Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food. So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. But 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. The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. And they said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.” Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.”
Keep in mind what the world was like at this time: everyone doing what is right in their own eyes, rampant chaos and cruelty, and Naomi in the foreign country Moab with her two daughters-in-law.
Had God given up on them? Remember God had promised to bless them so that they would be a blessing and that they were the royal line. No, in fact he is “guiding history to put his glory on display” and “drawing strangers to his grace”. There was no bread in the “house of bread”, in this land of “milk and honey”, but God was actually using the famine and the state of their world to draw these people to himself and to bring about his purposes.
“The Lord had visited his people and given them food”; this was the first glimmer of hope, the first good news Naomi had had in a long while and it prompts her to return!
The first readers of this story would have recognized God’s grace and undeserved favor in visiting his people and giving them food as there is no hint of repentance on the part of Israel as a whole or on the part of Naomi up to this point. Romans 2:4 says “Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant and patient God is with you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?” Although it doesn’t state it, this is the first of a series of “kindness” we shall see. Kindness, or Hesed, is a word used for God’s love, kindness, loyalty, and faithfulness. God is constant, unchanging, and committed in his love, so hesed is one of the Lord’s chief traits towards his people (cf. Ps. 17:7; 42:8; Jer. 31:3). The first readers would have also recognized “God’s providential hand, guiding both natural and historical events for the fulfillment of his purposes and setting the stage for the ultimate emergence of David’s ancestor.”[1]
From verses six through twenty-two, the words “return”, “turn”, and “go back” are used 12 times in this chapter alone. Did you catch them all? The verb “to turn” is linked to costly choices all through this section. It looks like they left their home together, but Naomi starts to realize the implications of her choice to return and she encourages her daughters-in-law to return to their “mother’s home” (a woman’s point of view).
Naomi’s hope is that the “Lord will deal kindly with them” (the first stated mention of kindness), as her daughters-in-law have dealt kindly with the dead and with her. Obviously, they had been good wives, and good to Naomi, despite the moral darkness of Moab, and she expresses her hope and blessing that they will marry and find “rest”, or peace, security and blessing, that it will “be well” with them.
Verse ten, they both state that they will return with Naomi to her land and people, but this decision puts them in a life altering predicament as well. Moab is their home; it is where their family is, their common ancestry, shared history, shared culture, language, dress, and ethnicity. Most importantly, it’s a place where they can find another husband. The chances of remarrying in Judah would have been slim due to prejudices and cultural differences as a man would rather marry an Israelite virgin rather than a penniless Moabite widow.
Naomi then starts making her defense for why they should listen to her by asking questions that should bring them to their senses.
“Why will you go with me?”
“Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands?”
“If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, would you therefore wait till they were grown?”
“Would you therefore refrain from marrying?”
Marrying and bearing children was the only way for the royal line God had promised to continue. It was the only way to not have your name blotted out. Even among non-God fearing peoples of the day, to not have a child was unthinkable! (cf. Genesis 19:30-38 regarding Lot and his daughters; Gen 38:11 regarding Tamar; Deut. 25: 5-10 regarding levirate marriage where the duty of a brother was to marry his brother’s widow so that his brother’s name will not be forgotten.)
Christopher Ash writes:
“We can not hope to understand this without both understanding and feeling the massive significance of a family’s inheritance, their portion, share or lot within the promised land. This plot of land was far more than a patch of farming ground. It carried with it a share of all the blessings of the covenant God had made with Abraham. To have that inheritance meant to share in the blessings; to be deprived of it would result in the loss of those blessings.”
He also notes that “in old covenant foreshadowing, your patch of ground in the promised land indicated your participation in the blessings of the covenant, it is of the utmost importance. It is this that Elimelek left behind at the start of Ruth.”
All three women are confronted with their present circumstances that there is no hope of continuing their husband’s line and name, their names will be forgotten and for any hope of remarriage, Ruth and Orpha should stay in Moab. But there is no hope for Naomi. She responds with “for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me”. She recognizes that with no hope of other sons for her daughters in law to marry, it is very “bitter” circumstances. Although she recognizes that it’s God whois against her, she has no perception of her sin, her turning from God and his ways and then blames him for the consequences of her sin. She knows God is sovereign, but she does not yet know God’s kindness (hesed) and mercy.
Verse 14-15: they weep and grieve together, then Orpah does the sensible thing: she kisses her mother in law and returns to her people and her god, Chemosh (cf. Judges 10:6; Numbers 21:29; I Kings 11:7, 33). But Ruth clings to her in an expression of loyalty and devotion.
Prayer:
God, thank you for the reminder that you are in control of the circumstances of our lives, you are guiding history and using the situations in our lives and the current state of our world to draw us you. Thank you that while we were strangers and your enemies, you began to show us undeserved kindness and mercy and reveal yourself to us! God, I repent for the many times I have complained in my heart about the circumstances I was in, being totally oblivious of and unrepentant for my sin, attitudes, thoughts and responses. Help me to recognize when I doubt your goodness and begin to get anxious and grumble against your provision for me instead of being thankful. Thank you for your great kindness and mercy extended to me everyday that brings me to a place of seeing and acknowledging my sin, gives me the ability to repent and continues your work of sanctification that changes my heart!
[1] Quotes from Teaching Ruth &Esther by Christopher Ash