(Ruth 1:6-14) Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the land of Moab, because she had heard in the land of Moab that the Lord had visited His people by giving them food. 7 So she departed from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. 8 But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to your mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 9 May the Lord grant that you may find a place of rest, each one in the house of her husband.” Then she kissed them, and they raised their voices and wept. 10 However, they said to her, “No, but we will return with you to your people.” 11 But Naomi said, “Return, my daughters. Why should you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? 12 Return, my daughters! Go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I said I have hope, if I were even to have a husband tonight and also give birth to sons, 13 would you therefore wait until they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters; for it is much more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has come out against me.”
14 And they raised their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
God isn't mentioned in the book of Ruth all that often, but this is one of the times He is. He provided Israel with food. What is so amazing, is that this good news traveled to all parts of the world, even to the pagan land of Moab!
So Naomi headed back for her homeland, taking her daughters-in-law with her. I'm curious why she only changed her mind on that, after they had already packed up and left. Why try to send her daughters-in-law back to their homes? And why did both resist this idea at first?
It appears that the women had grown very fond of each other. And perhaps the two Moabites didn't have families to go to, really; or if they did, they were dysfunctional. But maybe Orpah had been complaining, or asking too many questions, being a bit fearful of what Israel was going to be like. Naomi could have become overwhelmed with the thought of being responsible for these two women. Or she suddenly thought how difficult it might be for them as Moabites in the land of Israel. What if they weren't accepted? Or what if her own friends chose to avoid her because she had Moabite daughters-in-law? There could have been a flood of all sorts of thoughts, emotions and questions.
We just don't know, but we can see that they had a close enough relationship with each other. This is admirable, because not all in-laws get along! Demonstrating love and concern for one another certainly helps family dynamics. Notice that Naomi even calls them "daughters"!
My own mom truly loved people and had more than enough room to love and have "many children". There were only three of us, but growing up, most of our friends would call her "Mom". Every supper she'd call out, "So how many children am I feeding tonight?" So when I got married, of course, she was so excited to call my husband her "son". And as I love this idea of extended family, I called my mom-in-law "Mom". And she considers me as her daughter, as well. After my mom passed away, my dad remarried a lovely woman. There aren't many similarities to my mom-mom, but she also truly loved all of us as if we were her own children. It is so very comforting to have a safe place to be accepted and loved unconditionally.
Now, according to the Levitical law, if a son died, if there was a single son available, they were to marry the widow, so that a baby would be produced in order to carry on the deceased son's inheritance. Even though God had already supplied food in Israel, Naomi still felt that her entire situation was completely hopeless. She definitely was playing the victim-game when it came to her relationship with the Lord. She blamed God for all her hardships, forgetting that her and her husband had disobeyed God in the first place when they didn't trust Him, and they moved to the pagan country.
This issue goes back to how people seek their own happiness and security and allow their emotions to drive their behavior. Fear of starvation brought them to the land of Moab. Some kind of fear and/or worry prompted Naomi to tell her daughters-in-law to go back to their own homes. Sadness and frustrations led Naomi to feel that God was somehow against her and that there was no hope.
What God wants from all of us is a personal relationship with Him, where we will totally depend on Him for everything. And when we disobey and/or stray, things will get uncomfortable, but He wants us to return to Him and continue on - with Him - going forward from that point. This is unconditional love! The Lord is love, and He is the example of agape love that we should show to others, ESPECIALLY family members. I love you! Not because of our feelings or based on feelings. And not, I love you because... Or, if you do that, then I will love you. We are to choose to love people, and commit to loving people, just as we love God - because - He loves us NO MATTER WHAT!
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