happy mother’s day
Water cooler conversation:
What was your biggest win this week? What was your biggest challenge?
Do you have any famous relatives?
Unpack the Message:
The story of Naomi and Ruth begins in Moab, where the Israelite Naomi (“pleasant”) and her husband, Elimelech (“God is King” or possibly, “My God is King”), and her two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, had relocated during a famine in Judah. Naomi’s sons each married Moabite women, named Ruth and Orpah. As Ruth and Naomi’s story opens in Ruth 1, Naomi’s sons have just died, leaving no heirs. Elimelech had died some years earlier, so the three women have been left with no provider or protection, as was the custom of their day. Defeated and in need of help, Naomi decides to return to Judah, having heard that the Lord had provided food to her people in Bethlehem. As marrying foreigners was frowned upon by the Jews, Naomi urges Ruth and Orpah to remain in Moab with their parental families as it will be difficult for them to find husbands in Bethlehem. Orpah brokenheartedly agrees to stay in Moab, but Ruth refuses with the words: “Wherever you go, I will go; 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 I will be buried. Thus and more may the Lord do to me if anything but death part me from you.” Ruth 1:16,17
So, Ruth and Naomi travel fifty grueling miles over rugged terrain to Bethlehem, a journey that would have taken them 7-10 days on foot. There were no paved roads and they were extremely vulnerable to attack from bandits as two widows traveling alone, but their desperation was so great that they were willing to take the risk. When they arrive in Bethlehem, the women of Naomi’s village are surprised to see her. No doubt they observe the toll her grief and the journey have taken on her. They say, “Can this be Naomi?” and she replies, “Don’t call me Naomi,[b]” she told them. “Call me Mara,[c] because the Almighty[d] has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted[e] me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.” Ruth 1:19-21
Naomi’s bitterness is evident to everyone including herself. Though God had protected them on their journey home, and Ruth had left everything behind because of her love and care for her mother-in-law, Naomi’s heart is cold. Out of compassion and necessity, Ruth goes to a nearby field to glean. Boaz, the field owner, sees her, pities her situation, and instructs his foreman to give her something extra at the end of the day. Naomi sees all Ruth has been provided by Boaz, knows that he is a relative, and realizes he is, therefore, a potential kinsman-redeemer.
The custom of the “kinsman-redeemer” is at the heart of this story (Deuteronomy 25:5-6). According to Jewish custom at the time, if a man died, the nearest unmarried male relative is to marry the widow and provide her with an heir and redeem her land. This system ensures she is protected from social and economic marginalization or abuse. The covenant land inheritance and estate of the dead man are safeguarded, and the widow and her household have a livelihood. Significantly, the child born to the widow will be considered the son of the dead man, not the birth father, thus preserving his name.
Naomi gives Ruth instructions on presenting herself to Boaz according to Jewish custom and how to propose that they marry. Boaz agrees, although there is a closer relative that stands between them. However, this man does not want to marry Ruth, so Boaz is free to become the kinsman-redeemer. They marry and eventually have a son, Obed, together. Ruth brings Obed to Naomi, who then becomes intimately involved in helping raise him. In a sense, Obed becomes a kinsman-redeemer to Naomi as he carries on Elimilech’s line. The women who Naomi rebuked and told to call her Mara say, “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.”
It is okay to be honest with God. Ruth may be the Biblical example of devotion, but Naomi is our example of honesty and transparency before God. Naomi was bitter against Him, and she was brutally honest about it (Ruth 1:13;20-21). There is no sin and no shame in telling God how you feel about your circumstances. A complaining spirit is sinful (Philippians 2:14-15) but bringing your anger, frustration, and bitterness to God is not because He is the One who can do something about it (1 Peter 5:7).
Naomi was bold in her complaint because she knew that God is in control even in the pain. She had buried her husband and both her sons and was forced to leave them behind to start a new life. Any one of those losses would have been heartwrenching, but three was almost more than she could bear.
Don’t allow your bitterness to blind you to God’s blessing. Naomi’s perspective was skewed by her bitterness. She blamed God for leaving her a widow and taking her sons, and it blinded her to the blessing of her loving and devoted daughter-in-law Ruth. Her friends remind her that Ruth has been better than seven sons and that God has provided for you better than you know.
The same principle rings true for us. Even if our circumstances are difficult, God is in control and is at work. He can take the darkest, heaviest trials we face and transform them into something good (Romans 8:28). Keeping our eyes on Him rather than our circumstances empowers us to experience the blessings all around us.
Robert L. Hubbard says, “God uses faithfulness of ordinary people to do great things.” God used the faithfulness of these two widows who faced trials beyond what many of us have ever or will ever experience to redeem humanity. Obed had a son Jesse who then had a son, David. David became the most powerful and most renowned king in Israel’s history until, through David’s line, a young virgin named Mary conceived a child through the Holy Spirit, and King Jesus was born (Isaiah 9:6–7; Matthew 1; Luke 2; 1 Timothy 6:13–15; Revelation 17:14).
William Carey once said, “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.” How can we attempt great things? By being faithful. The story of Naomi and Ruth teaches us that God uses ordinary people to do great things. Naomi’s story begins with anger, grief, and bitterness, but her faithfulness transforms her story into one of peace, hope, and abundance.
Don’t allow the bitterness of your circumstances to blind you to the beauty and blessings of God.
Reflect:
When have you experienced bitterness? How did you move past the issue? Have you moved past it and released it to God?
Who are the people in your life who model grace and peace rather than bitterness? What about their life stands out to you?
How have you seen the destructive nature of bitterness in your own life or in the life of someone else close to you?
What is your response to the question, “What if your pain is actually intended to be a pathway to God?”
Make a Move:
Identify a next step you’d like to take in uprooting bitterness from your life. What could that look like this week?
Prayer Prompt:
Father, You created the heavens and the earth, and nothing is hidden from You. Through the power of Your Holy Spirit, I ask You to expose any bitterness and resentment hiding in my heart. Keep me from wallowing in my hurt or standing in self-righteousness. Remind me of Your constant presence in my life. I ask You to protect my vulnerable heart from becoming fertile ground for bitterness and misery. Father, as Jesus has forgiven me, so help me to forgive others. I offer you my heart and my life for You to shape into a beautiful illustration of the transforming power of the gospel. Amen