Life Applications and Lessons from Ruth Chapter One

Saturday Morning Life Applications (Vol. 82)

Wow! When I started reading the book of Ruth (which I have read several times in the past), I had no idea how the Lord would speak. See the life applications and lessons from Ruth Chapter One below.

The book of Ruth is broken into four chapters, each having it’s own life applications, lessons, and even themes. I feel like each chapter deserves it’s own devotional, so I will be sharing these over the next four weeks. I hope you will join me as we read through one of the most encouraging books of the Bible – Ruth.

A Brief History of the Book of Ruth – First Chapter

The story of Ruth begins with her mother-in-law’s story. Naomi lived in Bethlehem in the land of Israel with her husband and two sons. They were Ephrathites of Bethlehem.

Because of hard times due to a severe famine in the land, they moved to the land of Moab. While they were there, Naomi’s husband died, leaving her and her two sons Mahlon and Chilion alone in the land of Moab.

Some time later, Naomi’s sons married Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. However, both of Naomi’s sons died as well. This now left her with only her two Moabite daughters-in-law.

Since they did not have children, she wanted what was best for them. Instead of either one of them ending up in their old age as a childless widow, she told them to go back to their mother’s house and remarry.

Although both daughters-in-law loved Naomi and wanted to stay with her, Orpah returned to her family, and Ruth chose to stay with her mother-in-law Naomi. Ruth had a loyal love and said she would follow Naomi wherever she went, and that Naomi’s God would be her God.

Naomi and Ruth’s Story Line in Chapter One

• Characters: Naomi, Ruth
• Setting
  • Time: In the time of the judges
  • Place: Bethlehem, Moab
• Conflict: Lack of food, death of her husband and sons
• Theme: God is in the Details (Sovereignty of God)
• Foreshadowing: Ruth 1:9 “May the Lord grant each of you rest in the house of a new husband…”

God is in the Details

• They needed to be in the Place of provision to receive the provision.
• The hand of the Lord was upon them, leading them back to the Promised Land.
• The Lord provides for His people, even in tough times.
• Can you remember a time when the Lord led you to a place of provision?
• He will lead us and provide for us. We need to listen, be open, and follow Him every step of the way.

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“So Naomi came back from the country of Moab with her daughter-in-law Ruth the Moabitess. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.”
Ruth 1:22

The Lord led them to the right place at the right time.

• Place
  • Bethlehem
    • Home
    • Where relatives lived
    • Where they could be back in fellowship with God’s people
    • Where the provisions were
• Time
  • Beginning of barley harvest
    • Time of provision
    • Time of opportunity to work

The Lord today will lead us to the right places at the right times. However, we do need to seek Him and follow His lead.

When is a time you felt the Lord working out the details of your life?

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Related Song to Ruth Chapter One

Have you heard the song, “God is in This Story” by Katy Nichole and Big Daddy Weave? This explains the life applications and lessons in Ruth chapter one perfectly. Here is the link to listen to the song (with lyrics):

God is in This Story

A Few Other Thoughts from Ruth Chapter One

• The life of Naomi was very hard. You can’t blame Naomi for being depressed and maybe even a little bitter. She had lost her entire family.
• You can’t blame Orpah for leaving and going back to her family. It doesn’t sound so hard to follow Naomi, especially if you know the rest of the story. However, she would have been moving far away from her own family to a foreign country.
• Ruth’s loyalty to Naomi was due to her love for her as well as her noble character. It is an incredible story of commitment!

Please join us as we read God’s Word each week and learn to apply His principles to our lives.

If you have joined me recently, these daily life application posts are examples of some of the comments I am writing in the Bibles I am giving to my grandchildren when they graduate from high school. Click here to see the post where I explain this eternal gift idea. I want to give them all the resources I can to use in today’s world!

The rose colored Bible is the one I am using for my youngest granddaughter, and I really love it! It is the She Reads Truth Bible, CSB. I did some research before purchasing the CSB, and I found that it is translated from the original text and very accurate – very important!

Leadership Lessons from Ruth – by John Maxwell

If We Could Only See if from God’s Perspective

I hope you enjoy the study of the book of Ruth as much as I am. If you are following along with me in Bible study, I am starting I Samuel. I am unsure as to how I am going to share those life applications as well as Ruth’s at this time, but I will figure it out before next week.

Please feel free to give advice.

Until next week…

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But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Thy people will be my people and thy God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”

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