AN:

I told you I was going to write from Biblical history, so here goes!

"And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to her mother's house: the LORD deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me." (Ruth 1:8, KJV)

Silence.

It was all she heard these days.

For here was a woman, all but forgotten by the dust of time. Here was a woman, who, having once known the joy of the Salvation of the LORD God of Israel, had rejected it- turned her back on all that she once knew to be true, for a life of ease in her own native Moab.

She thought she could serve Him and her own gods at the same time. Oh, how foolish she had been to believe such a lie! And oh, how that lie had proved her wrong time after time, until she finally gave up all thought of Him and chose to serve them only.

Now she lay here, abandoned by them and left with nothing else to turn to.

She thought she had so much- a new husband, a nice home, three sons, money, friends, everything she could want. But each of them had been plucked away, one by one, until she had less than what she had had when she turned away from Israel, for then she had two godly friends, and now- well, now, there was nothing.

How could she have been so foolish? Why did she leave Him? Why was she here, alone in the darkness of life, when she could have been in Israel, with Naomi and Ruth, living whatever life their God had granted them? But there was no hope now. She couldn't go back to Him- not after she had failed Him so. She couldn't ask Him to be her God- not when she had already proven she was not worthy of Him.

"Orpah."

Who was it? No-one called her by her given name these days. Even she had nearly forgotten it.

"Orpah."

There the voice was again. She opened her eyes (for she had fallen asleep in her ponderings the previous night), and blinked in the bright light. As she searched for its source, she cried, "Who are you?"

"That is of but little importance. What you must know is the LORD Who sent me. I am but a messenger- He is the God Who created the heavens and earth, and everything in them. And He is the One from Whom you have turned away. But He is a gracious God, and even now calls you to return to serve Him."

"Surely there must be some mistake," she replied (whether she said it aloud she did not know, for it seemed the angel heard even her thoughts), "for I have failed Him- denied Him- abandoned Him for other gods. Why would He want me, after what I have done?"

"Have you no faith? or have you forgotten so soon? He wants you, not because He needs you, but because you need Him. He knows your weakness, and through it will show His strength. He forgets your failure, not because He cannot remember it, but because you accepted His promise to become the ultimate Sacrifice and cover your sins with His own righteousness. He longs to take your failure, and turn it into victory- victory for you, through Him. Will you not heed His call, and return to Him even now?"

"Blessed be the name of the LORD God of Israel, for even when I turned from Him, He never forsook me. Yes, I will answer His call and run back into His arms, rejoicing. And what would He have me to do?"

"His will is that you journey to Bethlehem-judah, even to the house of your sister-in-law, Ruth, and that you remain there for the rest of your life as one of His chosen people of Israel."

"But I'm nearly seventy years old! Would it not be better to remain here in Moab? for if I were to go, I would surely fall along the way."

"Has God ever failed His people? Remember, Orpah, that the safest place you can be is in His will. Anywhere else, you are in the gravest of dangers- but in His will, you are safe even in the strongest of storms."

"Then I will go, though I do not know the way."

"Orpah."

"Yes?"

"Do you remember the pot of water you hanged over the fire last night?"

"I was going to cook in it. It should be boiling."

"Well then this shall be a sign for you- you will find when you arise, that though the pot is hot, the water inside will be solid as a stone with the cold, and when you do, you shall know that the LORD has spoken."

And when she moved to speak, she found that the angel was gone.