Naomi is one of the central characters in the book of Ruth. Her history begins in the time of the judges,
when "...every man did that which was right in his own eyes." (Judges
21:25).
In the days of Naomi, God brought a
famine to Bethelehem-Judah, and Naomi's husband Elimelech, instead of staying and trusting God, made the
unwise choice to leave his home in Bethlehem, and journey to the land of Moab
with his wife and two sons Mahlon and Chilion. (Ruth 1:1-2) There,
Naomi's husband died, and Naomi, instead of returning home with her two
sons, decided to stay in Moab with her sons.
This was a pagan land, with pagan gods.
Naomi's sons made the choice to marry
Moabite women..they "took them wives of the women of Moab: the name
of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there
about ten years" (Ruth 1:4). While
at first glance this is an unequal yoke of Jew and Gentile, we will soon find out that it was in the providential
will of God for Ruth to marry Mahlon, one of the sons.
After ten years, both sons die too, and Naomi is left with her
daughters-in-law. Hearing that the Lord
has brought bread to the land of Bethlehem-Judah, Naomi decides to return to Judah, and tells Orpah
and Ruth to return to their mother's homes, as she has no more sons for them to
marry - Ruth 1:11 "And Naomi said,
Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons
in my womb, that they may be your husbands?" But the two ladies desire to stay with
Naomi. She knows that if they stay with
her, they will still be considered part of her family, and as such, would be
required to marry within the family and raise up sons as unto their dead
husbands, and Naomi knows that even should she remarry and have sons, it would
be a very long time before they were reach the age of marrying. And so Naomi wants them to go back to their
own land. At this time, Naomi believes
that "the hand of the LORD is gone out against me" (Ruth 1:13). She
does not know of the wonderful blessing to come.
At first Orpah and Ruth want to stay with Naomi, but after more
urging, Orpah turns and goes back to Moab where her heart truly lay..we never
hear from her again and she is a reminder like king Agrippa "almost thou
persuadest me to be a Christian"
almost, but in choosing the gods of Moab, Orpah has destined herself to
be eternally separated from the Lord.
Ruth, however, "cleaves unto her" (V14) and confesses that
most wonderful "...for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou
lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:"
(V 16)
