“And she said, ‘Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her gods; return after your sister-in-law.’” (Ruth 1:15)•. Back to her people.

He who would follow the Lord Jesus Christ must remember that in all things the Lord must have preeminence. He must have the first place, even above father, and mother, or brother, or sister. These we may love, but we must love them in Him.

“Must I leave them all -

Father, mother, sister, brother,

Houses, lands, and all the other

Things that do enthrall?

“Must I lay them down -

High ambitions, acquisitions,

All those coveted positions,

All my joy and crown?”

The true Christian must keep the Lord first in everything. No other love dare intrude to break the power of His love. If we do not crown Him Lord OF ALL, we will not crown Him Lord AT ALL. Orpah, of course, was not willing for any such a course; therefore she turned back to her people.

•. Back to her gods.

Her gods were idols. They knew nothing, and yet, she went back to worship them. She left the Living God to bend the knee to gods of wood, of stone, which see not, neither hear nor know; and the God in whose hands her breath was, and in whose hand were all her ways, she did not glorify.

People of today may not worship images of wood and stone, but they worship many things which are material. They also worship immaterial things, such as pleasures, honor, and ambition.

•. Back to be engulfed in temporal things.

From the moment Orpah turned her back on the True God, she was lost to everything high and holy. She simply passes out of sight. She is never mentioned again. How much do they give up who leave Christ for the world!

Guard your heart. Teach your children. Watch and pray.