30 - The Story of Ruth

Ruth 1:1 - 2:20
Ruth 2:21 - 4:22

This delightful tale of wandering, marriage, commitment and fertility gives us an insight into the culture and mores of the Israelites.  What is it that bound them together?  What makes a person an Israelite?  Ruth prefers to return with her mother-in-law Naomi to Naomi's native land, promising in words that are often heard in marriage ceremonies:

1¹⁶ ...Where you go, I will go;
   where you lodge, I will lodge;
your people shall be my people,
   and your God my God. 
¹⁷ Where you die, I will die—
   there will I be buried.
May the Lord do thus and so to me,
   and more as well,
if even death parts me from you!’ 

Ruth and Naomi

What do you learn about the relationship of the people with their God from this story?