MIL and DIL’s relationships are popular backbones to many
dramas and it is not usually portrayed in a positively light.
But here in the scripture we have a rather unusual
situations where the DIL, Ruth, who refused to leave her MIL although her
husband is dead and that her MIL has no financial way whatsoever to support
her. The central words in 1:16-18 sums it up so dramatically and emotionally
that we ask, “wah where to get a DIL like that?” Read the followings:
16 But Ruth replied, “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. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I
will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death
separates you and me.” 18 When Naomi realized that Ruth was
determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.
The story happened
about 3000 plus years ago, at a time where women do not have much rights, what’s
more if they are widows. It begins with a man took his wife and two kids from
Israel to the land of Moab to escape famine. The man died and his two kids
married two Moabites ladies Orpah and Ruth.
Then both the
sons died leaving the old lady Naomi and her two DIL. Naomi wanted to return to
Israel and she knew there is no future for her two widow DILs, so she told them
to leave her and find another man. Orpah left but Ruth stayed and hence that
beautiful passage above.
It is really amazing
for an old widow, Naomi to ask her two DILs to leave her and find someone else.
Perhaps she feels that it is better for one to suffer than for three to suffer.
Both women the
MIL, Naomi and DIL, Ruth were amazing women of their time and also a model of
our time.
One thing for
sure we do not know who will take care of us when we aged and old, but one
thing for sure even when we are old and troubled always think of others. Be
nice to others, you just do not know…..for the young ladies maybe you will ask,
“wah where to find a MIL like Naomi?”
In fact Naomi is so nice that she later found her DIL another husband.
No comments:
Post a Comment