As ladies, one of the first stories we hear of a Biblical woman (whether you grew up in the church or not) is the story of Ruth. One of the big takeaways that is always emphasized is how we, as Christian women, need to find a guy like Boaz for ourselves. Many ladies love the story of Ruth for that reason, and while it’s a great thing to keep in mind, it’s also not the only thing we can take from Ruth’s story. Personally, her love for Naomi in Ruth 1 is the reason I love this story so much. But on top of that, it parallels how we as Christians need to love and devote ourselves to God. Let me explain. 

Let’s go over what we know about the story of Ruth. One of the first things we read about Ruth is that she is a Moabite.

“These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years” (Ruth 1:4).

As she was a Moabite, her people were not God’s chosen people and were known to worship other gods.

“And she said, ‘See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law’” (Ruth 1:15).

We also know that she married one of Naomi’s sons, and when he died, Ruth was given the choice to go back to her people or to continue on with Naomi.

“But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, ‘Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!’ Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. And they said to her, ‘No, we will return with you to your people’” (Ruth 1:8-10).

However, when given the choice between returning to what she knew or going with Naomi, she chose to follow Naomi.

“But Ruth said, ‘Do not urge me to leave you or to return 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. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.’ And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more” (Ruth 1:16-18). 

Now, how does that relate to our devotion to God? Well, in this parallel, Ruth represents us, the land of Moab is the world, and Naomi represents God. We, like Ruth, are born into a world that worships other gods and idols over the one true God. We are exposed to God through his sons and daughters, just like how Ruth got to know Naomi through one of her sons. However, we can’t have a relationship with God through other people, we need to have a relationship with Him ourselves. This is where Ruth’s conviction to follow Naomi comes in. After the death of her sons, Naomi gave Ruth the option to go back to Moab where everything she was familiar with was. Ruth decided that instead of going back to the land she knew, the people she knew, and the gods she knew; she wanted to follow Naomi. God, like Naomi, gives us the same choice. While God wants us to follow Him, He does not force us to because He wants it to be what we want to do. And like how Ruth wanted to follow Naomi, we should want to follow God. We can take what Ruth said to Naomi and apply it to our devotion to God: 

Ruth said to Naomi, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return 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. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you” (Ruth 1:16).

Similarly, we should have a devotion to God. I used Ruth’s declaration as an outline to show what I mean:

“I will not be urged to leave you or to return from following you. For where you say to go I will go, and where you say to lodge I will lodge. Your sons and daughters shall be my brothers and sisters. You God, will be my God. Like you died for me, I will die for you, and through You my sins will be buried. May You do so to me and more also if anything separates me from you (Ruth 1:17)

Let us keep Ruth’s loyalty to Naomi as a reminder that we should also have a loyalty and devotion to following God and what He says.

• Author
• Recent Posts

Paige Brown

Hi! My name is Paige Brown. I'm 20 years old and have been a Christian since July of 2017. I am going into my Junior year at Freed Hardeman University, where I'm studying to be a highschool math teacher so that I might be able to reach the teens I teach. I love to sing, read, play card games, and be around my friends and family! My favorite verse has been Philippians 4:6-7 for many years cause it serves as a good reminder to give everything to God.

Latest posts by Paige Brown (see all)

• A Parallel in Ruth - February 10, 2026