Author: Vanessa Moonkie

Have you ever committed yourself to people without expecting anything in return? We find ourselves on the road with Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah. Orpah chooses to turn back, to return to what is familiar. But Ruth makes a different choice. She stays. This is what she says to Naomi ;

“But Ruth said, “Don’t ask me to leave you! Don’t beg me not to follow you! Every place you go, I will go. Every place you live, I will live. Your people will be my people. Your God will be my God. And where you die, I will die. And there I will be buried. I ask the Lord to punish me terribly if I do not keep this promise: Only death will separate us.”
‭‭Ruth‬ ‭1‬:‭16‬-‭17‬ ‭ICB‬‬

What truly stands out to me here is that Ruth wasn’t willing to return to the familiar. She was prepared to leave behind everything, her upbringing, her culture, her traditions, even the gods of Moab, to commit herself to a woman who had nothing left to offer. It’s easy to commit when there’s a promise of reward, when there’s money, status, or something to gain. But Ruth chose loyalty when there was nothing to gain but God. As I’ve said before, there is so much more to Ruth than just her meeting Boaz. Ruth was selfless. She was intentional about her relationships. She was dependable.

Naomi and Ruth arrive in Bethlehem. Naomi is old and can’t do much to provide but Ruth steps up! No one has to ask her to bring tomatoes home. Ruth is out in the field, working. She is serving. She’s not lazy. She doesn’t sit around waiting for someone else to provide. She notices when there’s no cooking oil and says, “I’ll get it.” When there’s a need , she doesn’t point to Naomi. She’s responsible.

She’s in a new land, but she’s already thinking about how to put food on the table. I’m talking to women who don’t mind working! Ruth didn’t just “need” provision she positioned herself for it. She had to be in the field to even be seen. And when Boaz asked about her, the foreman’s report wasn’t about her beauty, it was about her work ethic: “She’s been here all day!” But some of us? We’re on social media all day, hoping for Boaz to DM us. Men these days aren’t looking for liabilities, they look out for responsible women who won’t sit while the family is starving. What chores do you know? Or you will get a “maid” Princess Susan!

Ruth found herself in Boaz’s field and I believe it was the leading of the Lord. May the Lord lead you into such a field!

When Boaz sees her, he’s curious. “Who is she? Where is she from?” And then a foreman steps up and says, “I’ve got some information.” Listen, it was that information that made Boaz allow her to stay. It wasn’t a perfume (although you MUST put on some) It wasn’t her body. She didn’t seduce anyone to “pick her”. She didn’t seduce the foreman. It was her selflessness that opened the door. If you’re selfish, if your whole life is built around you, your little sandcastle will soon be blown away by the winds. Nobody wants a selfish friend. As a matter of fact, some people left you & you’re still complaining about how bad they were but they were running away from your me me me attitude.

Do you know, Ruth didn’t introduce herself. Her works did. Ruth didn’t have the Rachel figure that made Jacob work 14 years. We don’t hear about her curves or her cuteness, we hear about her heart. She’s the woman who left her people to stand with her mother-in-law. She’s the woman who brought food home. She’s the woman who worked. She’s the woman who made things work. She’s the woman with love. She’s the woman who gave of herself.

She reminds me of Tabitha (Dorcas), the woman in Acts 9 who was known for doing good and helping the poor. When she died, the widows stood and wept, holding out the clothes she had made for them. Her life spoke for her. Dear women, what people say about you matters. If you think it doesn’t? Think again and think McCain! Your life preaches before your mouth does. “I don’t care. I’m living my best life!” Okay. In rooms you cannot enter, there are people in there who can speak of you. I hope they’re not talking about how rude you are.

Ask yourself… or better yet, ask someone around you who will be honest: What in my character needs to change? What could be quietly closing the doors of opportunity in my life?

Am I selfish?

Am I lazy?

Am I rude?

Am I proud?

If you were the foreman, what would you say about you? Because here’s the truth: Even the person you overlook might be the one holding the report about you. Some of you are only kind to rich people. I’ll say it ooo! You serve certain people with a smile because you think they can do something for you.You’ll happily clean a billionaire’s house, but your own mother has to beg you to wash the dishes. Listen: Boaz was the owner of the field, but it was the foreman who had the information that kept Ruth in the field.

So before you go around saying “I’m Ruth,”remember, Ruth is a whole book, not just a chapter. The foremen are watching – Selah.

Let’s do part 3 tomorrow and come to a conclusion.

I love you.🌺

Happy Women’s Month, ladies!

Anddddd a warm welcome to the men who’ve joined us too. This month, we’re diving into the lives of women in the Bible, some you know well (like Hannah), and others you may not have heard of (like Philip’s daughters). We kick things off with one of our favourites : Ruth! Let’s get some background from Gugu!

Ruth: Background According to Researchers

The story begins with a famine in Bethlehem that drives Naomi, her husband Elimelech, and their two sons into Moab for survival. Ruth was originally a Moabite woman, a Gentile from Moab, a nation that was actually very hostile toward Israel. Yet Naomi’s sons marry them anyways. After ten years in Moab, Naomi loses her husband and both sons, including Ruth’s husband, Mahlon. Ruth was widowed & childless.

I know we always reference Ruth in relation to Boaz but her life didn’t begin there. Like many of you, she was married and living at home. Life must have seemed stable. Then tragedy struck: first her father-in-law, then her husband and her brother-in-law passed away. What seemed like a secure home became unstable and uncertain. The three women Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah are left widowed and without children. What did the future of this family look like? Hopeless right?

Allow me to say, gentlemen: women deeply value the protection, presence, and provision that you bring. Without that masculine presence , Ruth, Orpah, and Naomi found themselves exposed and vulnerable, like a walled city whose defences have been torn down. They were widows without sons, without security.. Those of who say men aren’t needed, lf I katch you? I will pinch you.

In Ruth 1:8–18, Naomi decides to return to her homeland after losing her husband and both of her sons. Part of her plan is to send her daughters-in-law back to their own families so they can remarry and rebuild their lives. She says to them, “Go back, each of you, to your mother’s home… Even if I thought there was still hope for me, if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons, would you wait until they grew up?”

Orpah is willing to go back home, but Ruth is different, she seems to be a covenant woman. She says no. In saying no, Ruth wasn’t just rejecting Naomi’s suggestion, she was saying no to a “new life” that could have been easier. There was no promise of a husband waiting for her, no prophecy of a brighter future in Bethlehem. In human terms, it made no sense to stay. But Ruth was willing to give up her own comfort, opportunities, and dreams simply to remain with Naomi and follow her God.

Think about that, she had the chance to marry again, yet she said no. She had the chance to return to her people, yet she said no. She chose instead to live with an aging widow in a foreign land. I don’t know if I could’ve done that. It’s easy to say “ I am a Ruth,” when you’re looking for Boaz but are you also the Ruth who chooses God boldly?

It’s the same choice believers face today. You might have the chance to date someone who doesn’t share your faith, someone “good” by the world’s standards but staying in covenant with God means saying no. Ruth rejected what could have been good for her in the natural just to stay with Naomi.

Would you do that?

There’s so much we could say here, but let’s pause and think: What are you willing to give up to follow God? Peter said to Jesus, “We have left everything to follow You.” Are you only willing to be Ruth when there’s the promise of a husband or are you also willing to be the Ruth who makes God her first priority? Ruth was broken, hurt, widowed, and yet she still chose God. She was never told about Boaz. She didn’t have a prophecy to hold on to. She simply valued covenant and relationships.

Some women don’t care about relationships, they cut people off, they live in isolation, and they move only when they get a full prophecy about their lives . But Ruth teaches us something different. She shows us what it means to choose God, not because of a reward, but because of love and loyalty. Would you still follow God if there was no Boaz prophecy?

This is the Ruth we all claim to be. And this Women’s Month, let’s truly learn from her and other women of faith. In the face of many “freedoms” the world offers us, may we still choose to prioritise God. See you tomorrow as we finish the study on Ruth ! If you can, please read the book of Ruth.

🌸 l love you.🌸