With famine ravaging the land of Judah, Elimelech and Naomi left Bethlehem for the greener pastures of Moab. The famine did not affect them, but other trials did. Elimelech died, leaving Naomi a widow. Still seeking good in this foreign land, Naomi’s son took wives for themselves from the Moabites, Orpah and Ruth. After ten years, both sons were childless. Bad turned to worse, as both sons died. A search for a better life seemingly brought nothing but trouble and heartache.
The famine ended, and so Naomi planned to return home. She told Ruth and Orpah to return home, for there was no reason for them to stay with her. Orpah departed, but Ruth clung to Naomi.
Ruth spoke to Naomi,
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 so, if anything but death parts you and me. (Ruth 1:16-17)
Having heard this, Naomi permitted her to return to Bethlehem with her.
In Bethlehem, an excited crowd received them. “Is this Naomi?” the women asked. It seems that she had many adoring friends who missed her through the years of famine. She may have been happy to see her friends again, but we see the disposition of her heart as she said,
Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the LORD has brought me home empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the LORD has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me? (Ruth 1:20-21)
And so it was that Naomi and Ruth came to the city of Bethlehem from the land of Moab. And so ends the record of the first chapter of Ruth.
Observations & Lessons
Seasons will come in our life when it just seems if something can go wrong, it will. Naomi’s family left a desolate land behind, hoping Moab would be a new beginning for them. The famine did not reach this foreign country, but troubles still multipled in Naomi’s life. She lost her husband and sons, with not even a grandchild to return to Bethlehem with.
All this contextualizes her response to the women in Bethlehem. The name Naomi means “pleasant.” But life had been far from pleasant for Naomi. She said, “Call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.” Mara means “bitter.”
However, as bad as things were for Naomi, she failed to acknowledge here a great blessing which the Almighty had given her. She had not returned to Bethlehem alone. She had a true friend with her; her daughter-in-law, Ruth.
The name Ruth means “friendly.” And indeed, she was a true friend to Naomi. When Naomi tried to send her away, “to her people and to her gods,” she would not go. Though she suffered so much loss in Moab, she had affected Ruth for good, and gained a sister in the faith. Again, hear the devotion which had been developed in Ruth, both for Naomi and for the God of heaven:
…wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. (Ruth 1:16)
Friend, when trials molest, may we not become so consumed by the troubles that we fail to see the good which God may be accomplishing. A Gentile woman, who formerly worshipped the gods of Moab, by the influence and example of Naomi, seeing her endure through the difficulties of life, was compelled to turn her life over to the Lord. As much as Naomi did not feel very “pleasant” about the 10+ years which had passed, the Lord worked a truly “pleasant” work through her.
Next week, we will look at Ruth 2, and see Ruth’s friendship with Naomi blossom through service. Though Naomi did not realize, or at least express what a blessing this young woman with her was upon her arrival in Bethlehem, she will very quickly see her faithfulness and the blessing of her friendship.
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