Ruth and Naomi Go to the City of Bethlehem

Map of Bethlehem

All of us have made decisions over the course of our lives.. If we were to look back over our lives, I am sure most of us could think of decisions that we would regret having made. Because we are not perfect people, we are sinners and make mistakes.

Understanding God’s Will For Our Lives

In our study of Ruth, we want to consider our own decision making and God’s will. One characteristic of a true Christian is that they want to please God and want His will done in their lives. So we pray, struggle, and trust that God’s will is done in our lives.

We cannot find in Scripture a list of things we are supposed to do at the different points in our lives. That is not the way it works. So when you are trying to follow God’s will, it can be very subjective. You pray, you look at circumstances, and you try to figure out what God wants to have happen in your life. We make the best decisions that we can make, and sometimes we make the wrong decision.

In the Introduction to the Book of Ruth,  we learned that Elimelech made a bad decision. He violated God’s will for his life and for his family. If you read the first five verses of Ruth 1, it says that there was a certain man in Bethlehem named Elimelech. He left Bethlehem and went to Moab. When we read verse 5, already disaster had occurred. Naomi was sadly left without her husband and children.

The point we made last time is that Elimelech probably should not have gone to Moab, because in Ezra 9:1 we are told the Jews were not supposed to intermarry with the Moabites because the Moabites worshiped idols including Baal. The Israelites were not to have anything to do them.

A famine hit Bethlehem and Elimelech took his family to Moab where they could find food. He thought that was the best choice; but it proved to be the wrong choice, and disaster came to the family. Elimelech died as well as his two sons, Mahlon and Chilion. Before they died, they had intermarried Moabite women which was forbidden as we read in Ezra 9:1. This was a bad decision. They made a mistake.

Naomi and Ruth

Our study is about one woman who sees the negative in her life, and another woman who chooses to follow God. There are two main characters in this study: Naomi, a wife and mother who is left without her family, and her daughter-in-law named Ruth. Let us begin our study in Ruth 1:6.

Verse 6 says:

Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the land of Moab, for she had heard in the land of Moab that the LORD had visited His people in giving them food. Ruth 1:6 (NASB)

We are told in verse 6 that Naomi and her daughters-in-law planned to return from Moab. The names of the daughters-in-law were Orpah and Ruth. See verse 4. That is the setting. Naomi had heard that there again was food back in her home town of Bethlehem. The famine was over. There was no longer a need to remain in Moab and returning home was appealing to her.

Is It God’s Will or Our Will?

The point we made last time was that sometimes when we are considering what we think to be God’s will – maybe in prayer – asking God to give us direction as to what He might want for our life – we can arrive at a conclusion that is not really in our best interest. With that, you may be thinking about Romans 8:28. The point we have made is that you can be “pursuing God’s will,” even in prayer, and arrive at a conclusion that is not in your best interest.

In 1 Samuel 8, Israel asked God for a king. They first asked Samuel who then spoke to the Lord. Verse 7 says,

The LORD said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them. 1 Samuel 8:7 (NASB)

God told Samuel the people were not rejecting him. They were rejecting God. Then in verse 10, Samuel went back to the people after he had received God’s word. We will begin with verse 10.

So Samuel spoke all the words of the LORD to the people who had asked of him a king. He said, “This will be the procedure of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and place them for himself in his chariots and among his horsemen and they will run before his chariots. He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and of fifties, and some to do his plowing and to reap his harvest and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will also take your daughters for perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive groves and give them to his servants. He will take a tenth of your seed and of your vineyards and give to his officers and his servants. He will also take your male servants and your female servants and your best young men and your donkeys and use them for his work. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his servants.
1 Samuel 8:10-17 (NASB)

How did the people respond? They did not like what God had said, but they wanted a king anyway.

Verse 18 says,

“Then you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day.” 1 Samuel 8:18 (NASB)

God said they asked for a king, so He was going to give them a king. It was not in their best interest and in time they would complain, but God would ignore their complaints.

Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but there shall be a king over us. 1 Samuel 8:19 (NASB)

They were persistent in their desire for a king; so God gave them a king. In Hosea 13 we learn that God said that was not His plan. It was not what He really wanted to do. Look at Hosea 13:10 where God talks about this event in 1 Samuel.

Where now is your king
That he may save you in all your cities,
And your judges of whom you requested,
“Give me a king and princes”?
Hosea 13:10 (NASB)

In other words, there is a question mark. So verse 11 says,

I gave you a king in My anger… Hosea 13:11 (NASB)

God said, “I gave you a king in My anger.” The tense of the Hebrew implies He kept giving them kings. He gave them one king, then another king, and yet another king. He just kept giving them kings. That is the implication of verse 11. He also then took their kings away. So that is the implication. God said that He gave them a king in His anger because they refused the leaders He wanted them to have.

Now here is a question for you. Do you think it is possible that you could be praying and asking God for something, and you just keep asking for the same thing again, and again, and again? You tell God, “This is what I really want, but oh I really want your will.” Do you think there might come a point where God will respond with, “Okay, I will give you what you want because you keep on asking.”? But it is not in your best interest. That is what happened to Israel.

So now let us go back to the verse I mentioned earlier. Romans 8:28 says,

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 (NASB)

The verse says that everything works together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. This truth is for Christians.

I have heard Christians say, “I am a Christian and I know and  trust that everything works out together for good.” Yes, that is a true biblical statement. But we have already seen an example where it is not always in our best interest to receive that for which we pray. How our we supposed to understand this?

How All Things Work Together for Good

Our study in Ruth will give us the answer to how this all works together. Elimelech and his family should not have gone to Moab. Yet God is going to work out their circumstances for good. Disaster hit the family when a wrong decision was made and they suffered for the decision that Elimelech made. Yet in the big picture, it will work out for good. In verse 6 we are told that,

Then she arose . . . Ruth 1:6 (NASB)

The actual Hebrew for “arose” means that she (Naomi) stood up.

. . .with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the land of Moab, for she had heard in the land of Moab that the LORD had visited His people in giving them food. Ruth 1:6 (NASB)

The situation in Bethlehem was now ideal and so she wanted to return to where she should have been all along. Now she is going back.

Verse 7 says,

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. Ruth 1:7 (NASB)

Now we are told that she departed to return to Judah. We are told they departed and are going back to Bethlehem. They have left Moab and are on their way.

And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the LORD deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me. May the LORD grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband.” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept.
Ruth 1:8-9 (NASB)

The women were crying. They were grieving over the departure from one another. This means that there was a bond of love among them. They love one another. We have all seen this in families. There had been a bond, but they were now separating.

What is important to notice in verse 8 is that Naomi was trying to encourage them both to return. In two different ways she encouraged them. The first thing she said was, “May the LORD deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me.” That first statement tells us these two daughters-in-law have been wonderful to Naomi’s family. They have cared for Naomi and for their husbands. It speaks of the fact that these are honorable, caring, and compassionate women. It is a great commendation for them both.

This commendation came from the mother-in-law. Often there is tension between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law. But Naomi had good things to say about her two daughters-in-law. That says something very positive about Naomi and about Ruth and Orpah.

Naomi is Jewish and the two daughters-in-law are Moabites. In those days, Moabites and Jews had nothing to do with one another. Their relationship is interesting when we consider it from the point of race relations. That tells us something about these three women. But Naomi now was trying to encourage them to stay in Moab instead of going with her to Bethlehem.

Verse 9 gives us the second positive thing that Naomi said about them: “And may the LORD grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband.” Naomi was giving them blessings. Twice she put a blessing in the form of “may”—may the Lord grant. She tried to encourage her two daughters-in-law to go back and stay in Moab.

What we do not know is how much time has elapsed or how far the women had already traveled before Naomi said this in verse 8. In verse 6 they got up, and in verse 7 they departed. Then in verse 8, we are told she turned to her two daughters-in-law and encouraged them to go back.

Moab is on the east side of the Dead Sea, and then the Jordan River extends north from the Dead Sea. For these three women to go from Moab over to Bethlehem, more than likely they would go over the northern part of the Dead Sea and then travel back on the west side of the Dead Sea before going down to Bethlehem. It is approximately a 50 to 75-mile trip, depending upon where they were in Moab. That would have been a seven to ten day trip.

That is the approximate mileage and approximate timeline. So what we do not know is that if they were at the border of Moab when Naomi encouraged them to stay in Moab. I tend to think they probably had not left Moab yet. I think Naomi has been thinking about their situation as they walked. She was struggling with a problem that has not yet been made known to the reader.

Finally we are told she was trying to encourage Ruth and Orpah to stay in Moab. I think they were near the border when she said this.

Verse 10 says,

“And they said to her, “No, but we will surely return with you to your people.” Ruth 1:10 (NASB)

The response of the two daughters-in-law was, “No.” This first response is an emotional response.

A Seemingly Hopeless Situation

Verse 11 says,

But Naomi said, “Return, my daughters . . .” Ruth 1:11 (NASB)

Then Naomi gave them three reasons to stay in Moab. The first reason was: “Have I yet sons in my womb …?”

. . . Why should you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? Ruth 1:11 (NASB)

She was asking if they expected her to yet give birth to other sons. The answer is an implied “No.” We believe but do not know for sure that Naomi may have been about fifty years old at this point. So the first reason was that she could no longer provide new husbands for her daughters-in-law. Then Naomi said in verse 12,

“Return, my daughters! Go, for I am too old to have a husband.” Ruth 1:12 (NASB)

Now this is the second reason. She already gave us one reason in verse 11. Verse 12 is the second reason—”Go, for I am too old to have a husband.” She was, basically saying, I am not even married.

. . . If I said I have hope . . .Ruth 1:12 (NASB)

That is, hope to once again have a husband.

. . . if I should even have a husband tonight, and also bear sons . . . Ruth 1:12 (NASB)

So now she was talking about the possibility of even having sons in the future. She continued in verse 12, and into verse 13,

. . . If I said I have hope, if I should even have a husband tonight and also bear sons, would you therefore wait until they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters; for it is harder for me than for you, for the hand of the LORD has gone forth against me.” Ruth 1:12-13 (NASB)

Naomi was asking if they would wait for yet to born sons to grow up. Then, Naomi gave her daughters-in-law a third reason.

. . .would you therefore refrain from marrying? . . . Ruth 1:13 (NASB)

Now this was the real issue and the third reason! These two Moabite women were going to Israel and then to Bethlehem. The Jews and the Moabites had nothing to do with one another so there was no likelihood that Jewish men would want to marry them. What she was really asking was if they wanted to go with her and never be able to marry again.

Naomi’s Bitterness

So she said,

. . . No, my daughters; for it is harder for me than for you, for the hand of the LORD has gone forth against me.” Ruth 1:13 (NASB)

You might actually want to say this is the fourth reason she gave them—that God had rejected her. She felt she was not now in God’s favor. Did they really want to be with someone who was not in God’s favor? That was her view of herself. Why? She had lost all of her family – her husband and her two sons.

They had made a bad decision to leave Bethlehem and go to Moab. They should have trusted God. God had promised them that He would meet their needs. They had violated a biblical principle in thinking they were doing the right thing. So their sons ended up marrying two Moabite women and Naomi now has lost her family, now has two widowed daughters-in-law, and can only see problems ahead. She felt like she had been rejected by God.

If we look at verse 20, we can understand how badly Naomi felt about herself. Verse 20 says,

She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara . . . Ruth 1:20 (NASB)

The name Mara means “bitter”.

. . . for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the LORD has witnessed against me and the Almighty has afflicted me?” Ruth 1:20-21 (NASB)

That was her view of herself. What she reveals in verse 13 and then in verses 20 and 21 is that she does not feel that she was in God’s favor anymore. In fact, she believed she was now rejected by God and was now bitter. She was basically telling her daughters-in-law, “The Lord’s hand is against me. Do you really want to go with me? Are you really sure you want to be associated with me?” You can just hear her anguish of heart. We believe it was all because of a bad decision on their part.

Have you ever been in a situation where you made a decision and later said to yourself, “Well, that was a bad decision. I am paying the price.” That is where Naomi was at. She was trying to rescue her daughters-in-law. “You do not want to be with me. Do not come with me, this is a big mistake on your part. You have left your family and everyone. If you go with me, you are not going to be able to get married.

The Kinsman Redeemer

Naomi was thinking about the reality of what would happen to her daughter-in-laws due to the Israelite practice known as the kinsman redeemer. Deuteronomy 25:5 says,

When brothers live together and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not be married outside the family to a strange man. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her to himself as wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. Deuteronomy 25:5 (NASB)

That is what Naomi was pondering. Even if Naomi gave birth to another son who would then be eligible to marry her two daughters-in-law, how long would they have to wait for this son to grow up and fulfill that kinsman redeemer obligation?

Verse 14 says,

And they lifted up their voices . . . Ruth 1:14 (NASB)

“They” is plural and includes the two daughters-in-law and Naomi.

. . . and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. Ruth 1:14 (NASB)

What a contrast! What did the two women do? Orpah then left Naomi and went back to Moab. Earlier Orpah said, “Oh no; I will stay with you and go with you to Bethlehem.” But when Naomi laid out the facts the way they were, Orpah in effect said, I am going back to my family, to my god, and to everything I know.

What did Ruth do? Ruth clung to Naomi. I think she is a picture of what Christians should do when it comes to a relationship with God. Ruth was now going to potentially be without a husband for the rest of her life. That is the picture that Naomi painted. How would you like it if you were going to Bethlehem as a young woman and facing the prospect of never again being married? Ruth had given up something to be with Naomi.

I do not want to spiritualize the passage, but it is hard not to see this as a good illustration of the difference between a true Christian and a professing Christian—someone who claims to be a Christian, but is not a real Christian. A real Christian clings to God. In Deuteronomy we are told that Moses commanded the Israelites to cling to the Lord their God. We are told to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and to cling. Ruth was clinging.

In contrast, Orpah was thinking about the possibility of marriage once again and living with her people. So she was going back.

If you claim to know Jesus, are you clinging to the world while saying you are loving Jesus? All through the New Testament we are warned to cling to God and not the things of the world. The story of Ruth is a good illustration of this principle.

The Commitment of Ruth

In verse 15, Naomi is talking.

Then she said, “Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” Ruth 1:15 (NASB)

Naomi tried it one more time and was almost pushing Ruth to leave. I think Naomi felt badly for Ruth and was in effect saying, “I do not want to bring this on you. Just go back. It is a mistake to stay with me.” You can just hear her anguish.

Verse 16 says,

But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where 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 may the LORD do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me.” Ruth 1:16-17 (NASB)

Now that is commitment! That is a good illustration of what our relationship with God should be like.

When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her. Ruth 1:18 (NASB)

That is, Naomi stopped encouraging Ruth to return.

I want to stop and talk about Ruth. Ruth is really special. Ruth is going to become an ancestress of King David. Let us turn to Ruth 4:18. It says,

Now these are the generations of Perez: to Perez was born Hezron, and to Hezron was born Ram, and to Ram, Amminadab, and to Amminadab was born Nahshon, and to Nahshon, Salmon, and to Salmon was born Boaz, and to Boaz. . . Ruth 4:18-20 (NASB)

Now who was the wife of Boaz? Ruth. There is the tie to Ruth.

. . . Obed,and to Obed was born Jesse, and to Jesse, David. Ruth 4:21-22 (NASB)

Who is David? King David. Now Naomi did not know this was going to happen. Ruth did not know this was going to happen. But Ruth was going to become the great-grandmother of King David. Besides King David, in Matthew 1:5, 17, we learn that Ruth is in the lineage of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
It was a mistake to go to Moab. Disaster hit in Moab. Naomi was bitter. Naomi felt rejected. Naomi had been suffering because of the bad decision to go to Moab. But in the big picture, all things did work together for good because Ruth became the ancestress of a king and of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

It is incredible to see all the biblical truths fit together. But there is a warning here for us that you can push heaven’s gate, pounding, and pounding, and pounding, asking for what you want; and God may just allow you to have your want, but it may not be in your best interest.

Our Mistakes Can Have Bad Consequences

There is something else I want you to think about. Do you remember Moses? Moses was supposed to go to the promised land. That was the plan. Moses went before Pharoah and did all those miracles. He brought all the plagues on the Egyptians for the purpose of bringing the Israelites out of the land of Egypt. The Israelites walked for forty years in the wilderness. Then in the last year, Moses was supposed to go into the promised land. But he ruined the plan. Rather than speaking to the rock, he hit the rock in his anger. God told Moses that he could not go into the promised land! He made a mistake and sinned. What did God do?

God went to Plan B and got someone else. God chose Joshua. Moses forfeited his opportunity because of his own sin! We think that God is forgiving and nothing will change His original plan.

But Scripture teaches us that on occasions God will give us things that are not in our best interest; and God can use someone else other than us to accomplish what He wants to accomplish. But yet, what happened? All things did work together for good because even the Israelites still went into the promised land. It is important to understand when we are dealing with God’s will, God is not dependent on us. God does have a plan, and there is freedom in God’s plan for our life for Him to change things.

Verses 18-21 say,

When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her. So they both went until they came to Bethlehem. And when they had come to Bethlehem, all the city was stirred because of them, and the women said, “Is this Naomi?” 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, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the LORD has witnessed against me and the Almighty has afflicted me?” Ruth 1:18-21 (NASB)

Now the fact that they arrived and the whole town noticed they were there tells you something about the town. More than likely it was a small town.

We have already read verses 20 and 21. Verse 22 gives us the summary of this chapter:

So Naomi returned, and with her Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, who returned from the land of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest. Ruth 1:22 (NASB)

Barley harvest was roughly in March or April. That tells us the approximate time of the year that they would have arrived. That concludes chapter 1.

Conclusion

What did we learn? We need to be careful when we are asking God to do certain things for us. Biblical principles are a guideline for God’s will in your life. If you want to discern what God’s will is for your life, first verify the biblical principles involved. See if what you want lines up with biblical principles. If it does not line up with biblical principles, then stop asking for it to happen!

Elimelech and his family should not have gone to Moab. It is important to make sure that we are not just banging on heaven’s door. Heaven might actually let you have what you are insisting on. Yes, everything will work out together for good; but you might really suffer along the way due to the violation of biblical principles. You might then end up being bitter and discouraged and disappointed like Naomi was. So that is the warning.

But have you realized what is really great about this account so far? You can see that God used Naomi in a way that Naomi would not have expected. There is the silver lining to this story. We have already talked about Ruth, but consider Naomi’s viewpoint. How did God use Naomi in the life of Ruth? Why would Ruth want to stay with Naomi? Does that not say something about what Naomi might have shared with Ruth about Yahweh? Do you think that might say something about her character and behavior? This is a good example for us. This tells us that you never know whose life you are impacting and how God might use them then in the future.

We have heard the story about Dwight L. Moody. There was a Sunday school teacher who had a class of boys. He was often discouraged because he did not experience positive results in his class. Years later one of those boys from his Sunday school class grew up to profoundly impact the Christian world – the evangelist Dwight L. Moody! We often do not know the impact of a godly, faithful life.

Naomi did not realize that Ruth was going to become the great-grandmother of a king, and Ruth was going to be in the lineage of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Ruth 1 is an incredible account from the standpoint of God’s will. It tells us to trust and obey Him in all circumstances. We never know whose life we might impact for God’s glory.