Vol. 04, No. 05

Mt. Baker Beacon - 2025

Steven J. Wallace
02/09/25 - Mt. Baker Beacon - 2025

“RUTH’S VOW – IS IT OURS?”

Jarrod M. Jacobs (Adapted)

Ruth 1:16-17 is perhaps the best-known passage in this book. Through the years, I have heard this passage used in weddings in conjunction with the couple’s vows. While it is interesting to hear it used on those occasions, remember this was a vow a daughter-in-law made to her mother-in-law. This was not something a wife had said to her husband or vice versa.

Ruth determined that she would stay with Naomi despite the protests (1:18). In making herself clear about her intention to go to Bethlehem, Ruth uttered:

“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: 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 1:16-17).

Ruth’s promise:

“Where you go, I go.” In other words, Ruth will trust Naomi to lead them to the land, just as Moses led the people to Canaan. Thus, Ruth states her willingness to submit to Naomi in this endeavor.
“Where you live, I live.” She will make her home with Naomi. She will not run back to Moab at the first sign of trouble. She will not abandon Naomi.
“Your people are my people.” This means Ruth will be loyal to the nation of Israel and forsake her own nation. (She will not claim “dual citizenship”!)
“Your God is my God.” Ruth will be loyal to the God of Heaven. This is a deeper promise than just stating loyalty to Naomi. She will worship Jehovah now and forsake Chemosh and other gods she has known all her life.
“Where you die, I will die; where you are buried, I will be buried.” She promises to forsake the “family burial grounds” that meant so much to this culture. She was utterly rejecting anything of Moab or her family to be with Naomi, not only in life but now in death.
The last statement was that if she fails and breaks her vow, may God bring His judgment down on her!

Every time I read this, I am struck by the beauty and simplicity of these promises and how deep they are. What impresses me the most is that, in the application, these promises are the same promises Christians make to our Lord (Rom. 15:4).

“Where you go, I go.” Do not Christians promise to walk in the footsteps of Christ (Jn. 13:15; I Cor. 11:1; I Pet. 2:21-22; I Jn. 2:6, 3:16). We are to follow Christ our “forerunner” who has entered Heaven (Heb. 6:20).
“Where you live, I live.” Jesus said He is preparing a place for us so we might live with Him one day (Jn. 14:1-3). Are we preparing for that final home, or have we already “put down roots” here?
“Your people are my people.” Long ago, Jesus said those who do His will are his “mother, brother, and sister” (Matt. 12:47-50). Christians are to be counted among these. Those who “walk in the light … have fellowship with one another” (I Jn. 1:7). Are you a Christian (Mk. 16:16; Acts 11:26)?
“Your God is my God.” As Christians, we worship God “in spirit and in truth” (Jn. 4:24). Jehovah is the object of our worship, not self or anyone else (I Jn. 5:22; Col. 3:5, 17)!
“Where you die, I will die.” While God does not expect Christians to kill themselves to prove their love, He does expect us to give our lives in sacrifice to Him (Rom. 12:1-2). Paul said, “It is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). Can you say this about yourself?
“There will I be buried.” Yes, Christians were “buried with Christ” when we were baptized (Rom. 6:3-5; Col. 2:12). This baptism represents the burial of the old man of sin. Afterward, we “rise to walk in newness of life”!

Like Ruth, we must respect our vow to remain faithful to God as failure results in an eternity of separation (Rev. 2:10; I Cor. 15:58; Matt. 25:46). It is amazing to read Ruth’s beautiful vow and see how it applies to Christians today.

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“COLD”

(AM Scripture Reading: Genesis 8:20-22)

What are some Biblical insights we can gain from the cold? Let’s study!

What conditions did God promise would not cease while the earth remains?
Weather and Divine Power in Job 37:1-13
1. What command does God give to the snow?
2. What effect does the snow have on man, and what is its purpose?
3. What are three reasons God uses weather? (Job 37:13)
In Matthew 10:40-42, Jesus speaks about receiving others in His name and the rewards that follow. He specifically mentions offering a cup of ____________ water to one of these little ones. What does Jesus say will happen to the person who gives even a cup of ____________ water to a disciple?
In Matthew 24:12, Jesus warns about the state of people's love in the last days. What does He say will cause the love of many to grow cold?
In Revelation 3:14-16, what does Jesus say about being lukewarm, and how does He describe those who are neither cold nor hot?
What help is found in Colossians to ward off the complacency of lukewarmness?
1. Col. 1:3, 4
2. Col. 1:18
3. Col. 2:20-23
4. Col. 3:1-3
5. Col. 3:5-9
6. Col. 3:23, 24
7. Col. 4:2, 3, 12, 13

“Now the servants and officers who had made a fire of coals stood there, for it was ____________, and they warmed themselves. And Peter stood with them and ____________ himself.” (John 18:18)