A study of Ruth 1:6–9
”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. So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. But Naomi 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. The Lord grant 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.“
Ruth 1:6-9 ESV
Definitions of the original language in the context of this passage:
-Arose: “וַתָּקָם”, “tāʹ·qǒm”; verb, Qal, wayyiqtōl (waw-consecutive + imperfect), third person, feminine, singular — to arise, to stand, to be set.
-Return: “תָּ֖שָׁב”, “tāʹ·šǒḇ”; verb, Qal, wayyiqtōl (waw-consecutive + imperfect), third person, feminine, singular — to return, turn back or go back.
-Moab: “מוֹאָב”, “mô’āḇ”; noun, proper, singular, absolute — Moab = ‘of his father’, the territory of Moab. Moab was the son of Lot’s eldest daughter.
-The Lord: “ יְהוָה֙”, “YHWH”; — noun, proper, masculine, singular, absolute — Yahweh, Jehovah, the Lord.
-Visited: “פָּקַד”, “pāqaḏ”; verb, Qal, qātal (perfect), third person, masculine, singular — visit, oversee, care for.
-Given: “תֵ֥ת”, “ṯēṯʹ”; verb, Qal, infinitive, construct — to give, bestow, grant, permit.
-Food: “לֶחֶם”, “lāʹ·ḥěm”; noun, common, singular, absolute — bread, food, grain.
-Set Out: “תֵּצֵ֗א”, “tē·ṣē(ʾ)ʹ”; verb, Qal, wayyiqtōl (waw-consecutive + imperfect), third person, feminine, singular — to go or come out.
-Judah: “יְהוּדָה”, “yᵊhûḏâ”; noun, proper, singular, absolute — Judah = ‘praised’, the territory occupied by the tribe of Judah.
-Deal: “יַעֲשֶׂה”, “yǎ·ʿǎśě(h)”; verb, Qal, yiqtōl (imperfect), third person, masculine, singular, jussive — to do, to deal with, to act.
-Kindly: “חֶ֔סֶד”, “ḥěʹ·sěḏ”; noun, common, singular, absolute — goodness, kindness, faithfulness, loyalty.
-Rest: “מְנוּחָ֔ה”, “menû·ḥā(h)ʹ”; noun, common, feminine, singular, absolute — rest; resting place; place of quiet; composure.
-Lifted Up: “תִּשֶּׂאנָה”, “tiś·śě(ʾ)ʹ·nā(h)”; verb, Qal, wayyiqtōl (waw-consecutive + imperfect), third person, feminine, plural — to lift, lift up.
-Wept: “תִּבְכֶּינָה”, “tiḇ·kêʹ·nā(h)”; verb, Qal, wayyiqtōl (waw-consecutive + imperfect), third person, feminine, plural — to weep, cry, shed tears.
Observation/Summary (short explanation of what the passage says in your own words):
After living in Moab for about 10 years, Naomi’s sons died. Her husband had already died years earlier, and now she was a childless widow in a foreign land. It was around this time that Naomi also heard “the Lord had visited his people and given them food.” Naomi and her family had originally left Bethlehem in Judah because of a famine in the land. Now that the famine was over, Naomi decided to go back. She set out with her two widowed daughters in law, Orpah and Ruth, but on the way she seemed to have thought better of this, because she told them to return to their family homes in Moab, and prayed that the Lord would deal kindly with them, because they had been kind to her in choosing not to abandon her. As she said this, they all wept together loudly.
Implication (what does this mean to us):
In verse 6 of Ruth chapter 1 we find Naomi left widowed and childless in a foreign land. About 10 years earlier, her husband Elimelech brought her and their two sons to Moab from Bethlehem in Judah because of a famine. While we can understand Elimelech’s desperation, we also know this was sinful disobedience because God had commanded the Israelites to stay in the promised land and not to intermarry with the pagan nations around them. They were to remain ‘holy,’ which means ‘set apart,’ to Yahweh. If they mixed with the other peoples they would start worshiping their gods and not remain loyal to Yahweh. Foreign people could come to Israel and enter into covenantal relationship with God, but never the other way around.
In a similar way, today we are called to remain in Christ and to abide in Him. We do so by making Him the one and only Lord of our life, and by obeying His commands by the power of the Holy Spirit in us and because of our love for Him. The lesson of Elimelech is that it is infinitely better to remain in God’s will, even if it costs us our life, because this life is a vapor. We are here today and gone tomorrow, and we should spend our lives gladly for the Kingdom. We who are in Christ do not need to fear the decay of our bodies. We take care of them as best we can of course, and we bring our needs to the Lord in prayer, but if it is His will that we should endure physical calamities of various kinds on this earth, then we do so joyfully knowing He will bring eternal good from our temporary suffering. He is all knowing, perfectly just, and trustworthy. No tear or drop of blood from His children will ever be wasted. And we must honor Him as God by abiding in Him, especially when things do not make sense from our incredibly finite perspective.
None of this is easy when we are in the middle of it. And here we find Naomi in a very difficult situation of her own. After her husband died about a decade earlier, things got harder for her, but she still had her two sons to care for her. Now, both her sons have died, and she has been left with her two, childless and widowed daughters in law. Widows were on the lowest rung of the economic ladder in Naomi’s culture and time. And Naomi, being past childbearing years, and therefore past what was considered a marriageable age, was among the absolute lowest of the low in society. And she was in a foreign land faraway from friends and family. But, as we read in verse 6, she heard the Lord had visited His people, and given them food. This means the famine back in Bethlehem was over.
There are a couple of words worth noting in this verse. First, “visited” is translated from the Hebrew word “paqad.” This word is used in this verse to describe God’s action among His people. And this word can mean a number of things including: visit, supervise, inspect, appoint, enroll, remember, pay attention to, and care for. Here we see one example of many, where the Lord sees the needs of His people, and takes action to meet those needs, just like what is described in Exodus 3:15–17. This tells us much about God’s character as an attentive, loving, provider. Second, the word used for food in this verse is “lehem.” Lehem means bread, and Beth-lehem means “house of bread.” In verse one we learned that there was a famine in Bethlehem, and we are meant to notice the irony that there was no food in the “House of Bread.” So, there is a little bit of wordplay carried on in this verse from verse 1, where now we read the Lord has visited His people, and Beth-lehem, or the “House of Bread,” now had food or more literally “bread” again.
It is at this point, bereft of both husband and children, that Naomi arose and began to return home to Bethlehem with her two Moabite daughters in law, Orpah and Ruth. Naomi heard how God was working, and longed to be a part of it. And it is admirable that she took action to be a part of it, by returning home. It is never enough to simply admire God, we must come to Him and accept His free offer to be part of what He is doing. Upon seeing the goodness, beauty and majesty of Jesus, we must fall at His feet in worship and adoration. Mere admiration is not enough. And if we, like Namoi, have strayed and failed to remain in Christ, we must also, like Naomi, return to Him. As long as we draw breath, no matter what we have done or where we have gone, we are still within the bounds of God’s boundless grace to receive mercy, forgiveness and grace from Him.
From the language of verses 7–8 it seems Orpah and Ruth began the journey back to Judah with Naomi, but then Naomi stopped and thought better of it. Naomi was a widow far beyond marriageable age, but Orpah and Ruth were not. Naomi thought her life was pretty much spent at this point, and she was going back to Bethlehem in hopes of scraping by as a widow in her homeland, but Ruth and Orpah could still remarry. Naomi knew their prospects for husbands would have been slim in Israel, so she urged them to stay with their families in Moab, and seek new husbands, because they were still young enough to remarry and have children. She also pronounced a prayerful blessing over them saying, “May the Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me.” The word translated as “kindly” is “hesed,” and this is another word that is used in a variety of ways to describe God’s character. It communicates God’s kindness, faithfulness, and loving care. It is also often translated as “steadfast love,” and it is used in general to describe mercy shown by a stronger person to a weaker person. Orpah and Ruth had remained with Naomi after their husbands died, and Naomi was thankful for their kindness and faithfulness to care for her. Now, she prays that the Lord would show them this same sort of loving care.
Naomi also prays they would remarry and “find rest” in the house of their respective husbands. By describing marriage as a source of “rest,” Naomi is describing at least part of God’s intention for marriage. Ultimately, God is the source of rest, peace and comfort, but it is also His desire that husbands and wives give and receive rest, comfort and peace to each other in marriage. At this point, they all “lifted up their voices and wept.” This was an incredibly painful goodbye. Naomi is essentially telling them, “My life is over. Thank you for loving me and caring for me, but there is no sense in you joining me in my destitution and grief. Return home, remarry, and be blessed.” But Orpah and Ruth wept loudly with Naomi upon hearing this. Evidently they had all grown very close over the last 10 years or so, and they did not want to be separated from each other. This loud, tearful goodbye, is evidence of a real, loving relationship between Naomi, Orpah and Ruth.
Application (How does this change how I think, act and pray?):
This passage should cause us to think about God’s active, loving care of His people. Even when we encounter extreme hardship, God is actively working and accomplishing things far beyond our ability to perceive or comprehend. We should always remember His “hesed,” or steadfast love and kindness to us, especially when we are suffering in one way or another. We live in a fallen world where suffering is unavoidable, but God is faithful, active, and loving. If we have wandered, made spiritual compromises, and failed to remain in Christ, it is not too late to return to Him. As long as we draw breath on this earth, God is graciously sustaining us and patiently giving us time to repent and return.
So, if we have wandered from saving faith in Christ, we must return. If we are Christians who have not lost our faith, but simply strayed into sinful, deadly, compromise in one area or another, we must return. God is always active and moving among His people. We might not understand all of His methods or the reasons for what He allows to happen to us, but we do know He is good, faithful, wise and no plan of His will ever be thwarted. And when we return to Him from wandering, He does not stand and wait for us with arms crossed and a wagging finger. Instead, like the father of the prodigal son, the Lord hikes up His robe and runs to meet us with overflowing joy and loud, glad singing.
Self Reflection:
Have I strayed and failed to remain in Christ in any way?
Do I understand that Christ is eager for me to repent and return to Him, and that He will greet me with gladness and rejoicing when I do?
Is there anyone in my life who is failing to abide in Christ that I can pray for?
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