Discover The Word

Friday, June 18, 2010

“Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; for wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me” (Ruth 1:16-17).

IDEA: The deepest, most profound commitments in life will change our lives.

PURPOSE: To help listeners realize that Ruth’s great commitment was not only to Naomi, but also to Naomi’s God.

Do you think that couples making up their own vows for their wedding is as common today as it was ten years ago?

What are the benefits and disadvantages of making up your own vows?

I. Do you think that the vows people make at the wedding altar matter much anymore?

Do they matter on the wedding day?

Do you think the couple means them?

Do you think most couples understand them?

II. One piece of Scripture sometimes used in self-made wedding vows is in the story of Ruth (1:16-17):

“Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; for wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me.”

Why do these words seem appropriate at a wedding?

They are beautiful. These words are among the most attractive in the Bible. “Few utterances in the Bible match her speech for the extraordinary courage and spirituality it expresses.”

They are words that express a deep commitment of one person to another.

They also seem more or less to promise what the traditional vows promise.

III. Do you see any problem in using these vows in a Christian wedding?

They are vows made to a mother-in-law, not to a husband or wife.

They are vows made by a woman who, at this point, has no prospects for getting a husband. In fact, she is turning her back on that prospect by linking her life to Naomi.

What she promises about “your people, your home, and your God” isn’t about taking on new in-laws but about taking on an entirely new life.

Conclusion:

Would it be proper to use these words as part of a wedding ceremony?