CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES.—Ruth 1:8; Ruth 1:10. And Naomi said [Then said Naomi] unto. The first recorded utterance of Naomi. Cox imagines them having reached the ford of the Arnon [N. boundary of Moab], or perhaps the fords of the Jordan [E. boundary of Judah]. Go, return each. Shews that they were not natural sisters (Bernard). To her mother’s house. The mention of the mother’s house, which the separation of the women’s house or tent from that of the men facilitates, is natural.… has more tenderness.… does not imply the death of their fathers (Speaker’s Com.). Ruth’s father was still alive (Ruth 2:11) (cf. Leviticus 22:13). The Lord deal kindly with you. Lit. Jehovah do kindness with you. In עִמָכֶם the suffix is masc., although referring to women, a colloquial inaccuracy found in conversations (Lange). With the dead. The Papists expound it, that these women did fast and pray for the souls of their deceased husbands (Fuller). The sense is in all probability, “You have been kind to your husbands, who now are dead, whilst they were living.” Fuller thinks, however, that more may be implied. The Lord [Jehovah] grant you. The pronouns in these verses are surprisingly corrupt in the Hebrew (Kennicott). Originally colloquial inaccuracies (Gesen.). [See Intro. par.
2.] So with the verbs. When courage, virility, fortitude, efficiency, or the like, is intended to be predicated of females, these verbs are put in the masculine gender (Prof. Lee). All but two of these inaccuracies are actually found in conversations (Lange). Ye may find rest [a resting-place] each in the house of her husband. She wished them happier marriages than they had with her sons, who were so soon taken from them (Josephus). In the East of antiquity, the position of an unmarried woman a very unhappy and perilous one (Cox). The Hebrews spoke of the husband’s house as a woman’s “menuchah,” or “rest,”—her secure and happy asylum from servitude, neglect, license (Cox, Lange). On the construction see Gesen. 130. Then she kissed them. To take leave of them (Keil). So Genesis 31:28; Genesis 31:55; 2 Samuel 19:39; Acts 20:37. Gave them her parting kiss, as the Jews call it (Gill). A rejection of every form of homage proceeds from superstition rather than from Scripture usage (Macgowan). And they said, “Surely.” כּי before a direct statement serves to strengthen it, and it is almost equivalent to a positive assurance (Keil, Wright). Not true in all cases (Lange). Dr. Cassel trans, “for,” but first supplies, “We will not turn back.” Best taken like οτι in the New Testament before words directly quoted (Lange). Not so, but to be translated as “certainly” (Wright); “nay” (Geddes, Cox); in an adversative sense as “but” (Rosen.). We will return. To be proselyted (Targum).
Theme.—THE FIRST TRIAL OF AFFECTION
“O friendship! of all things the
Most rare, and therefore most rare because most
Excellent; whose comforts in misery
Are always sweet, and whose counsels in
Prosperity are ever fortunate.”—Lilly.
And Naomi said, … Go, return each to her mother’s house.
The farewell greetings of friends, the words spoken in parting—everything connected with such moments—will tend to draw out our truer and deeper characteristics, as well as our tenderest and holiest feelings. Having travelled some distance, Naomi’s unselfish nature manifests itself (Braden). Silence has commended her virtues so far. It would seem she had not urged Orpah and Ruth to go with her even to this distance. We are not to see her, however, in what follows, as careless of their best interest. They are to go willingly and knowing what lies before them, if they are to go wisely. The Targum puts this in a very striking manner [cf. Crit. Note on Ruth 1:16]. Of course their presence would have been a comfort to Naomi. But note. A true lover is loath to disadvantage friends for the sake of private interests (Bernard).
We have here—
I. The care and thoughtfulness of a generous spirit for the outward estate of others. She knew they had friends in Moab, none in Judah. Even a friendship like hers could scarcely supply the place of a mother’s love. Go, return each to her mother’s house. To go forward with her might be for the saving of their souls. Might there not also be something of selfishness in this? Note. Our efforts for the good of others need to be watched very narrowly when they coincide with our own interests. Selfishness the most subtle and insidious of all sins. Judas an instance of one who under a plausible pretext cloaked the most mercenary motives (John 12:6). If Naomi errs at all, she errs on that side which demands a sacrifice of her convenience and feelings. Her sense of justice and love towards these young warm-hearted women will not allow her to reap any advantage at their cost (Braden). She would not have them come to Bethlehem merely on her account. Notice. (a) Self-love contrary to Christ’s commands; against the true fellowship of Christians one with another; contrary to the end of our calling (1 Corinthians 10:24; 2 Corinthians 12:14; Ephesians 4:28). (b) A sin as between man and man. Contrary to that care which God commands for the preservation of other men’s estates (Deuteronomy 22:2-4; Exodus 23:4-5). (c) A sin as between man and God. Self-love is idolatry. Note. True religion will shew its influence in every part of our conduct; like the sap of a living tree, which penetrates the most distant boughs.
II. A fair test and trial of the fervour and sincerity of those who have already been influenced towards good things. The deepest religious interests were involved. A choice like this not to be made lightly and from mere personal motives as towards ourselves. Our social influence may be consecrated, but questions like these are to be decided on a higher ground.
Naomi would try (a) the strength of their affection to herself. Rather she would see (b) whether nature wrought more powerfully than grace (Bernard). So Christ tried those who followed Him (Luke 9:57-58). The young ruler (Mark 10:17-22). Note. With those who have been led towards holy things by the force of a noble and consecrated life, a similar time of testing is sure to come. The Saviour puts it in one strong and expressive phrase (Luke 14:26). The hour arrives when every secondary consideration, every subordinate motive, is counted as nothing in the balances. The momentous question stands on its own merits, and asks of us a deliberate choice. Notice that the same issues were involved here as upon Carmel (1 Kings 18:21).
“It is no sign of friendship to draw others into any calamity for our comfort’s sake, however much they may press it. Bear the burden bravely alone, if it be possible, and do not crush another heart, though it plead with generous sympathy to share the load.”—Braden.
“Naomi could not be so insensible of her own good as not to know how much comfort she might reap to the solitariness both of her voyage and her widowhood by the society of these two younger widows, whose affection she had so well tried; even every partnership is a mitigation of evils; yet so earnestly doth she dissuade them from accompanying her, as that she could not have said more, if she had thought their presence irksome and burdensome. Good dispositions love not to pleasure themselves with the disadvantage of others; and had rather be miserable alone, than to draw in partners to their sorrow; for the sight of another’s calamity doth rather double their own; and if themselves were free, would affect them with compassion. As contrarily, ill minds care not how many companions they have in misery, nor how few consorts in good; if themselves miscarry, they would be content all the world were enwrapped with them in the same distress.”—Bishop Hall.
“A sound-hearted friend will follow the apostle’s advice, not seeking his own, but his friend’s welfare. True love will not make worse, where it cannot make better.”—Bernard.
“Many give counsel like lawyers for their fees, but few like Naomi for their conscience. She loves their company well, but counsels their safety better.”—Topsell.
“It is harder for me than for you that we must part. But the hand of the Lord is gone out against me. I have no hope for the future. I must walk my darkened path alone. But you, you may still find an asylum with the people of your own race. Go then and return each to her mother’s house.”—Cox.
“Maternal love knows best how to comfort a daughter in affliction.”—Keil.
“Here we see widows, if poor, are to be maintained by their parents. These widows (1 Timothy 5:16) were not to be burdensome to the Church, but to be relieved by their own kindred.”—Fuller.
“If religion does not make us lovely and amiable in our family relations, it does nothing for us, but deceives us to our ruin.”—Simeon.
“Ittai the Gittite, when following David in his flight from Absalom, was urged to leave him, as Elisha also was repeatedly by Elijah, previous to his assumption to heaven. There was no positive duty lying upon them, or, at all events, none which David and Elijah were not at liberty to dispense with.”—Simeon.
Theme.—A BENEDICTION AND A VALEDICTION
“Wouldst thou from sorrow find a sweet relief?
Or is thy heart oppressed with woes untold?
Balm wouldst thou gather for corroding grief?
Pour blessings round thee like a shower of gold.”—Charles Wilcox.
The Lord deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt, etc.
The Lord grant you that ye may find rest, etc.
A scene now begins of unequalled tenderness and amiableness (Lange). The inspired words, “She openeth her mouth with wisdom, and in her tongue is the law of kindness” (Proverbs 31:26) truly verified in Naomi. The speech seasoned with salt (Colossians 4:6), her words breathe all the fervour of piety and the warmth of a self-denying love. We find in them (a) a generous recognition of the worth of these two young women, and (b) an affectionate regard for their future welfare. This generous, unselfish spirit, one of the secrets of Naomi’s influence. Note. If we had more like Naomi in the Church, we might expect to win more like Ruth from the world. See how takingly love behaves itself in every condition, on every occasion, to every person, and about everything (Pennington). It sees God in all things, and all things in God.
The text contains,
I. A prayer. Like David, her eyes are unto the Lord (Psalms 25:15). She could not part without praying with and for them (Macgowan). Poor and destitute, she had no other means of requiting their kindness (Fuller). No other was necessary. A prayer like this better than all gifts. Goes up in a shower of tears, but descends in a shower of blessings—returns laden with comfort, like the southern winds in Egypt, whose wings are charged with the sweet odours of spices (Penn).
Notice. Naomi prayed with equal earnestness for both. Did not know which the Lord had chosen (Macgowan).
She asks for them (a) The favour of God; His kindness, smile, benediction—all the Hebrews would include under their beautiful phrase, “The light of His countenance (Numbers 6:26; Psalms 4:6; Psalms 40:3; Psalms 89:15); (b) The comforts and blessings which with God’s approval would flow from a second marriage. Only in the house of a husband could a woman be sure of respect and protection (Cox). (See Crit. and Ex. Notes.) The prayer agrees with the apostle’s direction (1 Timothy 5:14), which applies to young widows like Orpah and Ruth. (c) And these in the measure they had meted to the dead (cf. Matthew 7:2; Colossians 3:23-24) and to her.
Notice.
(1) Duties honourably fulfilled in the past come in to bring a blessing upon us in the present. Who would not wish for a similar commendation to this of the text? especially with regard to our treatment of the dead. They had given good measure, pressed down, running over; now it is returned to them. When mothers-in-law will thus freely testify of their sons’ wives, it is evident that duty has been nobly fulfilled; for they usually set up a high standard (Braden). An instinctive conviction in every heart that God will reward us according to our treatment of others (Judges 1:6; Romans 2:15; cf. also Exodus 21:23-25; 1 Samuel 15:33; James 2:13).
(2) That dutiful conduct has few sweeter rewards in this world than its acknowledgment. Even aliens to the hope of Israel have experienced this. Ruth does not appear to have exceeded Orpah in affection for those who were gone. The commendation shared equally by both. Shews, on the other hand, that moral and social virtues, and the faultless discharge of the duties of this life, offer no suitable ground for the hope of salvation. How many wives, as tender and sympathetic as Orpah, have gone back again, and been unfaithful to the little light which has shone upon them from God! Yet, even with these, no act of kindness, no self-sacrifice, no silent deed of love, is unknown to Him.
(3) That prayer for us gains warmth and power by what men see in us. Every wish is a prayer with God (Mrs. Browning). The warmest wishes will in the main follow the most worthy. Live well! and the prayers of the good will gain in faith and confidence. So Paul evidently regarded Timothy (2 Timothy 1:3-6).
The text contains,
II. A valediction. Her motherly benediction was the best valediction (Trapp). She blesses them not in the name of Chemosh, but in the name of Jehovah (Lawson). Gold and silver she had not for them, but that which was better, heartiest orisons and well-wishes (Trapp). A heart impelled by love and self-devotion does much to invest the scene with its sacred charm. No priest like Mclchisedec, yet Naomi blesses them as the patriarch blessed Abraham—as Simeon blessed the infant Christ and His mother (Luke 2:34), with like faith, and a like trust in God (Luke 2:28)—as Elizabeth blessed Mary (ib. Luke 1:42-45).
Note. Love amid its own sorrows will still think of the welfare of others. Has a word of comfort and kind wishes in what is intended to be the hour of separation. We get a glimpse here
(1) Into a family life that may serve as a model for all (Lange). What a picture of peace and happiness does it suggest! The women have not only heard the religion of Jehovah confessed in Moab, but they have seen the expression of it in the life (Lange). Never more so than now.
(2) Into the way in which the godly used and made memorable the separations which come in life (cf. Genesis 28:1-3; Genesis 31:55; Genesis 43:14). So Paul commended the elders of Ephesus to God (Acts 20:32). So Jonathan separated from David (1 Samuel 20:42). Men do it now, but not with that reverence and earnest desire meet and befitting in such a case (Bernard).
Bernard on this—
I.
That it is a duty to pray for those who do either us or ours good (Ruth 2:12; 1 Samuel 25:33; 1 Samuel 24:19).
II.
That, at parting, friends are to pray one for another (Genesis 28:1-3; Genesis 31:55; Genesis 43:14; Acts 20:36).
III.
That the godly are persuaded that the Lord is a merciful rewarder of the duties of love which one doth toward another (Colossians 3:24).
IV.
That children should so well deserve of parents, yea, though but parents-in-law, as that they may be moved heartily to pray for them.
V.
That God will not only barely reward, but so deal with us as we deal with others.
As ye have dealt with the dead and with me.
I.
That daughters of a bad race may prove good wives and good children-in-law sometimes.
II.
That good and truely loving wives love their husbands’ parents for their husbands’ sake.
The Lord grant you that ye may find rest.
I.
That godly and wise friends pray not only in general, but in particular, as they know them to stand in need, for whom they pray.
II.
That godly mothers-in-law are hearty well-wishers to their children-in-law.
III.
That second marriages are lawful.
IV.
That husbands are to be their wives’ rest.
V.
That it is God’s blessing to be peaceably married.
Fuller remarks on kindly … as ye have dealt with the dead:—
A godly man dying, leaves behind him,
First, his body; to which we must be kind by burial and lamentation.
Secondly, his estate; to which we must be kind by careful and faithful administration.
Thirdly, his children, friends, or kindred; to whom we must be kind by love and affection.
Fourthly, his faults and failings; to which we must be kind by silence and suppression.
Fifthly, his memory and virtues; to which we must be kind by congratulation, commemoration, and imitation.
“Prayer eases the soul in times of distress, when it is oppressed with griefs and fears, by giving them vent, and that in so advantageous a way, emptying them into the bosom of God. The very vent, were it but into the air, gives ease; or speak your grief rather to a statue than smother it; much more ease does it give to pour it forth into the lap of a confidential and sypathising friend, even though unable to help us; yet still more of one who can help; and of all friends, our God is, beyond all comparison, the surest, and most affectionate, and most powerful.”—Leighton.
“The words of parting friends, who are likely never to meet again, make an impression not to be erased. They are like the words of the dying; for our friends are dead to us when we see them no more.”—Lawson.
“Our duties which we discharge to parents or husbands are as pledges before the Lord to do good unto us.… Goodness procureth goodness, and evil begetteth evil, like as birds breed birds, and fishes fishes.”—Topsell.
“When the tribe of Reuben, Gad, and half Manasses erected the altar Ed at the passage over Jordan, it startled all the rest of the tribes, as if under it they had hatched some superstitious design; whereas indeed the altar was not intended for sacrifice, but was merely an altar of memorial, to evidence to posterity that these two tribes and a half, though divided from the rest, were conjoined with them in the worship of the same God. In like manner, when some ministers thank God for the departure of His servants, some people are so weak, and some so wilful, to condemn such for passages of Popery, as if superstitious prayers were made for their departure; whereas, indeed, such congratulation, on the contrary, speaks our confidence on their present bliss and happiness, and continueth the Church militant with the Church triumphant, as the completing one entire Catholic Church of Jesus Christ.”—Fuller.
“It is the best remembrance of our dead progenitors to follow their virtues. St. Paul cannot look upon Timothy, but presently calls to mind his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois, though the latter, no doubt, was long since departed.”—Fuller.
“Men and women were joined in marriage (Genesis 2) to the end to be a mutual help one to the other; but many prove such helpers as the king of Assyria did to Ahaz (2 Chronicles 28:21), of whom it is said, ‘He distressed him, but helped him not.’ ”—Fuller.
“A man’s best fortune or his worst is his wife.”—English Proverb.
“It is an honour to the deceased sons, Mahlon and Chilion, that they made such a selection of wives; but they must also have been worthy of the enduring love they awakened, notwithstanding that there were no children to strengthen the bonds of affection. The attachment of the Moabitish women, Ruth and Orpah, to their new family must be grounded on psychological facts, with a knowledge of which exegesis cannot dispense. The Moabitish women had entered into an Israelitish house, and had breathed the beneficent atmosphere of a family of Judah. Marriage and family life form the real mirror of religious belief and worship. Hence the apostle, in his sublime manner, arranges the relations of husband and wife by referring to the love of Christ for His Church (Ephesians 5:22). Ancient Israel therefore distinguished itself from the inhabitants of Canaan, not merely by the name of its God, but by its life at home in the family, by faithfulness and love to wife and child. Purity and morality in marriage were the necessary results of faith in the only living God.”—Lange.
“The unhappy relations between daughter and mother-in-law, elsewhere usual, must in general have been unknown in Israel. Otherwise the prophet could not represent it as a sign of the extremest social ruin that as the son against the father and the daughter against the mother, so (Micah 7:6) the daughter-in-law rises up against the mother-in-law.”—Lange.
“The mother-in-law has forgotten that she was ever a daughter-in-law. The best mother-in-law is one who is dead.”—German Proverbs.
“Here we learn. God, in the rewarding of the good deeds of His servants, dealeth with them accordingly as they have done with others. Yet far be it from us to suppose that in our stained and imperfect works there is any meritorious virtue, which deserveth that God should proportion a reward unto them; but this freely proceedeth from God’s favour, who, to encourage us in well-doing, will not suffer a cup of cold water to pass without its reward. Do we desire, then, to leave dutiful children and faithful servants hereafter? Let us be dutiful to our parents, faithful to our masters. On the other side, hath God afflicted us with Zibahs to our servants, and with Absaloms to our sons? Let us reflect our eyes on that which is past, and call ourselves to account, whether we formerly have not been unfaithful to our masters, undutiful to our parents: no doubt we may then take up the confession of Adonibezek: ‘As I have dealt with others, so the Lord hath done to me.’ ”—Fuller.
“Benign restorer of the soul,
Who ever fliest to bring relief,
When first we feel the rude control
Of Love or Pity, Joy or Grief.”—Rogers, On a Tear.
Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voice and wept.
In every life these sudden outbursts of feeling. The clouds do not gather and the showers fall more naturally than sorrow expresses itself in tears. Christ Himself has shewn us that even a perfect humanity is not outside the realm of this law (John 11). Note. (a) Apathy is not fortitude. The Christian is no Stoic. Firmness with him is to exist side by side with the tenderest susceptibilities (Ecclesiastes 3:4; Ecclesiastes 7:2; Romans 12:15).
Times even when a loud and demonstrative sorrow like this is appropriate; They lifted up their voice and wept. So the Ephesian elders said farewell to Paul (Acts 20:37-38), “sorrowing most of all that they should see his face no more.” So with these three widows. Their love was a passion of the heart, breaking forth into wailing and weeping (Bernard). Note. (b) Community of trials unites human hearts, as fire unites metals (Dr. Waugh).
They wept—
I. At the recollection of the many endearing and joyful circumstances of the past. Their tears a tribute to the love which bound them so closely together to the memories they shared in common, and to “the dead,” with whom they had dealt so faithfully. The very joy which had been theirs comes in now to enhance their sorrow. Naomi’s reference to the past (Ruth 1:8) probably the key to this affecting scene.
II. At the realization of their poverty and defenceless condition. So far, however, love was strengthened rather than abated by their trials. Affliction had evidently drawn them closer together. Note. There is a charitable and holy weeping for the miseries of others (Bernard), and of our own.
III. At the very thought of a separation as possible. Adieu!—more tears have been shed at that word than at the utterance of any other. Separation!—a mysterious, if a familiar subject. Its shadow seems to have fallen upon the spirit of Christ Himself as He wept at the tomb of Lazarus. With these young women, Naomi’s kiss meant their dismissal, and they wept at the thought of parting with one who had so endeared herself to them. Note. One of the sorest afflictions incident to this life is the everlasting separation of those who are mutually dear to each other (Lawson).
IV. In protestation of their fidelity. Possibly the bitterest trial of all with both was that Naomi should doubt their willingness to go with her, and thus put it to the test. The event (Ruth 1:14) proved that Naomi was right. So Peter viewed the words of Christ (Mark 14:27-31), and protested “the more vehemently.” Note. Tears are not always a proof of an enduring fidelity. Orpah and Peter both sincere, but mistaken. So present sorrow for sin is not to be taken always as a sign of ultimate repentance. Many who have wept with Christ, it may be, as well as many who have done wonderful works in His name, will be found at last saying, “Lord, Lord, open unto us” (Matthew 7:22; Luke 13:25).
Bernard on this—
Then she kissed them. This action we may find fourfold: carnal, as in fleshly lust; hypocritical, as it was with Job and Judas; holy, of which the apostle speaks (1 Corinthians 16:20); or civil, as here used at the meeting of friends (Genesis 29:11; Genesis 33:4), at their departing (Genesis 31:55). It was honestly used to testify love and unity; therefore in the primitive Church, before they received the sacrament, they thus saluted one another.
And they lifted up their voice and wept.
Weeping is used in Scripture—I. To express sorrow at the parting of friends (2 Kings 13:14; 1 Samuel 20:41); II. For very joy (Genesis 45:14; Genesis 46:29; Genesis 29:11); III. In pity and compassion at the misery of others (Job 30:25; Jeremiah 4:19; Luke 19:41); IV. At the apprehension of kindness (1 Samuel 24:16).
“Observe the beautiful simplicity of Scripture, which counts it not a thing unmanly to own that Abraham, the stern, iron-hearted saint, has wept. Joseph ‘lifted up his voice and wept,’ Jacob, Peter, Christ, are all said to have wept. Contrast this with the conventional feeling which represents grief as unworthy manhood.”—Robertson.
“Tears! what are tears? The babe weeps in its cot;
The mother singing; at her marriage-bell
The bride weeps, and before the oracle
Of high-faned hills the poet has forgot
Such moisture on his cheeks. Thank God for grace,
Ye who weep only! If as some have done,
Ye grope tear-blinded in a desert place,
And touch but tombs,—look up! those tears will run
Soon in long rivers down the lifted face,
And leave the vision clear for stars and sun.”
Mrs. Browning,
“Who never wept”—What right have you to say that of angels? None! I own to none in revelation, none in reason, none in anything, except a spontaneous and universal idea.”—Elihu Burritt.
“Through the dim windows of affliction how changed is the aspect of the world! bow cold, and grey, and desolate, all its radiant glory departed, all its beauteous hues reduced to one dull leaden sadness! The tears of sorrow are like spiritual lenses, shewing us the world in its true character, as a poor, empty, unsatisfying thing.”—Anon.
“It is better for a Christian to be sorrowful, than secure as the people of the world are.”—Luther.
“Adversity is the only furnace of friendship. If love will not abide both fire and anvil, it is but counterfeit: so in our love to God we do but crack and vaunt in vain, if we cannot be willing to suffer for Him.”—Bishop Hall.
“The observation here may be the same which the Jews collected (John 11), which, when they saw our Saviour weep for Lazarus, they said, ‘Behold how He loved him!’ So these tears in this place were the expression of their affection. Sorrow, like the river of Jordan in the first month, did overflow the banks, and streamed water down their checks.”—Fuller.
“She dismissed them with great affection: she kissed them, wished she had somewhat better to give them, but silver and gold she had none. However, this parting kiss shall be the seal of such a true friendship as (though she never see them more) she will while she lives retain the pleasing remembrance of. If relations must part, let them thus part in love, that they may (if they never meet again in this world) meet in the world of everlasting love.”—Matthew Henry.
“What precious drops are those
Which silently each other’s track pursue,
Bright as young diamonds in their infant dew?”
Dryden.
“The rose is sweetest washed with morning dew,
And love is loveliest when embalmed in tears.”
Scott.
Theme.—THE PROMISING COMMENCEMENT
“Call to thy God for grace to keep
Thy vows, and if thou break them weep—
Weep for thy broken vows, and vow again,
Vows made with tears cannot be still in vain.”—Herbert.
And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee.
Youth is the season of warm and generous emotions. Renewed proofs of Naomi’s affection only bind these young women to her with stronger ties (Braden). Such a love a chain not easily broken (Braden). Note. (a) In all this we are to see the reward of a godly affection and a consistent walk. Piety, wherever found, has the power to win the hearts of people (Starke). She won love because she was Naomi, “pleasant” (Lange). She cherished no vanity, sought no strife, and did not wish to rule; hence she had peace and love (Lange). (b) We should so live that others by our good example may be drawn to love the truth (Genesis 34:31; Luke 8:16). Naomi’s character sheds a lustre upon a whole nation. For thy sake we are drawn in love with the whole people (Topsell). Besides, to follow and go with Naomi, meant to serve the Lord. So Ruth understood it afterwards (Ruth 1:16), and we can scarcely imagine Orpah intending to serve Chemosh now she resolves to go forward with Naomi. (c) Many infidels and carnal persons are sooner drawn to the Lord by the works which they see than by the words which they hear (Topsell).
We have—
I. An apparent agreement. They walk together—journey on the same road, are engaged in the same object, apparently with the same results. Now they protest in the same language. Worthy of attention, that their first utterance recorded by the inspired writer is a vow of fidelity to Naomi. Their choice voluntary, made with seeming deliberation, and after being urged very earnestly and affectionately in a contrary direction.
See in this—
(1) An encouraging and happy commencement. Naomi can rejoice for the present, in not knowing the difference between them, and the Divine record gives no sign as yet. God only knows the Orpah from the Ruth at this stage, outwardly there is nothing to distinguish them. Note. It is ours to rejoice in the beginnings of good things, irrespective of after results. Not for us to turn any back (Tyng). We should encourage and not suspect, rejoice rather than criticize. The Christian is the sower of the good seed, not the separater between the tares and the wheat. God’s command to-day, Let both grow together until the harvest (Matthew 13:30).
(2) A purpose good and commendable so far as it was carried out. We will return, etc. So they both said, and said as they thought (Trapp). No reason to doubt the sincerity of either (Lawson). For awhile they travelled happily and affectionately together, and there seemed no prospect of their separation. So in the heavenward journey with the believer and the mere professor. Whatever can be done in religious appearance in the world, and without an absolute separation of the heart from the world, they may have in common (Tyng). Journey together to the very extremities of Moab. Note. We mistake life, and read it amiss, when we look for those fine distinctions between the righteous and the wicked which shall one day be made apparent.
We have here—
II. A startling contrast. Undeveloped, unseen as yet, but real and already apparent in the eyes of God. Orpah upon second thoughts did otherwise (Trapp). The impulse with her good, but frail. She lacked the deep earnestness of Ruth. The seed sprang up, but it withered “immediately” (Matthew 13:5-6). Her choice the result of passion, and an earthly affection, not rooted in longings after God and the true Israel, as with her sister-in-law (Ruth 1:16). She loved Naomi, but even with all this her affections were back in Moab. And so even now the thorns were springing up which were to choke the good seeds of a noble resolution, made and partially carried out.
So in spiritual things it is not every blossom which comes to fruit. They fall away (Luke 8:13) speedily, miserably, inexplicably, irrevocably. Note. A conversion in the understanding, sentiment, or imagination may be a flower, but will be fruitless (Oosterzee). The promise is not the performance; beginning well is not always a sign of ending well. There is a great difference between the same mind at different times. Saul in a passion promised fair (1 Samuel 24:16-17; 1 Samuel 26:21), but David knew there was no trusting to either his tears or his talk (Trapp). Note. Strong passions, without a settled judgment, commonly produce weak resolutions (Matthew Henry).
Lessons
(1) How short-lived are the noblest purposes when made in our own strength! Like the morning cloud and the early dew (Hosea 6:3). Orpah and Ephraim, types of those only too common in our churches.
(2) We ought not to mistake every determination to walk with God’s people as a sign of true grace. Regeneration is a change of heart, not a mere momentary change of habit. (See also on Ruth 1:14.)
Macgowan on this—
I. Promises of speech and purposes of heart, whether to God, to His Church, or to individuals, ought to go hand in hand. If a man’s word does not express his meaning and bind him, nothing can.
II. Promises and purposes often proceed from passion instead of principle. Exemplified in young converts who have a passionate regard to the person or manner of a preacher. Saul, overcome with David’s kindness, promised that he would not seek his hurt.
III. Promises and purposes proceeding merely from passion soon fall to the ground. “I go, sir,” one said in the Gospels, and “went not.” Some persons melting under the ministry of the word as a summer brook (Job 6:15-20). A changed heart necessary to perseverance. Saul may have religious fits, and Jehu much zeal; for want of a regenerated nature both come to nothing.
Bernard on this—
I. Surely we will return. An earnest affection suffereth not easily a separation from the party affected. True love liveth in the party beloved, and can no more forsake him than it can forsake itself.
II. With thee. It is better to have the company of one sound Christian, than to enjoy the fellowship of a world of worldlings. Jonathan took more delight in one David than in the society of all his father’s house. The godly are such as go the way to eternal life. Whosoever looks for them must keep them company thither.
III. Unto Thy people. There is a right in every particular member to the Church, as in the Church to every member, and all to Christ, and Christ to them (1 Corinthians 12:12).
IV. On the whole verse. In passionate affection more will be spoken than acted. Both women say the same thing; but yet upon more deliberation one of them calleth back her word. Passion causes men to speak unadvisedly. They are not themselves.
“What a pleasing sight to see relations walking hand in hand in the fear of the Lord from Moab to Canaan—from this world, doomed to destruction, to the upper regions, the seat of rest and felicity!—Macgowan.
“The wise and foolish virgins both take their lamps and go forth to meet the bridegroom. Thus all go together on the way to return unto the land of Judah. As far as this journey lies still within the limits of Moab, so far they may unite to go.”—Tyng.
“At Preston, at Malines, at many such places, the lines go gently asunder: so fine is the angle, that at first the paths are almost parallel.”—Dr. J. Hamilton.
“Many listen together to the preaching of the word of God. Many feel together the burden of personal affliction and distress. Many are made to see their danger, and to remember their responsibility to God. Many appear to feel the guilt of their past sinful life, and to be really aroused in their mind and conscience to the necessity of obtaining salvation. Anxious, excited, apparently earnest and sincere, they set out upon their journey back to the gracious Being whom they have so long neglected. Yes, they really set out, and appear to set out sincerely.”—Tyng.
“How many of these young travellers have I seen! The Church delights over them, the pastor rejoiced in them; Christian friends were encouraged by them; the brightest and most blessed hopes clustered around them.… For a season they must be allowed to go on together. Awakened, convinced, interested in religion, apparently equally determined, they set out well.”—Tyng.
“So from the heights of will
Life’s parting stream descends,
And, as a moment turns its slender rill,
Each widening torrent bends.
From the same cradle side,
From the same mother’s knee,
One to long darkness and the frozen tide,
One to the peaceful sea.”—Holmes.
“What a strange and perplexing medley this world is! and how the confusion would be increased, could we read the hearts of men aright, and distinguish the destinies shaping themselves to-day for that other and never-ending life! Here is one who by the grace of God is seeking a crown of unfading glory, yonder one who shall assuredly wear the crown of everlasting reproach; here a spirit climbing heavenwards, there one going down deliberately to the home of eternal darkness. And they dwell to-day side by side, linked by the various ties of social and family life, in the same street, in the same house, it may be, bound together in the closest bonds of love and friendship. To men the difference is but a slight one; with God the distinction is seen as the beginning of a never-ending separation.”—B.
“Man oft resolves and re-resolves, yet dies the same. Hell is paved with good intentions.”—Luther.
“Man is but man, unconstant still, and various;
There’s no to-morrow in him like to-day.
Perhaps the atoms rolling in his brain
Make him think honestly this present hour;
The next a swarm of base, ungrateful thoughts
May mount aloft.”
Dryden.
“A variety of minerals exhibit translucency only on their edges. The central mass is dark; but, holding the specimen up to the light, light is transmitted dimly through the thin edges. Marble, flint, or hornstone are examples. These symbolize the man who has been brought so much under the influence of Christianity that it has modified his external conduct, produced some regard for true piety, led to some outward reformations, and caused him to adopt some of the forms of religion. Yet the darkness of unregeneracy reigns within. Friends, and possibly the man himself, mistake the rays that struggle through the edges of his character for genuine Christian experience.”—Hitchcock.