Ruth 1 Commentary and Chapter Study

By Jennifer Hutchins and Elizabeth Simkins

Most people have read through the book of Ruth and think of it as a love story with a great ending.  It really is the best version of a Hallmark love story for sure.  But if you dig deeper, you will see so much more than just love between a woman and a man. This Ruth 1 Commentary and Chapter Study shares the full love story, along with a story of redemption.

 

Verse 1-2: ¹Now it came to pass, in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.  ² The name of the man [was] Elimelech, the name of his wife [was] Naomi, and the names of his two sons [were] Mahlon and Chilion–Ephrathites of Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to the country of Moab and remained there.

Let’s start at the beginning. In the first verse we see that Naomi, her husband and children left Bethlehem due to a severe famine in the land, in the time of the judges. They settled in the pagan land of Moab. They pretty much left the Promised Land to wander back into the wilderness God had freed them from. A few steps in the wrong direction that Naomi realizes too late. 

A note from Jennifer: It’s important to zoom in and look closely at the fine details in scripture so that we can understand the context which also helps us to understand what’s happening at the time it’s written. Why did Naomi and her family leave the Promised Land?  Doesn’t make sense to leave the place that took a 40 year journey to arrive. 

Verse 1 says there was a famine. They were sojourning which means to visit temporarily while their home land was in a famine. Scripture clearly shows that the planned short time, temporary stay turned into settling in or remaining there.  Let’s look back in scripture at one of the promises God made to the Isrealites through Moses before entering the Promised Land. In Deuteronomy chapter 11 verses 13-17, God clearly tells the people that if they obey His commands then He would provide all of the necessary things to survive, such as rain and crops. He instructed them to be careful not to serve and worship other Gods.  

A note from Jennifer: Maybe that is the reason for the famine. Seems simple but like the folks in the Promised Land we sometimes forget that God has promised us the same if we would lean on Him and put Him first. 

Verse 3: ³Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left, and her two sons.  

Not long after settling in Moab, the husband of Naomi dies. 

Verse 4-5: ⁴Now they took wives of the women of Moab: the name of the one [was] Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth. And they dwelt there about ten years. ⁵Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died; so the woman survived her two sons and her husband. 

Naomi’s sons took Moabite wives, one named Ruth and one named Orpah. Somewhere around 10 years later, both of Naomi’s sons die. This leaves Naomi and both of her sons’ wives widowed and alone.  

Scripture tells us that they both were Moabite women, so this was their homeland. A place where things were familiar to them.  But for Naomi she was in a strange country with no relatives or family from Bethlehem.  

A note from Jennifer: For both of the daughter-n-laws this was their home.  Maybe the grief was a bit easier to deal with since I’m sure they were surrounded by family and friends. 

Verse 6-7:  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 that the LORD had visited His people by giving them bread. ⁷Therefore she went out from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.

Here we see why Naomi makes a deliberate choice to go home.  She had heard that God had visited His people in the land of Israel by giving them bread so she decided to pick up and move back home again. 

A note from Jennifer:  I would like to think that she loved God and when she heard He was helping His people she ran right back to Him. Nothing better than running back into the arms of Jesus Christ.  And the best part is He is always standing there with arms wide open ready to take us back in. Thank you Lord that you never give up on us. Here is the real love story in the book of Ruth! 

Verses 8-14: ⁸And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each to her mother’s house. The LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. ⁹“The LORD grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband.” So she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. ¹⁰And they said to her, “Surely we will return with you to your people.” ¹¹But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? [Are] there still sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? ¹²“Turn back, my daughters, go–for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, [if] I should have a husband tonight and should also bear sons, ¹³“would you wait for them till they were grown? Would you restrain yourselves from having husbands? No, my daughters; for it grieves me very much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me!” ¹⁴Then they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. 

Naomi tells both of her daughters in law to go back home to their own people and their own mothers.  They both are still young enough to have another family and that is Naomi’s prayer. She wanted God to deal kindly with them.

Just from their interaction with one another in the scriptures we just read you can tell that Naomi had a very close and good relationship with both ladies.  They wept together, embraced and kissed like a mother with her children.

She knew if they went  back to Israel with her it would be a big adjustment since the two countries were so different. If you’ve traveled outside of even just your home state or even to a foreign country, you know how different things can be somewhere else.  Finding husbands in a foreign land would not be easy and Naomi didn’t want this hardship for them.

Before we move on read verse 9 again.  

Naomi prays for them that they would both find rest in the home of their husbands.  Not only had they been in deep grief from the deaths of their husbands and the added stress of great change and starting over again, she knows they need a safe place that they can rest and heal from what has happened. She describes marriage as a place of rest.

A note from Jennifer: I love how she describes what type of relationship she wants them each to have. I love this so much! God didn’t intend for marriage to be a place of stress and turmoil; it was to be a place of love and peace as two become one. A place of rest! 

Verse 15-18: ¹⁵And she said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” ¹⁶But Ruth said: “Entreat me not to leave you, [Or to] turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people [shall be] my people, And your God, my God. ¹⁷Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The LORD do so to me, and more also, If [anything but] death parts you and me.” ¹⁸When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her. 

We see in verse 15 that Orpah goes home after tears and a kiss with Naomi but Ruth clings to her.  She embraces Naomi and holds tight. 

Her grief is big after the death of her husband but even bigger if she has to lose her mother in law that she loves so much. Ruth not only asks to stay with Naomi but says she will live where Naomi lives and die and be buried where Naomi dies and is buried.  She will make Naomi’s people her people and more importantly make Naomi’s God her God. 

A note from Jennifer: I like to think that Ruth spent a lot of time with Naomi and learned so much about God from her.  Just living life together Naomi shared her love of God with Ruth and this gave Ruth a chance to know the God that Naomi had shared about. After all, in the time that the woman had been together Ruth watched Naomi walk through so much grief after losing her entire family.  Ruth giving her life to God after seeing all that Naomi was dealing with gives us a good glimpse into the kind of woman Naomi was. Let’s look back at some scripture that made me think of Naomi as I studied this chapter.  This is also the life verse that I cling to.  Not is it just a verse or command that God gives us but if we love God and He dwells in us these things will come naturally.  

Deuteronomy 6:5-9  Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.  These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates. 

Let’s pick back up at verse 19.

Verse 19: ¹⁹Now the two of them went until they came to Bethlehem. And it happened, when they had come to Bethlehem, that all the city was excited because of them; and the women said, “[Is] this Naomi?” 

As Naomi and Ruth arrived in Bethlehem the women were excited to see them.  They said “Is this Naomi?” It had been over 10 years and yet coming home she had been remembered.  

A note from Jennifer: What a great feeling to be welcomed back home in such a happy way.  

Verses 20-22: ²⁰But she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. ²¹“I went out full, and the LORD has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the LORD has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?” ²²So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. Now they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.

But then Naomi answers the woman by responding “Do not call me Naomi but call me Mara for the Lord has dealt bitterly with me.” This response shows the sad state Naomi was in.  She had lost her husband and both sons and this was her second long journey through the wilderness.  A place we can all relate to. One of sadness, bitterness, grief and regret. Today we do a better job of recognizing these feelings better known as anxiety and depression. 

A note from Jennifer: I do feel like there is a lesson for us in Naomi’s response to her situation.  Although she is still grieving she talks about how bitter God has dealt with her.  She doesn’t seem to be blaming God for her situation.  If she was mad at Him because nothing seemed to be going well wouldn’t she have run in the opposite direction? I also believe that her example for Ruth shows that she isn’t bitter towards God, just bitter towards her situation.  Sometimes our own decisions cause God to reach down and stir us to try and turn us back to Him but, we can be a bit stubborn and run from Him because we are mad. If He loved us wouldn’t He want good things for us and want us to be happy?  I’ve used this same sentence many times. But instead of using her situation to run away she ran straight to the place she knew He was.  Another piece of the real love story!

There is a little nugget tucked into the last two verses that are so clear but yet hard to see at the same time.  Naomi is showing how sorrowful she is feeling.  I can’t even imagine the sadness and pain she carried home with her.  Like Naomi we can easily wear our feelings on the outside and use them as a description of who we are.  The pain is just too hard sometimes to walk in who God created us to be and instead we walk in who we think we are or who we see ourselves as in our own eyes.  We project that image instead of the image of God.  

What is the first thing you notice in verse 22? The verse starts off with the name Naomi.  Even though Naomi just told her friends to call her Mara we never see that name being used for her. It’s as if God is saying “No your name is Naomi not Mara. That is who I created you to be.  You may feel bitter now but that isn’t who you are and this will pass.  The grief will fade and you will get stronger with time.  Even the bitterness will pass.” 

A note from Jennifer: God’s love will always prevail.  He will wrap his arms around you, pull you close and tell you who you really are.  We hope that you will always remember this.  

No one can ever snatch you from Him!  We Thank You and Praise You Jesus!

“And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. John 10:28

Thank you for joining today’s Ruth 1 Commentary and Chapter Study. Please continue on to Ruth 2 Commentary and Chapter Study.