Ruth 1:15-22RUTH 1:15 "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." Naomi uses the example of Orpah to induce Ruth to do the same. The reference to returning to "her gods" may point to a belief that there was a certain connection between a god and the territory where the god was worshipped, so that a god could only be worshipped on the soil of its own country. In 2 Kings 5, Naaman the Syrian, having become a worshipper of Jehovah, took "two mules' burden of earth" with him, in the mistaken assumption that he would need it to be able to worship Jehovah in Syria. But this idea was not held by everyone. So we see that Solomon worshipped the Moabite God, Chemosh, on the soil of Judah. And Naomi had no such idea, because she had made it plain that she was aware that God was just as active in Moab as in Judah. So her words need mean no more than that Moabites were Chemosh worshippers. Topic: THE MOABITES Topic: BALAAM RUTH 1:16,17 "And Ruth said, Entreat 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." This response of Ruth's is one of the classic expressions in history of faithfulness and loyalty. She first tells Naomi to stop pleading with her to leave. Then she affirms her determined decision to go where Naomi goes. Ruth knows that this means she will be cut off from her own nation; but she is willing to make Naomi's people her own. Her decision is also that in favor of Jehovah, and against the gods of Moab. Naomi's God will be her God. Some people say that she rates friendship above faith; but in verse 17 she affirms her faith in God and her yieldedness to His sovereignty. "Her views of religion might not be clear: but it is evident that a principle of vital godliness was rooted in her heart, and powerfully operative in her life. In fact, she acted in perfect conformity with that injunction that was afterwards given by our Lord, "Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple" (Charles Simeon in Horae Homileticae, III, 1847.) Ruth will stay with Naomi until death. There is reason to believe that Ruth was also motivated by concern for Naomi and that she was determined to care for her mother-in-law. (Ruth 2:11,12) The reference to burial was a reflection of the great importance placed by Eastern people in being buried in the proper location, a location that has significance. (Note that Abraham purchased a burial site from the Hittites.) Ruth's calling down punishment on herself as a form of an oath does not specify the type of punishment. Perhaps the phrase was accompanied by a gesture. RUTH 1:18, 19 "When se saw that she was steadfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her. "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?" Naomi was impressed and persuaded by Ruth's impassioned speech. She accepted the situation and stopped trying to convince Ruth. The journey back to Bethlehem is not described. It would have been a walk of about 40 miles, the two women carrying as much as they could with them. It could have taken as long as three or four days. The reception of the widows is described, however. They receive a welcome, but Naomi could not help contrasting her present difficult condition with the way she was when she had left ten years earlier. But she was familiar enough to be recognized. The whole village was excited and involved, although mostly the women. The verb "they said" is in the feminine gender. The men were undoubtedly working in the fields. The years had probably dealt harshly with Naomi. There is no doubt that ten years of toil and a great deal of sorrow would change anyone's appearance in the best of circumstances. RUTH 1:20-22 "And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Marah: 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? "So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of the barley harvest." "Marah" means "the bitter one". Recall the first stop for the Jews in their wilderness wanderings was Marah, the place of bitter water. Topic: DEPRESSION Topic: DIVINE DISCIPLINE (Chastisement) When Naomi said she was "full", it was not in money and property, but in the possession of a husband and two sons. She was a rich mother, but now all that makes her heart glad has been taken from her, so she is now "empty". Naomi is undoubtedly exhausted, physically and emotionally. She has lost everything, and she has no hope of any recovery. It is one thing to be able to rejoice in the prosperity the Lord provides, or when testings are relatively light. But the great tests of poverty, deprivation, tremendous sorrow require great maturity and experience of faith in God if they are to be experienced without bitterness and mortal fear. The account of Naomi and Ruth's journey back to Bethlehem draws to a close here. The events of chapter 2 are introduced in 1:22 with a reference to the barley harvest. The harvest in Judea began with the barley harvest. Leviticus 23:10,11. |
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