Ruth 1:21-22
Ruth 1:20 But Naomi said to the town women, “Do not call me My Pleasant One (Naomi); call me Bitter (Mara), for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.
21 “I went out full, but YHWH has returned me empty.
Why do you call me My Pleasant One (Naomi), since YHWH has witnessed against me and the Almighty has brought evil upon me?”
22 So it was that My Pleasant One (Naomi) returned,
and with her Companion (Ruth) the Moabitess, her young daughter-in-law, who also returned from the land of Moab.
And they both arrived at the House of Bread (Bethlehem)
at the beginning of harvesting the barley.
Introduction
Our text this morning continues our study of the book of Ruth.
Notice then the story thus far: Naomi and Ruth have finally arrived in Bethlehem, causing quite the stir among the town folks. However, despite the fact that for the first time in years, Naomi is standing in God’s land surrounded by God’s people, she is convinced that God has rejected her as His child.
Therefore, she tells the town women “do not call me by the Hebrew name “Pleasant”. Instead, call me the pagan word for bitter. In other words, Naomi has completely missed the deliverance that God already has underway for her.
In our text this morning, we listen in as Naomi continues her complaint. However, while we listen, the author repeatedly tips us off that none of it is true. Instead, everything for Naomi and Ruth is about to change.
Verse 20 (Review)
Notice at once Naomi’s explanation for her proposed name change: Naomi says that the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. Importance: conspicuously, in a book that is all about names, Naomi does not call God by His covenant name (YHWH). Instead, she uses Shaddai (the Almighty), a name which represents God’s general standing before all mankind (and not just His people). In other words, Naomi says that God no longer responds to her as YHWH, the God of His people. Rather, He responds to her as Shaddai, the almighty judge of the nations. As such, it is God, as the Judge of all who displease Him, who has made her life exceedingly bitter. Simply put, in Naomi’s eyes, God has dealt with her as a pagan not as His covenant child.
Verse 21
Next, notice when Naomi says, “call me bitter”, you can all but hear the town women reply, “O Naomi it’s not true! Don’t say such things”. However, Naomi is not being melodramatic or seeking attention. Instead, she really believes that God has rejected her. Therefore, she points to what she believes is the concrete proof of her rejection. She says, I went out full but YHWH (the one who is to provide for and protect His people) has returned me empty FN#1. However, please note: Naomi’s main complaint is not that she is impoverished (that just adds insult to injury, it is just a symptom). Instead, to Naomi, her emptiness points to the fact that God has taken her husband, her two sons, and left her with no heir. Therefore, she has no one to carry on her name/line. Importance: in a book that is all about the future, what this means to Naomi is that God has removed her and her family from the future and thus the roll of His people. Simply put, to Naomi, it is clear that YHWH (the covenant God of Israel) has rejected her as one of His children. In turn, her poverty is just a fitting accompaniment to God’s displeasure FN#2.
Next, notice that Naomi provides a visual to her argument: Naomi points to herself and says to the town women, look at me. I have no husband or heir; no provider or protector; I am impoverished and tattered; and am old beyond my years because of hardship and sorrow. There is nothing about me that indicates God’s favor and blessing. Why then do you call me Pleasant to God FN#3.
Next, notice Naomi goes on to say that it is obvious that YHWH has witnessed against me. Importance: notice the language that Naomi uses here: the Hebrew term for witness is specifically a legal courtroom term FN#4. In other words, Naomi says that far from being pleasant to God, YHWH (the covenant God of Israel) has pronounced His sentence of judgement against her and thus rejected her as His child. Not only that, (notice the change) Naomi then says that the Almighty has brought evil upon me. In other words, Naomi says that her condition is the direct result and visible proof of God’s disfavor, rejection, and pronouncement against her. Importance: in a book that is all about names, notice that Naomi drives home the point that she has been making since verse 20 by playing off the names of God. Notice then that it is YHWH, the covenant God of Israel, who has witnessed against Naomi and rejected her from among His people. Therefore, from this point forward, Naomi says that God now responds to her as Shaddai, the Almighty judge of the nations. As such, He has made her life bitter and brought all of this misfortune/judgement against her. Simply put, Naomi’s change in the names she uses for God (from YHWH to Shaddai) underscores what she believes to be the change in her standing before God. To Naomi, God sees her as a pagan and not His covenant child. She is no longer Hebrew Pleasant but rather pagan Bitter.
Verse 22
Notice at once the poignant humor and delight with which verse 22 begins: we have just finished listening to Naomi going on and on about how everyone should stop calling her Pleasant. However, immediately in the very next verse the author completely ignores her instruction and calls her Pleasant. Why? The author knows (and is tipping us off by example) that nothing which Naomi just said is true. Therefore, he completely disregards it (as should we). Next, notice the function of verse 22: verse 22 serves as a summery and wrap-up of the entire first portion of the book and with it the central theme of returning. Notice then the echoes and reminders this conclusion provides: first, the author tells us that My Pleasant One returned. In other words, even though she does not see it yet, we are reminded that God has in fact delivered her from pagan Moab and brought her back to His land FN#5. Next, we are told that Companion, her young daughter-in-law also returned with her. Not only that, the text reminds us that Ruth is a Moabite as well as a young, eligible woman. In other words, we hear again the echoes of the cost that Ruth’s return will mean in a land that forbids pagan intermarriage. In other words, there is no human reason that she has come (there is nothing to gain and everything to lose). However, we know that Ruth is there because God’s hand is already at work. Thus, she has received Naomi’s witness as her own (conversion) and has bound herself to YHWH. In fact, please note that the author goes out of his way to deal with the return of these two women separately and in their own right FN#6. Thus, instead of simply saying that Naomi and Ruth returned, the author tells us individually that Naomi returned and that Ruth also returned from Moab. Why? By dealing with Ruth’s return individually (instead of just lumping it in with Naomi’s), the author is underscoring that Ruth the Moabitess left Moab (and thus her home, her customs, and her gods) of her own accord and for the same reason as Naomi (YHWH). Thus, Ruth’s return is not subordinate to Naomi’s. Instead, it stands on its own and is as much a return to YHWH and His land as is Naomi’s FN#7. Notice then the point: the author wants you to have all of these echoes and reminders (especially Ruth’s genuine conversion) front and center as you turn to see what the deliverance (that God has already begun) will bring about.
Next, notice where Naomi and Ruth arrive: not only have they returned to God and His land, they have specifically arrived (though “empty”) at the House of Bread, a place that heralds YHWH’s care and provision. Not only that, notice when they arrive: they arrive just as the barley harvest is getting underway FN#8. In other words, the author can barely contain himself. Everything we have just heard from Naomi is completely wrong. Everything in the book is about to change. Therefore, verse 22 ends by alerting you to the lavish provision from God that you are about to see.
Bottom line: over and again, the author has tipped you off that Naomi is wrong. Thus the deliverance that has already begun (though missed by all in the account) will not be missed much longer. Instead, we are about to see the amazing and lavish extent of God deliverance, faithfulness, and care FN#9. O, and next week, we will return to Bethlehem once again (though years later). And when we get there, we will celebrate just what it is that God was doing in the book of Ruth, while Naomi was busy freaking out and Ruth was pushed off to the side, silent and all but forgotten (as Naomi and the crowd focused on all the wrong things).
Footnotes
1] Note: you can hear the real life conversation in which the author’s selected details took place. The women not only recognize Naomi they also recognize who is missing. Thus, as they gather around her there are a thousand questions: “Naomi! Is it really you? But where are Elimelech and the boys”? Thus, when Naomi says “YHWH has returned me empty” she is answering their questions.
2] Notice, Naomi’s diminished view of this central theme of returning. Ironically, Naomi admits that God has returned her to His land. However, instead of seeing (or even entertaining the possibility) that it is a work of God’s deliverance, she sees only disfavor and rejection. Not only that when Naomi says that God has brought her back empty and alone, Ruth (her ever loyal companion) is standing right beside her. In fact, it is through Ruth that Naomi will be filled and her plight utterly reversed. However, for now, Naomi sees none of this. She believes that Ruth should have stayed behind in Moab and that nothing but the same hardship awaits her.
3] Naomi’s name has its first reference to God. Thus over and again we see Naomi using it in the direct context of God and her perception of His treatment of her. Otherwise, her constant play on its meaning would make little sense and convey little of the impact she intends. The result is that in the name My Pleasant One, My = God. As such, in our passage, when Naomi asks the town women, “why do you call me MY Pleasant One” they would hear and understand “why do you call me pleasant to God”?
4] The term that Naomi uses here עָנָה (witnessed) is specifically a legal term. Importance: what we are coming to find is that over and again, at key pivotal places in the account, Ruth is a book about legal transactions:
· Naomi’s official release and blessing (1:8-9)
· Ruth’s official and binding vow (1:16-17)
· And now a legal picture of YHWH’s supposed judicial action against Naomi (1:20-21)
Notice then the point: all of this is preparing us to see (not a romance story but) the binding and legal resolution to the women’s entire predicament as well as God once more acting on His binding commitment to keep His people (this time by bringing about His king, David). Ruth is a book all about legal transactions.
5] In contrast we are also reminded that God did not honor the compromise and unfaithfulness of Naomi’s husband, her two boys, and Back Turner (her other daughter-in-law). As such, they do not return. The result is that God has delivered Naomi from the unfaithful leadership that held her in pagan Moab.
6] This emphasis is repeated again when the author tells that Ruth “also returned from Moab”. The problem is that Ruth (unlike Naomi) did not grow up in Bethlehem. Therefore, to be technical, Ruth is not actually returning. Instead, she is arriving for the first time. However, the author sacrifices pedantic precision and uses the same term (return) to describe her journey in order to equate it to that of Naomi. Thus, Ruth (every bit as much as Naomi) is coming to her God and His people.
Finally this emphasis is repeated for a third time further down in verse 22 when the author tells us “they both arrived in Bethlehem” In other words, when the text says “they both” one would expect a feminine plural since the text is referring to the two women (Naomi and Ruth). However, an archaic masculine plural form is used here instead. This archaic form serves as a generic collective of emphasis “they both”. Importance: again the author draws attention to the fact that the return of the two women stands on equal spiritual footing (thus for Ruth no less than for Naomi, watch the feet and you will see the heart). The result is, the author has gone out of his was to drive home the point that each woman returns to the same place for the same ultimate reason (YHWH).
Such then, (along with Ruth’s Judaized name) is setting us up to see how this once pagan girl could marry and have God bless (in a big way) her union with the Hebrew Boaz. Remember, in a book whose purpose is to make the case for the Davidic kingship, to have that kingship founded on the unfaithfulness, impurity, and compromise of a pagan marriage would completely undermine the whole point. Thus the author over and again quietly underscores the genuineness of her conversion. However, the author is not defensive about the legitimacy of Ruth’s marriage. Her conversion is genuine and known by all at the time. It is reflected by the recording of her Judaized name (Ruth) in the records of God’s people, long before anyone knew the significance of her line. Thus, the author has no need to make a garish polemical case in its defense. Instead, he merely shows it to us and allows it to naturally and beautifully unfold as it actually did.
7] The return of the two women stands on equal spiritual footing (thus in both cases, watch the feet and you will see the heart). As such, the author has gone out of His was to drive home the point that each woman returns to the same place for the same ultimate reason (YHWH). Such then, (along with Ruth’s Judaized name) is setting us up to see how this once pagan girl could marry and have God bless (in a big way) her union with the Hebrew Boaz. Remember, in a book whose purpose is to make the case for the Davidic kingship, to have that kingship founded on the unfaithfulness, impurity, and compromise of a pagan intermarriage would completely undermine the whole point of the book.
8] The noun קָצִיר (harvest) is an active noun that depicts the act of harvesting. As such, I have translated it “the harvesting of barley” (instead of the usual more static translation “barley harvest”) to bring out this active depiction. Notice the result, the picture presented here is that when Naomi and Ruth arrive in town the work of harvesting had just begun and is already underway (which probably explains why it is the women who recognize and great them (See 1:19) . In other words, God’s provision is not a theory or concept. Rather, it has already started (it has already started in the fields and it has already started in Ruth and Naomi’s life). Not only that, note the barley harvest occurred prior to that of the wheat harvest. As such, to the original readers it not only indicated God’s present provision, it also pointed to His future provision to come (c.f. 2:23)
One final point about the barley harvest: in Israel the barely harvest occurs in late March or early April. So we know when Naomi and Ruth arrive in town. They arrive in Bethlehem in the early spring.
9] Take a moment to consider the point of the author’s dramatic foreshadowing and his delight in telling us this story: The author is drawing us into the account because the account has everything to do with us (Not just Naomi and Ruth). As such, he wants you fully engaged and invested. Notice then the king that will come from God’s deliverance and faithfulness will be a king/deliverer for His entire people. Not only that the Messiah that God will bring about through this king will be your savior and mine. In other words, it is the same God and the same faithfulness which we see in the Book of Ruth, that is at work in and for your life as well.
Epilogue
So maybe we should ask, if Naomi thinks that God has rejected her, why is she returning to God’s land? If you thought God was gunning for you, wouldn’t you run? The answer is No! A believer will turn to God for His grace and forgiveness. And that is the case with Naomi. Though Naomi thinks God is angry with her, she hasn’t rebelled against God. Her heart and soul still belong to God. Therefore, she longs for God, His people, and His land. Therefore, as a genuine believer, she instinctively turns towards God (not away).
Second, Naomi knows the people of God and their kindness. Thus, to return home is to go back to her family and those who stand the greatest chance of showing her sympathy and compassion. Thus, there is a theologically based pragmatic side to Naomi’s return. She is going back to the one place where she is most likely to find help. In fact, it is no mistake that she plans her arrival for early spring and the beginning of the harvests.
Regardless, to Naomi God is her God and God’s land is her home. Thus, come what may, with God is where she belongs.