One of the most beautiful passages in all of scripture, illustrating the exalted virtue of loyalty, is found in Ruth’s statement of love for her mother-in-law Naomi.
“But Ruth said: ‘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
Certain aspects of this relationship between a woman and her daughter-in-law strike me as especially notable.


