We can all remember seeing an old friend after many years. Maybe it was at a class reunion, maybe at the local coffee shop, or even at your children’s ball game. If you’re like me, it always feels good to see old friends. The years often evaporate as you’re catching up. Here, Naomi doesn’t seem especially happy to see her friends, despite their eagerness to see her.
The cultural understanding here would be that names are supposed to be a reflection of character. For example, if our name was “HAPPY,” it would be assumed we were indeed, “happy.” It’s not clear to me what the name Naomi would suggest, but she definitely preferred “Mara” because it meant “empty.” Naomi had lost her two boys and her husband. Imagine that! She had every right to feel lonely and empty. Continue reading “Ruth 1:19-22 – Limiting Beliefs”
Our story unfolds a bit more today. What did we learn about Ruth today? She is devoted, and she loves deeply. Ruth didn’t want Naomi, her mother-in-law to go back to Judah alone. Ruth wasn’t thinking about her own needs or own future. She was being selfless and wanted to support Naomi. Afterall, Naomi had lost a husband and two sons and was all alone in the world.
There is a lot of information in these few short verses. We have been introduced to Ruth, but her character has yet to unfold. What we do have is a backdrop to Ruth’s story. The setting is before kings reigned, sometime during the time of the Judges. Ruth is a Moabite woman who married Mahlon, a man from Bethlehem. Mahlon had moved to and settled in Moab, an area about 40 miles from his home, to escape the famine in his land. Ruth’s husband has now died, and she finds herself a widow.
Today’s reading is full of encouragement in our troubled world. We see corruption. We see the Bible being watered down or misinterpreted. We see people being led astray by all sorts of new age spirituality. How do we respond in the midst of this?
If Jesus announced he was coming to your house today -what would your first thought be? Would it be, “Oh, no! The refrigerator is empty and there is nothing to serve him?” Would it be you couldn’t remember if you’d made the bed or taken out the trash? Are we ready to invite Jesus into our messy lives? Don’t you think he already knows how we live?
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