From our Sunday service on February 2, 2025, Ruth 1. This is the first message in our Book of Ruth series. Watch the full message: When Life Falls Apart – Ruth Series #1 on YouTube.
Today we start our new series on the Book of Ruth. How many of you have read through it in your life? As I suspected, some of you never have. If you know me, when we go verse by verse I love to use my Hebrew and Greek and translate as part of my study. But Ruth is a narrative story, and if I don’t give some context, you’ll be lost as we go verse, verse, verse, stop, verse, verse, verse, stop. Reading the whole thing through in our Bibles and then going back through verse by verse would be a lot of repetition. So I thought: why not have a story time first? I’ll read my own translation from my personal study so that those who have never heard the story have the context as we go through it verse by verse in our Bibles.
Story Time: Ruth 1
Now it so happened in the days when the judges judged in Israel that there was a famine in the land, and a certain man from Bethlehem Judah went to live as a foreigner in the land of Moab, he, his wife, and his two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech, the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites from Bethlehem Judah. And they went into the land of Moab and remained there. Now Naomi’s husband Elimelech died, and she remained with her two sons. And they took wives for themselves from the Moabite women; the one was named Orpah and the other was named Ruth. And they lived there for about ten years, but Mahlon and Chilion, both of them, also died, and the woman remained without her two sons and her husband.
Ruth 1:1–5 (my translation)
Then she got up with her daughters-in-law to return home from the land of Moab, because while in the land of Moab she had heard that Yahweh had looked after his people by giving them food. So she went from the place where she was, with her two daughters-in-law with her, and they walked the pathway to return to the land of Judah. Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return, each woman to her mother’s household. May Yahweh have kindness toward you, just as you have had with those who have died and with me. May Yahweh allow you to find rest, each woman in her husband’s household.” Then she kissed them, and they raised their voices and cried together, and they said to her, “We will definitely return with you to your people.” But Naomi said, “Return, my daughters. Why are you going with me? Are there still more sons in my womb to become your husbands? Return, my daughters, go, because I am too old to have a husband. If I would say, ‘I have hope,’ and also have a husband tonight and also deliver sons, would you wait for them until they have grown? Would you refrain from having husbands for them? No, my daughters, because it embitters me much for your sake that Yahweh’s hand has come out against me.” And they raised their voice and cried again, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth stuck with her. And she said, “Consider that your sister-in-law has returned to her people and to her gods. Return, follow after your sister-in-law.” But Ruth said, “Do not ask me to leave you or to return from following after you, because 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 I will be buried there. May Yahweh do the same to me and add also to it, unless death separates you and me.” When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her.
Ruth 1:6–18 (my translation)
So they both went until they entered Bethlehem. And it so happened when they entered Bethlehem that the city was in a stir around them, and they said, “Is this Naomi?” And she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi. Call me Mara, which means bitter, because the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I left full and Yahweh has returned me empty. Why do you call me Naomi? Yahweh has testified against me and the Almighty has shattered me.” So Naomi returned with Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law with her, the ones who returned from the land of Moab, and they entered Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
Ruth 1:19–22 (my translation)
So now you have an idea of what’s going on. It’s a story about a woman who loses everything. Today we’re not talking much about Ruth, though she’s in it. We’re mostly focusing on Naomi and her family, and how they make mistakes that cost her greatly.
The Setting
The Book of Ruth takes place sometime around 1350 to 1050 BC, likely near the end of that, not far from the time of the Trojan War in Greece or Ramesses II in Egypt. That’s the political environment. Israel had been under Joshua and conquered the land of Canaan, but they left some remnants there, so they struggled time and again with conflict with those nations. They fell for their idols and fell into sin, and the Bible says in Deuteronomy that every time they fell away, God would bring judgment on them. In Ruth we see they’re in a period of judgment, with a famine in the land because of their sin.
During these times God called judges to solve problems. They were unelected, called men and women who acted as military leaders, arbiters of disputes, and spiritual reformers. They were to view God as their King, and God was the ultimate source of law. There was no central government, so these judges were their representatives. As the judges came and went, so did the people’s dedication to God.
Now we see the story of a family from Ephrath, an ancient name for the city of Bethlehem. The judge has died and moved on, the people of Israel have strayed from God, and this family decides to leave the promised land and immigrate to Moab to escape God’s correction of his people. That’s what we pick up today. If you get anything from this message, I want you to understand that God wants you to be where you’re supposed to be.
Ruth 1:1-5: Leaving Where God Put Them
Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
Ruth 1:1
That word “sojourn” is very specific. It means to lodge temporarily as a foreign resident, kind of the idea of a refugee in today’s culture. So they sought to be refugees in the country of Moab.
The man’s name was Elimelech, which means “my God is King.” It’s a very biblical name. Because Israel had no king, their King was God, so this man’s parents dedicated him to that idea. They were godly people who gave their child a name to reverence God. So Elimelech’s family was faithful to God, but he himself started to draw away.
And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehemjudah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.
Ruth 1:2
Then we get two really sad names. You would not choose Mahlon and Chilion if you were looking for biblical baby names. Mahlon means “sickly,” so this child was not born in good health. Chilion is not much better. It means “pining” or “wasting away.” We see from the very beginning of their abandonment of their hometown that their life takes a turn for the worse.
They decided to abandon Israel for Moab, and because of this they lost God’s protection on their life. God called the Israelites to possess the land, not abandon it for another nation. Just because the nation was in a period of judgment didn’t mean it was okay for them to abandon their responsibility to be God’s representatives in Israel. Elimelech said, “There’s difficulty here, my people have turned from God, and rather than trying to turn them back, I’m going to abandon them. I’ll go to Moab where they have food and live there in peace and prosperity as a foreign resident while my people suffer, and I’ll raise my family there.” And what happens? He goes there with his wife Naomi, they have two kids, and both come out sickly.
They left Bethlehem, which means “the house of bread,” because it’s an agricultural center in Israel, a place of prosperity where plenty of food is grown. Rather than staying in the land that was supposed to be blessed by God, they left at the first sign of difficulty during Israel’s disobedience. God was saying, “Israel, wake up, come back to me, make things right.” Instead of getting up and making things right, Elimelech said, “I’m going to get up and get out, rather than turn my people back to God, rather than live by my name. I’m going to make it somebody else’s problem.” This is similar to Jonah, who goes the opposite way from Nineveh when God calls him. Elimelech’s responsibility was to represent God in Israel, and instead he said, “I’ll just go join the pagans and live in their blessing.”
He took his family out of God’s area and brought them to Moab. It was illegal for the Israelites to marry Moabites because they were pagans who worshiped false idols, and moving his family in with those people and raising his kids there, planning to have them marry Moabites, was in direct violation of God’s instruction to his people. The references are Deuteronomy 7:3 and Deuteronomy 23:3.
Was the immediate suffering of his family divine punishment? I believe so, but it’s hard to say with 100% certainty. We can say that God did not protect them from the consequences of their own actions. It’s like the people who didn’t drive out the Canaanites from the land as they were supposed to. God says, “Instead of driving them out for you like I was planning, I’m going to leave them in there to test you. I would have taken care of all those difficulties and you would never have faced them if you followed me, but because you chose to go against me, my protection is gone, and whatever consequences come, you’re on your own.” I feel that’s definitely something that happened here. If not directly God’s punishment, it was the removal of God’s protection over this family. They took themselves out of the safety of Israel, out of the people of God, and put themselves among the pagans and idolatry, and God says, “If you’re going to put yourself there, you’re on your own.”
And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died; and she was left, and her two sons.
Ruth 1:3
That word “left” is really sad. It means to remain on your own, in other words, she was on her own. It was hard for a woman to live on her own in ancient Israel, let alone with two boys. Had she been in Israel, she would have had the option of a levirate marriage, which will come up later in the book. There were protections if you were widowed, a safety net so you would be provided for. But because she was out of the nation of Israel, she remained alone with no one to help her with her two sons.
And 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
Hey, that’s our series’ main character, and she’s a pagan from Moab. Interesting. I thought she would be somebody better. Nope, that’s where we start.
“They dwelled there about ten years.” Compare that with the first verse: they were going to sojourn, to lodge temporarily as foreign residents. A seasonal stay to wait out that famine became a decade. What they thought was a temporary leave for comfort became an ongoing issue. They got comfortable in this sinful nation and said, “It’s not so bad here. It’s a lot of effort to move back to Bethlehem. There’s food here, there’s money here, I have everything I need.” Instead of going back to where God had them, they compromised and stayed in Moab.
And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband.
Ruth 1:5
Mahlon and Chilion, who had been sick since birth, both died. Now Naomi is alone. She’s lost her husband and her two kids, and all she has left are her daughters-in-law.
Ruth 1:6-14: Naomi Heads Home
Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the LORD had visited his people in giving them bread. Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters in law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah.
Ruth 1:6–7
Naomi knew something here, and I assume her husband and children knew it too. While she was in Moab, she heard that although she had left Bethlehem because of the famine, God had visited his people. That word “visit” is kind of like a caretaker, someone who visits in order to take care of a need. There was a famine and difficulty in the land, but after she left she found out God was going to provide for Israel anyway. Sure, there was correction, but then God says, “You’ve had enough. I’m going to feed you and provide for you.”
So when Naomi loses everything, she says, “I heard that God visited Bethlehem, where I left because I was afraid he wouldn’t take care of me. If I had just stuck it out a little longer, there would have been bread in the house of bread, and my family wouldn’t have suffered. I should have got right with God a long time ago. I’ve lost everything. I’m not going to lose anything else. I’m going back to where I belong.” Like many wise women, Naomi immediately realizes the cause of her unfortunate situation: she had placed herself outside of God’s will. God had blessed the land, and had she stayed, she would have enjoyed it too. So she takes her daughters-in-law with her.
And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to her mother’s house: the LORD deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me. The LORD grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept.
Ruth 1:8–9
Her daughters-in-law follow her. They obviously care greatly for their mother-in-law and are willing to leave their country. Jewish tradition says they went about four miles outside the city before Naomi turned around and said, “Okay, you’ve got to stop. You can’t follow me to Israel. Go back to your families, back to Moab.”
There are a couple of reasons. One is that it was illegal for Israelites to marry Moabite women because they were idolaters who didn’t believe in the true God, and at this point Orpah and Ruth are still pagans. As a single woman in Israel, you’re not going to make it. You’ll be scraping by on the corners of fields with no hope of marriage. This is where I belong, but you belong with your families, who can care for you. If you come with me, there’s no family or friends. I haven’t been there for a decade. You’re on your own. It’s going to be hard enough for me to take care of myself. How am I supposed to take care of you?
Naomi is actually being very strong and very honest here. She’s not looking at her own needs but at her daughters-in-law’s. It’s very serious, and she wants them to know what following her could cost them. She prays that Yahweh allows them to find rest, each in the house of her husband. She says, in effect, “You can go back, find a husband who will take care of you for the rest of your life, and find rest.” Here’s the truth about marriage: marriage is supposed to bring rest. If your marriage doesn’t provide rest, there’s something you’re doing wrong and need to work on. A marriage relationship, properly formed, should give you peace, comfort, and rest. Despite the hardships she’s facing, Naomi still wishes for her daughters-in-law not to face the difficulties of widowhood that she now faces.
And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people. 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? Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons; Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD is gone out against me.
Ruth 1:10–13
Naomi says, “You’re saying you want to go with me, but do you understand what you’re saying? Why would you follow me? Am I able to have children again? Even if I could, are you going to wait twenty years, or more like thirty or forty, for them to be old enough to marry you? By then you won’t have kids. There’s no future with me. I love you, but let’s be real: following me is a dumb decision.” And then she says it grieves her much for their sakes that the hand of the Lord has gone out against her. She feels really bad, because this is partially her fault. It was she and her husband who decided to leave Israel for Moab. Had they not, her sons would have married somebody else and these women wouldn’t be widows. “It grieves me so much for you to be in this position. Don’t make it worse by being a part of my life. I’ve just made your life worse.”
God forbid we ever feel that “me being a part of your life has just made it worse.” As Christians, I think that’s the worst state we could be in. But Naomi is very brave. She could easily bring the women to Israel so she wouldn’t feel alone, but she’s completely aware of what she would be asking of them. Bringing a single Moabite woman into the land of Israel would be a hard task, and Naomi has no way to provide for them at her age. She feels guilty because it’s at least partially her fault that they’re in this situation, and that they need to go their separate ways.
And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.
Ruth 1:14
That word “kissed” carries the idea of a goodbye kiss. Orpah says, “I’m going to kiss you goodbye and go home to my people and my gods. I’m going to listen to you, Naomi, and I’ll leave you.” But Ruth does something else. She “clave unto her,” the idea of gluing herself, adhering to Naomi. Ruth says, “There’s no way I’m leaving,” and we’ll see why in a moment.
Ruth 1:15-18: Ruth’s Commitment
And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law. And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: 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: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.
Ruth 1:15–17
Ruth makes a very large commitment. She says, “I see something in you, Naomi, and I want to follow you.” Naomi may not have been living for God for the last ten years, but Ruth sees the faith Naomi has to go home alone. Naomi probably knew a lot of people in Moab who would have taken care of her. Just because they were pagans didn’t mean they didn’t take care of their people or didn’t have any love. Even the pagan nations had laws for helping widows. Naomi could probably have stayed in Moab and been taken care of. But Ruth doesn’t just say, “I’ll follow you where you go.” She says, “I want your God to be my God. You have faith in your God to go back to your nation with nothing. If you’re that committed, I want to follow your God.” At this point Ruth is no longer a Moabite but joins the nation of Israel, because she makes a statement of faith in the true God. Now she’s valid for marriage, as long as people believe that what she says is true. Ruth is saying, “I’m no longer going to follow these false gods. I’m going to follow your God, Naomi, and I’m going to follow you where you go.”
“The LORD do so to me, and more also” is a statement of promise in the ancient world, like “May the gods do worse to me.” It’s very serious, because Naomi went through a lot because of God. Ruth is saying, “I know you’ve been through a lot, but if I abandon you, who’ve been so nice to me, I want God to be harder on me than he was on you.” That’s a really dangerous thing to say before God, and it shows her commitment: if I abandon you, may God make my life harder than yours.
When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.
Ruth 1:18
That was enough to shut Naomi up about going home. “Okay, Ruth is serious about this. I didn’t realize how serious she was. I thought she was just trying to be nice.” The Hebrew here almost has the idea of closing her mouth the way you would shut a door. “I’m not even going to bring it up again. I know for a fact nothing can change her mind.”
Ruth 1:19-21: Naomi Returns Empty
So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi?
Ruth 1:19
They get into Bethlehem and back to the family and friends they haven’t seen for a decade, and they recognize Naomi but at the same time don’t recognize her. Naomi left with a lot. She was young and married and probably had enough wealth to travel and move to another city. Now she comes back widowed, with a daughter-in-law, no goods, no home, no place to sleep, nothing. “Is this Naomi?” She was obviously somebody they had looked up to, somebody they thought highly of, and now they see a broken, widowed woman without hope.
And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?
Ruth 1:20–21
“Don’t call me Naomi anymore. Naomi is a good name. Call me Mara.” That’s the word used when the water was bitter in the wilderness after they fled Egypt, that bitter, nasty flavor you want to spit out of your mouth. “That’s me. I’m that nasty, dirty, you-don’t-want-to-be-around kind of person.” She left so blessed in this nation God put her in. She wasn’t really in hardship. She had so many blessings. She was full. When they left at first they thought they were in danger, but now that she sees what God was going to do, she says, “I left with everything. The famine wasn’t anything against me. Had I stayed, that blessing would have come, but instead I left and now I have nothing. I don’t have my husband, I don’t have my children. I am alone.”
“The LORD hath testified against me” means he stood up before the judge and gave an account that she had done something wrong, and the judge determined she was guilty. And “afflicted” means to shatter or break into pieces. Sometimes God has to shatter us when we run away from him. Naomi and her family ran away from God, and God says, “I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to learn this lesson the hard way. You’ve run away from my will and my protection, and the difficulty is going to come and I’m not going to save you from it.” Naomi says, “I had everything I needed. Had I just stayed in the will of God and done what he wanted me to do. But instead I ran away, and now my life has fallen apart and broken into many pieces.” She left blessed and returned broken. The people of Israel enjoyed blessings, wealth, and comfort, and in her there was only pain and loss.
Ruth: An Example of Hope
Ruth is an example of hope here, and I think it’s a great thing she does for her mother-in-law. Ruth didn’t have a relationship with Naomi like Naomi had with Israel. Naomi’s relationship with Israel was a relationship of convenience: when Israel is blessed, I’ll stay, but when Israel is cursed, I’ll go. Ruth did the opposite. She says, “When my mother-in-law is blessed, I’ll be there, and when she has lost everything and is cursed, I’ll be there with her.” How many of us would emulate that?
I think it’s very appropriate that this is a mother-in-law relationship. There are many jokes about mothers-in-law, because often you think, “I’d rather just get rid of her.” Ruth had the option to get rid of her mother-in-law in a moment, and no one would have thought anything of it. They’d say, “Obviously she was a mess, get her out of your life.” But Ruth says, “No, I’m going to stand by my mother-in-law’s side no matter how hard it gets. She’s old, she can’t help herself, I’m going to take care of her. Maybe that means I never get married again, maybe I’m never wealthy again, maybe I’m homeless for the rest of my life, but I’m going to follow her and take care of her because she’s my family.” That’s a pretty strong relationship.
If there’s anything positive to take from this lesson, it’s that we need relationships like Ruth’s with her mother-in-law, relationships where we say, “I don’t care if I don’t get anything out of this. I’m going to be there for you, help you, and serve you like Christ serves me in his death on the cross.” How many of us would do this for our own mother-in-law? How about your friends and family? How many of you would be willing to sacrifice like that for those you know?
When Life Falls Apart, Ask Why
To wrap this up: when life falls apart, you have to ask yourself why. Naomi knew exactly why her life fell apart. God was trying to get her attention, and her husband’s attention, but for years and years they ignored it and paid the cost. If your life is falling apart, ask yourself why. There are usually two reasons: either you’re running away from God and he’s trying to get your attention, or God is allowing you to be tested for your growth, as you see in the Book of Job.
I don’t want you to think that because you have hardship in your life, it means God is saying you’re not where you’re supposed to be and you need to get right with him today. Hardship comes either way. But it’s usually one of those two reasons, and it’s very obvious in your heart if you’re running from God. I don’t think anybody running from God doesn’t know they’re doing it. So when life falls apart, stop and ask, “Am I running from God?” If I am, I’ll know immediately, and there’s only one way to solve that: waiting it out isn’t going to work. Naomi tried to wait it out. She said, “I’ll just stay here, and eventually God will give up on trying to get my attention.” But no, God will win. It’s better to turn now.
I’ve mentioned many times that when I was training to be a pastor, I didn’t really want to do it at first. God called me to it, but I wanted to run away for a bit. It wasn’t until a month before Bible college that I thought, “Do I want to waste four years of my life and then go do it, or get right with God now and do what he’s called me to do?” If I had waited four years, God wouldn’t have given up at the end of that degree. He would have said, “Now you’ve wasted four years, go spend four more.” I’m so thankful I turned from that attitude before I lost everything.
In your life, if it’s falling apart, ask yourself why. Is God allowing you to be tested, or is he trying to get your attention? Is there something God has put on your heart for weeks, months, or years, that he’s called you to but you don’t have the confidence to accomplish? God does not bless a life that’s running away from him. Satan might give you wealth and comfort for a time, but running away from God will catch up with you eventually. Naomi did enjoy the land of Moab for a bit. That year when food was scarce, they did have more food on the table, they did have a home, she did have children, and they did get married. But those things didn’t last. Sin only has pleasure for a season, and in time the consequences will come.
So today, God wants you to be where you’re supposed to be. Are you where God wants you to be today, or have you put him off? Are you following God’s path, or have you stood still? God wants you to be where you’re supposed to be while you follow his direction today.
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