Ruth 1:1-13 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today we begin the book of Ruth, a short but powerful book that shows us that God makes all things beautiful in His time. It’s also one of the coolest love stories ever written. Today’s passage is Ruth 1:1-13. Let’s go!
Ruth 1:1-2 (NIV)
1 In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab.
2 The man’s name was Elimelech, his wife’s name Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.
On verses 1-2: The book of Judges comes right before the book of Ruth and describes a dark time in Israel’s history, a period when the nation of Israel was ruled by “judges”. During this time, Israel had already taken over the Promised Land with God’s help.
Yet Israel would keep falling into idolatry and rebelling against God. As a result they would be oppressed by their enemies or experience other difficulties such as famine (Deuteronomy 32:24). When Israel cried out to God for help, God would send a deliverer, or “judge”, to rescue the people, but after that judge passed away, the Israelites would fall back into sin again. This sad and sinful pattern would keep on repeating itself.
It was against this backdrop that an Israelite named Elimilek decides to take his wife Naomi and two young sons to the neighbouring country of Moab. They move to Moab in search of a better life. There Elimilek’s sons would grow up and get married, but then tragedy strikes this family in a heart-breaking way.
Ruth 1:3-13 (NIV)
3 Now Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons.
4 They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years,
5 both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.
6 When she heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there.
7 With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.
8 Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back, each of you, to your mother’s home. May the LORD show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead and to me.
9 May the LORD grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband.” Then she kissed them and they wept aloud
10 and said to her, “We will go back with you to your people.”
11 But Naomi said, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands?
12 Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me–even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons–
13 would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD’s hand has gone out against me!”
On verses 3-13: Here we see Naomi at the lowest point of her life, having tragically lost both her husband and her only two children (her sons Mahon and Kilion) (v3-5). It’s tough for most of us to imagine just how much pain and grief Naomi must have experienced during this time. You can hardly blame her when she says that her life is “bitter” in the sense of being full of anguish and distress (v13).
Fortunately Naomi’s story doesn’t end in bitterness. God would work out her circumstances not only for her own good, but also for the good of her family, her nation and ultimately for our good too. But before Naomi can get to that exceeding joy, she first must go through excruciating pain.
What can we learn from this? Sometimes things will get bitter before they get better. Sometimes there will be great weeping before they can be great rejoicing. Sometimes you need to go through much turmoil before you see much hope.
So if you’re going through great turmoil today — in your home, your marriage, a relationship you care about, your finances, your health or other circumstances — remember that your turmoil is not the end of your story. If you persevere, like Naomi did, and hang on to God, you will see the light at the end of the tunnel, and you will find that God used even the most painful parts of your life to write a greater story than you could ever write for yourself. It’s a story that will bless not just you, but your family, your community, and generations of people after you.
So when times are bitter, hang on, don’t give up, trust God, and you will find that eventually, piece by piece, He makes all things beautiful in His time.
Heavenly Father, thank You that whenever I go through turmoil or grief, You promise that that is not the end of my story. Thank You that You use even the most painful parts of my life to write a greater story than I could ever write for myself. Thank You that You make all things beautiful in Your time. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
