JUN 6

Ruth 1:14
Memorise Ruth 1:14
“…Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.”

Continuing our study of this passage, we look again at the main verse of this whole passage, verse 14.

“And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.”

Reading it closely, you will find that there are two words that sum up so well the opposite responses of the two women. On one end, we have Orpah who “kissed” her mother-in-law; on the other end, we see Ruth who “clave” unto her. These two key words of the whole passage depict vividly the difference between a good choice and a better choice.

For Orpah, we cannot say that she was entirely wrong in making the choice to stay in her homeland. It is clear from her actions in this verse that she had a deep sense of affection for her mother-in-law and was sorry to have to part with her; hence she kissed her farewell. It was not a mere goodbye wave or a casual handshake; this kiss showed that she did truly care for and love Naomi most intimately. However, her love for other things such as her own personal comforts and her concern over her own future kept her from making the better choice.

On the other hand, although Ruth displayed no outward sign of affection as Orpah did, the choice that she made reflects even better the state of her heart – it was one that now “clave” unto Naomi. The word “clave” here carries the idea of clinging tightly and following close after, or even to be joined together (as it is used in Gen 2:24 to describe the husband-wife relationship). Ruth was now determined to stick tightly to her mother-in-law – not just in the physical sense of following her all the way home, but more so in the sense of embracing all that Naomi had and believed in, including the God that she believed in and the faith that she followed.

Thought: To kiss or to cleave?
Prayer: Lord, grant me a better understanding of the very words of Your Word.