5 Vital Lessons From Ruth Chapter 1 {For All Believers.}

The book of Ruth in the Old Testament contains many vital life lessons that are relevant to all believers today. In this post, we will discuss the 5 important lessons from Ruth chapter 1 that we can apply in our lives as Christians today.

As you read that first chapter and bible verse of the book of Ruth, you can see that Ruth was a Moabite woman who was previously married and was widowed (Ruth 1:1-5).

Also, we see that Ruth had a mother-in-law and a sister-in-law by the names of Nomi and Orpah, respectively. As that bible story goes, Naomi had no husband and her daughters-in-law were just grieving the death of their husbands.

Due to these tragedies in Moab, Naomi decided to return to the land of Judah, Bethlehem she previously left due to famine along with her daughter in laws as we see in Ruth 1:7.

However, a sudden twist of events happened in Ruth 1:8-22 that altered the destinies of all the three involved. As they journeyed to Bethlehem, Naomi turned aside and spoke to Ruth and Orpah to return home.

Ruth And Orpah Ended Up Separating.

As fate has it, Ruth ended up staying and clinging to Naomi while Orpah returned to her motherland, Moab to her gods. Naomi then spoke to Ruth in Ruth 1:15 urging her to do the same as her sister-in-law had done.

Interestingly, Ruth refused to return to Moab and decided she will cling to Naomi due to her great loyalty to her and the God she serves explaining why she said, “your God will be my God,” in Ruth 1:16.

Her determination to willingly follow and serve the God of Naomi up to the point of death despite the tragedies she had gone through, tells us a lot about Ruth’s character that all especially women need to emulate.

The willingness of Ruth to let go of her sister-in-law, Orpah and pledge her true loyalty to Naomi reminds us that at times the decision to follow our Lord Jesus Christ will cost our family and friends.

With that said, let’s look at the 5 major lessons from Ruth chapter 1 that we can emulate from Ruth’s decision to follow Naomi which made her a woman of godly character.

5. Lessons From The Book Of Ruth.

Below are the 5 major lessons from the book of Ruth to remind us that choosing to follow and serve God requires faith and determination even during uncertain times.

Serving God Requires Faith.
Your Ugly Past Doesn’t Matter.
Choosing To Serve God Is Strictly Personal.
Choosing To Serve God Will Cost Some Friendships.
A Foreshadow Of Our Future Redeemer.

1. Serving God Requires Faith.

One of the major lessons we can deduce from the book of Ruth and Ruth’s story is that choosing to serve God requires faith and determination even in uncertain times.

As we see in Ruth 1:16, Ruth chose that she will serve the God of Naomi even to the point of death as she had fully resolved and purposed in her heart.

Ruth wasn’t guaranteed her future nor did Naomi guarantee that when she follows her she will get married. Moreover, since Ruth had the right motives for choosing to be with Naomi and serve her true living God, she chose to follow her by faith.

As a Christian, there are times when your faith will be tested. It’s during these situations when you are faced with uncertainty when you must prove the faith you have in God. Ruth proved her faith and God rewarded her for her faithfulness.

2. Your Ugly Past Doesn’t Matter.

Another vital lesson we can learn from Ruth’s story in Ruth 1:1-10 is that your past doesn’t matter. As you see in the bible story of Ruth, she didn’t have a good past either but changed her destiny for the better with her wise choices.

Ruth as you may know was not an Israelite but a Moabite woman from Moab where they worshipped idols and did all sorts of crazy things that were an abomination to the Lord.

However, through her determination and decision to serve the true living God of Naomi, she changed her final destiny and became one of the great-grandmothers of Jesus Christ today.

Similarly, if you have an ugly past and think God can’t use you for His glory because of what you did, forget about that as God is rich in mercy (Ephesians 2:4) and He’s a God of second chances. All you need is to make that decision to serve Him today.

3. Choosing To Serve God Is Strictly Personal.

The other vital lesson we can learn from Ruth’s decision to choose to be with Naomi in Ruth 1: 16-18 and serve her true living God despite her sister-in-law Orpah choosing otherwise is serving God is a personal thing.

You need to understand that being saved, having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and having salvation is a personal thing and cannot be shared or transferred from one person to another be it your immediate family member.

As Ruth chose for herself to serve the true living God of Naomi despite Orpah choosing otherwise, you as well need to decide for yourself whether you will dedicate your life to serving the Lord or not.

Ruth and Orpah making different choices also remind us that we are all free moral agents with a freewill. Orpah would have chosen to go with Naomi and her sister-in-law to serve the true living God, but as fate has it, she chose, otherwise.

4. Choosing To Serve God Will Cost Some Friendships.

Also, we see from Ruth’s story in Ruth 1:14,15 who had to let Orpah go, choosing to serve the Lord will at times cost you the relationships you once valued before you were saved.

Ruth didn’t care whether Orpah, her sister-in-law would follower her or not. She selflessly chose to pledge her devotion and loyalty to Naomi and her true living God of Israel, her redeemer.

Similarly, you will have to let go of certain friendships and some family members when you decide to follow Christ Jesus especially if those people don’t share the faith you have anymore.

You need to be willing to lose friendships for Christ’s sake you once valued if those friendships will be a hindrance in your serving God and devotion to Him just as Ruth got rid of Orpah and chose the God of Nomi instead.

5. A Foreshadow Of Our Future Redeemer.

Last but not least, another bible lesson we can get from the story of Ruth in the bible is the foreshadowing of our blessed redeemer, Jesus Christ.

As you read the book of Ruth further in Ruth 4:7-10, due to her faithfulness and decision to serve the true living God of Israel, she was rewarded and blessed with a husband by the name of Boaz.

Boaz’s redemption of Ruth clearly points us to Jesus Christ our redeemer and how He as well came to redeem us from sin and the ugly consequences it brings upon a sinner (Romans 6:23).

Just as Boaz redeemed Ruth in the Old Testament, Jesus Christ, too, in the New Testament came to save and redeem us from sin so that we can have abundant life, as we are all prodigal sons and daughters who have gone astray needing forgiveness.

Final Remarks.

I hope the above article on the 5 important lessons from Ruth Chapter 1 one has helped you learn one or two things from Ruth’s character and the life choices she made.

Just like Ruth, you as well, if you had an ugly past, you can change your eternal destiny for the better if you choose to give your life to Jesus Christ too and turn from sin.

Signing out, if this post has been a blessing to you, drop a comment below, and don’t forget to share before you leave for others to benefit as well. God bless.

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