Exposition
Mentoring can be a blessing but it comes with some risk. Ruth had developed love and confidence in Naomi to the point of saying that she would do whatever Naomi asked her to do. Fortunately, Naomi gave a godly but difficult counsel. I see this as a real challenge to Ruth’s obedience as it was not an easy task. Fear of rejection could have prevented her from taking that step towards her blessing.
In mentoring relationships, one must follow a mentor as long as the mentor follows Christ. We must not follow blindly everything we see our mentors do because Jesus is our only perfect mentor. This was exemplified by the Bereans in Acts 17:11, when they did not just receive the word of God because it was spoken by Apostle Paul but rather, they searched the scriptures to find the truth for themselves. After the truth in any directive has been ascertained, the most important thing is to follow it through to the latter. Ruth achieved good results because she listened and obeyed godly counsel. Ruth was of a noble character and that was evident to all. Though she might have been looking forward to another opportunity to marry again, she was not desperate for a husband to the extent of compromising on her character. As we work at pleasing the Lord, He in turn will work out an enviable end for us.