Elimelech’s Family Goes to Moab

¹ In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and two sons. ² The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. ³ But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. ⁴ These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. When they had lived there about ten years, ⁵ both Mahlon and Chilion also died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

Ruth 1:1-5 (NRSV)

1:1: Christ was born to two Gentile mothers in Jesus geneology. The term Gentile refers to an outsider or a non-Jew. This emphasizes that Jesus is for everyone not just the Jew.

1:2: The name Naomi signifies my ambitions or pleasant ones. The names Mahlon and Chilion both signify sickness and consumption. Those names were likely given to them since they were sick as children and the parents thought they would not live long. Being a childless widow put her in the lowest and most disadvantaged class of her time. Since there was no one to support you you had to live off of the generosity of strangers.

1:4: Either these were converted away when they were married or they sinned by marrying them. Because of their separation from God, they had a short life.

1:5: Both of her sons and her husband had died and were no longer there to support her.

Naomi and Her Moabite Daughters-in-Law

⁶ Then she started to return with her daughters-in-law from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the LORD had considered his people and given them food. ⁷ So she set out from the place where she had been living, she and her two daughters-in-law, and they went on their way to go back to the land of Judah. ⁸ But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back each of you to your mother’s house. May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. ⁹ The LORD grant that you may find security, each of you in the house of your husband.” Then she kissed them, and they wept aloud. ¹⁰ They said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” ¹¹ But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters, why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? ¹² Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, ¹³ would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the LORD has turned against me.” ¹⁴ Then they wept aloud again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
¹⁵ So she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” ¹⁶ But Ruth said,
“Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. ¹⁷ Where you die, I will die — there will I be buried. May the LORD do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!”
¹⁸ When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.
¹⁹ So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them; and the women said, “Is this Naomi?” ²⁰ She said to them,
“Call me no longer Naomi, call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt bitterly with me. ²¹ I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty; why call me Naomi when the LORD has dealt harshly with me, and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?”
²² So Naomi returned together with Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, who came back with her from the country of Moab. They came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

Ruth 1:6-22 (NRSV)

1:11: In that time there was an ancient custom, Gen 38:8, and the express law of God, Deu 25:5 that stated the widow would live with her husband’s brother and so that he can raise their kids. This was to keep track of which family the messiah came from.

1:14: Orpah kisses her mother-in-law, which signifies they are departing and will never see each other again. She loved Naomi but did not love her well enough to leave their home to venture into a new area with her. This is a way is similar to Christ. Some people live Christ, but when dealing with convictions or trying to get out of a life of sin they decide their existing life is better than what they perceive it could be with addressing sin or the convictions. Much like Orpah did with Naomi, Orpah left Naomi because of her other love that was stronger with the area she lived in, some are too afraid to leave the life of the world behind.

1:15: Naomi wants Ruth to stay with Orpah and share her religion. Naomi did not want her to stay back, but she did not want a fair-weather friend.

1:16: Ruth defies what her mother-in-law eats and decides she will go with her.

1:17: Ruth did not want to leave Naomi’s side even in death. (This shows she had a strong relationship with her mother-in-law.

1:19: Naomi has changed since the last time they saw her, or they are surprised to see her. Wesley states that this change was in the right direction.

1:20: Wesley said, Naomi — Which signifies pleasant, and cheerful. Mara — Which signifies bitter or sorrowful.

1:21: She states that she went away with kids and a husband and now comes back with a daughter-in-law.

1:22: This gives a time frame of when they got to Bethlehem. This also foreshadows what kind of job Ruth finds.

John Wesley and enduringword.com