There were readings from the Bible at the wedding I went to on Saturday. As is often the case at weddings, the Old Testament reading was from The Book of Ruth. The passage is two verses, and reads this way in the King James Version:
16 And Ruth said, "Entreat me no to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; they people shall be my people and thy God my God;
17 Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: The Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me".
This passage is a lovely declaration of commitment. But it is not commitment between husband and wife. The speaker is Ruth, the Moabitess. She addresses Naomi, her Hebrew mother-in-law. Theirs is a difficult situation, both widowed in a foreign land. Naomi plans to return to her own people in Bethlehem and urges Ruth to, likewise, return to Moab where her family might care for her. Ruth pledges her loyalty and love to Naomi, and readies to go with her to Bethlehem. I won't spoil the plot for you. Read it yourself. It is a good story of good things happening to good people.
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