All In

Romeo and Juliet. Antony and Cleopatra. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. Some of the greatest romances ever chronicled; be it true or untrue, their passion and stories continue to be passed down to every generation since their conception because their story is that great.

I willingly admit the most incredible love story ever is that of Christ and His love for His bride. The Bible itself contains several micro-stories of love and passion; some of betrayal, some of intense commitment.

There is one story that comes to mind, though. It’s not one of forbidden love; there is no great passion to tear a kingdom apart; no pride or prejudice to keep them from being together. It’s a classic tale of loss and redemption, and from my personal perspective, it only goes to show that no one is perfect.

We don’t always come from the best family; our circumstances aren’t always ideal; our reputation may be less than ideal. But God, in all His wisdom, often has a plan that outshines even the best romance novel. The question is, are we willing to go all in and fully give ourselves over to His plan?

Let us begin with the introduction to our little heroine and her people.

The establishment of the Moabites began when Lot and his two daughters made their daring escape from Sodom and Gomorrah. Then, out of fear of never being married, Lot’s two daughters got Lot drunk, had sex with with their father, and each bore him a child. The youngest daughter named her son Ammon, father of the Ammonites, and the oldest daughter named her son Moab, father of the Moabites. From the get-go, we are not off to a good start.

The Moabites hated Israel, who were set apart by God and who were to have nothing to do with Moab; by all accounts, Moab was the enemy. This nation established its reputation as strong and powerful. They were an idolatrous people who served the pagan god, Chemosh, whom they believed and described as a destroyer and subduer. The Moabites practiced human sacrifices to Chemosh and were sexually immoral. The women were so seductive that God adamantly states Israel should not marry into or partake in any relationship with Moabite women. And so their foundation and reputation are established.

Before God established Saul as the first king of Israel, the Judges ruled and reigned in Israel. It was during this time that Israel had become lazy in their obedience to God (again), and God was punishing them (again).

Throughout the land of Judah, there was a great famine. A man by the name of Elimelech was used to the finer things in life; he and his family were wealthy, and when the famine hit Judah, it was too much for them. So he packed up the family and went to Moab in hopes of missing out on the pain and suffering of the punishment of God.

According to Jewish text, a beautiful Moabite princess caught the eye of Elimelech’s eldest son, Mahlon. She was no ordinary princess who was satisfied with her royal life, nor did she seem to support the servitude to Chemosh. She was different. Her heart was different. As if it were the story of Cinderella in reverse, this princess is so taken with Mahlon, his family, and their God, that she leaves everything behind…her palace…her family…her wealth. She gives up her identity as a Moabite princess and goes all in to marry this Jewish man, only to become the great-grandmother of King David. She gave up everything to become the Ruth we so love to admire today.

After ten years of marriage, Ruth’s life and future are wiped out. Her father-in-law, brother-in-law, and husband die, she has no children, and her mother-in-law, Naomi, is poor and cannot afford to support Ruth or her sister-in-law. Naomi is an Israelite, and she knows she doesn’t belong in Moab, so she decides to return to Judah. She tells her widowed and penniless daughters-in-law to return to their people.

After her husband died, Ruth was homeless and had no money. She was probably rumored to be barren since she had no children, and she was considered old. Returning to her life as a princess would have been the easier choice. Going back to her palace, a safe life, a luxurious life, would have been easier.

Yet even after Naomi urges Ruth to return to her people, understanding there are no guarantees for her and accepting that life will be very difficult, Ruth again goes all in, stays with Naomi, and goes to Israel.

How deep Ruth’s faith must have been to leave behind guarantees and safety; how pure her heart must have been to not have even been tempted to return to a pagan life of idolatry and immorality; how great her love must have been for God to go all in.

Ruth lived out the words of Moses in Genesis 2 when she left behind her life, her mother, her father, and clung to her husband. She joined him in his family, but most importantly, she joined him in his faith.

I find it interesting that she is constantly referred to as Ruth the Moabite in the book of Ruth when she marries Mahlon, as if her identity would forever be tied to her past. However, after her marriage to Boaz, her identity, reputation, and name became known as the woman who would help establish the David dynasty.

Her first marriage converted her, her second marriage established her.

Each time Ruth clung to her husband, each time she left behind the past and went all in, her identity shifted until she was where she was meant to be all along. Mahlon directly disobeyed God by marrying Ruth, yet one can’t help but wonder if it was part of the plan all along. Without Mahlon, Ruth never would have converted to Judaism. Without Mahlon, Ruth never would have gone to Judah with his mother, Naomi. Without Mahlon, Ruth never would have met Boaz.

I love the power move God makes in connecting Ruth with Boaz. He was a Godly, wealthy man from the tribe of Judah, the same tribe from which the Messiah was prophesied to come.

And Boaz’s grandfather, Nashon, was its great leader, the chief of the tribe of Judah. To further connect Boaz to greatness, Nashon’s sister married Aaron (Moses’ brother), making Aaron Boaz’s great-uncle.

And so this small picture begins to form of Boaz, showing us that he was well established in both his reputation and name. He had position. He was respected. He was known. And his character and reputation are a stark contrast to those of the Moabites.

This is the man Ruth marries. She goes from gleaning in the fields to owning them.

If you sum up the story of Ruth in one word, it would be alignment. She constantly aligned herself and her faith with God. Ultimately, this led to her marrying Boaz, which in turn led to her marrying into the greatest tribe of Israel.

In this marriage, in this alignment, she went from widow to bride. Poor to wealthy. Baron to mother.

The woman leveled up in every possible way.

When Ruth chose to go all in with Naomi, she was ultimately going all in on God’s plan. She didn’t know where it would take her; she just knew there was no other way. Ruth let go of her name, her position, and her title as a Moabite, along with all that came with it, and chose to realign herself with the name of God.

Ruth’s heart and commitment are beautifully shown in Ruth 1 when she begs Naomi to let her stay. She does not want to return to her past life; she does not want to associate with it. Very poetically, Ruth says:

Ruth 1:16-17 (NCV)

“Where you go, I will go. Where you live, I will live. Your people are my people. Your God will be my God. Where you die, I will die, and that’s where I’ll be buried…because not even death can separate us.”

Ultimately, God is waiting for us to say, I’m all in. No matter what I have to leave behind or give up, I’m all in. Even if I don’t understand, I’m all in.

Ruth’s words paint a powerful picture of the commitment God longs for from each of us as His bride. It is also a beautiful picture of the union of marriage. In this captivating love story of redemption, Ruth may have said them to Naomi in a depiction of deep devotion to the woman, but in my little word, she also said them to Boaz. I know I would have.

Imagine it’s your wedding night and you’re standing before a man who has redeemed your past, given you a new future, a new name, and a new reputation. How powerful and pure to whisper those exact words to your beloved, “Where you go, I will go. Where you live, I will live. Your people will be my people. Your God will be my God. Where you die, I will die, and that’s where I’ll be buried…because not even death can separate us.” And somewhere in the mix, I would also add, and “your name will be my name,” because why would I ever not want to be associated with this great man? What greater thing could a wife possibly do for her husband to show that she indeed was all in?

And so of all the love stories I could read, or even write, Ruth is my favorite.

I think David got his heart from Ruth; his poetry and lovely psalms originating with the same pure devotion Ruth surely imparted to Obed. And Solomon obviously got bitten by the poetic bug, as we have the illustrious Songs of Solomon and Proverbs. Ruth really did set the precedent.

An apparent reason the book of Ruth exists is to trace the family lineage of David and, ultimately, of Christ. But I think we have the story of Ruth to remind every person that no matter where you come from, if your heart is pure and devoted to God, your destiny cannot be thwarted.

So when the plans of God unexpectedly take you from your Moab to Judah; when you lose everything and have to start over; when He asks you to do something bizarre; when you have to walk away from everything you know, remember Ruth, the once was Moabite princess who became the great-grandmother of the greatest mortal Israelite king and one of four women listed in the lineage of Christ.

Remember Ruth, the woman who went all in.

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