My first post was supposed to be about the first five verses, but it wasn’t. I only got though the first two verses. So, now I want to cover those verses. I also want to give you an idea of my study process when I am working through a passage. I first make observations about the passage. This is when I just make note or write down all of the obvious people and events happening in the passage. What do I see?
Ruth 1:1-5
In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.
The main point of these first 5 verses is that Naomi became a widow. We are introduced to all but one major character of our story. If I were to list my observations for this passage it would look something like this.
- Judges ruled, no King yet
- Bethlehem famine
- Elimelech takes family to Moab for food. There about 10 years.
- Elimelech dies, making Naomi a widow
- 2 sons (Chilion & Mahlon) marry Moabite women (Orpah & Ruth) & then die.
- Naomi is left with 2 pagan daughter in laws.
- Author of Ruth doesn’t use Naomi’s name when mentioning she has no husband or sons.
That pretty much sums it up.
Their temporary move to Moab turned into 10 years. Could have been more but that is the only time frame we are given. They made themselves at home in Moab. We know this because his sons married Moab women. Moab was a forbidden place to the Hebrews. Their choices did not escape consequences. Elimelech died and then both sons died as well, leaving Naomi with two daughters in law in a foreign land. It was the absolute worst scenario for a woman in those times.
Ruth 1:3 & 5 gives us an idea of how tragic this was.
“But, Elimelech…died”
“And both Maholon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.”
Did you notice how the author didn’t even use her name? Naomi had lost everything, her husband, her sons and now her whole identity.
If you’ve read the whole story of Ruth then you know this is not the end of Naomi. Actually, it’s a new beginning, which is why I titled this post “The Goodness of God”.
2 Corinthians 5:17, Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old is passed away; behold the new has come.
The Lord was at work and Naomi was his chosen vessel to bring about his plan of salvation. This little widow from Bethlehem who seem to have been at the end of herself is now a part of God’s big story.
A hard truth or reality for Believers is that we will suffer, and our sinful flesh hates it.
Because we know the end of the story, we may miss the gravity of the situation. She has lost everything! She is only left with 2 daughter in laws who were pagans. Naomi has found herself in a position of ultimate shame. God has stripped her of all that identifies her, except for her identity as His and even that hangs in the balance as she finds herself in a pagan land. We all want to belong to someone. It’s important. It is our identity.
Our family identifies ourselves as the Bailey Tribe. We are known as the Bailey Tribe. It’s part of our identity. I’ve even had friends comment that we are like our own little people group. I love that. When one of our kids gets married now that person is part of the Bailey Tribe. It’s great to belong.
Naomi had been stripped of her tribe. Her identity was about to change. That is the goodness of God!
We like to think of the goodness of God being all the great & happy things that happen to us, but reality of a Believer that even those unimaginable, horrible and tragic things we face are also the goodness of God, because those unimaginable, horrible, tragic events are meant to bring us closer to Him, change our heart posture and transform our mind. That is the true goodness of God!
Could this be what Paul meant when he said to “consider it all joy”? How does one even do that? Verse 6 gives us a hint…which is in my next post.
You can read the first post in this series here.
Dana Bailey 