But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.
“Where you die, I will die, and their I will be buried. Thus may the Lord do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me.”
Ruth 1:16–7, New American Standard Bible
I believe the phrase “to whatever end” finds its most popular use in a young adult fantasy series. It isn’t one I’ve read, so the words stick with me for a reason other than literature. For me, the words resonate because of where I currently reside, physically and spiritually.
I don’t know what comes next in my life. I could, of course, devise plans and dream, but neither of those things guarantee a certain outcome. The actions I take, now, at this moment, could lead almost anywhere. That “anywhere” is both exciting and terrifying, but it is the call of the believer. I go to whatever end God calls me to.
The Bible contains example after example of people living out the idea. Abraham, Noah, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Isaiah, John the Baptist, Paul, Stephen…They all commit to Christ and to whatever end that entails.
Ruth’s Whatever End
Ruth belongs to that group of people, too. She leaves everything familiar and dear to follow her mother-in-law to a country that may or may not welcome her. Ruth, after all, is a foreigner, a Moabitess. The Israelite women could have welcomed her into their social circle. Then again, they might have treated her with contempt and hostility.
Even if the native women responded with kindness and hospitality, Ruth and Naomi remain outside the normal patterns of life. They are both widows, with no sons to their names. They can’t even claim a near relative for shelter and sustenance. The best they can do is to gather the leftover barley from a kinsman’s fields.
Ruth and Boaz
Ruth’s story hinges upon that gleaning; through the activity, she meets Boaz. He offers her protection, telling her to glean only in his fields. Boaz, however, meets more than Ruth and Naomi’s physical needs. He also commends Ruth’s faith and diligence in chapter two.
Boaz replied to her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and you mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know.
“May the Lord reward your work, and your wages be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge.”
Ruth 2:11–2
Ruth and Naomi
Ruth’s “whatever end” owes something to Naomi, too. Naomi takes it upon herself to give the girl “security,” advising Ruth to lay herself at Boaz’ feet. Ruth obeys her mother-in-law, and Boaz says he will do all he can for her, for she is known in the city as a woman of excellence (Ruth 3:11).
He follows through on his word, seeking out a relative closer to Naomi than he and asking him to purchase Naomi’s land. The relative seems amenable to the proposal until Boaz adds a caveat: Whoever buys the land must marry Ruth. The relative refuses, which gives Boaz the ability to claim the land and Ruth. The two marry, and they become the parents of Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of David, and, eventually, several centuries later, the father of Jesus, the Messiah.
Ruth and Uncertainty
The ending makes the book of Ruth seem like a fairytale. However, Ruth didn’t know her end. She likely assumed she’d spend her days trying to care and provide for an aging mother-in-law. She had no idea she would find joy again. Ruth only knew the circumstances surrounding her, and yet, she acted in faith. She left all she knew because of her love for Naomi and her desire to follow the God of Israel.
In doing so, she embodies what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, a fact Jesus confirms in Matthew and Luke.
He [Jesus] turned and said to them,
“If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.
“Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
“For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?
“Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him,
“saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’”
Luke 14:25–30
In Matthew, Jesus puts the reality another way, saying that the man who clings to his life will lose it. The man who lets go — surrenders — that life, though, will save it.
More than that, the man will find it. The person who decides to follow Jesus doesn’t make an uncalculated risk. Rather, the person knows precisely what’s at stake: real life or a facsimile of it.
Ruth and Risk
Ruth recognizes the stakes and risks everything in response. She leaves her family, her country, and even her life because, through Naomi, she has discovered the one thing that matters: God and faith in him. Her faith isn’t ever taken away from her; rather, it seems to be a wellspring of life (John 4:1–42).
Her commitment to God and Naomi develops her reputation for excellence. By the end of the book, it has grown into something even more compelling. The local women recognize Ruth’s love for Naomi and testify she is better than seven sons. Because Ruth decides to follow God to whatever end, her life becomes a living testimony of God’s glory and grace.
Image: Bureau of Land Management (Creative Commons)