But Ruth replied, “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back..."
Ruth 1:16
Orpah was able to cry tears but ultimately separate from Naomi.
But Ruth clave to Naomi. Her soul would not be parted from Naomi.
She made a strong vow, and she kept it.
"Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!"
Ruth 1:16-17
There was another Father, son relationship that this mirrors in the Bible.
And that couple with Elijah and Elisha. Elijah had become like a mentor and spiritual Father to Elisha. Elisha was his cupbearer, and learned the ways of God and the anointing through serving Elijah.
And then the day comes when it is time for Elijah to graduate to heaven... And Elijah does what he had never done before. Three times he tells Elisha to separate from him:
“Stay here, for the Lord has told me to go to Bethel.”
“Stay here, for the Lord has told me to go to Jericho.”
“Stay here, for the Lord has told me to go to the Jordan River.”
In reply to each, Elisha responds perfectly, he passes the test:
But again Elisha replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you.” So they went on together.
AZAB - to loosen bands, to let go, to leave, to desert, to leave off, to cease from, abandon, forsake
Both Elisha and Ruth made an oath to their spiritual fathers that they would not AZAB, or their souls will not the bands of their forefathers, that nothing but death would seperate them.
And they both were rewarded for their tenacity.
Ruth became matriarch in Isreal, and great grandmother of the greatest King and the king of kings. Elisha was rewarded what was rightfully his, the double portion of Elijah as well as his mantel.
What can we learn from this?
We may not all have a personal relationship like them, but in the same ways our souls can cling to God. It is good to ask ourselves, how committed or bonded am I to the plans God has for my life? Is my soul one with those plans God has laid out?
I for one know it is not always easy to make peace with the plans God has for us or even the shape he made us. But God will help us.
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart,
All you who hope in the Lord.
Psalm 31:24
It's interesting to note that at the beginning, in Elijah and Elisha they are traveling and walking separately. But after the third rebuke where Elisha vows to say, scripture marks that they were walking the 2 together. There was a oneness in the spirt that was not there before. Meaning there was a bond being formed during a time of transition. When you endure with them and stay through test, you will also cross over with them. Elisha got to experience this extraordinary spiritual experience with his father because of his faithfulness.
God has a way of rewarding for tenacity, longevity and loyalty. There are rewards to the one who endures.
"But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life."