Many people today feel like outsiders. New in town, estranged from family, or simply unsure where they fit. Ruth was a foreigner, a widow, and poor. Her people, the Moabites, were not welcome in Israel’s worship. When her mother-in-law Naomi headed home to Bethlehem, the sensible thing was to stay behind, as her sister-in-law did. Instead Ruth bound herself to Naomi and to Naomi’s God.
What follows looks like a string of coincidences. Ruth happens to glean in the field of Boaz, a relative who can act as redeemer. He notices her, protects her, and eventually marries her, buying back the family land and giving her a home. But the book wants us to see the hidden hand of God in all of it. The outsider becomes the great grandmother of King David, and her name appears in the family line of Jesus. Boaz is a picture of a future, greater Redeemer. Jesus paid the price to bring strangers like us into God’s household, not because we brought anything of value but because He chose to love us. If you feel like you do not belong anywhere, God is not short on room. Take refuge under His wings, and let Christ be the Redeemer who brings you home.
Associated Scripture
Ruth 1:16 (ESV): "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.’"
Ephesians 2:19 (ESV): "So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,"
[Verse 1]
The road is long and the wind is cold
Leaving the stories I’ve already told
Orpah turned back to the life she knew
But I see a promise in the heart of you
I’m trading my past for a foreign land
I’m placing my life in a Higher Hand
[Pre-Chorus]
I don’t need a map, I don’t need a sign
I’m leaving the shadow of Moab behind
This is the work of His hands unseen
Writing a story I couldn't have dreamed
[Chorus]
Where you go, I will go
Where you stay, I’ll call it home
Your people are the ones I’ll know
Your God is where my heart will grow
I’m never leaving you alone
I’ve finally found where I belong
[Verse 2]
From the early light to the setting sun
I’m gleaning the grace that has just begun
I was a stranger, a girl in the field
But the Master of Harvest has been my shield
He saw a widow with nothing to bring
And started a line for a future King
[Chorus]
Where you go, I will go
Where you stay, I’ll call it home
Your people are the ones I’ll know
Your God is where my heart will grow
I’m never leaving you alone
I’ve finally found where I belong
[Verse 3]
Under the stars on the threshing floor
I asked for a grace I’d never known before
He said, "I’ve heard of the kindness you’ve shown
You won't have to face this winter alone"
He stepped forward to claim my life
To take away the sorrow and the strife
He took my hand and he cleared my name
And I’ll never be the same
[Bridge]
He takes the broken, He makes them new
He takes the outsider and brings them through
My loyalty was just a seed in the ground
But look at the mercy that I have found
The Master of the field has called my name!
[Chorus]
Where you go, I will go
Where you stay, I’ll call it home
Your people are the ones I’ll know
Your God is where my heart will grow
I’m never leaving you alone
I’ve finally found where I belong
[Outro]
I came with empty hands and a heavy heart
But He was there, working from the start
He gave me a Redeemer to clear my debt
A God who hasn't failed me yet
No, He hasn't failed me yet
I have a Redeemer...
I have a God.
