There is a clear contrast in the book of Ruth between Naomi and Ruth and their response to hardship. And there was a lot of hardship! Due to a famine in Israel, Elimelech and Naomi moved to the country of Moab with their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion. Besides being uprooted from her homeland, while in Moab, Naomi experienced the death of her husband, and then the death of her two sons after they had married Moabite women. Her only recourse at this point was to return to her homeland alone, or so she thought.
Naomi, whose name means “pleasant”, explained to her daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth, that it would be best for them to stay in Moab and remarry. She went on to state that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me! (Ruth 1:13) Ruth refused to stay behind but instead promised
wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where 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 you and me. (16b-17)
So, as the women of Bethlehem recognized Naomi when she came back, she exclaimed,
Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara [which means “bitter”], for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the LORD has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the LORD has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me? (verse 20)
Four times, Ruth blamed God for her difficult situation. Instead of blaming God, Ruth was committing her life to follow and trust in the God of Israel. As we fast forward to the end of the story, God provided a wonderful husband, Boaz, for Ruth, and then gave them a son, Obed. To Naomi, Boaz became a restorer of life and a nourisher of Naomi’s old age. And to top it all off, Boaz and Ruth were the great grandparents of king David, and were thus in the line of Christ!
Let’s not give in to the temptation to blame God when things don’t go as we expected, but instead, trust Him with all of our hearts, for HE IS FAITHFUL!
He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it. (I Thess. 5:24)
Blessings in Christ,
Pastor Keith Neds