Because of famine, a man of Judah moved to Moab with his wife, Naomi. In time he died. Later, his two sons married the Moabite girls Ruth and Orpah. Then the sons died, leaving three widows alone. Naomi, the mother, decided to return to Judah, and her two daughters-in-law set off with her. However, along the way Naomi urged the young women to go back and seek new husbands among their own people. Orpah did so, but Ruth insisted on going with Naomi. Why? Because she was much more than a daughter-in-law; she was also a true friend. For one thing, her compassionate nature would not permit her to let the elderly widow, bereft of her family, go on alone.​—Ruth 1:1-17.

Ruth showed real empathy, kindness, loyalty, and love. Those qualities form the solid basis of true friendship. There was, however, another factor involved in Ruth’s relationship with Naomi.

Friendship on a Higher Plane

When Naomi urged her to go back, Ruth said: “Do not plead with me to abandon you, . . . for where you go I shall go . . . Your people will be my people, and your God my God.” (Ruth 1:16) Naomi had helped Ruth, formerly a pagan, to know and love the true God, Jehovah. Their shared belief became a powerful spiritual bond drawing the two women together as true friends. And Jehovah blessed them with a new family. In time, Ruth married Boaz, a prosperous landowner in Judah, and had a son named Obed, who became the grandfather of King David.​—Ruth 4:13-22; Matthew 1:5, 6.

This spiritual factor puts friendship on a higher plane. How? In the case of Ruth and Naomi, both worshiped Jehovah, “a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in loving-kindness and truth.” (Exodus 34:6)

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Ruth would not abandon Naomi because their friendship had a solid spiritual basis. Do you have such true friends?