“Then Elimelech died, and Naomi was left with her two sons. The two sons married Moabite women. One married a woman named Orpah, and the other a woman named Ruth. But about ten years later, both Mahlon and Kilion died. This left Naomi alone, without her two sons or her husband.” Ruth 1:3-5 NLT
Three verses describe the most devastating story for a woman to experience in ancient times. Famine causes the couple to leave home and go to a foreign country, a country with more resources than their own. It was either starve or move. Elimelech and Naomi decided to move.
They make the roughly a 50 mile trip taking two weeks to travel on foot. The couple left Bethlehem, the house of bread to go to “the seed of my father.” The name Moab means “he is of my father,” a perpetual reminder of Moab’s incestuous beginnings of Lot’s daughters getting their father drunk so their lineage would not die in the desert. Interesting comparison to the two cities.
Elimelech and his wife survive the famine, only to succumb to something worse – all the males in their family die in Moab. Naomi is not just widowed, but her and her two daughters in law are alone.
What looks like the worst possible outcomes in a string of tragedies, is the backdrop of our own redemption!
Naomi had heard that her little bread town had sprung back to life, producing much of her nation’s barley supply. So she decides to make the trip back home. Even in her bitter state of mind there is grace when she tries to convince her daughters to go back to their families, try to find husbands, so they might have another chance at a life and family. There is an odd sense that Naomi feels responsible for her sons’ death and leaving these girls destitute without a future. Both girls wept, wanting to stay with Naomi. Then one of them decided it might be better to just go home, so Orpah left Naomi in tears. But Ruth wouldn’t leave. She too felt a strong bond with her mother in law. Samuel adds a critical detail, Naomi says, “your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods. You should do the same.” Ruth declares that she is not just staying with Naomi for her sake, but also because she has made a declaration, a decision that Naomi’s God would be her own God as well.
After returning home, back to the little town of Bethlehem, the story dramatically turns into a beautiful, romantic love story involving Boaz as Ruth’s “kinsmen redeemer,” the family redeemer of the Elimelech’s bloodline and legacy. What starts out as one of the worse tragedies in the Old Testament is cloaked in one of the critical moments in the historical birthright and lineage of Jesus, the Messiah.
Yet another example of God choosing a Gentile, a Moabite, a non-Jew to carry the family story. This gives me hope. My lineage, my family name, both of them – Spear and Garvin were not all that stellar when I received the baton. Yet, because of Christ, God has redeemed and restored my own family name to a place of honor and godliness. It’s all because of His grace!
What’s your story? Are you living in tragedy? Or have you come from some shameful stock such as Ruth, who’s relatives came from Lot and his own daughters? God can and does restore and redeem our travesties and turns them into triumph.
Prayer
Dad,
Wow! What a grand story 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼. You make all things new. You can make all things right. You can turn our mourning into dancing, our fears into faith. There are so many lessons to be learned here from Naomi, Ruth and Elimelech. Naomi, who wanted to change her name to Mary, found that although she came through bitterness, her life represented one of the sweetest parts of our Savior’s story. Thank You for being such a amazing weaver of good stories.