KNOWN FOR GOING FROM BITTER,
TO BETTER, TO BEST MOTHER-IN-LAW EVER
Book of Ruth
IMAGINE: Leaving all you know to live in a hostile foreign land. Your husband dies. A son dies. A second son dies. You now have nothing or no one except two grieving daughters-in-law. One clinging a little tighter than the other one and you needing to go back home through dangerous terrain with your broken heart and crushed spirit.
The name Naomi means “pleasant” leaving us with the impression it is peaceful and joyful to be in her presence. That is until she is overwhelmed with deep sorrow as one tragedy after another occurs.
Naomi was the wife of Elimelech. Elimelech was thought to have belonged to one of the outstanding families in Israel, being possibly a brother or relative of Salmon, who married Rahab.
Elimelech and Naomi were the parents of two sons, Mahlon, which means ‘sick, invalid’ and Kilion (Chilion) meaning ‘pinning or wasting away’ which gives us an idea into what these two sons were like. This family originally lived in Bethlehem.
Because of a severe famine in the land, the family picks up and moves to Moab. The Moabites were the descendants of Lot by his eldest daughter and were bitter enemies of Israel. While in Moab, Elimelech dies leaving Naomi a widow with two sons who are now married to Moabite women. Kilion is married to Orpah and Mahlon married Ruth.
After living in Moab for ten years, both of Naomi’s sons die also. The pain of losing your husband and both sons while in a strange land would be unimaginable for most. Naomi’s grief would have been great. Her fear possibly even greater save for the God she believed in who was greater than all grief or fear. There would have been plenty of room for anger and hopelessness to find a home in Naomi.
Here was Naomi in a strange pagan country surrounded by people who did not know her God, Jehovah, but rather worshiped Chemosh. Scripture calls Chemosh the abomination of Moab (1 Kings 11:7) as he was demanding of human sacrifice.
Naomi had no way of knowing how she would survive. Poverty and starvation were all she had to look forward to, as now there was no male figure to support her or her daughters-in-law, for whom she feels responsible.
Naomi tries to persuade the two young widows to go back to their family, their people and their gods as she begins the seven to ten day trek, of some sixty miles of rough terrain, back to Bethlehem. Orpah turns back but Ruth clings to Naomi making the declaration, “your people will be my people and your God my God”.
Naomi had probably spent much time telling the girls how different the God of Israel was compared to the god of Moab, and Ruth listened and believed. Ruth choosing to stay with Naomi meant she too was looking at a life of poverty and starvation. She was also heading off into a land of people who were somewhat hostile to Moabite widows, and poverty-stricken females. Nonetheless, she appears to have an adventurous nature to leave out heading into the ‘who knows where’ with an aging, bitter mother-in-law in tow.
As Naomi and Ruth arrive in Bethlehem, after Naomi being gone for ten years, Scripture tells us the ‘whole town was excited about their arrival’. But Naomi, which as mentioned before, means “pleasantness”, told the town’s people to call her Mara which means “bitter”. She informs, apparently anyone who will listen, that she left full but has come back empty. It is not recorded the people ever called her by this name as Naomi is the name the people continued to use.
It is interesting to note that Naomi never speaks out against the Lord even though she thought He was against her. Naomi trusted God no matter how bleak the circumstances appeared. She believed totally in the sovereignty of God and taught Ruth to do the same.
Naomi and Ruth had arrived in Bethlehem during barley season in the springtime. Gleaning was a common practice in ancient Israel. It was a form of charity for the disadvantaged in society. During harvest time, the law commanded landowners to not take in every bit of the crop. (Lev. 23:22). They were to leave some grain at the edges, to provide for the poor and the alien. So poor alien Ruth went to work gathering barley for herself and her mother-in-law.
In a ‘divine coincidence’ Ruth ends up gleaning in a field of Boaz, who is a wealthy, distant relative of Naomi’s late husband, Elimelech. Word gets around fast in small town Bethlehem that the Moabite widow has taken great care of Naomi, thus Boaz instructs his workers to leave extra grain, look after her, and make sure she is kept safe.
When Ruth explains her day to her mother-in-law, Naomi recognizes Boaz to be one of their kinsman-redeemers, in other words, a man who could be called on to rescue them in a time of need. Since widows in ancient times were taken advantage of, ignored, and almost always poverty stricken, God provided in His Law that a nearest relative of the deceased husband should care of the widow.
As fast as Ruth had gone to work in the barley field upon their arrival into Bethlehem, Naomi moves just as quickly to arrange re-marriage for her widowed daughter-in-law. Naomi sends Ruth to Boaz who would be at the threshing floor winnowing the barley. He would stay and sleep there so as to watch and protect his harvest from robbers.
She instructs Ruth to put on her best clothes and perfumed oil and as he is lying down, go in, uncover his feet and lie down next to him. Ruth follows Naomi’s instructions to a tee. At midnight Boaz is startled to find Ruth lying there as she tells him to spread his cloak over her since he is a family redeemer.
Him placing the corner of his garment over her, at her request, was a token of marriage. If he had asked her to marry him, she would have been obligated to do so because of the Law concerning Levirate marriages. But her going to him told him she was willing to marry him.
As the family redeemer, Ruth going to him wasn’t doing anything immoral or wrong when she goes to Boaz in such a way. She is following the custom of the day, God’s provision for widows, and nothing sexual was involved in how she presents her request.
Two points here: a). when Boaz covered Ruth with the corner of his garment, or the wings of his cloak, he was reminding her of the God of Israel, “under whose wings you have come to take refuge”. The corner of his cloak represented God’s wings. b). Naomi must have been the epitome of Godly woman because this plan would have sounded way crazy to a Moabite raised not knowing God’s Law or Israel’s customs. But Ruth did exactly as her mother-in-law instructed.
Boaz did take legal responsibility for these two women and married Ruth. Naomi found renewed joy in seeing God’s provision through Ruth’s marriage and the birth of her grandson, Obed.
When Naomi had re-entered Bethlehem the town’s women had said, “Can this be Naomi?” Now, after the birth of her grandson, Obed, the women said to Naomi, “Praise the Lord, who has not left you without a family redeemer today. Indeed, your daughter-in-law who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him”. (Ruth 4:15).
Naomi’s trip to Moab and back was during the time of Judges, when people lived to please themselves, not God (Judges 17:6). In this atmosphere Naomi, Ruth and Boaz remained strong in character and true to God even when the society around them were living in complete disobedience, idolatry and violence.
Since Israel was under the rule of Judges there had not been a king yet, so Naomi had no way of knowing her obedience would lead to her daughter-in-law becoming the great-grandmother of King David.
Boaz and Ruth’s son, Obed was born in Bethlehem. Obed fathered Jesse in Bethlehem. Jesse fathered King David in Bethlehem. Jesus, born in Bethlehem. Naomi died not seeing or knowing the plan of God played out that special night in Bethlehem.
Naomi may have felt her tragedies were punishment for leaving her homeland to venture off into Moab. She had no way of seeing into the future, no way of knowing that even to this day people would read her story of tragedy turned into triumph. She had no way of knowing the hope she has instilled in millions of women throughout the centuries.
We have no way of knowing the significance of our life. God has a plan and if our life is in Jesus Christ our significance will extend past our lifetime.
What we can take away from Naomi is how she shows us God is a God of restoration, and we are never to give up believing the impossible can and will happen in His perfect way and in His perfect timing.
Something to consider:
Each person must live their life
as a model for others.
Rosa Parks
BIBLICAL PEOPLE 