Since birth, Ruth must have heard that Israelites were bitter enemies of Moabites such as Ruth. The Israelites condemned the Moabites for their wickedness and for their evil gods (Numbers 25:1-5). Human nature being what it is, I’m sure that the Moabites told similar tales condemning Israel and the LORD.

Nor had serving the LORD brought good luck to the family of Israelites into which Ruth married. A famine in Israel forced them to move to Moab. Within ten years, all the men in the family were dead. Ruth was left without a child or a husband—a widow like Orpah (her sister-in-law) and Naomi (her mother-in-law) (Ruth 1:1-5).

Ruth and Orpah were not under any legal obligation to stay with Naomi. When Naomi set off to return to Israel, she set them free to return to their Moabite families until they found new husbands. Indeed, Naomi encouraged them to stay in Moab. (Ruth 1:6-15).

Naomi told Orpah and Ruth, “Go back, each of you, to your mother’s home. May the LORD show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead and to me. May the LORD grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband” (Ruth 1:8-9).

Then Orpah did the normal thing—the prudent thing. She left Naomi and went home to look for another husband (Ruth 1:14).

“[B]ut Ruth clung to [Naomi]” (Ruth 1:14). Naomi urged her to leave. She said, “Look, . . . your sister-in-law is going back to her people and to her gods. Go back with her” (Ruth 1:15).

Then Ruth did the good thing—the courageous thing. She told Naomi, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” (Ruth 1:16).

At last, Naomi accepted Ruth’s courageous gift of loyalty and love. “So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem” (Ruth 1:18-19).

We aren’t told why Ruth made this amazing decision to go to Israel, adopting Israel as her Promised Land. She must have loved Naomi deeply. And, despite all the misfortunes she’d experienced in the family of Naomi, Ruth must have come to love the LORD deeply.

Such is the courage we must have to enter our Promised Lands.

Such courage does not come from logic.

Such courage does not come from doing normal things—from doing prudent things.

Such courage comes from doing good things—from doing courageous things.

Such courage brings us into the Promised Land where we love the LORD our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30).

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This blog is based on pages 147-148 of my book, The Promised Land.