and go with the majority. I have met people in my own life, as I am sure you have in yours, who are very easily drawn into the plans of others no matter what the end result may be, yet the easiest road is not always the best road to take. Ruth knew in the choices she would have to make that she would probably please some but disappoint others. It is surely the same with us. It can be that some of the choices we will have to make, particularly spiritual ones, may often bring about something of a negative reaction from others, usually referred to as a backlash.   

The choice which Ruth made on that day meant that Orpah would find she had to make the journey home to Moab alone, whereas Naomi found she had a travelling companion with her. Step by step these two went on together. As is often the case, nothing is revealed before it’s time. Before meeting Naomi, all Ruth had perhaps known was that Naomi’s people had an exclusive attitude towards God. However, listening to her mother in law’s testimony surely must have sparked something off in Ruth’s heart which led her to have the desire to enter in and to be part of her life and the lives of her people, and to be part of their worship was her goal.

She says: “Your God shall be my God!” Isn’t this thrilling? As a Gentile it is true that the Law might have excluded her, yet Grace brought her in. Hallelujah! God’s grace and love do not exclude anyone. There is not one soul upon the earth that has ever lived, is living now or ever will live, that the love of Christ if allowed would not encompass. 

Ruth threw her lot in with Naomi, with the people of God and with God Himself. Travelling the road together, Ruth was not planning an overnight stay or a weekend retreat, she was making a lifelong change. I like her. I admire her. She didn’t allow her past to get in the way of her future. She didn’t allow where she came from to stop her from moving forward. She didn’t allow herself to get trapped in the past. She had the sense, the belief, that it was not over till it was over. After all, the final outcome had not yet been declared, the end result had not yet been given, all was still firmly wrapped up in her future.  

Sometimes this is why people do not always make the headway they should. Because it never happened for them in the past, they assume it never will in the future. They become firmly convinced that nothing good will ever come their way. On the other hand, however, Ruth made the important decision to let go of the past and it’s sorrows and standing beside Naomi she embraced the moment and in her heart declared: “This is a new day!” She let go of her past, she let go of her old life and accepted whatever challenges were to face her and pressed on to embrace the way of Holiness whatever the cost.

I am including here the poem called ‘The Land of Beginning Again’ by Louisa Fletcher.   

I wish that there were some wonderful place called the Land of Beginning Again,
Where all our mistakes and all our heartaches and all our poor selfish grief
Could be dropped like a shabby old coat at the door, and never put on again.
I wish we could come on it all unaware, Like the hunter who finds a lost trail.
And I wish that the one whom our blindness had done the greatest injustice of all,
Could be at the gates like an old friend that waits for the comrade he’s gladdest to hail.
We would find all the things we intended to do, but forgot and remembered too late,
Little praises unspoken, little promises broken, and all of the thousand and one,
Little duties neglected that might have perfected the day for one less fortunate.
It wouldn’t be possible not to be kind in the Land of Beginning Again,
And the ones we misjudged and the ones whom we grudged the moments of victory here,
Would find in the grasp of our loving handclasp more than penitent lips could explain.
For what had been hardest we’d know had been best and what had seemed loss had been gain,
For there isn’t a sting that would not take wing when we’ve faced it and laughed it away,
And I think that the laughter is most what we’re after in the Land of Beginning Again.
So, I wish that there were some wonderful place called the Land of Beginning Again,
Where all our mistakes and all our heartaches and all of our poor selfish grief
Could be dropped like a shabby old coat at the door, and never be put on again.

From an earthly point of view in this rather haunting poem, I think its writer has summed things up very well. There are many reasons we know for people to want a new beginning and often it is because of the sorrows of the past. Pain and trauma which we have unwittingly or unwisely inflicted upon ourselves for whatever reason, or sorrows which it would seem have been unfortunately ‘thrust upon us’ through no fault of our own. At these times it is always good to remember that in Christ there is always the hope of a new day and a new beginning. He Himself, is, in a way, The Land of Beginning Again. He is the One whom, if we trust Him, will make all things new for us, for we are always to remember that He is ever only a prayer away.

As the two walk on together, there is in Ruth’s life a deepening sense of responsibility and duty. Her eyes are now set upon Bethlehem for this is where she will abide from now on and this is where she will be fed, and this is where she will put down roots. Her friendship and her companionship were real and all important to the aging Naomi. Steadfastly minded she moves on. She has no one to support her yet, but God will not be unmindful of her deeds and the support she lends to another. At a later date such support will be given to Ruth herself but until that time never once do we read that she ever looked back. Ruth’s walk was a venture of faith, and her obedience led her on to receive the inheritance which was hers.

At the very end of chapter one, two very tired ladies finally set foot on Naomi’s home soil. The last time she was there, famine had ravaged the land and the fields were bare and yielded nothing, but on the day of Naomi’s return the sight before them was totally different as the gentle winds blew across the fields and waved the fuzzy, feathery, green, and gold barley crop which enclosed them in on every side. The crop shone as beacons, signals, signs, harbingers of change and good things to come.    

It is quite remarkable that the bible even gives us the season of the year when Naomi returned. This was not a chance thing, there was no coincidence at work here, nothing random, rather this was all of God. It would appear that by God’s own reckoning it was time for her to return home to the land of her birth.

How important it is even in our own lives for us to remember that for each child of God there is no happenchance at work in our lives. I have been reading Psalm 31 and verse 15 again, where David confesses in this psalm that “his times were in God’s hand.” What a beautiful revelation he received in this knowledge and surely this is true for every saint of God, in that no matter what comes or goes in life, no matter what blesses us or assails us, no matter what might have been behind us, no matter what lies before, whatever the season in life, we can safely leave all with Him. We can safely leave everything in His hands for everything is by design, and everything, if we will allow it, is for our ultimate good, and even if we should lose our way as did our little family, there is always a way back.   

Those ten years in Moab was of no surprise to God. It was no surprise to Him that all three male members of that family would die there. It was no surprise to Him that Naomi would outlive them all, and certainly on that day it was no surprise to Him to watch these two ladies returning to Bethlehem; always arm in arm, at times conversing and at other times deep in thought. Bless God when we are out of the way He calls us back into the way as He did Naomi. He calls us back unto Himself, the Living Bread, not to a harvest passed but a harvest still to come. 

Have you ever watched those television documentaries which give a bird’s eye view into the lives of doctors in Emergency Rooms offering much needed medical help? Very often these documentaries are entitled ‘Your life in their hands.’ How we thank the Lord for such people who have trained for many years to help people such as you and me in our medical emergencies, and yet how much more precious is the thought that we can safely leave our lives in the hands of an Almighty and All-Wise God. 

How amazing that God knew us before we were even born. In Psalm 139 and verses 13-16 David writes these words: “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are Your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in Your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me when as yet there were none of them.”  ESV. 

Each one of our lives are precious to Him. He is the One who knows the end from the beginning. He is the One who can right the wrongs, clear the pathway ahead, chart our way and be a very present help in the time of trouble. 

Remember: Sometimes it take a famine to make us think of home.  

Taken from the book, Reflections on the Book of Ruth, by A. B. Saint