Context No. 2536 of 4322 · Ruth

Ruth 1:1-9: in context

1In the days when the judges judged, there was a famine in the land. A certain man of Bethlehem Judah went to live in the country of Moab with his wife and his two sons. 2The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi. The names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem Judah. They came into the country of Moab and lived there. 3Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left with her two sons. 4They took for themselves wives of the women of Moab. The name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other was Ruth. They lived there about ten years. 5Mahlon and Chilion both died, and the woman was bereaved of her two children and of her husband. 6Then 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 how the LORD had visited his people in giving them bread. 7She went out of the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her. They went on the way to return to the land of Judah. 8Naomi 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. 9May the LORD grant you 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.

The book of Ruth opens in loss. A famine drives Naomi's family from Bethlehem to Moab, and there, one by one, the men die, her husband and then both her sons, leaving Naomi bereaved and far from home with two foreign daughters-in-law. Then she hears that the LORD has visited his people and given them bread, and she rises to go back. On the road she blesses Orpah and Ruth and urges them to return to their own mothers' homes.

Two things stand out in a grieving woman. First, the turn homeward begins with a rumor of grace: she hears the LORD has given bread to Bethlehem, and toward that provision she moves. When everything has been stripped away, the first step out of the emptiness is turning back toward where God is providing. Second, even hollowed out by loss, Naomi blesses others, praying the LORD deal kindly with her daughters-in-law and grant them rest. Grief did not shut her heart. She turns toward God's provision and blesses others out of her own bereavement.

In my seasons of loss, do I turn back toward where God is providing, and can I still bless others out of my own grief?

Sources

Ruth 1:6: she had heard in the country of Moab how the LORD had visited his people in giving them bread.
Ruth 1:5: Mahlon and Chilion both died, and the woman was bereaved of her two children and of her husband.
Ruth 1:8: Naomi said to her daughters-in-law, May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me.