No doubt the first scripture we think of with this word
Go
is….
Go into all the world…
Matthew 28:19-20 Mark 16:15-20
Our Heavenly Father and Yeshua/Jesus, lead us by Ruach Hakodesh/Holy Spirit. There is no domineering dictatorship-like demand; but rather a compelling invitation fueled by love. And it is our free will choice
to go, to do, to obey His directive
out of our love and dedication of our lives to Him.
In John 14:6 and 21 other times He says
Follow Me
and
Learn from Me… Matthew 11:29.
Messiah wants us to imitate Him, to be like Him, Ephesians 5:1,
and to allow His Spirit to challenge and change us. 2 Cor. 5:17.
He desires that we be discipled, learn of Him and Go and tell others.
This is not the only place in the Bible where the word Go is significant. In the book of Ruth 1:16 we read where she declares to Naomi:
But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.
Furthermore in our own personal lives, because we are being obedient, then we too, will hear His Holy Spirit say to us
‘where you go I will go…’ because we will hear a voice …
‘Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it. Isaiah 30:21.
It is reciprocal, it works both ways, when we are in tune with His will, plan and purpose for our lives. He will Go with us and we will Go with Him.
In Ruth 1:16 she was talking to Naomi and in the Hebrew language it is
Because Ruth was from the land of Moab, she may have been speaking a dialect of her own Moabite language. A little research revealed that the Moabite language is now an extinct Canaanite language which is Semitic in its roots and origin and used a variant of the Phoenician Alphabet; it is the root language that both Aramaic and Arabic come from. Because of this there is a very subtle play on the word Asher, which makes it interesting. In the Moabite language the word also means happiness or blessing. Recall in Genesis 13:30 one of the 12 sons of Israel was named Asher by his mother Leah. Is it possible then that what Naomi may have heard Ruth say to her was…
where you go to be (asher) happy/blessed I will go…
and more specifically within the context…
where you go to be (asher) happy/blessed by God, I will go.
Why didn’t the translators write it this way?
Is it because at that point in the natural situation and circumstances of their lives, Naomi had nothing to offer Ruth except the prospect of being poor, with only a hard life ahead and no hope of finding a marriage partner?
The play on the Hebrew Canaanite words go further, she adds…
Where you lodge I will lodge.
In the Hebrew language the word for lodge is Alin which may come from the root word Lin which means: to lodge or spend the night somewhere.
The Hebrew text uses a yod as the third letter
and this makes it alayan in Aramaic; but in that case wouldn’t the third letter have to be a vav not a yod? The nearest word in Hebrew would be alavan which means lodge and translators just assume that this was an anomaly… but maybe it wasn’t?
It’s very possible the writer used a yod rather than a vav for the third letter on purpose to indicate Ruth was speaking in her native Moabite language and so it would be rendered/translated as:
Where you will draw closer to God I will draw closer to God.
From this story we are taught primarily of Ruths’ loyalty and faithfulness to Naomi but maybe she was more loyal and faithful to the God that both her husband and Naomi had introduced her to?
So in our going we must remember that where God goes we will go and in the going we will draw closer to Him becoming more and more acquainted with His ways; and allowing the life of the Son of the Living God go out from us to the world around us.
All of us have a world around us, wherever we are. Some are called to go, physically moving through the nations, but most are placed in a mission field that extends from the immediate location of their birth, family and country. Scripture says in James 4:8, Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you…
and we are promised He will never leave us nor forsake us in Hebrews 13:5, This has a wonderful meaning for us…. He promises
I will go where you go and where you go I will go.
If we will be obedient to go with Him, He will always be faithful to go with us and we can be assured of being asher, happy and blessed!
Shalom, shalom mishpachah/family
and cheverim/friends!
It’s all about Life and Relationship,
NOT Religion.
You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.
NOT SURE?
YOU CAN BE..
SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…
Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.
I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name. Amen
