The Outward Kiss and the
Inward Clung.
“….Orpah kissed her mother in law, but Ruth clung to her.” Ruth 1:14
There was a man by the name of Elimelech and the name of his wife was Naomi. They left Bethlehem and went to Moab. Elimelech died there, Naomi was left with her two sons, Mahlon and Chilion. They married two Moabite women, one was Orphah and the other was Ruth and they lived in Moab for ten years.
Ruth was a Moabite. Who are the Moabites? Remember Lot’s daughters decide to make their father drunk and had sex with him and became pregnant. Their descendents were the peoples of Moab and Ammon. Moabites came from Moab, Moabite women seduced God’s people into idolatry. (Numbers 25:1-3)
Later both Mahlon and Chilion died and Naomi was left with her two daughters in law. Now Naomi wanted to return back to Bethlehem and she told her daughter in laws:
“And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to 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. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept.” (Ru 1:8-9)
But both Orpah and Ruth said to Naomi, “And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people. (Ru 1:10)
But Naomi insisted that they should turn back and return to their own people. (Read Ruth 1:11-14)
Orphah kissed Naomi and left her as she returned back to her idolatrous friends, but Ruth clung to her mother in law as she will not let her go. Then Naomi said, “Look, your sister in law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister in law” (Ruth 1:15)
But Ruth said, “Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you;
For wherever you go, I will go;
And wherever you lodge, I will lodge;
Your people shall be my people,
And your God, my God.
Where you die, I will die,
The Lord do so to me, and more also,
If anything but death parts you and me.” (Ruth 1:16-17)
Both women, Orphah and Ruth had an affection for Naomi and both said they would go with Ruth to the land of Judah. But later Orpah with a respectful kiss to her mother in law Ruth left and went back to her idolatrous friends. The kiss of outward love to the Lord is cheap and easy. There are many people who call themselves Christians today but they are like Orpah, they would kiss their religion, kiss the Lord every Sunday at church, kiss their Bible every Sunday but soon after the service is over they would return back to their idolatry. They would have an external love to the Lord, outward performance of their love, with their mouths they confess the Lord but their hearts are far away from the Lord.
Orpah too wept. These so called outward Christians will weep in their devotion to God. There is a difference between emotional temporary tears and holy tears. Judas too kissed the Lord. The Lord will not look at your tears but your heart and motives.
There are some who will depart from their sins, they will drop their sins as the dog does when the meat is too hot to eat, but when it cools down, he will return. Same way there are many who would say they love the Lord with great emotions but at the same time they love their sins. As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly. (Pr 26:11) Such sinners leave sin as Orpah did Moab, but they soon find opportunity to return.
It was a time of testing for both women, Orpah and Ruth. This is where we can distinguish true sheep from the goats in the time of testing. It is easy to confess the Lord and kiss the Lord in easy good comfortable times. But how about in the time of testing your faith? How about in the times of trials, hardship? How about when great pressure is applied to your soul? How about in the times of worldly temptations comes in front of you? How about when the enemy lays a table of mouth watering juicy temptations in front of you? Orpah was not a true Christian she went back to her old sins in the time of test.
On the other hand we see Ruth, not only she wept but even with great pressure from Naomi for her to go back to her own people, she clung to her. Instead she decided leave her own country, leave her own mother, father, brothers, sisters and friends and to trust in the Lord, leave to an unknown country. Do you love your parents, your family, your spouse more than the Lord?
Mt 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Ruth said to Naomi, “Entreat not to leave you, or turn back from following after you.” Also she said, “Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.” Entreat means she pleaded desperately. She decided to count the lost, ready to suffer all worldly loss for the sake of the Master. This is the true conversion of a soul to the Lord. In the times of testing it’s easy to go back to the garlicks and the leeks of Egypt.
Mt 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me,
let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Are you ready to deny your comforts, your
pleasures, your will and everyone else whom you love in your family and pick up
the cross. Picking up the cross is to suffer with him, denying all the lusts of
the flesh, denying the beauty of this world, agonizing by walking in the narrow
road. Are you ready to suffer for the Lord? Saying no to the world. Are you
ready to witness and give the good news?
Are you ready to take all manner of ridicule that comes from them by
living the Christian life?
Php 3:7 But what things were gain to me,
those I counted loss for Christ.
Php 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things
but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom
I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may
win Christ.
Also we need to see the great example of
Naomi, she not only talked Christianity but walked Christianity. She lived what she believed. Ruth saw Naomi’s
God in Naomi’s lifestyle. And Ruth did not want to leave Naomi but said, “Your
people shall be my people and your God my God.” Are you living an example to
those around you? Do they see Christ in you? When the Spanish went over
to South America, they treated the poor natives so badly that the Indians did
not wish to know anything about the Spaniards’ god, for they thought, from the
cruelties
they had suffered, that he must be a devil.
Naomi
has lost her husband, she has lost her sons, she has lost everything;
she
is going back penniless to Bethlehem, and yet her daughter-in-law says
to her, “Thy God shall be my God.” When disaster comes people blame God for the disaster. Ruth saw the disaster, the death of Naomi’s husband, the death of her own husband and the death of hear brother in law. Who would want to follow Naomi’s God? Who would want to follow a God where you will see not happiness but sufferings.
Many false preachers preach, “If you want happiness accept Jesus.” Ruth could have found happiness and the joy of the world if she want back to her own gods but yet, she said, “Your people shall be my people and your God, my God.” Why? She saw Naomi’s God was real. I am sure Naomi would have told everything she knew of her God and she saw how Naomi herself stood the test in the time of adversity. She may have stood as a light, a pillar, not complaining, not grumbling, not in anger with God but still a lover of God. Showing her faith in action. Ruth wants to follow Naomi’s God as she saw Naomi’s lifestyle.
Orpah,
kissed Naomi and left her by going back to her own gods. There was another
pressure upon Ruth. Her friend and companion left her. She went back to the
world, can you stand the temptation now following your companion? Can you say, “I
will follow Christ alone without my friend.” Can you cleave to the Lord when
many turn aside? Will you be like Mr. Pliable, and go back to the City of
Destruction? Or will you, like Christian, pursue your way?
Naomi had not much, no husband, no son, no lands, no gold, no silver, no pleasure even; but she had a God. The only treasure Naomi had was God alone. God was her chief possession. When Ruth said, “Your God shall be my God. It means, “He shall influence me; he shall direct me; he shall lead me; he shall govern me; he shall be my King. I will yield to him and obey him in everything. I will endeavor to do all things according to his will. God shall be my God.” Many people want God to be their helper in a sense making him to be your servant. They pray and ask God to do certain things what they want. But God is not your servant, God is the Master and you are the servant, he is sovereign and we are to follow his ways. He is the ruler of your life. You do not rule him.
I truly believe nine out of ten people today does not truly believe the God of the Bible, even though many say they are Christians. They have setup a new god, this new god comes from the media and also from the pulpits. The God of the Old Testament was too strict to the modern Christianity. They have setup a soft, tender god. Moses spoke of these gods when he said:
De 32:17 They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.
They will
not fear at the very mention of the God of the Puritans. I believe in the God
of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob; this God is my God; The God that drowned
Pharaoh and his host at the Red Sea, and moved his people to sing “Hallelujah” as he did it; the God that caused the earth to open, and swallow up Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and all their company, a fearful God is the God whom I adore. He is the God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, full of mercy, compassion, and grace, tender and gentle, yet just and dreadful in his holiness. This is the God of the Bible whom we worship, and he who comes to him in Christ, and trusts in him.
But woe unto those of this modern Christianity who have made unto themselves a god of their own understanding have no power to save their souls. “Thy God” says Ruth to Naomi, — not another god, — not Chemosh or Moloch, but Jehovah — “shall be my God;” and so she took him to be her guide and instructor, as we also must do and trust in him alone.
Ruth
she forsook her own people, and the idols of the Gentiles, to worship the God
of Israel, and to join herself to that people. Ruth seems to be a type of the
Gentile church. Also Ruth was the great grandmother of King David. Our blessed Lord came from her posterity. God
raised up David and Solomon of her seed, and established the crown of Israel
(the people that she chose before her own people) in her posterity; and, which
is much more, of her seed he raised up Jesus Christ, in whom all the families
of the earth are blessed.