In the days when the judges ruled over Israel, there was a severe famine in the land. The fields, once lush and golden with grain, lay barren and cracked under the relentless sun. The people of Bethlehem, whose name meant “House of Bread,” found themselves without bread to eat. The once-bustling marketplace was now silent, and the streets echoed with the cries of hungry children. It was in this time of desperation that a man named Elimelech, his wife Naomi, and their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, made the difficult decision to leave their homeland. They packed their meager belongings and journeyed eastward to the land of Moab, hoping to find sustenance and survival.
Moab was a foreign land, its people descendants of Lot, separated from Israel by both geography and faith. The Moabites worshipped Chemosh, a god of war and destruction, and their ways were strange to the Israelites. Yet, necessity drove Elimelech and his family to settle there. For a time, life seemed bearable. The fields of Moab yielded enough to sustain them, and the family began to rebuild their lives. But tragedy struck when Elimelech, the pillar of the household, fell ill and died. Naomi was left a widow, her heart heavy with grief, yet she found strength in her two sons, who had now grown into young men.
In time, Mahlon and Chilion married Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. These marriages brought a measure of joy to Naomi’s life, and for ten years, the family lived together in relative peace. Ruth and Orpah, though raised in a culture foreign to Naomi’s faith, grew to love their mother-in-law deeply. They learned the ways of the God of Israel through her gentle guidance and steadfast devotion. Yet, the shadow of sorrow loomed once more. Both Mahlon and Chilion fell ill and died, leaving Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah as widows in a land that was not their own.
Naomi, now bereft of her husband and sons, felt the weight of her losses pressing heavily upon her. She had heard that the Lord had visited His people in Bethlehem, providing them with food once more. The famine had ended, and the fields were again yielding their bounty. With a heavy heart, Naomi decided to return to her homeland. She called her daughters-in-law to her and said, “Go back, each of you, to your mother’s home. May the Lord show you kindness, as you have shown kindness to your dead husbands and to me. May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband.”
Tears streamed down the faces of Ruth and Orpah as they clung to Naomi. “We will go back with you to your people,” they insisted. But Naomi, her voice trembling with sorrow, replied, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I able to bear any more sons who could become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, and even if I were to marry tonight and bear sons, would you wait until they grew up? No, my daughters, my life is too bitter for you to share. The Lord’s hand has turned against me.”
At these words, Orpah kissed Naomi farewell and turned back toward Moab, her heart torn but resigned. Ruth, however, clung to Naomi with a fierce determination. “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you,” she pleaded. “Where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”
Naomi, seeing the unwavering resolve in Ruth’s eyes, ceased her protests. Together, the two women set out on the long journey back to Bethlehem. The road was arduous, the sun beating down on their weary bodies, but Ruth’s steadfast loyalty gave Naomi a glimmer of hope. As they approached the outskirts of Bethlehem, the townsfolk gathered, whispering among themselves. “Can this be Naomi?” they asked, their voices filled with astonishment and pity.
Naomi, her face lined with the marks of sorrow, replied, “Don’t call me Naomi. Call me Mara, for the Almighty 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 me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”
Yet, even in her despair, Naomi’s return marked the beginning of a new chapter. Ruth, the Moabite widow, stood by her side, a living testament to the power of loyalty and faith. Though Naomi could not yet see it, the Lord had not abandoned her. In the fields of Bethlehem, where the barley harvest was just beginning, a story of redemption was about to unfold—a story that would weave Ruth and Naomi into the very fabric of God’s eternal plan.
