Ruth 1 - Ruth Stays with Israel

1. Naomi had two daughter-in-laws: Orpah and Ruth
2. Naomi laments the loss of her sons on behalf of Orpah and Ruth, and encourages them both to move on and return to their mother’s houses
   1. Orpah leaves Israel to return to Moab, forsaking the Lord and returning to her gods
   2. Ruth stays with Naomi, committing herself to Israel and, particularly, to the Lord (v. 16\)
      1. Orpah represents the people of Israel who have rejected the Lord
      2. Ruth represents the persistent remnant of Israel, forsaking her foreign identity for the sake of the Lord
         1. Reminiscent of Exodus 6:7, Deuteronomy 29:13, and Jeremiah 11:4
   3. The response of Orpah and Ruth can be mapped to the types of soil in the gospel parable of the sower
      1. Orpah is the rocky soil, which cannot withstand the heat and dies, for she has no root
      2. Ruth is the good soil, which produces a crop with great yield due to her faith, and it aligns well with the overarching theme of Judges, that Israel needs a king
         1. And the great yield of Ruth’s faith is David, her great-grandson, who is the great king of Israel
         2. And the greatest yield of Ruth’s faith is Christ, further down her genetic line, who is the greatest king of Israel, the king of kings