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Naomi
What are some of the misfortunes experienced by Naomi? Ruth 1.
Leaving one’s country to settle somewhere else is always scary, especially when the departure is motivated by the need to survive. The famine in Judah forced Elimelech, Naomi, and their two sons to emigrate to the country of Moab, an agricultural area where they could obtain food. The Moabites were an idolatrous people (Judg. 10:6) whose practices clashed with Jewish beliefs. This in itself must have produced significant turmoil to the newcomers. Sometime after having settled, Naomi’s husband died. Mother and sons found themselves in a foreign land, degraded to the condition of widow and orphans, without protection and subject to additional disgrace. Then Naomi’s sons, Mahlon and Kilion, married local women. This fact may have brought conflict to the family, at least in the beginning, because of significant religious differences. Although the law did not specifically prohibit marriages between Jews and Moabites, it was stipulated that Moabites or their descendants could not enter the assembly of the Lord until after ten generations (Deut. 23:3).
Later on, Mahlon and Killion, whose names meant “sickness” and “wasting,” respectively, also died. It is hard to imagine a more tragic situation in the life of Naomi—no one alive from her close family, and the remaining kin far away in Bethlehem.
What was the turning point in Naomi’s life? How did God repair the severe adversities suffered by Naomi? Ruth 1:16–18, 4:13–17.
At the deepest moment of trouble Naomi’s daughter-in-law Ruth served as God-sent emotional support. Naomi must have been a remarkable woman to have inspired the devotion of her two daughters-in-law, especially Ruth, who accepted the God of Israel and made the firm decision to care for her mother-in-law for life in a land whose inhabitants were, historically, her enemies.
Chapters 2 through 4 convey a beautiful succession of events that ended up in a happy family arrangement. Naomi left behind untold suffering and lived to witness the marriage of Ruth to Boaz and the birth of her grandson Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of David.
However much we ultimately need to trust the Lord and surrender everything to Him, at times we do need human help, as well. When was the last time you really needed someone’s help? What did you gain from that experience?
| TUESDAY | February 15 |
What are some of the misfortunes experienced by Naomi? Ruth 1.
Leaving one’s country to settle somewhere else is always scary, especially when the departure is motivated by the need to survive. The famine in Judah forced Elimelech, Naomi, and their two sons to emigrate to the country of Moab, an agricultural area where they could obtain food. The Moabites were an idolatrous people (Judg. 10:6) whose practices clashed with Jewish beliefs. This in itself must have produced significant turmoil to the newcomers. Sometime after having settled, Naomi’s husband died. Mother and sons found themselves in a foreign land, degraded to the condition of widow and orphans, without protection and subject to additional disgrace. Then Naomi’s sons, Mahlon and Kilion, married local women. This fact may have brought conflict to the family, at least in the beginning, because of significant religious differences. Although the law did not specifically prohibit marriages between Jews and Moabites, it was stipulated that Moabites or their descendants could not enter the assembly of the Lord until after ten generations (Deut. 23:3).
Later on, Mahlon and Killion, whose names meant “sickness” and “wasting,” respectively, also died. It is hard to imagine a more tragic situation in the life of Naomi—no one alive from her close family, and the remaining kin far away in Bethlehem.
What was the turning point in Naomi’s life? How did God repair the severe adversities suffered by Naomi? Ruth 1:16–18, 4:13–17.
At the deepest moment of trouble Naomi’s daughter-in-law Ruth served as God-sent emotional support. Naomi must have been a remarkable woman to have inspired the devotion of her two daughters-in-law, especially Ruth, who accepted the God of Israel and made the firm decision to care for her mother-in-law for life in a land whose inhabitants were, historically, her enemies.
Chapters 2 through 4 convey a beautiful succession of events that ended up in a happy family arrangement. Naomi left behind untold suffering and lived to witness the marriage of Ruth to Boaz and the birth of her grandson Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of David.
However much we ultimately need to trust the Lord and surrender everything to Him, at times we do need human help, as well. When was the last time you really needed someone’s help? What did you gain from that experience?
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