The Scandal of Staying

Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2026

You might want to watch this short video overview of Ruth from the Bible Project, providing context for the next leg of our journey through the "grand narrative" of Scripture.

The Book of Ruth starts with a funeral and ends with a bitter homecoming. It’s a heavy chapter. Naomi loses everything: her husband, her sons, and her identity. She tells people to call her “Mara” (Bitter) because she feels the Almighty has dealt her a losing hand. But in the middle of this vacuum of hope, we see Ruth. Ruth’s commitment to Naomi is an earthly picture of God’s chesed (steadfast, unfailing love). It’s a covenantal, never-stopping love.

Ruth’s decision to stay with Naomi wasn’t logical; it was scandalous. She was leaving her culture and her gods for a widow with no prospects. This is the grand narrative at work. God is using a Moabitess, an outsider, to preserve the line of the Messiah. While Naomi can only see what she has lost, God is already setting the stage for what the whole world will gain.

Psalm 66 invites us to “come and see what God has done.” Even when the road leads through fire and water (as the Palmist says), the destination is a “place of abundance.” Ruth’s loyalty is a shadow of Christ’s loyalty to us. He didn’t just walk a few miles with us; He stepped into our humanity and stayed with us all the way to the cross. Even when we feel bitter, His chesed is the silent engine driving our story toward redemption.

Devotional Prompts:

Are you in a Naomi season where you feel more defined by your losses than your faith?
Who has God placed in your life to show you chesed when you’ve been at your lowest?
How does Ruth’s status as an outsider challenge your view of who God can use in His Kingdom?

Prayer: Faithful God, thank You for staying with me when I am too bitter to even recognize Your presence. Give me the courage of Ruth to stick by those in need and the eyes to see Your hand moving even in my grief. Amen.