Being Faithful to Follow

When you love someone, you follow them.

Orpah and Ruth started to leave with Naomi, but Orpah changed her mind.

Orpah represents the people that will not follow the Lord.  She grieves for her mother in law, but still stays in Moab.  She will not follow.  People will cry and grieve over the fact that they need the Lord, they will tell you they want to do better, but then they stay where they are because it takes too much to change. 

Ruth followed Naomi.  She was of the Moabs, not necessarily an enemy of Israel, but not of their nationality either.  It seems that she only lived with Naomi a short time before Naomi decided to leave and go back to Bethlehem.  But in that short time, she learned to love Naomi and what she saw in Naomi, enough that she would leave mother, father, family, home and go wherever Naomi went.

Ruth represents the few that will lay down houses, lands, and kindred to just be close to the Lord.  Your people will be my people, where you lodge, I will lodge;

This is the mind set, that Jesus was speaking about when he said “If you continue in my word, then are ye my disciples.  It is not the ones that start.  Orpah started, she went a little ways down the road, but she stopped. 

Naomi represents the Lord

Ruth, the Christians

Boaz,  the final prize