I know you’re thinking, “Ah, but what’s left to learn?” I thought the same! But stay with me, and read carefully so you can catch the flow.
We meet Ruth, Naomi, and Orpah at a point of deep loss: all three have lost their husbands, and Naomi has decided to return to Bethlehem. She tells her daughters-in-law, “Go back home.” Ruth refuses, saying, “Ma’am, I’m going with you. Where you go, I will go!” But Orpah, though she weeps, eventually turns back. If you’ve ever written a history essay, you’ll know there are always two sides to an argument , you explore both, then conclude with the stronger side. That’s what we’re kdoing today. Yesterday, we looked at why Orpah was right to leave , the relationship had ended. Today, we’re asking: Why did she choose to go back to the old?
What kind of place was Moab that Ruth didn’t even think about going back? She would rather take the risk of moving to a completely new environment, no friends, no familiar faces, no connections, than return home. She chose to be a foreigner over being comfortable. Why not just go back home like Orpah? That question made me think of Abraham. “Come out from your father’s house!” Leave the place and not just for a visit, but for good. Orpah, when given the same opportunity to step into something new, chose not to take the risk. And sometimes, it’s in taking that risk that we step into our breakthrough.
She returned home to the old idols, the old relationships, the doors God had already shut. She reopened what was meant to stay closed. She went back to the familiar, to the things she had once left behind, to the addictions, to the world, to the old way of living. She walked back into her past when she had the chance to walk forward into her future and this time, with God in it.
This may be a bit sensitive, so please read with care. There are people who have left this world after being given the chance to walk away from abusive relationships. As a counsellor, I understand how abusive environments can shape a mindset that says, “I can’t leave this is where I belong.” But the truth is, everyone comes to a crossroad a moment to choose. To stay or to leave. If you’re in such a place, please see this blog as a guide , a reminder that you do have a chance. PLEASE LEAVE!
Spiritually, we have all been given moments to repent. Yet some of us have gone back to Moab. Back to using charms, herbs, and strange concoctions to get our way. Back to the idols we knew from childhood because “they work.” All the while, ignoring the opportunity to choose Jesus as Lord.
What new opportunities has God placed before you that you’ve ignored simply because they challenge your comfort? Is He telling you to apply for a new job and leave the old one behind? Is He urging you to step out and win souls? Is He inviting you to follow Him to your “Bethlehem” because He knows you’re better off there? Take time to listen. Ask Him to open your eyes to see what He sees.
I hope you’ve caught the drift , this is about choices.
When you stand at the crossroad, which path will you take? And how will that choice shape not only your present, but your future? Some of us left but we are slowly returning to what we left ..
What will it be? Moab or Bethlehem? As for me? I can never turn back o. It’s already too late o. It won’t make sense o. Where am l going to?
Make a choice
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