Over the next few days, we will look at this story
through the perspective of each character. We begin today with Naomi. As you
read today’s Scripture reading, try to see the events through her eyes.
READ: Ruth
1; 2:1-3, 17-23; 3:1-5; 4:13-17
Though Ruth is the title character of the book,
Naomi is also very present: her circumstances bookend the entire story (1:1-5
& 4:13-17). The first five verses describe terrible loss, almost setting us
up for a continuation of the sorrow we saw in the book of Judges. Naomi loses
her husband and after ten years, her two sons as well. She finds herself a
desolate woman in a foreign land. Not only are her circumstances every mother’s
worst nightmare, but her situation is a precarious one for the times as well. A
woman in ancient times relied heavily on the males in her family for sustenance
and provision. Naomi is left with nothing in a land where she has no relatives
to help her, and so she takes the only sort of family she does have – her
daughters-in-law – and begins the journey home. Imagine the burden she carried!
Naomi seems to be a woman plagued with guilt,
bitterness and sorrow. It is evident in the first few scenes that she feels she
is being punished – “the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me” (1:20). When
her husband moved the family to Moab, they left the Promised Land and embraced
a pagan people with pagan gods. The Moabites worshiped Chemosh and Molech, gods
who required human sacrifice and sexual acts of worship. By leaving the
Promised Land and marrying their sons to Moabite women, the family was walking
out of God’s blessing. Perhaps chapter 1 finds Naomi feeling the guilt of this
decision – that her current destitution is a result of her family’s actions –
for, though her name means “Pleasant”, she commands her people call her Mara –
“bitter”. She seems to feel undeserved of Ruth’s kindness and commitment, which
must only have added to her guilt. The end of chapter 1 depicts a broken woman
who truly feels that the Lord is against her.
But God is with Naomi in her pain and deals
patiently and gently with her. Through the love and kindness of others, God
shows His faithfulness to her. Ruth is a tremendous blessing to her
mother-in-law, and is one of God’s tools in softening Naomi. Chapter 2:20
reveals a wonderful switch in Naomi’s perspective: after finding out that Ruth
has gleaned in the field of her husband’s relative, Boaz, Naomi exclaims, “May he be blessed by the Lord, whose
kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” In her joy, Naomi is
recognizing the kindness of both Boaz AND Yahweh. This is the first time we see
Naomi acknowledge God’s kindness, showing an incredible shift in her heart. God
has softened her and her eyes have been opened to His goodness and to the hope
that is to be had in Boaz. This transformed Naomi is who we see throughout the
rest of the story. Whereas before, Ruth had to grapple to handle their
well-being (2:2), Naomi now takes charge on her own initiative, giving clear,
intentional directives to Ruth (2:22; 3:1-4).
The end of the story finds a very different Naomi
than we were introduced to at the beginning. God has changed her desolation to
joy, her bitterness to pleasure and her emptiness to abundance! The women who
once called her “Mara” lavish a blessing of life and hope; Yahweh has given her
a hope and a future, and He has this same blessing for us who will soften our
hearts to Him.
JOURNALING
AND PRAYER
1. How did reading the story from Naomi’s
perspective change the story for you? Did it teach you anything, or open your
eyes to anything different?
2. Naomi’s perspective of God was off. She saw God
as being against her. Is there an area where you feel God is against you? Bring
this before Him. Ask Him if there is any sin in your hear that is causing you
to feel this way. Ask Him to reveal any lies that have infiltrated your
thinking.
3. What are some things you know are true about God – who He is and how He feels about you?
Declare these things to be true about Him. Thank Him for these truths, even if
you do not feel like they are true.
4. Ask God to show you a “Naomi” in your life –
someone who currently feels bitter because of their struggles, perhaps someone
who feels God is against them. Spend some time interceding for this person. Ask
God to soften their heart and open their eyes to His kindness and goodness.
