Unshaken (4 page)

Tears slipped down Ruth’s face, but she didn’t move. “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back, for I won’t.”

“But how can I not tell you to go?” Naomi came closer. “You heard what I said, Ruth. Should I take you back to Bethlehem with me so you can have the same bitter existence I’ll have? Should you grow old without a husband and children? Go after Orpah! Return to your mother and father!”

“No,” Ruth said, weeping. “I
won’t
leave you. Make me your proselyte.”

Naomi’s heart squeezed tight. “Oh, my sweet one, think of what you’re saying. The lives of my people are not as easy as what you’ve known. We’re commanded to keep Sabbaths and holy days, on which we may not travel more than two thousand cubits.”

“I will go wherever you go.”

Naomi knew she must speak the truth, even if it hurt Ruth’s feelings. “We’re commanded not to spend the night with Gentiles.”

“I will live wherever you live.”

“We’re commanded to keep over six hundred precepts!”

“Whatever your people keep I will keep, Mother, for your people will be my people.”

Naomi kept on. “We are forbidden to worship any strange god. Chemosh is an abomination!”

“Your God will be my God.”

Naomi spread her hands. “We have four sorts of deaths for malefactors, Ruth: stoning, burning, strangling, and slaying with the sword. Reconsider your words!” When Ruth said nothing, she went on, beseeching Ruth to see the many ways their people were different. “Our people are buried in houses of sepulchre.”

“Then let it be so for me as well, Mother.” Falling to her knees, Ruth wrapped her arms around Naomi’s waist. “I will die where you die and will be buried there.” When Naomi tried to press her back, Ruth clung more tightly. “And may the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!”

Weeping now, Naomi placed her hands on Ruth’s head and stroked her hair. Naomi looked up at the heavens. She had never hoped for this, never expected that this young Moabitess would be willing to give up everything in order to go with her. She looked down again, stroking Ruth’s head absently. “You will never see your mother and father and brothers and sisters again, Ruth. Do you realize that?”

“Yes.” Ruth raised her head. Her face was streaked with tears.

“Your life will be easier if you return.”

“Oh, Naomi, how can I go back to my old life when you hold the words of truth?” Her arms tightened again as she began to sob. “Please don’t plead with me to leave you. Don’t lead me into temptation. I’m going with you!”

“Your God will be my God.”

How could Naomi say no to such words? Hadn’t she prayed that Ruth’s heart would be softened toward the God of Israel? One prayer had been answered, one prayer among thousands. “Be at ease,” she said gently and loosened Ruth’s arms from around her waist. Cupping Ruth’s face, she smiled down at her. She smoothed away Ruth’s tears. “As God wills. Whatever comes, we’ll face together.”

Ruth’s eyes shone as she smiled in relief. “I will heed your every word, for I know you’ll teach me what I need to know.”

“Everything I learned at my mother’s knee I will make known to you. All I have is yours. I give it to you with pleasure.” For Naomi knew now there was more than marriage to her son that had grafted this girl into her life and heart. And now she would pray that Ruth would be grafted in among her people as well.

You have not forgotten me, Lord. You knew I couldn’t make it home alone. You have not abandoned me.

“Come,” Naomi said, taking Ruth’s hand and helping her up. “We must make a long journey before we reach home.”

Ruth didn’t dwell on what hardships she and Naomi might encounter when they reached Bethlehem. Each day of travel was enough trouble to bear without fearing what might come when they reached their destination. Ruth had lived in fear all during the months of Mahlon’s illness, and it had accomplished nothing. She’d loved her husband, but she couldn’t save him. All her efforts to make him better had failed, and the fear of losing him hadn’t prevented death from coming anyway. Nor had fear helped her face the difficulties of surviving without a man to provide for the household. After Mahlon’s death, she decided she would never again allow her mind to dwell on things beyond her control. The future was one of these things. She would face whatever came and do the best with whatever life God gave her.

Naomi often comforted her without even realizing it. “The Lord will take care of us,” she’d said last night, and Ruth had lain awake on the hard earth, staring up at the stars and thinking about those words.
The Lord will take care of us.
After all Naomi had suffered, she still clung to her faith. Ruth was comforted by Naomi’s strength.
The Lord will take care of us.
She chose to believe it because her mother-in-law said it was true.

From the time she had entered Mahlon’s home, Ruth had known there was something different about Naomi. First there was the outward sign: her clothing. Even after years of living among the Moabites, her mother-in-law continued to dress as a Hebrew. She didn’t do so with an air of pride, as though she was better than those living around her. It was simply who she was. Ruth had also seen her deep faith in God. At first, she’d worried that Naomi’s long silences meant she didn’t like Mahlon’s choice of a wife. But Mahlon had said that wasn’t so.

“She’s just praying,” Mahlon had told her with a shrug. “She’s done it for as long as I can remember. Don’t let it upset you. It doesn’t do any harm. Just ignore her.”

But Ruth hadn’t ignored her mother-in-law. She could see that prayer meant a great deal to Naomi, and Ruth wanted to understand more about it. So she had surreptitiously watched Naomi. Sometimes her mother-in-law would look so peaceful when she talked to her god, and at other times, anguished. Every morning, often at midday, and always during the evening hours, Naomi would draw her shawl over her head, sit in the corner of the house, and become still and quiet. Ruth asked her once what she prayed about, and Naomi had smiled and said, “Everything.” Her eyes had grown sad. “Mostly about my sons.” She’d reached out and put her hand over Ruth’s, her eyes softening. “And my daughters.”

The kind words had brought tears to Ruth’s eyes. Naomi’s good opinion had mattered very much, for Ruth admired her greatly. Naomi was kind and pleasant, fair in her division of chores, and she always worked as hard as everyone else. She loved both of her sons deeply and equally, and despite their cultural differences, she embraced Ruth and Orpah as daughters. Love was a gift Naomi had in abundance. And though Mahlon seemed unimpressed, Ruth sensed a deep, abiding knowledge and wisdom in her mother-in-law, knowledge and wisdom she longed to share.

Yet Ruth sensed her sorrow as well. Naomi was never quite settled in Kir-hareseth, never quite at ease with the world around her. It had to do with her God. Ruth had been afraid to approach Naomi and talk with her about it. So she approached her husband instead.

Mahlon had never had much to say about the God of his people. In fact, he seemed to know very little about Him. “Why are you so interested in God?”

“Shouldn’t I be able to teach your sons about Him?”

“Teach them about Chemosh if it pleases you. It doesn’t matter to me. I’m sure my mother will teach them about Yahweh. The important thing is for them to be tolerant of all religions. That’s the only way they’re going to succeed in Kir-hareseth.”

In Mahlon’s eyes, one god was no better than any other, but Naomi could not compromise. She was respectful, never disdaining others’ beliefs, but she held to her faith in Yahweh with quiet tenacity.

Ruth looked at her mother-in-law now, curled on her side, her head resting on a stone for a pillow. She’d fallen asleep within minutes after eating the bread Ruth prepared for her. The sun was down and the air was cooling quickly. Ruth rose and carefully draped her shawl over Naomi. The journey was already very difficult for her mother-in-law. She had eaten very little during the weeks following Mahlon’s death. Ruth had feared that Naomi would waste away in grief. So she had prepared savory stews in an effort to entice her mother-in-law’s appetite. Now it was the physical exhaustion that dampened Naomi’s appetite. She was so tired after walking all day, she could barely keep her eyes open long enough to eat anything. It was strange, but Ruth felt as though they had traded positions. Naomi had become the child, and she the caring mother. “But I don’t mind,” she whispered, leaning down to kiss Naomi’s cheek. She smoothed the tendrils of black hair back from her mother-in-law’s sunburned brow.

Ruth rose and hugged her arms close to her body, shivering slightly. Mount Nebo stood in the distance. Naomi had told her this morning that Moses had gone up onto that mountain and died there after putting Joshua in charge of God’s people. They had crossed the Jordan River soon afterward and claimed Canaan. She loved it when Naomi talked about what God had done for the Hebrews. She felt a strange stirring within her as she learned of His mighty feats and His unfailing love.

She closed her eyes and lifted her face to the heavens. “Lord, help me to take care of Your servant Naomi,” she whispered. “It’s because of her that I’ve come to believe in You. Please guide our steps and bring us safely home to Bethlehem. And, Lord, if it isn’t too much to ask, let there be old friends to greet Naomi upon her return, people who loved her in days gone by and who will continue to love her in the difficult days ahead.”

THE days were long and hot and dry. Ruth rose early and awakened Naomi. “The sun’s coming up, Mother,” she would say. “We should travel now in the cool of the day.” Silently, they would walk until the sun reached its zenith and then find shade where they could rest. Weary, Naomi usually dozed. Ruth more often looked off down the road, wondering what the future held for both of them.

They reached the Wadi Arnon, which marked the southern boundary of the Reubenite territory, and followed the King’s Highway to Dibon, Heshbon, and Abel Shittim. In each city they passed through, Ruth bartered her woven sashes in the marketplace to buy food, while inquiring about the road ahead.

“Oh, you’re not going over the Jericho road,” said a woman selling onions and garlic. “Robbers hide out up there in the mountains and attack the caravans. You won’t be safe alone.”

“I’m not alone. I’m traveling with my mother-in-law.”

“Two women? Well, you’d better go down to the camel market and see if you can find a traveling merchant who will allow you to travel with his caravan. No one travels the Jericho road without protection. You’d find yourself snatched up and sold into slavery.”

When Ruth returned to their little camp near the city wall, she found Naomi cooking unleavened bread on the metal bowl placed over the fire. She turned the bread skillfully with a two-pronged stick. “I’ve been worried,” Naomi said without looking up.

“I’m sorry, Mother,” Ruth said, hunkering down. “I should have come back and told you what I was doing. A woman in the marketplace told me robbers attack people going over the mountains, so I thought it wise to seek assistance. We’re going to join a caravan tomorrow morning and travel with it over the Jericho road. The man is a Benjaminite, and he has armed guards. We’ll be safe with him.”

Naomi’s body relaxed. She hooked the edge of the bread and lifted it from the bowl, laying it aside to cool. “I should have thought of that myself.” She sat back on her heels and covered her face.

Ruth took the bread and broke it. She handed Naomi half. Naomi shook her head. “You must eat, Mother. You need your strength.”

Hands still covering her face, Naomi wept. “Why didn’t I think of the dangers? I never even considered what could happen to you. What was I thinking to let you come on this journey? I’m a selfish old woman!”

“You tried to turn me back,” Ruth said with a smile. “It did you no good. Try not to worry. We’re going to be safe.”

Naomi raised her head. “There’s more danger for a young woman like you than an old widow like me.”

“There’s danger for both of us, and we’re taking every precaution. The man seems trustworthy.”

“No one can be trusted these days.”

Ruth picked up the bread and held it out to her again. Naomi took it and broke off a little piece, eating slowly, still frowning.

Ruth smiled at her. “How often have I heard you say ‘the Lord watches over those who love Him’?”

“And punishes those who reject Him.” Naomi’s eyes welled with tears, and Ruth knew she was thinking of Elimelech, Kilion, and Mahlon. Her own grief rose sharply as she thought of her husband. He’d been so young, with years ahead of him. How she wished she’d given him a child! A son to carry on his name.

“I’m so tired,” Naomi said, her voice tear-choked. “I don’t know if I can even make it home. Those mountains, I remember them so well now. How could I have forgotten how hard the journey was?”

“We will rest when we need to.”

“And the caravan will go on without us,” Naomi said dismally.

“Then we’ll join another.”

“If we aren’t robbed and—”

“Don’t!” Ruth said with a sob. She rose and went to Naomi, kneeling down and taking her mother-in-law’s hand. “Don’t even think of such things, Mother. If you do, we’re defeated. Think about what’s on the other side of the mountains:
Bethlehem.
Our home. If we dwell on all the things that could go wrong, we’ll be too afraid to take another step.
Please.
Tell me about the Lord again, Mother. Tell me how He fed thousands of people in the desert. Tell me how He brought water from a rock. And pray.” She wept softly. “Pray He has mercy upon us.”

Naomi winced, her expression filled with regret. She touched Ruth’s face. “Sometimes I forget.” Her eyes were still awash with tears. “I think about what I’ve lost instead of thinking about what I have.”

“We have each other,” Ruth said. “And we have God. That’s more than enough to face whatever comes. You taught me that.”

“Keep reminding me.”

They crossed the Jordan River with the caravan late the next afternoon. Naomi wilted beneath the trees on the other side. “I can’t go any farther.”

Ruth settled her comfortably and brought some water. “Rest here while I thank Ashir Ben Hadar.” The last of the camels were crossing the river when Ruth approached the caravan owner and bowed her face to the ground. “Thank you for allowing us to travel in your company.”

“You’re leaving the caravan so soon?”

“My mother-in-law has gone as far as her strength can carry her. We’ll camp here by the river and continue on in the morning.”

“A pity. We’ll be camping for the night at the oasis. You’d be safer with us.”

“May the Lord bring you safely to your destination and bless you for your kindness toward two widows.”

He frowned heavily. “May the Lord protect you.” Turning away, he mounted his camel, whacked the animal’s neck with a stick, and shouted orders in Egyptian to one of his servants. The camel rocked forward and then back as it came to its feet. Ruth bowed again as the man rode toward the front of his caravan. She’d almost reached the trees by the river when one of Ashir Ben Hadar’s servants ran up to her and thrust a sack and a bulging skin into her hands. “Gifts from the master,” he rasped and raced off again.

Smiling, Ruth knelt down by Naomi. “Taste and see how the Lord provides for those who love Him.”

Tipping the skin cautiously, Naomi took a small sip. Her eyes grew wide. “Fresh goat’s milk!”

Ruth laughed and opened the leather, displaying the fullness of their bounty. “And raisin cakes, Mother. Enough for several days. With the grain we have left, we have enough to sustain us until we reach Bethlehem.”

They ate and then rested as the sun slipped over the mountains behind Jericho. “It wasn’t far from here that the Lord rolled back the water of the Jordan so that Joshua could bring our people across,” Naomi said, replete and relaxed. “My mother told me when Moses went up Mount Nebo to Pisgah Peak and died, the people mourned for thirty days. Joshua was filled with the Spirit of God and led the people over there,” she said and pointed from Nebo along the way they had come, “to Acacia. He waited there until the Lord told him what to do. Joshua brought the people to the banks of the Jordan. The Lord rolled back the water, and the people crossed on dry land. My mother and father were among the people who came into Canaan that day. They camped at Gilgal and celebrated the Passover.”

Ruth was standing beneath the shade following with her eyes the course Naomi said her people had taken. “What are the stones over there?”

“The standing stones?” Naomi rose. “Everyone who passes by them will remember what the Lord did for His people. There are twelve, each stone carried by a member of one of the tribes who descended from our father, Jacob. Do you see where the water ripples over there? There are twelve more stones on the spot where the priests stood with the Ark of the Covenant while our people crossed over.” She stood beside Ruth, pointing back the way they had come. “Over there is the altar the sons of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh built. The tribes on this side almost went to war over it.”

“Why?”

“Because the tribes on the west bank thought it to be an altar for burnt offerings and sacrifices to other gods. But it stands as witness that the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh have an inheritance in the Lord; it is a monument to remind us that we are brothers.”

Naomi repeated the stories her father and mother had told her, until the sun went down and the stars shone. Ruth listened hungrily to everything Naomi said about the years in the desert and the mighty deeds the Lord had done to save and discipline His people. When Naomi fell asleep, Ruth looked up into the heavens and felt reassured. Surely if the Lord had watched over His rebellious people in the wilderness, He would watch over Naomi now. Ruth believed that the Lord would bring them both safely home to Bethlehem.

The next day they walked as far as the oasis and spent the night beneath the palms. The jagged silhouette of Jericho stood out against the base of the mountains, the once-great city now blackened rubble inhabited only by lizards and snakes. However, there was a small but thriving community not far away, encamped around the spring. They earned a prosperous living from travelers using the Jericho road across the mountains to Jerusalem.

As they began the arduous journey up the Jericho road, Ruth prayed continuously, while keeping watch for dangers along the way.
God, protect us. Watch over us and guide our steps.

A caravan came up behind them. Ruth spoke with the overseer and was given permission to camp near them the first night. She made no effort to hurry Naomi the next morning, but set her pace by her mother-in-law, even though the caravan went ahead and disappeared from sight.

“Lord, please help us get over these mountains,” she whispered each night before she closed her eyes.

And each day the road was steeper and more difficult, the days hotter and their supplies shorter. Naomi weakened, so Ruth took her load. When her mother-in-law became despondent, Ruth asked her questions about Bethlehem and her childhood, hoping to revive her determination to reach their destination. “Each day we’re closer, Mother.”

“And what awaits us? Everyone I knew may be gone by now.”

“Perhaps there will be friends you’ve forgotten.”

“And who have forgotten me.” She wept as she often did when she was close to complete exhaustion. “I’m bringing you home to poverty. There will be no one to welcome us.” She covered her face and sobbed.

“Look back and see how far we’ve come,” Ruth said, breathing hard beneath her burdens.

“Look how far we’ve yet to go. Up, up, forever up.”

Ruth looked around. There was no place to camp where they were. They had no choice but to go on. She was close to crying along with Naomi. Her back ached from carrying the full load all day, her eyes were gritty and her throat parched. She clasped the small bottle she wore on a cord around her neck. It was filled with tears she had shed for Mahlon, a sign of her respect and love. Letting go of it, she shut her eyes tightly. “The Lord sees our sorrow, Mother. He knows our needs.”

“Then where is He?”

Ruth pressed her lips together to keep from crying out in frustration and despair. She couldn’t allow herself to give in to it. If she did, where would they be?

“I can’t go on, Ruth. It’s too hard. I can’t. Just leave me here to die. I don’t care anymore. I’m too tired to care!”

Ruth shifted the packs and looped her arm around Naomi, giving her support. “You have to go on. Just a little way. We’ll find a place and rest for the night.”

“I’ll be just as tired in the morning. I’m sick and tired.”

“We’ll make it, Mother.”

“And what will be there if we do?” Naomi said bitterly, feet dragging as she leaned heavily upon Ruth. “I have no land. I have no house. I have no husband, no sons. What will be there for us?”