1 In the days when the judges ruled in Israel, a severe famine came upon the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah left his home and went to live in the country of Moab, taking his wife and two sons with him. 2 The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife was Naomi. Their two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. And when they reached Moab, they settled there.
3 Then Elimelech died, and Naomi was left with her two sons. 4 The two sons married Moabite women. One married a woman named Orpah, and the other a woman named Ruth. But about ten years later, 5 both Mahlon and Kilion died. This left Naomi alone, without her two sons or her husband.
6 Then Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had blessed his people in Judah by giving them good crops again. So Naomi and her daughters-in-law got ready to leave Moab to return to her homeland. 7 With her two daughters-in-law she set out from the place where she had been living, and they took the road that would lead them back to Judah.
8 But on the way, Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back to your mothers’ homes. And may the Lord reward you for your kindness to your husbands and to me. 9 May the Lord bless you with the security of another marriage.” Then she kissed them good-bye, and they all broke down and wept.
10 “No,” they said. “We want to go with you to your people.”
11 But Naomi replied, “Why should you go on with me? Can I still give birth to other sons who could grow up to be your husbands? 12 No, my daughters, return to your parents’ homes, for I am too old to marry again. And even if it were possible, and I were to get married tonight and bear sons, then what? 13 Would you wait for them to grow up and refuse to marry someone else? No, of course not, my daughters! Things are far more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord himself has raised his fist against me.”
14 And again they wept together, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye. But Ruth clung tightly to Naomi. 15 “Look,” Naomi said to her, “your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods. You should do the same.”
16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. 17 Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!” 18 When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she said nothing more.
19 So the two of them continued on their journey.
Ruth 1:1-19a
Dear God, there’s actually so much here to see that it can be hard to keep up with. Questions that came to mind this morning as I read this story for the umpteenth time:
- How did Elimelech’s people feel about him and his family leaving Bethlehem to find food and sustenance in Moab? My first thought was that they might see it as an act of betrayal and leaving when the going got tough, but I suppose it could also be seen as a kind act because there were four fewer mouths to feed in Bethlehem during the famine. And later in the rest of verse 19 the women seem to be happy to see Naomi and there’s never an indication that anyone bears her or Ruth ill will for having left.
- The boys were married for about 10 years before they died. Why no children? Were they both sterile? Children, on the one hand, would have complicated the story. On the other hand, they might have given Naomi a male heir to return to Bethlehem with and not need Boaz as a kinsman redeemer later in the story. Then that would have kept Ruth from needing Boaz. That would have kept them from getting married. That would have kept them from having Obed. That would have kept Obed from having Jesse. Jesses having David. David being the lineage of Jesus. Did you keep them sterile and save Ruth as a mother for Boaz and Obed? I have no idea, but it’s interesting to consider.
- Both Orpah and Ruth started the journey back to Bethlehem with Naomi. They were obviously close. I was talking with my wife over breakfast this morning about how they had probably bonded as Mahlon and Kilion died. Perhaps they worked together to care for the boys. Perhaps they were killed at the same time in a raid. Maybe they got the same disease and died. Regardless, it’s obvious the women were close and so they all packed up together and headed to Bethlehem.
- Somewhere along the way Naomi has some sort of guilt about dragging these two women back to Judah/Bethlehem. Maybe it was something they said along the road. Maybe she started to get beyond the fog of grief she was in and started to just see how this would likely play out for these two young women, probably in their 20s. She tells them to go home and start new lives. She doesn’t only tell them that. She blesses them for their goodness. They all weep. It’s a very emotional scene if I allow myself to just sit with it a little bit.
- They want to go with her. They must have a positive view of her people–the Jewish people from Judah. Maybe they had terrible home lives. Maybe they had complicated their futures by marrying men from Judah. Whatever it is, they both petition to go with Naomi.
- Naomi makes a case for them to stay. She helps them play the tape to the end. The road ahead is likely difficult. The road behind has hope. Go with the road behind.
- Verse 13 is the first time we get the view of Naomi’s anger and frustration towards you. She felt like you had raised your fist against her. Part of her argument to the young women was, “Save yourself. It’s me God is after.” I wonder if she thought there was some sin she had committed that had earned your wrath.
- Orpah agrees to leave, but you can still feel her reluctance to go. These women have obviously bonded and they know they will never see each other again after this. Life can have pain like this. There are times when we see someone we love for the last time. All of these women had already lost husbands. There are some people I love still living that I wonder if I’ve seen for the last time. It’s heartbreaking. Oh, Father, reunite us in your kingdom. Make this wait worth the pain! Please!
- When Ruth stays, Naomi makes an interesting argument to her. Not only does she encourage her to go back to her people, but to go back to her people’s gods. She doesn’t say, “Take the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with you.” Is Naomi ready to trade you in for another god too?
- Ruth declares her intention to stay with Naomi no matter what. I’m going to assume this is out of pure love for Naomi. Ruth felt like she needed to care for her maybe? I don’t know. But Ruth was all in with this path, including worshipping a God Naomi was not making a good sales pitch for.
- Naomi sees Ruth is unmovable and accepts her decision. Was Naomi relieved or more stressed in that moment? I think she was relieved. I’m sure she felt loved. On a much larger scale, it’s like when people fight over a check at a restaurant and one person finally relents and accepts the blessing. To much greater depths, that’s what this feels like.
Father, what I said about Ruth yesterday still fits this morning. It just doesn’t feel like she has any guile about her, and I like that so much. She has completely pure intentions and she lays them all out on the table. She’s not manipulating anyone. In fact, today’s gospel reading is about Jesus saying the way to salvation is to strive for the narrow path. Now that I think about it, that’s Ruth. Without even knowing she was doing it, she was striving for the narrow path because she was drawn to it by following love of her neighbor. I guess she would learn to love and worship you more personally as she assimilated into Bethlehem society. So help me to guilelessly settle into that path today. Help me to just be a man who strives for the narrow path. Help me to lead with love for you, love for my neighbor, and mercy for all.
I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,
Amen
Emails to God 