Some of the lyrics in the song titled "Love" by Martha and The Vandellas, back in the 1960s, say, "Love, Love, Love makes me do foolish things…. Got me doin' things that shouldn't be. Oh, why do I? Oh, because Love, Love, Love makes me do these things…"

Today, I want to talk with you about Faith That Worketh By Love through the example of Ruth, the Moabitess, in the Bible. As a young widow, Ruth was free to return to her father’s house, free to remain single or remarry and try to have children; free to start life all over again. However, Ruth said to her mother-in-law, Naomi, “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” (Ruth 1:16).

What is it that would make someone blindly follow another to a strange country? What would make a person give up a potentially promising future right where s/he is, for something that has no guarantees? From the fallen human perspective, this seems foolish! But for Abraham, it was faith in God. For Ruth, it was love for her mother-in-law.

For Abraham, it was obedience to God who said to him, “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee” (Genesis 12:1).

For Ruth, it was a willingness to bear the burden of an old woman, stripped of all she had and destitute of all hope.

In his obedience to God, Abraham showed his Love for God. According to John 14:15, Jesus said, “if ye love Me, keep my commandments.” In bearing the burden of her mother-in-law, who was in need, Ruth showed godly love. According to Galatians 6:2, we are told, “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

Abraham was called the father of faith because he believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. His works of obedience to God demonstrated his faith. Whatever God told him to do, Abraham did it!

Ruth was simply called the Moabitess. There is no record of her ever hearing a direct call from God to do anything like Abraham was called. Born and raised in a nation that worshipped idols, Ruth was considered a heathen by those who descended directly from Abraham and who worshipped the One True God.

However, Ruth married a man who knew about the One True God, and for ten years or so, she had the opportunity to learn about the True God. After her husband died, she could have returned to the gods she used to serve. Still, out of love for her mother-in-law, Ruth determined to stay by her side until only death separated them. I can imagine Ruth considering her mother-in-law’s plight: an old woman, without husband or children, returning home alone to her native country that she had not seen for more than ten years. I can see her saying, if Mahlon (that was the name of her husband) were here, he would take care of his mother. Mahlon would want me to help his mother. I will not leave her or forsake her. Ruth bore the marks of the Spirit of the Living God in her inner being, and it was manifested by a loving commitment to someone who needed help. Not really knowing God as Abraham did, Ruth demonstrated a faith that worked by love.

Both Abraham and Ruth share a similar heritage through Terah. Terah was Abraham’s father and Lot’s grandfather. Lot was Abraham’s nephew, being the son of his brother Haran.

Lot became the father of the Moabites, Ruth’s people. The Moabites came about as the result of incest. Specifically, Lot’s oldest daughter, fearing she would never get married and have children, decided to get her father drunk and then have sex with him so she could get pregnant. As a result, she had a baby by her daddy, and her daddy became her “baby’s daddy/granddaddy!” His name was Moab. This same situation was repeated by Lot’s youngest daughter the following night, and she also bore Lot a son who was named Ben-ammi. He became the father of the Ammonites. Not only were both of these nations (the Moabites and Ammonites) birthed out of incest, they were also heathen nations as they were idol worshippers.

Before you get too disgusted and appalled with Lot’s daughters and their actions, consider their example! This same Lot offered these two daughters of his to all the men (young and old) in Sodom to protect his male household guests (who were actually angels) from being raped by these same men (see Genesis 19:5). The mother of these two girls was Lot’s wife. When told to flee from Sodom and not look back, Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

What is the purpose of exposing these sordid Biblical facts about Ruth’s background? It doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, what generational curses you may be struggling under, how much money you have in the bank, you can believe in the Son of The Living God, and be saved! Salvation is for everyone that believes–that is having faith in Jesus Christ The Messiah and following Him!

Ruth was not raised in the Church. She didn’t go to a Christian school and didn’t have an advanced degree. Nor do we know whether or not she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. If she had any Bible studies, it would have happened in the home of her husband and his family.

It was Ruth’s love for her mother-in-law that grafted her into the family of God!

  • It was love that made her leave her country to go to a place that she knew nothing about – to her people, FOOLISH!
  • It was love that led her to take on a field job to help feed herself and her mother-in-law – FOOLISH! She had much better job opportunities in Moab! She had connections there!
  • It was love that led her to marry a man (Boaz) old enough to be her father or grandfather – FOOLISH! She could have married a much younger, stronger, more handsome, more eligible Moabite man, right in her hometown!

It was love that led Ruth to bear a child and then place that child in the bosom of her mother-in-law. Naomi became the “nanny granny mommy” of Obed, and everything that she had lost was redeemed by this act of love on the part of her daughter-in-law, Ruth. FOOLISH? Nay verily! It may not make any sense to a non-believer, but to a believer in The God of Love, that was FAITH!

You’ve heard it said, “All you need is love.” When you really love somebody, you’ll do just about anything for that person. You would even count it all joy to give of yourself to make the one you love happy! While you may not understand all the doctrines, Bible commentaries, and Bible Study lessons, and religious holy days (holidays). It’s alright, as I can hear The Word of The Lord saying, “Keep it simple. Do unto others what you would have others do unto you if you were in that person’s situation! When you love others and do what you can to help them out, it is as if you did it unto Me, says The Lord! When you saw my nakedness, you clothed Me. When you realized I was hungry, you fed Me. When you saw I was in prison, you visited Me. When you realized I was sick, you prayed for Me. When you realized I was down, you encouraged Me. You LOVED ON ME!!! What do I require of you but to love Me with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your might, and then love your neighbor as yourself? You’ve never seen me, but you see your neighbor! How are you going to show me that you love Me? Talk is CHEAP! By loving your brother and sister, by loving your neighbor, by helping out the very one sitting next to you (who just might be an angel unawares), you show your love for Me by the way you treat one another!”

When you love one another, you fulfill the law of Christ. That’s the kind of faith that Christ must see in all of His followers. “For God so loved the world, that He gave the life of His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but live forever!” (John 3:16) God is love, and those who know Him, love Him, and they love others also! Show me your love in action, and then I’ll see your faith in Me.

When you truly love The Lord, obedience to His commands becomes a MUST for you! You’ll do what He says. You’ll keep His commandments. You’ll go where He wants you to go. You’ll say what He wants you to say. You’ll think His thoughts! You’ll look for ways to please The One you love; The One who gave Himself for you!

Because of her faith that worked by Love, Ruth received the blessings of Abraham! In Genesis 12:1-3, we hear God’s call on Abraham and learn of the promises that came with his obedience. God said, “I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”

What did Ruth gain as a result of her obedience to the law of Christ, which is to love one another?

  • Ruth became the great-grandmother and forerunner of King David, who was the earthly forefather of Jesus Christ The Messiah.
  • Ruth, the redeemer for Naomi, ushered in The World’s Redeemer, Jesus Christ the Messiah.
  • It is through her offspring that all the families of the earth can be blessed!
  • Ruth became a reflection of Jesus Christ. She became poor and gave up everything, so that her mother-in-law could live. She was a redeemer!
  • Because of her love for Naomi, Ruth’s status was elevated to an heiress in the family of The Living God!
  • Her earthly husband was rich, and her Heavenly Father is rich!
  • Through her obedience to the law of Love, a whole book in the Bible is dedicated to telling her story. She goes down in history as a blessed woman of faith.

In that line-up of heroes of faith, Hebrews chapter 11: 4-32 tell us that:

  • By faith, Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous…
  • By faith, Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found because, before his translation, he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
  • By faith Noah…moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house…and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
  • By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed…not knowing where he was going.
  • Through faith, Sara became pregnant and bore a son when she was POST-menopausal because she judged Him faithful who had promised.
  • By faith, Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose instead to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.
  • By faith, Rahab perished not with them that believed not, and when the walls of Jericho fell, her house (which was built on the wall), and all who were IN her house were saved.

And, what shall I say more? Not willing to be sacrilegious, may I suggest this plausible addition to verse 32 of Hebrews 11?

  • By faith Ruth moved with love for her mother-in-law, left her own country; dwelt in a strange land among those who looked down upon her; worked in a field to provide bread for her mother-in-law and herself; married a man old enough to be her father or grandfather; bore a son and set her first-born in the bosom of her mother-in-law; and redeemed the life, hope, and property of her mother-in-law. But more far-reaching than that, by faith, Ruth delivered the forerunner of The World’s Redeemer who restored life, hope, and the Kingdom to the descendants of Adam, even Jesus Christ The Messiah.

From being born of a heathen nation to becoming an heiress in The Kingdom of the One True God, Ruth became a mother of faith that was demonstrated by obedience to the law of Christ – a faith that worketh by love!

Go, do likewise, and be blessed!

Marcia

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