13. Would ye tarry? Orpah and Ruth would themselves be late in middle life before further sons born to Naomi—should she immediately marry and bear sons—could reach maturity.
It grieveth me. In spite of her own sorrow of heart (see 20), Naomi’s thoughts turn to the sorrow of her two daughters-in-law, who are, after all, in the same situation as she is herself. Naomi fears she is too old to establish another home ( 12), but they are young and all of life is before them (see Joel 1:8). Ruth is specifically called a na‘arah, a “girl,” not only by Boaz ( 2:5, 6), but by the townsfolk of Bethlehem as well ( 4:12). Apparently she had scarcely entered upon the mature years of life. Should their entire lives be blighted, Naomi reasons, simply to assuage her own grief and to provide for her needs?
For your sakes. Here is the secret of Naomi’s loveliness of character, of her appeal to Ruth—her first thoughts were ever of others. Though Naomi felt keenly her own loss ( 20), yet the experience had not warped her outlook on life. Her sense of values was still in balance. In her life was reflected the likeness of Christ, who ordered His own life “for their sakes” (John 17:19). To seek the well-being of others is “the great principle which is the law of life for the universe” (DA 21). There is no greater power than the influence exerted by an unselfish life. “A kind, courteous Christian is the most powerful argument that can be produced in favor of Christianity” (GW 122).