Ruth, Chapter 1

God has given several beautiful examples of Godly women throughout the Bible. One of my personal favorites is Ruth.  She set the perfect example of who we should be as women... Willing to leave everything behind, not worring about who she would marry, but how she could get closer to God, and to the woman that God had placed in her life. She was more worried about God's plan for her life than for her own. If only more women today had the same sense of wreckless abandonment. For those of you who have not yet read the book of Ruth, I have posted the first chapter below (Amplified version). Or, if you would rather read it from your Bible, you can skip to the end for the "points to ponder!"


1IN THE days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem of Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, his wife, and his two sons.2The man’s name was Elimelech and his wife’s name was Naomi and his two sons were named Mahlon [invalid] and Chilion [pining]; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem of Judah. They went to the country of Moab and continued there.3But Elimelech, who Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons.4And they took wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They dwelt there about ten years;5And Mahlon and Chilion died also, both of them, so the woman was bereft of her two sons and her husband.6Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in Moab how the Lord had visited His people in giving them food.7So she left the place where she was, her two daughters-in-law with her, and they started on the way back to Judah.8But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me.9The Lord grant that you may find a home and rest, each in the house of her husband! Then she kissed them and they wept aloud.10And they said to her, No, we will return with you to your people.11But Naomi said, Turn back, my daughters, why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that may become your husbands?12Turn back, my daughters, go; for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband tonight and should bear sons,13Would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? ((NOTE:sons who could become your husbands: The Old Testament Law stated that if a man died, his brother had to marry the widow to protect her and carry on the family name. Naomi’s comment here (“sons who could grow up to be your husbands”) refers to levirate marriage, the obligation of a dead man’s brother to care for the widow (Deuteronomy 25:5-10). This law kept the widow from poverty and provided a way for the family name of the dead husband to continue.)) No, my daughters; it is far more bitter for me than for you that the hand of the Lord is gone out against me.14Then they wept aloud again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law [good-bye], but Ruth clung to her.15And Naomi said, See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.16And Ruth said, Urge me not to leave you or to turn back from following you; for where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people and your God my God.17Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts me from you.18When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she said no more.19So they both went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred about them, and said, Is this Naomi?20And she said to them, Call me not Naomi [pleasant]; call me Mara [bitter], for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.21I went out full, but the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?22So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.


Points to ponder:
1.)  Describe Naomi’s condition after ten years in Moab?  
                                                          NOTE: There was almost nothing worse than being a widow in the ancient world. Widows were taken advantage of or ignored. They would equate to the homeless in American society. They were almost always poverty stricken. God’s law, therefore, provided that the nearest relative of the dead husband should care for the widow; but Naomi had no relatives in Moab, and she did not know if any of her relatives were alive in Israel

2.) Are you surprised by Ruth's decision to stay with her mother-in-law?

3.) What was Ruth giving up by choosing to stay with Naomi?


APPLICATION FOR DAILY LIVING:

1.) When her sons died, Naomi believed that God had turned against her and Ruth (chapter 1). Why did she feel so desperate? Have you ever felt this desperate or have you known anyone who felt bitter like Naomi? If so, what caused these feelings and how did you or your friend get through this difficult period?
                                                 

2.) What did Ruth do to help Naomi when they got to Bethlehem in Judah? (2:1-18). What seem to have been the risks for women who did this kind of work? How could the fact that Ruth was a foreigner (from Moab) have made the situation even more difficult Are there people with different cultural or religious backgrounds living in your community? If so, how are they treated?