Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. – Ruth 1:16
Ruth 1:16-18
16 But Ruth said, Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.
17 Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the LORD do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me.
18 When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her
Established in 1903, Harley-Davidson Inc. has been crafting exceptional motorcycles in America. The company is known for cultivating enduring relationships with Harley-Davidson owners. They are often called a global “tribe” due to their unwavering loyalty.
Retaining repeat customers is often more cost-effective and profitable than acquiring new ones. Harley-Davidson has consistently fostered solid and positive connections with its patrons. Holding onto satisfied customers is a significant factor in its success story. As a result of building such relationships and bonding, brand loyalty naturally follows.
Our relationship with the Father often mirrors our relationships with others. The stronger our loyalty is towards Him, the more likely we are to show loyalty to friends and family. This is not coincidental. The Father values loyalty greatly.
Perhaps one of the most striking and beautiful illustrations of loyalty in the Scriptures is seen through Ruth’s devotion to her mother-in-law, Naomi. Her words have been etched onto bracelets and pendants that many carry with them everywhere: “For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. The LORD do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me” (Ruth 1:16, 17) (Stanley).
The Book of Ruth is a profound and poignant narrative. It oozes tragedy and trust, loss and loyalty, and the invisible hand of the Father working behind the scenes to accomplish His perfect will. There are no coincidences in the kingdom of God. Instead, all of the seemingly random events have been scripted in eternity past and are being acted out in real time. None of the actors know how it ends, as they are simply moving through their life script. Only the Father, the designer and driving force behind the unfolding events, is privy to His grand plan. Ruth chooses to stay with her mother-in-law (Ruth 1:14). Ironically, Ruth ties her future to Naomi, a woman who, by her own admission, has no future (Roop).
REFLECT & PRAY
As children of the King, we’re called to share our very lives with one another.
Father as we share our lives with others, may we mirror Your loving heart.
INSIGHT
1 Samuel 18:1-4
1 After David had finished talking with Saul, he met Jonathan, the king’s son. There was an immediate bond between them, for Jonathan loved David.
2 Saul kept David with him from that day on and wouldn’t let him return home.
3 And Jonathan made a solemn pact with David because he loved him as he loved himself.
4 Jonathan sealed the pact by taking off his robe and giving it to David, together with his tunic, sword, bow, and belt.
David and Jonathan had a unique, pure, and selfless friendship. They were bound together, soul to soul, in a remarkable, godly commitment to one another. The Hebrew word translated as knit or bound is qashar. The Hebrew root denotes binding or tying something to something. Binding in human relationships is often characterized by commitment, that is, by devotion or the binding together of individuals. This idiom expresses great affection.
This phrase has been rendered as follows: “Jonathan felt an instant affection for David” (NJB), and “David and Jonathan became best friends” (CEV). In 21st-century colloquial English, we would say they became BFF (Best Friends Forever). They had a devoted affection. They had an instant, extreme, and ultimately long-lasting affection and love for one another. It was “loyalty at first sight.”
Even Saul had a great fondness for David early on in their relationship until jealousy and envy took over and darkened Saul’s soul.
1 Samuel 16:21 Saul loved David very much, and David became his armor bearer.
A loyal person remains unwavering and steadfast. Loyalty comes from the heart. Support does not require begging or groveling. It is motivated by love and freely given. Loyal friends desire the best for those close to them.
Loyalty also demands trust. It leaves no room for deception or mistrust. As a result, individuals loyal to one another relate at much deeper levels than others. Loyal friends defend the other person and refuse to listen to gossip. Loyalty speaks the truth. A loyal person has a strong sense of responsibility.
Genuine loyalty is not built around circumstances, environment, popularity, or convenience. True loyalty is built on devotion to the Father and the love of others. The Father rewards those who remain loyal to Him, and to those people, He places in our lives. You can never out-give God, even in loyalty! His generosity is boundless. (Stanley)
In many ways, David was unique; he was a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). In the Old Testament, David was one of the few individuals with the privilege and honor of having the Holy Spirit dwell inside of him.
1 Samuel 16:13 Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. And the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon David from that day on.
David and Jonathan were kindred spirits. Their story shows the depth and breadth of godly relationships available to every child of the King when they walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. Could it be that David’s deeply personal, mystical, spiritual relationship with the Father made such a high-quality, intimate relationship possible?
The friendship between Jonathan and David has become proverbial over the millennia. It was conceived as an intimate binding of their souls and spirits together. It was characterized by the Hebrew phrase nep̱eš niqšerāh benep̱eš (“became one in spirit with;” literally, “spirit bound with spirit” (Youngblood).
“Jonathan became one in spirit with David; literally, ‘the soul of Jonathan was bound up, knotted firmly together with the soul of David.’ Jonathan recognized in David a kindred spirit. These two men were one in their God, in their faith, and in their devotion to the people of the Lord. David loved him (i.e., Jonathan) as himself” (James E. Smith).
1 Samuel 18:4 Jonathan sealed the pact by taking off his robe and giving it to David, together with his tunic, sword, bow, and belt.
“As a symbol of their brotherhood, Jonathan gave David certain articles of clothing and weapons. To receive any part of the dress which had been worn by a sovereign, or his eldest son and heir, was deemed in the East the highest honor which could be conferred on a subject” (James E. Smith).
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© Dr. H 2024
Dr H Reflections 