Ruth 1:1-18
SS Lesson for 08/14/2011
Devotional Scripture: 1 Peter 4:12-19
The outline of the lesson came from a previous SS Lesson dated 03/21/2010. It examines how Choosing a Community is important. The study's aim is to learn that God wants us to find our community among the people of God. The study's application is to discover that when we find our community among God's people, we will be at peace.
Mistakes in the Bible
The July 2008 issue of Reader’s Digest included an article titled “41 Secrets Your Doctor Would Never Share (Until Now).” The comments were obtained from two dozen physicians, both general practitioners and specialists. Some of the observations were humorous, but many revealed an extreme degree of frustration over certain aspects of the medical profession. Said one respondent, “In many ways, doctors are held to an unrealistic standard. We are never, ever allowed to make a mistake. I don’t know anybody who can live that way.” In truth, no one can live “mistake free.” The Bible’s recording of the “mistakes” or sins of the people is one of the qualities that makes the Bible the timeless, ever-relevant treasure that it is. Yes, there are “mistakes in the Bible,” to use the heading of this section, but we’re not talking about mistakes of a factual nature. Rather, what we’re talking about is the Bible’s brutal honesty about the failures of the people it describes. From Abraham to David to Peter, the Bible is consistent in recording the mistakes and inconsistencies of even its “heroes.” What is true of individuals is also true in the record of the history of Old Testament Israel. Sadly, that history is pockmarked with Israel’s sinful mistakes in failing to obey God. His faithfulness to his people was exemplary; theirs to him was woefully deficient. This is well illustrated by contrasting the accounts in the books of Joshua and Judges. Albert Baylis’s assessment of their contents is true: “If the book of Joshua is a flowing stream, fresh and invigorating with direction and power, then in Judges the river turns sluggish and muddy, its polluted water ultimately spiraling down a storm drain.” And yet, in the midst of the pollution of the period of the judges emerges a story that provides a welcome breath of fresh air—the story of Ruth.
Lesson Background
The book of Ruth is set “in the days when the judges ruled” (Ruth 1:1). The period of the judges covers the years of approximately 1373 to 1050 BC. The account of Ruth may have occurred in the latter portion of the 1100s BC, since Ruth was the great-grandmother of David, who began his rule as king in 1010 BC. The four generations from Ruth to David fit within the time thus designated. The book of Ruth begins with a choice made by a man named Elimelech, a resident of Bethlehem, to leave his homeland of Judah because of a famine. He took his wife, Naomi, and sons Mahlon and Kilion to Moab, located south and east of the Dead Sea (a journey of perhaps 50 miles). At some point, Elimelech died (Ruth 1:3). Tragedy struck again about 10 years later when Mahlon and Kilion died (1:4, 5; the cause of death is not stated). They had married Moabite women: Mahlon married Ruth, and Kilion married Orpah (1:4; 4:10). Ruth 1:5 captures the sense of loss: “and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.” Naomi was in an especially vulnerable position. Not only was she a widow, she was a widow in a foreign land. Eventually word came to Naomi that the famine in Judah had come to an end (Ruth 1:6). Naomi determined that she would return to Judah. Her daughters-in-law decided to travel with her (1:7). They formed a rather curious trio. Though mother-in-law and daughters-in-law came from different religious and social backgrounds, they were bound by the common thread of their tragedies: each woman’s husband had died. Each faced a very uncertain and troubling future.
The family is the basic unit of a community. When family units suffer, the whole community suffers. Heartbreaking stories of family tragedy permeate newspapers and newscasts today. We hear not only of the house fires, traffic accidents, and neighborhood shootings that claim children's lives; we also hear of horrible dysfunctions within family units. Spouses divorce and fight for the children; former spouses kidnap children; disturbed parents beat, molest, or even kill unwanted or disabled children. Ironically, out of such wretched conditions come some unlikely stories of success and love. God bestows grace so that the selfish, abusive, poor, handicapped, and abused can be transformed and may yet glorify Him and bless their communities with good deeds. Such is the outcome of the biblical account of Naomi and Ruth.
The book of Ruth opens by introducing us to a four-member family. Elimelech and Naomi, along with their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, lived in Bethlehem in Judah. Because of a severe famine that hit the land, Elimelech took his family and moved to Moab (Ruth 1:2). It was probably wrong of Elimelech to take his family to a foreign land. His sons eventually married Moabite women and thus disobeyed the Mosaic law. Everything ended in tragedy. Their attempt to flee what they probably thought would be certain death in the famine ended with three of them dead. When Naomi heard that the famine in her homeland was over, she decided to return home. The one complication in her doing so was that she now had two widowed daughters-in-law. When she decided to go and began her travels, her daughters-in-law accompanied her. We all know missionaries who have left their homelands in order to live and serve in other countries. They do this to take the good news of the kingdom of God to remote areas of the world. They live among the people in those areas for long periods of time. They find among those people a new home and friends as they slowly show them the love of God as manifested through Jesus Christ. They learn to become part of a new community of people and live as one of them. In our lesson this week, we find that Ruth had to make a very difficult choice and finally decided to live with her mother-in-law and return with her to her people in Bethlehem. We also learn about some of the challenges that Ruth faced in making such a difficult choice.
(Scriptural Text from the New King James Version; cross-references from the NIV)
1 Now it came to pass, in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.
2 The name of the man was Elimelech, the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion — Ephrathites of Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to the country of Moab and remained there.
3 Then Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died; and she was left, and her two sons.
4 Now they took wives of the women of Moab: the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth. And they dwelt there about ten years.
5 Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died; so the woman survived her two sons and her husband.
23 The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man." 24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
3 Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
10:1 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2 He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly
30 He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" 31 They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved-you and your household." 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God-he and his whole family.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your sons will be like olive shoots around your table. 4 Thus is the man blessed who fears the LORD.
9 Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. 28 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:
4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect.
1 How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!
6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had visited His people by giving them bread.
7 Therefore she went out from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.
8 And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go, return each to her mother's house. The Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me.
9 The Lord grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband." So she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept.
22 "'When a leader sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the commands of the LORD his God, he is guilty.
10 Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, "This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. 12 Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. 16 Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day." 19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles." 21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. 22 The LORD answered, "Listen to them and give them a king."
12:1 Samuel said to all Israel, "I have listened to everything you said to me and have set a king over you. 2 Now you have a king as your leader. As for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have been your leader from my youth until this day. 3 Here I stand. Testify against me in the presence of the LORD and his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe to make me shut my eyes? If I have done any of these, I will make it right." 4 "You have not cheated or oppressed us," they replied. "You have not taken anything from anyone's hand." 5 Samuel said to them, "The LORD is witness against you, and also his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand."
12 God is with us; he is our leader. His priests with their trumpets will sound the battle cry against you. Men of Israel, do not fight against the LORD, the God of your fathers, for you will not succeed."
31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died-more than that, who was raised to life-is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
13:1 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
3:1 Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good,
13 Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.
10 And they said to her, "Surely we will return with you to your people."
11 But Naomi said, "Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?
12 Turn back, my daughters, go — for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, if I should have a husband tonight and should also bear sons,
13 would you wait for them till they were grown? Would you restrain yourselves from having husbands? No, my daughters; for it grieves me very much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me!"
14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
15 And she said, "Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law."
The "man of understanding" may gain "wise counsels," literally, the power to "steer" his course rightly on the dangerous seas of life. This "steersmanship," it may be noted, is a word almost unique to Proverbs (compare "counsel" in Prov 11:14; 12:5; 24:6)
5 let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance--
14 For lack of guidance a nation falls, but many advisers make victory sure.
5 The plans of the righteous are just, but the advice of the wicked is deceitful.
Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, "I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses." 5 But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, "First seek the counsel of the LORD."
38:1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. He said: 2 "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? 3 Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. 4 "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand.
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. 9 Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. 10 Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him.
24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. 25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
14 Counsel and sound judgment are mine; I have understanding and power.
22 Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.
20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22 Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
16 But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.
17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me."
18 When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her.
19 Joshua said to the people, "You are not able to serve the LORD. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. 20 If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you." 21 But the people said to Joshua, "No! We will serve the LORD." 22 Then Joshua said, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the LORD." "Yes, we are witnesses," they replied.
31 The words were still on his lips when a voice came from heaven, "This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. 32 You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes." 33 Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like cattle. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird. 34 At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation. 35 All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: "What have you done?" 36 At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.
15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. 67 "You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve. 68 Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."
8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us
12 if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us;
10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth. 11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. 12 Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name. 13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
On one occasion Thomas A. Dorsey, who became known as the “Father of Gospel Music,” was away from home leading the music for a revival in another town. His wife had stayed home because she was pregnant. While he was away, he received a telegram informing him that his wife had died. Dorsey was so distraught at the news that he decided he would not continue in the field of gospel music. Instead, he would go into secular music. But he found he could not. One day, while still grieving deeply, he wrote a song that included these words: “Precious Lord, take my hand, Lead me on, help me stand; I am tired, I am weak, I am worn; Through the storm, through the night, Lead me on to the light, Take my hand, precious Lord, Lead me home.” Dorsey’s words have given hope and encouragement to many during times of grief and heartache. Mahalia Jackson sang his song at the funeral of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Faith in God is still the primary factor that sustains people during times of grief. It is what sustained Naomi during the loss of her husband and her two sons. Note that Naomi lived long before the Lord Jesus came to earth. She lived before the words of John 14:1 were spoken: “Let not your heart be troubled” (King James Version). She lived before the resurrection of Jesus gave a firm basis to the hope of eternal life. Naomi did not stop believing in God when her husband and two sons died. She even had enough faith to express her frustrations about God, as Ruth 1:13, 20, 21 indicate. But she kept on believing in Him, and so must all of us
The three lessons from Ruth in this quarter are being considered under the topic “A Case Study in Community.” If one thinks of a community as simply a group in society, then there are many “communities” that are part of one’s life. We enter a community known as a family the moment we are born. As we grow and mature, we are placed in other communities where we have very little choice in the matter (a school, for example). Eventually, however, we find ourselves in a position to be more selective about those communities with which we choose to identify. Most people find that such communities provide companionship and camaraderie that helps one cope with the demands and pressures of daily living. Many in our society are hungry for such a sense of belonging; unfortunately, some turn to dishonest sources (gangs, for example) to fill that void. One summer, I watched a softball game in which my younger son was playing. As the game neared its end, players from the teams who were to play in the next game began to gather. Some of the players’ wives or girlfriends had come along to watch. One girl stood off to the side. She was obviously upset about something and appeared to be on the verge of tears. Another girl sitting in the bleachers with some of her friends noticed the girl standing alone and called out to her. “Hey, it looks to me like you need to vent. Why don’t you come over to my house later and vent? My friends come to my place all the time, and all they do is vent. You’ll fit right in.” Slowly the girl made her way over to the others in the bleachers, and before long she was laughing with the rest of them. She had found a “community” that would help her get through whatever it was that bothered her. Such an attitude of openness, love, and acceptance should characterize the church. Tragically, it seems that at times groups such as softball teams seem to grasp the concept of real fellowship better than followers of Jesus do! The pagan world takes the initiative at reaching out and showing community, while the church stays on the sidelines, doing little or nothing to touch hurting people. The story of Ruth needs to be more than just a case study. It should be a careful study—one that challenges us to action, to establish community with others, to choose to care as Jesus did.
The words of our text form one of the classic expressions of commitment found in all of Scripture, or indeed in all the literature of the world. The simple phrases express such a heartfelt and elegant devotion that for many years they were a staple of wedding ceremonies. The bride, in particular, would recite them as a pledge of her willingness to commit her life and her hopes to her husband, promising to stay close to him wherever life should take him. Ruth's words of commitment seem so thoroughly appropriate to the marriage setting that many people not familiar with biblical backgrounds are surprised and even a bit disappointed to learn that they were actually addressed to her mother-in-law. How unromantic is that! Yet that is the whole point. Ruth was not expressing a gauzy-eyed romanticism but rather a moral resolve that exemplifies the heart of what the Bible means by commitment. Ruth was not staying close to Naomi because she had high hopes for a glorious future with her (even though, in the end, she received far more than she ever could have dreamed of). Indeed, Naomi had done everything she could to paint a bleak picture of life with her. She held out the expectation of poverty, alienation as a foreigner, and lifelong widowhood. In her estimation, Ruth's prospects of finding another husband in Israel were virtually nil. She would do much better on that score by staying in Moab. In light of that, what was it that made Ruth want to cast her lot so firmly with an embittered old woman who seemingly was trying to get rid of her? To a substantial degree, we will never know. Obviously, there must have been something in Naomi's character that was admirable and attractive. Naomi has been roundly taken to task for characterizing herself as bitter (Ruth 1:20), but that was not the whole of it. She evidently had treated her daughters-in-law kindly, for both of them set out with her for Judah. But only Ruth overcame her concerted campaign to discourage that. Why? Many more human factors could be cited as speculation, but the answers will inevitably come up short. The only explanation with any final value is a spiritual one. God apparently did a work in Ruth's heart, a work so thoroughgoing and deep that she made a conscious choice to change her identity and loyalty. She no longer saw herself as a Moabite but an Israelite ("thy people shall be my people"), and her spiritual allegiance transferred (or had done so at some point prior to this) from her Moabite gods to the God of Israel: "and thy God my God." In New Testament terms, we would call Ruth's experience conversion. And that is essentially what it was. Through her contact with Naomi's family and the God they served (however imperfectly), she was no longer the person she once had been. Thus, she could commit herself unreservedly to Naomi, for in doing so she was following the mandate of her new identity. Indeed, she could see no other course for herself and therefore begged Naomi to stop trying to persuade her otherwise. True biblical commitment occurs when God so works in a heart that the person can see no other option than to follow hard after Him, come what may.
1. Even in sorrow and pain the believer can be kind and thoughtful (Ruth 1:8-9)
2. Good decisions are made by considering the facts instead of one's alterable feelings (vs. 10-11)
3. In our sorrow we can misunderstand what God is doing in our lives (vs. 12-13)
4. The right decision for one person is not necessarily the right decision for another (vs. 14-15)
5. True commitment to God and His people is life impacting (Ruth 1:16; cf. 2 Cor. 5:17)
6. Determination to do the right thing is a good and godly characteristic (Ruth 1:17-18)
God can use even tragedy to bring glory to Himself. The account of Ruth is a prime example. Ruth was a Moabite woman. The Moabites were pagans whose primary god, Chemosh, probably was worshiped with human sacrifice (Num. 21:29; 1 Kings 11:7; 2 Kings 3:26-27). It was through one family's tragedy that Ruth came to know the true God, the God of Israel. The account begins with an Israelite from Bethlehem named Elimelech going into the country of Moab, along with his wife and two sons, to escape a famine in Israel. Elimelech died in Moab, leaving his wife, Naomi, a widow. Her two sons married Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. But the two sons also eventually died in Moab, leaving the three women to fend for themselves as widows.
Naomi and her two daughters-in-law faced a bleak future without husbands. Naomi had heard that the famine in her homeland had ended, and she determined that returning there offered her the best hope. However, she saw no hope there for her daughters-in-law. She had no more sons and could offer them nothing more. No doubt she hated to leave them behind, but she was sure they would be better served by staying in Moab and perhaps finding husbands there. While Naomi acknowledged the Lord, her faith was not great. Indeed, the fact that her sons had married Moabite women suggests that she and Elimelech were not the most faithful Israelites. Encouraging her daughters-in-law to remain in their pagan homeland also does not reflect well on Naomi.
Orpah followed Naomi's advice and stayed in Moab. Ruth, however, stayed with Naomi, even after her mother-in-law told her to follow Orpah and return to her people and gods. Surprisingly, while Naomi no doubt possessed more knowledge of the Lord, Ruth demonstrated greater faith. Her words in Ruth 1:16 are a beautiful expression of faith, even if that faith was not fully formed at this point. Ruth was determined to go with Naomi to the land of her mother-in-law, and she asked Naomi to stop urging her to go back to her Moabite people. Ruth was resolved to go where Naomi went and live where she lived. "Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God," she told Naomi. She made a vow to the Lord to never part from Naomi. Ruth could not know what lay ahead of her. But she knew enough at this point that she was ready to abandon her homeland and its religion to follow Naomi and Naomi's God. Naomi saw her determination and accepted the fact that Ruth was going back to Bethlehem with her. Some argue that Elimelech should never have taken his family to Moab. We may not be able to say that much, but certainly settling down and staying there for quite some time was not a wise decision. It brought the family under pagan influences and kept them from that special land God had given to their people and from the place where they could properly worship the Lord. It took tragedy to finally move Naomi to return to that land, but God used that same tragedy to move Ruth, a Moabite woman, to the land of Israel and to the God of Israel.