Heroines of Faith
RUTH AND ORPAH
Between Loyalty and Reality
Examining the positions of Ruth and Orpah in the book of Ruth shines light on the human ability to choose to do God's will over seeking our own comfort
"Not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus" (Phil. 2:4-5).
Paul's call to the congregation in Philippi, that they will be full of love, was based on the fact that they were able to act with high moral values during the different crises within their personal relationships. Often those same theoretical verses became more tangible through the stories about real living people.
More than once, life brings us face to face with different challenges, possibly the hardest of them involve relationships with other people, especially those close to us. What motivates us to make decisions in these crossroads of our lives? Do we consider what benefits us, or what benefits others? In the scroll of Ruth, we encounter a number of individuals whose lives are spread out before us, as well as their challenges and how they handled them.
By comparing the main characters (Naomi, Ruth and Boaz) and the secondary characters (Orpah, and the next of kin) in the book of Ruth, we get the opportunity to examine their attributes in volatile situations, where they could explode (as often happens in our lives). In contrast to the secondary characters utilitarianism and pragmatism, we see the loyalty and moral integrity of the main characters.
Here is a comparison between the characters and their decision making process – the first being the accepted normal one: Orpah, who listens to the sensible words of her mother in law and turns back to Moab to build her life. The second non-conventional one: Ruth, who against all reason sticks to Naomi bringing into conflict her loyalty and her utilitarianism.
In the conversation that takes place between Naomi and her daughters in law (1:7-18), she tries several times to convince them to return to their land.
She turns to them and requests that they "Go back, each of you, to your mother's home." They refuse and say "We will go back with you to your people." But Naomi persists: "Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me?" She tries to persuade them with positive arguments, like the hope of a new life in Moab. She tries with negative arguments like the uncertainty of following her. At some point Orpah's will cracks because of Naomi's persuasion and she continues to try to convince Ruth as well. "See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law." Surprisingly, Ruth responds with an absolute refusal "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. Your people will be my people and your God my God."
The atmosphere as seen from the dialogs' here is one of a caring family environment: At this they wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her" (1:14). There is no judgment or criticism regarding Orpah's actions; after all, both daughters-in-law do not owe anything to Naomi after the death of their husbands. In addition, Naomi is the one that requests they leave her to go their way.
Orpah is convinced by Naomi's words that she will not have a future with her: "Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands?" Maybe the chilling words of Naomi struck a cord with Orpah's fear of the future, and she turns back on her heels.
It is precisely because there is nothing wrong with Orpah's actions – she reacts in the normal way that shines a light on Ruth's unique character.
Ruth's words show us that although she is aware of the apparent hopelessness of her decision "Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried," she doesn't retreat from the solidarity she expressed to her departed husband. Orpah backs away from her initial intention to tie her fate with that of Naomi, but Ruth's devotion was able to stand against the temptations for a better life.
More than once in our life we are called to go outside the camp and identify with the Messiah (Heb. 13:3), with His values. Whether it is decisions at work or personal relationships, what values motivate us? It is clear that without the Lord's grace it is hard to rise above our basic need to do what is good for us; all the more so in a world that encourages such actions. Thus meeting the character of Ruth certainly makes us think.
Orpah's departure from Naomi and Ruth breaks apart the package. Until that point the three of them shared a fate. From here, one went one way and the others take a different route. There also was a spiritual unity and in order for it to exist it must have come from a place of love that was willing to sacrifice, understand others, and care for their needs. It is not for naught that Paul calls on us to be completely humble and gentle; "be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace" (Eph. 4:2-3).
Orpah's journey back to Moab was most likely one of the loneliest journeys she had ever undertaken in her life. Even though her decision was practical (returning to a place of security), in contrast to the uncertainty that lay ahead for the two other women, she must have certainly felt pain. Every decision we make gives up another possibility. A utilitarian or pragmatic decision often sacrifices other values, such as identity, loyalty and persistence. Also, the other two women must have felt pain and maybe disappointment by Orpah's decision. Despite the fact that the author does not judge Orpah's character negatively, when Orpah kisses her mother-in-law, Naomi does not kiss her back.
It is easy to judge between white and black but not so easy when we enter grey areas. In those areas, no one is entirely right or wrong, just like the situation before us. There is only the reality which exposes the values by which each character acts. It doesn't look like Naomi and Ruth held a grudge against Orpah in regard to her decision. They knew what they had to do and didn't dwell on what the other should do. Just as in an entirely different situation Peter was called not to dwell in comparisons: "When Peter saw him, he asked, 'Lord, what about him?' Jesus answered, 'If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me'" (John 21:21-22).
Near the end of the story, the author of this scroll presents a similar moral dilemma, comparing the characters of Boaz and the redeemer. Also here, the family member wants to fulfill his duty, but backs away from it when he understands the price it will cost him; compared to Boaz who despite the difficulties of marrying Ruth (the gentile), stands by his promise. The redeemer is the prototype of a person who is willing to do his duty but is not disconnected from the financial calculations. His actions are those of a person with normal convictions for our world and his answer to Boaz's call requesting to marry Ruth was superficial and did not stand the test. After he understood that his marriage to Ruth would cause his inherited land to be lost to his family name, he went back on his agreement to marry Ruth. If the redeemer had taken Ruth as his wife, according to Boaz's terms (Levite marriage, Deut. 25:5-6), Elimelech's land would pass to the first born son of Ruth and the redeemer "The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel" (Deut. 25:6). This action certainly had a price from the point of view of the redeemer – his land. That price was too high for the redeemer. The calculations of the redeemer show just how much Boaz's actions were true grace; that Boaz's decision about Ruth was not materially based.
Today, Yeshua calls us as He did back then. "Truly I tell you," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields – along with persecutions – and in the age to come eternal life" (Mark 10:29-30). Of course, He is not speaking of just "fields" but about a spiritual principle; the willingness to leave what is known and comfortable for the Lord and for the calling that the Lord puts on our lives.
The pragmatism of Orpah and the redeemer is expressed by the boundaries they put on their loyalty. They are not presented as negative people, just practical ones. They do not possess the spiritual sensitivity to understand what is beyond the physical reality. Orpah retreats after understanding that practical devotion to Naomi would be useless from a material perspective. Likewise the redeemer, when he understood that taking Ruth as a wife would endanger his land plot.
Thus, in contrast to the secondary characters in the story, we bear witness to the nobility of the primary characters. Unlike the pragmatic redeemer, we see Boaz as a positive light and unlike the practical Orpah, the character of Ruth is seen as unselfish.
Orpah might have gotten the "good life" she wanted but the legacy she left behind according to Jewish tradition is negative: "One was named Orpah, and she turned her back (Oreph) on her mother-in-law (Midrash Ruth Raba B:9). Likewise, the redeemer received his land plot, but his name isn't even recorded in the scroll: "when the redeemer of whom Boaz had spoken passed by. 'Such-and-such,' he said, 'come over, and sit down'". The point is not to abandon practical considerations, but to weigh the moral or spiritual value which might be more important.
The story of Ruth examines the feelings and moral attributes of the characters based on the decisions they made in real time. In the modern pragmatic world in which we live characters like these look romantic. But if we want to follow the Lord, this is the model before us: "For even the Messiah did not please himself" (Rom. 15:3). Even if all we can do is admit our inability to live according to such high standards, at least we can profess a willingness to do so and ask the Lord's grace to do so.
