Ruth 1:6-7
Ruth 1:5 And both Sick (Mahlon) and Frail (Chilion) also died; and the woman was left without her two children and without her husband.
6 Then she arose, she and her young daughters-in-law
that she might return from the fields of Moab,
because she had heard in her particular Moabite field that YHWH had taken note of His people and given them food.
7 So she departed from the place where she was, and her two young daughters-in-law with her;
and they traveled on the way in order to return to the land of Judah.
Introduction
Our text this morning continues our study of the book of Ruth.
Now remember, last week we left Naomi (My Pleasant One) in direr straights. How? First, the compromises of the unfaithful leadership around her have brought her to live in the pagan land of Moab. Second, that leadership (her husband and her two sons) all die. The result is, (as is the case with all such unfaithfulness) the compromise that was meant to feed the family has left Naomi and her two daughters-in-law utterly destitute.
However, God has not abandoned Naomi. Instead, as harsh as these family deaths may seem (both to Naomi and to us), nonetheless, by them God has completely delivered His Pleasant One from the faithless leadership that impoverished her. Not only that, God has kept Naomi as a remnant for Himself.
In our text this morning, amid all the sorrow and distress, we begin to see the heart and faithfulness of Naomi on full display, the very heart and faithfulness which have made her pleasant to God.
Verse 1:6
Notice at once verse 6 tells us that Naomi arose: However, please note, verse 6 tells us more than simply Naomi stood up. Instead, the verb arose dramatizes a collective of actions by which a decision is put into play. In other words, Naomi has decided to go home to Bethlehem. Therefore, she and her two daughters-in-law set about pulling up root, packing the house, and getting things ready to go FN#1.
Simply put, the verb arose encompasses all of this activity by depicting Naomi as standing up and preparing to leave. Importance: notice at once the spiritual, emotional, and situational reversal at work at the very start of verse 6: remember back in verse 4 we were told that, under the faithless leadership of her sons, the family dwelt in Moab (the verb means to sit, put down root, establish permanent residency). However, here in verse 6 we see the fruit of God’s deliverance. Thus, while faithless leadership had Naomi sitting/residing in Moab, once freed from that leadership, Naomi immediately arises/stands to leave.
Next, notice the Hebrew noun translated daughters-in-law specifically indicates young, recently wed women and thus those who are still in their prime childbearing age. Important: the author’s deliberate word choice here underscores several vital factors: first it tells us that not much time has passed between their weddings, their husbands’ death, and Naomi’s departure (they are still young and considered just recently wed). Second, it underscores the girl’s real potential for remarriage if they remain in Moab (they are in their prime childbearing age). In other words, the cost of going with Naomi is extremely high FN2. Finally, it emphasizes Naomi’s faithfulness. How? Notice, Naomi does not linger in Moab. Instead, her choice to return is all but immediate (her daughters-in-law are still just recently wed) FN#@. In other words, no sooner does God deliver Naomi, she uses this freedom faithfully. Simply put, Naomi’s decision to return to God and His land, together with its swiftness, reflect her heart towards God FN#3.
Next, verse 6 tells us explicitly that Naomi has arisen and done all she has done to make ready, because she intends to depart the fields of pagan Moab and return home to Bethlehem. Importance: the notion of retuning dominates this entire section of the book (1:6-22). That is, it is against the backdrop of returning that the events of this section as well as their spiritual moorings play out FN#4. Notice then, the word return occurs some 12 times in this section (6-22). In other words, the author is constantly directing our attention to this notion. Why? In Ruth returning does not simply indicate a physical movement. Instead, the author uses it to point to the deeper spiritual movement of the heart that motivates the action. In other words, for the author, first the heart turns/returns and then the feet follow. Thus, watch the feet and see the heart.
Next, notice what prompts Naomi’s departure: verse 6 tells us that she had heard that YHVH had given food to His people. In other words, the famine that had motivated her husband to leave home is now over. However, notice where Naomi receives this news: she hears about it in the particular field where she lived and worked FN#5. Importance: notice at once God’s providence and care: the news about food in little foreign Bethlehem is not something that would spread nationwide across Moab (who cares). Instead, this news/gossip/this “O by the way did you hear” small talk just happened to reach Naomi in the specific Moabite field where she just happened to work. Not only that, verse 6 tells us that it is this very news that is the reason/cause/impetus that sets her plans to return in motion FN#6. In other words, once again, we see God’s hand quietly at work for “His Pleasant One”.
Finally, notice what Naomi hears: She hears that YHWH has taken note of His people and given them food. Importance: in a book that is all about names, it is of vital significance that God’s covenant name is used. In other words, it is not that Naomi simply hears that things are better at home or that “god” (generic and non-descript) has sent food. Instead, her faith and her heart are specifically turned to YHWH, the one true living God and the Covenant God of her people. Importance: it is the author’s repeated use of God’s unique Covenant name throughout this section (6-22) along with Naomi’s choice to return specifically to Him that alert us to and underscore her quiet but persistent faith. In a book that is all about names, it is YHWH who fills Naomi’s heart FN#7.
Verse 7
Notice at once with verse 7 the preparation is over and the journey is underway FN#8. Not only that, notice both of Naomi’s daughters-in-law go with her. Importance: first, the word choice “young daughters-in-law” again reminds us of the real cost that going with Naomi means. Second, the key decision to remain with Naomi that the girls will eventually have to make does not seem to be a factor at this point in the narrative. Instead, it seems that there is a legal or cultural obligation for the two girls to follow Naomi. They are a part of her family and under her charge/care. Notice then, they help her get the household packed and then actually depart with her. In fact, it is only later, when Naomi offers them a contractual release, that there seems to be a choice in the matter. So what? We are being prepared to see not only Naomi’s heart in offering a release she does not have to give, but also the girls’ heart in their response to it FN#9.
Finally, verse 7 leaves us with a picture of Naomi and her two daughters-in-law heading off in the distance on the road back to Bethlehem. Not only that, once again we meet with this central notion of returning along with all its yet to be answered spiritual factors. We know Naomi’s heart, but what about the girls? Where are their hearts in all of this? One last point: notice the suspense: in a book that is all about names, did you notice that since verse 5 there is still no mention of Naomi’s name. Remember, back in verse 5, with Naomi destitute and her future in real jeopardy, she is referred to only as “the woman” (she is nameless and futureless) FN#10. Notice then, this trend has continued. Since verse 5 we only hear her referred to as “she”. So yes, she is going home; and yes, the journey is already underway; but what’s going to happen? Will things be any better for her there? Will the future be any brighter?
Bottom line: We know that God’s hand is at work. We have seen that in the text. But do you think Naomi sees it? Unfortunately, just like is so often the case with you and me in our own lives, the answer is, no. Naomi is completely freaked out. And yet, what Naomi does know is that returning to God and staying close to Him is always the first and best thing to do. Thus, amid all the uncertainty and suspense, there is real hope as we watch Naomi and the two girls crest the hill and pass from our view.
Footnotes
1] she and her young daughters-in-law with her–
Note: the repetition of “she” echoes that of verse 3 in both structure and purpose. That is, in both verses the purpose of the seemingly needless repetition of “she” is to place the focus and emphasis on Naomi. Here in verse 6 that emphasis is echoed and maintained. Notice then the subtle hope: in verse 5 Naomi’s name and thus her future where obscured. She was only called “the woman”. Here in verse 6 that obscurity remains. Naomi is still nameless. However, the repetition of “she” and its direct echo of emphasis remind us that Naomi is God’s focus and thus is to be ours as well.
2] Remember, God’s people were forbidden to marry pagans (Ex 34: 14-16; Jdg 3:5-7; Ez 9: 10-12). In fact, it was the taking of pagan wives that was the straw that broke the back for God with regards to Naomi’s two sons, Sick and Frail. Thus, for the girls to return with Naomi to Bethlehem would severely reduce their chances for remarriage (the land has just been through a harsh famine and nobody wand to rouse God’s displeasure with any further sin). Importance: notice the theme of future that emerges: One daughter-in-law will eventually choose to remain in Moab because it offers her a chance for a better future. The other forgoes the anemic future, which is the best that the pagan world has to offer, and joins her lot to the future that God offers His people.
@] Naomi does not linger nor does it take some disaster like a famine to chase her home. Someone may retort that the death of her husband and sons is such a disaster. To this we reply simply that Naomi will be a widow wherever she goes. In other words, leaving does not resolve her problem. Instead, it frees her to follow her heart. Thus, amid disaster, Naomi turns (returns) to God. Like us when things are hard, Naomi wants to go home.
3] The author’s word choice of “young daughters-in-law” and the brevity of time between events that it conveys underscore another important factor: it shows God’s swift displeasure and judgment against the apostate sons. God does not wait long after their marriage to pagan women to strike them down. Their women are still considered recently wed. Importance: the message is clear: then as now, it is vital that we not wrongly assume that God is OK with sin.
4] In fact, on my outline of the book I named this section, Returning the Heart (or Back to the Future).
5] So far throughout the book the land of Moab has been described as the fields of Moab (plural). However, here in verse 6 the singular (field) is used. In other words, the singular here is used as a singular of specificity. Thus, the singular (field) is used in contrast to the plural (fields) in order to indicate that Naomi heard this news, not in the broad and ambiguous land of Moab, but specifically in the particular field where she was working. Even if one wishes to translate the singular as simply a field (she had heard in a field), the specificity is still in play. In either case, the point remains that word about Bethlehem just happened to reach Naomi in the specific Moabite field where she just happened to be.
6] The news is the very go ahead that Naomi needs. Naomi wants to go home but there is a famine in the land. As a widow with two dependents, she just can’t go from bad to worse. She knows that during a famine no one will have enough for a charity case like her. In verse 6 God removes this obstacle and makes sure Naomi hears it.
7] Notice: the playful assonance in the final phrase of verse 6. The words “to give to them bread” read and sound as follows:
לָתֵת לָהֶם לָחֶם (Lateet, Lahem, Lakem)
There is an intentional whimsical musical quality to this phrase. It is as if in the midst of their rebellion God’s people in Bethlehem returned to God and God’s compassion and care were there for them lickety splickety. Such then prepares us phonetically to encounter the joy in turning to God (versus the ruin of unfaithfulness).
8] The trip from Moab to Bethlehem is some 150 miles, which would be about a week’s travel, and involved leaving Moab, crossing the Jordan and entering Judah.
9] The way that we most likely remember the story of Ruth is that Naomi is leaving and lets Ruth go with her. But such is not the case. Instead, the girls seem obligated to go with Naomi regardless. However, somewhere along the way, Naomi offers them the choice to return and so remain in Moab. In other words, we are being prepared to see the other side of the theme of returning and the other spiritual options it presents. However, if we fail to listen to Scripture or skip over the detail that the girls are already underway with Naomi, we will miss an important heads up to the spiritual dynamics that follow.
10] From our sermon last week on 1:5
The loss of sons and husband is not just an emotional tragedy, it is also a dire financial and social tragedy. Naomi is left with no real way to provide for herself or move within respectable society. As a poor widow who has to beg, she will be a reproach and outcast. Importance: at once the central theme of “future” emerges in the starkest of terms. Naomi’s entire future is in real jeopardy. In fact, notice that it is at this point, in a book full of names, that Naomi is left conspicuously nameless. She is referred to in verse 5 only as “the woman”.
Notice then, this namelessness continues in verses 6-7 both grammatically and affectively. Thus, throughout the passage (6-7), the pronouns “she/her” grammatically refer back to “the woman” and not to Naomi’s proper name. As such, the feeling of dread over the reality of her jeopardy persists.