A devotional for thoughtful believers
The book of Ruth begins with the soft voice of a family story, yet it is framed by the dark backdrop of Judges, “when everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 21 : 25, New International Version). A famine drives Elimelek, his wife Naomi, and their two sons from Bethlehem—ironically, “House of Bread”—to Moab, Israel’s long-standing rival east of the Dead Sea.
• Moab’s high tableland still shows terraced fields and cisterns from
the Late Bronze Age.
• Stelae of Mesha (9th century BC) speaks of Moabite-Israelite conflict
and names the god Chemosh, hinting at why Israel viewed Moab
with caution (see Numbers 21 : 29).
• Deuteronomy 23 : 3 forbids Moabites from Israel’s assembly “to the
tenth generation,” a tension that makes Ruth’s later welcome startling
grace.
Death comes three times: Elimelek, Mahlon, Kilion. Naomi is left with two Moabite daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth. The Hebrew author piles short clauses to mimic blow after blow.
The verb shakhol (“to be bereaved”) appears twice, stressing Naomi’s deep loss. Hebrew often repeats sound and sense to let us feel pain rise like waves.
• Job 1 : 13-19 – another string of sudden losses.
• Psalm 34 : 18 – “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.”
Naomi “heard…that the Lord had come to the aid of his people by providing food.” The little phrase “had come” is the Hebrew paqad—a verb of visitation that can be blessing or judgment. God “visited” Sarah (Genesis 21 : 1) with a child; He now visits Bethlehem with bread.
Naomi urges Orpah and Ruth to return, invoking the covenant word ḥesed—steadfast love (v. 8). Orpah kisses and leaves. Ruth clings. The narrator uses davaq, the same verb of covenant bonding in Genesis 2 : 24 (“cleave”). Loss has carved space for new covenant.
Ruth’s pledge is Hebrew poetry, six swelling lines moving from journey to death to burial to oath. She calls on the personal name YHWH—rare on Moabite lips.
“Where you go I will go…Your people will be my people and your God my God.” (Ruth 1 : 16, New International Version)
• Augustine saw Ruth as a figure of the Church, a Gentile bride
clinging to Israel’s Messiah.
• Martin Luther highlighted Ruth’s faith that “takes God at His bare
word though all else is against her.”
Back in Bethlehem, women whisper, “Can this be Naomi?” She answers, “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter.”
Naomi (“pleasant”) becomes Mara (“bitter”). The Hebrew sounds clash—Na‛ómi vs. Mára—marking identity crisis. Yet the author slips hope into the closing line: “So Naomi returned…arriving as the barley harvest was beginning.” Harvest signals new seed, new life.
• Exodus 15 : 22-25 – bitter waters of Marah turned sweet.
• Psalm 126 : 5 – “Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of
joy.”
• Women in Ancient Near Eastern culture had no legal standing without
a male. Naomi’s emptiness is economic, social, and spiritual. Ruth’s
pledge risks lifelong poverty.
• Travel from Moab to Bethlehem is roughly 50 rugged miles through the
Judean Wilderness—two widows alone, constant danger.
• Barley harvest (April) is Passover season; Jewish tradition reads Ruth
at Shavuot (Pentecost) linking harvest and covenant giving.
“God Moves in a Mysterious Way” – William Cowper, 1774.
Its melody of hidden providence matches Naomi’s journey from empty to
full.
Lord of Bethlehem and Moab,
You walk with us through famine and harvest.
Teach our hearts the faith of Ruth,
the courage to cling when all seems lost,
and the trust to wait for Your hidden harvest.
Rename our bitterness with Your joy,
until Jesus, our Redeemer, is seen in all we do.
Amen.