Forsaking The Past

Ruth 1:15-22

A while back there was a situation in which someone suspected me of doing something wrong. When the person conducting the investigation questioned me, I provided them with my answer. They believed that I was lying and asked me if I was sure I wanted to stick with the answer I had provided them. I told the investigator that it was the only answer I could give because it was the truth. When the investigation was completed they realized that I was in fact telling the truth. We should always do our best to provide answers that we can stand on and do not have to rescind. Whether it is telling the truth or making a commitment, we should stand by our word.

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And she said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Ruth said: “Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God. 17 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.” 18 When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her. 19 Now the two of them went until they came to Bethlehem. And it happened, when they had come to Bethlehem, that all the city was excited because of them; and the women said, “Is this Naomi?” 20 But she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 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?” 22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. Now they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.

Ruth 1:15-22

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When we left off, Naomi had told her daughters-in-law to return to their father's homes. The text said "The Lord had visited His people by giving them bread". With no reason to stay in Moab, Naomi decided to return home to Bethlehem. As a widow, and without sons to care for her, Naomi was resolved that she would have a tough time of poverty for the rest of her days. She did not want to subject Ruth and Orpah to the same life. She also knew that they would be rejected in Bethlehem because of their nationality.

Orpah returned home, but Ruth clung to Naomi. That is where we pick back up. Naomi tells Ruth, "Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law" (v. 15). Naomi was not in a good place spiritually at this time. She will say as much later in the passage. This was terrible advice to give these girls. She should have wanted them to come with her away from the pagan influence of their people. The Moabites worshipped Chemosh and Ashtar and the worship of these two idols included human sacrifices and temple prostitution.

I love Ruth's response. It is one of the boldest and most resolute statements recorded in the Bible. “Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God. 17 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" (v. 16-17). Ruth's statement was one of devotion and abandonment. Ruth devoted herself to Naomi, the Hebrew people, and more importantly, to God. She also abandoned her family, her people, her pagan gods, and her past. She was becoming a new person.

When Naomi saw that Ruth would not be persuaded otherwise, she stopped talking. The text does not say that she was pleased with Ruth's decision. It does not say that she was glad to have a companion. She just quit arguing. With that, the two women returned to Bethlehem.

When they arrived the people were excited to see them. Naomi and her family must have been well liked because the people remembered them and were pleased to see her again. When they saw her the people said, "Is this Naomi?" She responded “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 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?” (v. 20-21).

The name Naomi means "My Delight". It is easy to see why Naomi did not feel like God delighted in her. There was the famine that led to them deciding to leave home. Then, while in Moab, living among strangers, her husband died. Shortly thereafter, both of her sons died. We can understand why she wanted to change her name. She told the people to call her "Mara" rather than "Naomi". Mara means bitter and that fit her spirit at this time. Naomi was in bitter mourning because of her loss.

The final verse reads, "So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. Now they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest" (v. 22). This seems like a little detail, but it is not. For all of the suffering that these women have endured, we are beginning to see the mercy of God in their lives. Their arrival at the beginning of barley harvest meant that there was food for them. I will not get into a lot of detail today, but there was a law in Israel that required farmers to leave some grain for the poor and widows. In leaving Moab "empty" as Naomi put it, they were returning to the Promised Land and God's provision. Naomi does not know it yet, but things are starting to look up!

Father, thank You for the testimony of Ruth. She abandoned everything to live among Your people and to live for You. I pray that we would all follow her example. I thank You for what we have learned from her already, and for what we will learn from her in the rest of this book.