The Woman Was Left Behind
The Woman Was Left Behind (Ruth 1:1–5) 7/19/2026
The Book of Ruth is a continuation of the Book of Judges. It reveals that even in an age when God’s people and individuals failed and fell into despair, there were still “the remnant” who held firmly to God’s covenant.
There are two main women in this book. One is Naomi, whom we will focus on today, and the other is Ruth, Naomi’s Moabite daughter-in-law. When the husbands, who should have been leading their families spiritually and into God’s covenant, collapsed, God demonstrated through His extraordinary providence how He would use these women.
Before looking at these two women, we must first see the God who called them, blessed them, gave them His covenant, and accomplished His work through them. Through the Book of Ruth, we will learn what covenant blessings God gives to His redeemed people, how He fulfills that covenant, and how we are to experience and enjoy the God of the covenant.
There is a world of difference between those who have the covenant and those who do not. Ephesians 2:12 says that we were once people without God and without the covenant. But in Christ we have become God’s covenant people, His citizens, and members of His household (Ephesians 2:19). This is the blessing represented by the twelve tribes of Israel in the Old Testament, and now we who have become Abraham’s spiritual descendants through Christ enjoy that same blessing (Galatians 3:29). Revelation 7:4 also speaks of the remnant who are sealed by God in the last days.
How does God help us today? When we hear and believe the gospel of Christ, God seals us with the Holy Spirit, who becomes the guarantee of our inheritance (Ephesians 1:13–14). He is with us through the Holy Spirit (John 14:16–18), He teaches and guides us through the Holy Spirit (John 14:26), He intercedes in prayer for our weaknesses (Rom. 8:26), and He raises us to become His witnesses (Acts 1:8). The mystery of true spirituality is to enjoy the filling of the Holy Spirit, live under His guidance, and be used as people of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:10; 3:1).
This blessing has been given to everyone who has been saved in Christ (Galatians 3:14, “the promise of the Spirit”). The reason many believers fail to enjoy this blessing is one of two things. Either they do not know what this covenant blessing is, or they know it but fail to choose the covenant at decisive moments.
This is why we must imprint, root, and make the covenant our spiritual nature in everyday life, so that in critical moments (during problems, conflicts, crises, and suffering) we choose the covenant.
- The Result of Elimelech, a man of the tribe of Judah who lost hold of the covenant
1) The entire Book of Judges records the suffering of Israel because they lost hold of the covenant.
① God first chose Israel as His people, saved them, and placed them within the blessings of His covenant (Genesis 12:1–3).
He repeatedly reminded the Israelites of this. Even when He delivered them from 400 years of slavery and brought them into Canaan, He emphasized it again (Deuteronomy 6:1–3; 28:1).
② When spiritual leaders like Moses and Joshua held firmly to this covenant, Israel conquered Canaan. The period of the Judges was the age when there were no such covenant-centered leaders. Everyone lived according to what seemed right in their own eyes, resulting in idolatry and spiritual corruption. Consequently, the entire nation and people suffered.
This is why even a nation’s destiny changes when the true gospel is preached (this happened in England, America, and Korea). Once the covenant is lost, both the nation and its people begin to collapse.
2) The Book of Ruth shows how the family, family line, and the future generation collapses when one person loses hold of the covenant.
① Verse 1 describes Elimelech simply as “a man from Bethlehem in Judah.” He belonged to the tribe of Judah, one of Israel’s twelve tribes. Each tribe represented a family line descended from one of Jacob’s twelve sons. When Jacob blessed his sons, he gave Judah a special covenant blessing. “Judah would become the praise of his brothers,” “He would seize the neck of his enemies,” “The ruler’s scepter would never depart from Judah” (Genesis 49:8–10).
From Judah’s descendants would come kings who would rule among their brothers and defeat their enemies. King David would come from this lineage, and ultimately Christ, the King of kings, would be born through this family line (Isaiah 11:1; 40:9–10; Micah 5:2).
② This is why Elimelech should never have left Bethlehem in Judah. It was not merely a piece of land. It was the land of the covenant. It was the place where God’s absolute plan would be fulfilled (where his family line and the church was). However, because life became difficult, he moved down to Moab. From a human standpoint, it seemed reasonable. Yet, there he lost everything. Elimelech died, and both of his sons also died there. This teaches us that every family, every household, and every home needs the covenant. When the head of a family firmly holds to God’s covenant, that family, household, and future generations become different.
- God’s covenant fulfilled through two women who held onto the covenant. From a worldly perspective, these women had suffered an unimaginable tragedy by losing their husbands.
The important question is how God transformed them.
1) Naomi, who lost both her husband and her two sons.
① Verse 5 says, “The woman was left behind after her two sons and her husband.” In Hebrew, there are two expressions for “the remained.” One means “left alone” (sha’ar). The other means “one preserved within the covenant” (she’erit). The biblical concept of the “remnant” refers to these meanings. In this passage, Naomi is described simply as one who has been left alone in loneliness.
② Yet by God’s absolute grace and plan, she becomes one who is preserved within the covenant. This is the heart of the Book of Ruth. Someone may feel abandoned alone because of another person’s transgressions, poor choices, or circumstances. But God can completely change that situation.
③ The key is that Naomi chose the covenant. In the midst of grief and loneliness, she determined to return to Bethlehem in Judah. She did not return merely because she had nowhere else to go. Later she would lead Ruth to Judah, where Ruth would work, meet Boaz, and continue the covenant lineage. This shows that Naomi still held to God’s covenant for the lineage of Judah. Ruth eventually gave birth to a son within the tribe of Judah, and Naomi became his grandmother (Ruth 4:17). That child became the grandfather of King David. Therefore, even in seasons of loneliness and despair, it is important to understand and choose the covenant. The result becomes a blessing beyond imagination. That is why it is so important to teach children the covenant and plant it deeply in them from an early age.
2) Ruth, the Gentile widow
① Ruth was a Gentile from the beginning. Even among unbelievers, there are those whom God has chosen to save through His covenant, those who will choose the God of the covenant. Naomi told both of her daughters-in-law to return to their own people since there seemed to be no future with her. The older daughter-in-law wept and returned.
② But Ruth clung to Naomi (Ruth 1:14). She was not choosing a person or pursuing personal benefit. In Ruth’s confession (16), we see a desperate commitment to the covenant that Naomi embraced. She was staking her very life upon it (17). She became a true disciple. Who influenced Ruth? Through whom was she established as a disciple? Naomi and Ruth became a team within God’s absolute covenant. Even if just one such disciple stands firmly in a family, workplace, or church, God’s work begins, and He creates His masterpiece.
Conclusion – God is the One who places all of His plans and blessings within His eternal and absolute covenant. He has allowed that through Christ. In every problem and every circumstance, look to the God of the covenant. Choose the future promised by His covenant. The result will be an unprecedented and never-repeated eternal blessing
7.19.26 The Woman Was Left Behind