Bittersweet Redemption

Naomi and her daughter-in-laws by. Gustav Dore

Perhaps one of the most recognized stories in the Bible, even among children, is the story Ruth. Many people are familiar with the narrative of Ruth meeting Boaz and through a series of events they end up becoming married. Though the book ends on a good note it is also a story about tragedy for Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi. While Naomi is a main character in this historical account of Israel during the time period of the Judges(Ruth 1:1 ESV) she is usually not the focus of the narrative. There seems to be a unique perspective by looking at the account of Ruth from the point of view of Naomi. Instead of zeroing in on one particular verse, I believe it would be beneficial to walk through the text and point out a few key passages as they pertain to Naomi. While I will point out the major verses related to my main focus of this blog it will be helpful if you read the book of Ruth for yourself to get the full context.

The book opens by informing us that there was a famine in the land during the time of the Judges and Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, decided to take her and their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, to Moab in order to sojourn there (Ruth 1:1,2). However, not long after they arrived, Naomi’s husband died (Ruth 1:3). Shortly after her two sons took Moabite wives, Ruth and Orpah, but they also died (Ruth 1:4,5). Take a moment if you will to ponder on how Naomi must feel at this point. It is bad enough that her husband died but now her two sons pass away as well. On top of all that, in the ancient world, elderly women needed able-bodied men to care for them. If a woman’s husband died she would at least have her sons to take care of her, but this was not the case for Naomi.  

Before we continue I want to point out some very important elements of this narrative. For starters, Elimelech shows a huge distrust towards God in moving to a pagan land during the famine when the Lord has gifted them the land of Cannan as the promised land. On top of that his son’s married two Moabite women which was strictly forbidden by God as well (Deut 7:1-4). When Naomi’s husband and son’s died Ruth and Orpah were under no obligation to care for her or help her. Look what happens when she decides to go back to her home town of Bethlehem.

Ruth 1:8-10  “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.’”

Do not miss the emotion that word of God is trying to get across in this encounter.

Ruth and Orpah care deeply for Naomi and want to assist her in any way that they can. Naomi does not want to be a burden to them and mentions that she is far too old to find another husband and even if she wasn’t she asked them if they would seriously be willing to wait years in order to marry her children again (Ruth 1:12,13). See their reaction in the following verse.

Ruth 1:14 “Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.”

Orpah still had much remorse in her heart for Naomi but took her advice and decided to go back to Moab. She kissed her and went on her way. Ruth, on the other hand, clung to her and would not abandon her. Naomi bids her in verse 15 to leave but this is how Ruth responded.

Ruth 1:16,17 “But Ruth said, ‘Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.’”

This is a very significant passage. Ruth abandons the gods of Moab and wants to go with Naomi to worship the God of Israel. Though it is translated as LORD she even used His divine name, Yahweh. Here we have the conversion of Ruth from paganism to belief in the true God of Israel. Now Naomi becomes a spiritual mother to Ruth. She sees that she is not able to convince Ruth to depart and consents to have her living in Bethlehem together. It is worth pointing out that in Hebrew the name Naomi means pleasant or sweet. When she returns to her home it will become apparent why this is significant.

Ruth 1:19-21 “So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, ‘Is this Naomi?’ She said to them, ‘Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?’” 

The contrast of the names Naomi and Mara are made here.

Naomi left Bethlehem “full” with a husband and two sons and came back with emptiness. Her life went from sweet to bitter. Perhaps she felt that she was being punished for disobeying God by going to a pagan land. While God does punish disobedience that is not always how He operates. We know from the account of Job that it was Satan who brought calamity against him but not without the permission of God to do so (Job 1). Job did nothing deserving of punishment. If we look very close to the events in the book of Ruth, God seems to be doing something else. We know from the rest of the story that Ruth eventually meets Boaz who is related to Naomi and becomes a kinsman-redeemer for her husband's estate, the details of why this is done are spelled out in Leviticus 25. Boaz marries Ruth and there is a resolution to Naomi’s grief at the end of the book.

Ruth 4:14,15 “Then the women said to Naomi, ‘Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.’”

It may not be clear from the text but the words of Ruth to Naomi are almost prophetic in nature. We are told at the end of the book that Ruth’s son Obed is in the family line of David. And more importantly, we see from the genealogy in Matthew 1 that Obed is in the line leading to Jesus Christ Himself. It is very significant that Ruth is mentioned in this genealogy since most will almost always include the names of men only. When Ruth tells Naomi that Yahweh has not left her without a redeemer most biblical scholars say that this story finds its ultimate fulfillment in the arrival of Jesus Christ.

Naomi’s suffering was very deep and it shook her faith in the Lord. While her husband and sons were irreplaceable God used a pagan Moabite woman in her life to give her a new son in Obed. What this all points to is something even greater and of far more infinite value. For those of you who are suffering in unimaginable ways, we find our redeemer in Jesus Christ. Naomi felt bitter emptiness when she returned home. Look with me at the words of Jesus to the Samaritan woman at the well.

John 4:13,14 “Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’”

Only the eternal life offered by the death and resurrection of Christ can truly satisfy us in this fallen world.

Many people have had experiences where their circumstances have gone from sweet to bitter. If you have felt this way do not feel that you have to walk alone. Talk to a pastor or elder at your church to help guide you through this time and bring encouragement and hope to you from the word of God. Do not cease to question God in prayer and cast your cares upon Him. Let David in the psalms be your guide to crying out before God. He is patient and willing to hear your concerns even if you have doubts. Pray for comfort from the Holy Spirit. Finally, look to Christ, your redeemer, our great high priest who has shared in our sufferings and has taken on the full wrath of the Father in our place on the cross demonstrating His love for us (Isaiah 53). See that He can fill us when we are empty and cover the bitterness we feel with the sweetness of His embrace.

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