It was in the darkest days of moral depravity when Elimelech and his wife, Naomi, left the “house of bread” (“Bethlehem”) to find food in the land of Moab. Even though they went there seeking relief, they (Naomi) found only heartache and loss. Elimelech died and left Naomi with her two sons. They matured and both married (happy days!) but then they both died. As if she lost her identity when her husband and sons both died, the historian says “the woman” was bereft (1:5).
Naomi felt so empty. She felt like God had stretched out His hand against her, as against an enemy (1:13). When she trudged back home, she encouraged the women of Bethlehem not to call her Naomi (“pleasant”) but “Mara,” meaning “bitter.” “The Lord has witnessed against me and the Almighty has afflicted me” (1:21).
But, God had brought Ruth into her life (which we’ll talk about next Monday) and Naomi focused her attention on providing a future for Ruth, her beloved daughter-in-law. Our senior citizens have experienced some bad times, times when you have felt empty. You have lost your marriage, your spouse, your brother / uncle / dad in war. You have lost your children, a job, or heath. But, like Naomi, if you seek shelter under the wings of Jehovah God, you don’t have to wallow in self-pity.
When Naomi sees Ruth prospering in the field of Boaz (2:19-20), she wishes God’s blessings on him. The words of 2:19 sound much like 1:8; perhaps Naomi sees Boaz as an answer to a prayer. Then, she encourages Ruth to seek Boaz as a redeemer (3:1-4).
Our senior citizens, in suffering loss, have still moved forward. Despite a broken marriage. Despite the death of a spouse. Despite the death of a sibling; you wept and moved on. Despite the loss of a child, your mourned but maintained your faith in God. Despite changes in the job market, you stopped spending, changed your finances, and kept moving forward. You have health problems but you don’t blame God. You accept what “life” has given you and you move forward.
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Eventually, Naomi is blessed by God (4:14-17). While the story of “Ruth” is about God (as every book of the Bible is), I would make an argument that it is more about Naomi than about Ruth. Naomi is mentioned first (1:2) and last (4:14, 16-17) and more often (22 times) than Ruth (12 times).
In the end, God blesses the one who is in a position to bless Naomi (4:13). In the end, Ruth recognizes this boy (her son) as Naomi’s “redeemer” (4:14). The redeemer would restore her life and sustainer her in her old age (4:15). Naomi nurses the baby boy (4:16). What a pleasant and beautiful picture, a fragile little baby snuggled up against the loving breast of a grandmother! In fact, baby Obed is recognized as “her boy” (4:17).
Our senior citizens are a joy to be around and are a blessing to us. God has blessed you in this life. He has great and innumerable blessings waiting to share with you. Remember, God uses the faithfulness of ordinary people to do great things!
Paul Holland
