A Story of Return
We’ve been doing something really fun in our women’s Bible study this Fall. After getting a 4-week 30,000 ft. crash course in knowing how to read your Bible, we narrowed in on one particular story, in one particular moment in history to study. Why? Because we want our women to feel equipped to pick up their Bibles and read it for themselves, and see how individual books/stories fit into the overall narrative of Scripture.
So, we chose the book of Ruth. We will be reading and rereading her story during the month of October, and I thought it would be even more fun to bring you along with us each week.
Ruth is one of those books that we have probably been familiar with for a long time, and either love or are annoyed by how cliche it is for women. Let’s be honest, it’s usually a toss up between Esther and Ruth when choosing the theme for the Women’s Ministry event (I can say that because I’m in Women’s Ministry and was the one pushing to study Ruth). Don’t get me wrong - the relationship between Ruth and Boaz is a romance for the ages. The character that Ruth displays toward her mother-in-law is certainly commendable. But when we get beneath the surface, there is so much more to the story of Ruth than romance and goodwill.
What is unique to the story of Ruth is that it does not begin with her and it does not end with her. It is bookended by the story of her mother-in-law, Naomi; who, we tend to glance over when reading this particular narrative. However, if we really got to know her, we’re likely to find glimpses of our story wrapped up in hers.
This has been one heck of a year. For some, it has come with unbearable loss. For others, what was certain proved only to be a house of cards. For all, it has required us to return. I’ve learned that in order to go forward, we have to, first, come back.
Come back to the reason we wanted the job to begin with.
Come back to church, because it’s (literally) in your living room and every excuse has been cancelled.
Come back to the value in relationships.
Come back to who we are, where we belong, and what we know to be true.
Our return is reorienting us in expectation, priority, and hope.
“In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. 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. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the other was Ruth. They lived there about ten years, and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.” - Ruth 1:1-5, ESV
She went away - v. 1-5
The writer wastes no time before acknowledging Naomi’s deep loss. He sets the scene and unapologetically introduces the pain of her worst nightmare to us. She’s not only lost her husband and her sons, but she’s lost her identity within them. In her patriarchal society, her name was attached to Elimelech’s and her legacy is only carried out through the sons she has. Moreover, she is left in a foreign land with her two Moabite daughters-in-law. But why were they there in the first place?
Days when the judges ruled. Famine in the land. It’s hard to blame Elimelech for uprooting his family out of Bethlehem to find food somewhere else. However, in his desire to provide for his family’s immediate needs, he was indirectly communicating his lack of trust that God was good and would be faithful to sustain His people.
Notice, they didn’t go to Moab with the intention to relocate. They went to visit - to see what it had to offer. And to their surprise, they found exactly what they were looking for.
The same is true of us. We wander outside of the will of God, because we’re tired of waiting out the famine when it feels like God has left us high and dry. He doesn’t feel good to us, near to us, or for us - so, we wander into Moab looking for something better. Something that quenches our thirst and satisfies our hunger the way we want it to, possibly even think it should.
And then… we actually do.
So, we stick around. We remain in the land. And before we know it, we’ve taken up residence. What was meant to be a temporary visit turned into a fixed dwelling.
2. She heard good news - v. 6-18
“Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food.” - Ruth 1:6
We tend to rush through Ruth 1 in anticipation for Ruth’s grand entrance where (spoiler!) she binds herself to Naomi and Naomi’s God (v. 16-18), and we consider this our first picture of the gospel in Ruth. In doing this, we miss her reason for returning to Bethlehem.
It wasn’t her destitution that sent her back. It wasn’t her grief or isolation or embarrassment or loss. It was the news that Yahweh had visited His people - which, despite her being in Moab, still included her.
It was news about something God had done.
But even still, upon return her expectations of God were low. On 3 separate occasions Naomi acknowledges the sovereignty of God in her life, and in the same breath gives reason for why Orpah and Ruth would be better off staying in Moab. With her faith was hanging on by a thread, it makes sense that she wouldn’t want to bring any more harm or hurt to her girls.
“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.’” - Ruth 1:16-17
Full of unwavering faith, Ruth does the unexpected and assumes Naomi’s faith as a faith for herself. One that fights for and strengthens Naomi. This isn’t just a sweet quote that we paint on our walls, post on our Instagram, or print on our throw pillows. These are fighting words.
Words that grab you by the shoulders, get in your face and say, “I. Am. Not. Going. Anywhere.”
Words of a friend that say, “If you can’t believe that God is good, then I will believe it enough for you.”
Words that evoke the very nature of God and elevate our view of who He is.
This is what we have to do for each other. There will come a season when you will need a trusted, faithful friend to believe God enough for you. It will strengthen you to press into the news about something God had done. And one day, you’ll be the friend who elevates their view of God in dark days. It’s a fight we’re in. Not against one another, but for each other’s faith.
3. She came back - v. 19-22
“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.’” - Ruth 1:19-21
Can you imagine the town “stirring” about you? About your family? About your Moabite daughter-in-law? About your unimaginable pain? Naomi understood that her coming back would cause talk among the people in Bethlehem. Questions would arise and she would have to relive the last 20(ish) years again and again. But, here’s the deal…
She came back.
She came back bitter.
She came back empty.
But the girl. Came. Back.
In her return she is going to find God to be incredibly faithful even to her - a woman who sojourned into Moab. He didn’t hold that against her. Rather, he lavished His kindness and blessing on her and her family. Naomi may have only come back for provisions, but her in return she finds so much more with Ruth by her side, fighting for her faith.
Let’s be women who fight for each other’s faith. Who elevate each other’s view of God. Who believe God enough to come back.
I’d love to hear how you’ve experienced this type of loyalty. How has God’s kindness been displayed to you by the faith of a faithful friend?