Ruth 1
Namoi’s husband & sons die
During the period when judges governed Israel, a famine struck the land. There was a man who lived in Ephraim (a region of Bethlehem, Judah) whose name was Elimelech. He relocated to Moab with his wife, Naomi (which means “my delight”), and his 2 sons, Mahlon and Chilion. At some point after arriving in Moab, Elimelech died, leaving Naomi alone with her 2 sons. The sons both married Moabite women (one named Orpah and the other named Ruth), and they lived there for about 10 years. Then Naomi’s two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, also died, leaving her without husband or sons.
Ruth sticks with Naomi
While she was in Moab, Naomi heard that the Existing One had visited his people and gave them food, so she and her daughters-in-law packed up to go back to Judah. As they left Moab and started on the road back to Judah, Naomi told her two daughters-in-law,
“You girls should turn back and go live with your parents. May the Existing One show you kindness like you’ve shown to me and my sons. May he allow each of you to remarry and find rest with your new husbands.”
She kissed them goodbye, and they started crying. Orpah and Ruth told her,
“We can’t do that! We want to go back with you and be with your people.”
But Naomi insisted,
“Go back, my daughters. Why should you come with me? I don’t have any more sons on the way for you to marry. You should go back. I am too old to be remarried. Even if I were to get married tonight and give birth to sons, would you wait til they were fully grown? Are you gonna refrain from remarrying? No, my daughters, your situation isn’t as bitter as mine. The Existing One’s hand has opposed me.”
They continued to cry. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth stayed with her.
Naomi said,
“See! Your sister-in-law went back to her people and her gods. You should go back like her!”
But Ruth said,
“Stop encouraging me to leave you! Wherever you go is where I’ll go, and wherever you live is where I’ll live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die is where I’ll die, and wherever you’re buried is where I’ll be buried. May the Existing One deal with me if anything other than death separates us.”
When Naomi saw how determined Ruth was to stay, she stopped encouraging her to go back.
Naomi & Ruth return to Judah
So the two of them traveled together until they reached Bethlehem. When they arrived, the whole town murmured about them. The women in town were all asking,
“Is that Naomi??”
But Naomi responded,
“Don’t call me Naomi (which means “my delight”), but call me Mara (which means “bitterness”), because the Ultimate Power has dealt me a lot of bitterness. I was full when I left, but the Existing One has brought me back empty. Why do you call me “my delight” when the Existing One has testified against me and the Ultimate Power has afflicted me?”
So Naomi and Ruth (her Moabite daughter-in-law) came back to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
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