Explore the Bible By Douglas K. Wilson, Ph.D.
Dean, School of Christian Studies, University of Mobile
FAITH THROUGH TRIALS
Ruth 1:6–18
The Book of Ruth offers light in the midst of a dark time in Israel’s history. Following the deliverance from Egypt and the conquest of the Promised Land by the mighty hand and outstretched arm of God, Israel faced waves of spiritual renewal and apostasy. Judges concludes with little hope for Israel in the final statement: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever he wanted” (21:25).
Note the timing of Ruth: the time of the judges. Note the name of the man whose family is central to the story: Elimelech, whose name means “my God is King.” Note his sons’ names: Mahlon and Chilion, meaning “sickly” and “weakly.” Note the irony of their hometown: famine in the “house of bread” (Beth-lehem). Who could have imagined a series of events, which begins with bleakness and then gets worse? Famine strikes. They leave their inheritance to feed the family. Elimelech dies. Mahlon marries outside the family and dies. Chilion marries and dies. Is it any wonder Naomi wanted to be called “bitter” Mara after 10 years of suffering?
A Desperate Return (6–10)
Naomi prepared to return home since word was out that God provided food (lechem, or bread) once again for the people of the tribe of Judah. With nothing left to show for the last 10 years of her life, Naomi looked to return home. Her daughters-in-law began the trek, but she had nothing to offer them.
A Bitter Plea (11–14)
Naomi had no means of providing for her widowed daughters, so she pled with them to turn back and return home to their fathers’ homes. Levirate marriage, the provision of a husband’s brother to produce an heir, was not possible because Naomi had no other sons to give Ruth and Orpah (Deut. 25:5–6). The next closest kinsman could redeem the widow, but who would redeem a Moabite? God had clearly excluded Moabites from gathering in the congregation of His people (Deut. 23:3). Note that throughout the story, the narrator refers to her as “Ruth the Moabitess” (1:22; 2:2, 6, 21; 4:5, 10).
Orpah listened to the pleas of Naomi. They embraced, they wept, they said their goodbyes and then Orpah kissed Naomi and went home. However, Ruth “clung” to Naomi, the same verb translated “bonds” in Genesis 2:24. Perhaps for this reason ministers often recite the next section in Christian weddings, though the original promise came from a daughter-in-law to her mother-in-law.
A Lifelong Promise (15–18)
“Do not persuade me to leave you.” Whereas Naomi experienced only bitterness from all her loss in Moab, Ruth found hope. The god of Moab often required a sacrifice, sometimes the sacrifice of an infant. By contrast, Israel’s God was the Author of Life. Without knowing it Naomi and her family had introduced Ruth to Yahweh.
“Wherever you go I will go, and wherever you live I will live.” Ruth committed to Naomi for the long haul. Naomi was now her family. Basically she said, “If you leave me, I’m coming with you.”
“Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.” Throughout this story, Ruth was the Moabitess. Here, she turned her back on her Moabite heritage and on Chemosh, the fertility god of the Moabites. She confessed her commitment to the God of Israel. “May the Lord (Yahweh) do this to me … if anything but death separates you and me.” In desperate times she found hope in both God and Naomi.
Share with others: