Ep. 68 - Ruth (Part 1)

In the last episode we finished the story of Samson – Israel’s 12th judge. And pretty soon we are going to leave the time of the judges and make our way to the time of the kings. But, before we do that, there is another story that happens around the same time…the story of Ruth. Now we don’t know exactly when this story happens…all we know is that it happens sometime while the judges are still around. As you kidzos know, Israel had its ups and down during the time of the judges…with this nation invading and then that nation…as the Israelites would repeatedly fall away from God and then come back to God in the never-ending merry-go-round of doom. But as it turns out, invasions weren’t the only way that God dealt with Israel during this time…God also used the weather. And at one point, God let a famine hit the land of Israel. And it’s during this famine that our story begins.  

We don’t know much about this famine, other then that it was bad enough that at least some Israelites decided to leave Israel and go live in other countries. And there was a man living in a place called Bethlehem in Judah whose name was Elimelech…and he and his wife Naomi and two sons Mahlon and Chilion…were one of these families that decided to move away from Israel. And where would they go? Well, they decided to move to Moab. Of course, Moab has come up many times in our stories, right kidzos? Remember the king of Moab hired Balaam to curse Israel? Remember that Moab later oppressed Israel and the judge Jephthah fought them off? Yah so Moab and Israel had been on against and off again enemies for a long time. And even though there was no famine there, it would have been hard for this little family to live in Moab…because they wouldn’t have been treated very nicely.

But while just living in Moab would have been hard for Elimelech’s family, what came next was much worse. Because not too long after they arrived, Elimelech died. We have no idea what happened to him, but what matters for the story is that Naomi and her two young boys were now all alone in a foreign land. And this would have devastating for them. Now we all know families where the father has either left or died…ya know it happens sometimes and it’s very sad…but it’s important to understand that there is a very big difference between that happening today and that happening back in ancient times. Back in those days, families were entirely dependent on the grown men in their families. In much of the world today, if a family comes on hard times, there’s all kinds of support. If a family can’t make enough money, well there’s welfare. If a family can’t buy food, well there are food banks. It’s obviously not the best or fun…but you can get by. When’s the last time that you heard about someone starving to death? Yah…like never, right? Well, back in Naomi’s day, people starved all the time. So when a family couldn’t make enough money, well that could be the difference between life and death. And how did families make money? Well, almost all the jobs had something to do with farming. And farming jobs were usually really hard and so only men got those jobs. And because women couldn’t make money and keep their families alive, unfortunately women weren’t taken very seriously. Women couldn’t own anything. Women couldn’t bring any problems to court. Women couldn’t go to school. And because just surviving was a hard thing, it’s not like other families were super excited about taking in widows or orphans…which was often just seen as more mouths to feed. So, when Naomi’s husband died it truly was devastating…and even more so in a foreign country like Moab where most of the people there didn’t like you.

But despite this tragedy, Naomi and her little family managed to get by. Naomi’s saving grace was probably her two boys. They were most likely in their teens around this time, and so they would have been able to go out there and at least get some kind of work. And, no doubt through a lot of scrimping and saving, and probably more than a few brushes with starvation, by God’s grace they were able to survive. And as the years passed by and the famine in Israel continued, her two boys grew up, became young men, and eventually married two young Moabite women – Orpah and Ruth. Of course, Naomi wouldn’t have been super excited that her boys were marrying Moabites, but all things considered, there was nothing she could really do…because of the famine, they couldn’t go back to Israel to find wives. And besides, Orpah and Ruth turned out to be the nicest daughters-in-law that Naomi could have possibly hoped for. And for about 10 years, Naomi, her two sons, and their two wives got along well in Moab.

But then tragedy struck yet again. Somehow, both of Naomi’s sons died, leaving Orpah and Ruth as widows. Again, we have no idea what happened. It’s strange that they both died around the same time…so maybe it was some kind of disease that went through Moab…or maybe they both were killed for some reason…we don’t know. But whatever the reason, the result was the same…Naomi was again devastated. And these deaths were especially hard for Naomi, because while her young daughters-in-law could always go back to their Moabite families and get remarried, Naomi was stuck. Not only was she in a strange land, but she was too old to get remarried. And even worse than that, she now had no man in her immediate family…her father was dead (as far as we can tell), her husband was dead, and her sons were dead. That left Naomi all alone with no one to take care of her other than her two Moabite daughters-in-law. She would probably live out the rest of her life as a beggar…not a life that anyone would want…and one that would be especially hard for Naomi as a foreigner.

But right around this time Naomi got a sliver of good news. The famine in Israel had ended…and life there was returning back to normal. Ya know what, maybe it was a good time to move back? It had been 10 years since Naomi had lived in Israel, and it’s not like she had a ton of family there to help her. But what else was she going to do? However hard it might be in Israel, it would be even harder in Moab. And so, the Bible says that Naomi, “went out 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.” (Ruth 1:7)

At first, Naomi was thinking that Orpah and Ruth would come with her back home. Back in those days, widows…especially widows from the same family…tried to stick together to help each other out. But as they got close to the border of Israel, Naomi thought twice about it. How could she possibly ask these two Moabite women to come with her? Whatever difficulties that Naomi would have in Moab would have been the same difficulties that Orpah and Ruth would have in Israel. And not only that, but most likely neither Orpah nor Ruth would find husbands in Israel. Because just like how Moabites didn’t like Israelites, Israelites didn’t like Moabites. What man in Israel was going to marry a Moabite widow? Probably no one. So even though Naomi could certainly use their help to survive in Israel, Naomi didn’t want them to be husband-less for the rest of their lives…just like Naomi was going to be. So, Naomi turned to Orpah and Ruth and said (and Mama is going to help me with the voice of Naomi), “Go, return each to her mother’s house. The Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband.” (1:8)

Now Orpah and Ruth were very close to Naomi, and at first, they didn’t want to leave. And they both said to her, “Surely we will return with you to your people.” (1:10) But Naomi really pressed them to go back to their homes in Moab. And she laid it out for them…and told them that in Israel they will not find any husbands…they would be alone for the rest of their lives…doomed to years of begging and scraping by. And while Naomi had no choice but to do this, it wasn’t the same case for Orpah and Ruth. And after laying it all out, she finished by saying, “No, my daughters; for it grieves me very much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me!” (1:13) And after some crying and teary good-byes, Orpah kissed her mother-in-law and left. But Ruth grabbed onto Naomi and wouldn’t let her go. Seeing this, Naomi tried to convince Ruth to leave with her sister-in-law, and said to her, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” (1:15) But Ruth was having none of it. And Ruth said to Naomi (and Leah is going to help me with the voice of Ruth), “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.” (1:16) Ruth, probably understanding that if neither of them stayed with Naomi, that Naomi’s life was going to be unbearably hard. Naomi was at least middle-aged if not older, and if no one younger stayed with her to help her out, Naomi probably wouldn’t live very long. Ruth decided that at least one person needed to stay with Naomi, and if it wasn’t going to be Orpah, then it would be her. And seeing that Ruth wouldn’t take no for an answer, Naomi stopped trying to convince her and let Ruth come with her the rest of the way to Israel.

Once Naomi and Ruth arrived in Bethlehem, more than a few of the people living there recognized Naomi. And many of them got excited and began to celebrate. And they said to themselves, “Is this Naomi?” (1:19) But Naomi was understandably in no mood to celebrate. And she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty.” (1:21) (The name “Mara” means full of bitterness.) And Naomi’s disappointment was understandable. The reality of her situation would have really hit hard. Here Naomi was coming “home”…but there was no home for her to actually walk into…no one to take her in…and nothing to look forward to. What was Naomi going to do? How were they going to survive? Well, we will find out all about it…next time.