seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Ruth 1:1 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. 2 The man’s name was Elimelek, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.
3 Now Elimelek, Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.
Here's a link to the commentary I read.In the days when the Judges ruled: This account begins in the closing days of the Judges, a 400-year period of general anarchy and oppression when the Israelites were not ruled by kings, but by periodic deliverers whom God raised up when the nation sought Him again.
Notable among the Judges were Gideon, Samson, and Deborah. Each of these were raised up by God, not to rule as kings, but to lead Israel during a specific challenge, and then to go back to obscurity.
The days when the Judges ruled were actually dark days for Israel; the period was characterized by the phrase everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
A certain man of Bethlehem: In these days, a man from Bethlehem left the land of Israel to sojourn in the country of Moab, because of famine. Bethlehem was a rich agricultural area (the city name means “House of Bread”), but times were tough, so he went to the pagan land of Moab.
To do so, he had to hike through the desolate Jericho pass, through the Judean wilderness near the Dead Sea, going across the Jordan River, into the land of Moab. This was a definite departure from the Promised Land of Israel, and a return towards the wilderness from which God had delivered Israel hundreds of years before. These were clearly steps in the wrong direction.
A famine in the land: God specifically promised there would always be plenty in the land if Israel was obedient. Therefore, a famine in the land meant that Israel, as a nation, was not obedient unto the LORD
Went to sojourn: This means to leave with the intention to return. The next verse tells us the name of the man was Elimelech and his intention of a short visit turned into ten, tragedy-filled years — and Elimelech never returned to Israel. The name Elimelech means “God is king” — but he didn’t really live as if God was his king.
Now they took wives of the women of Moab: Mahlon and Chilion grew, and took wives among the Moabite women, named Orpah and Ruth. Again, this was not in obedience to God; God commanded the Israelites to not marry among the pagan nations surrounding them.
Both Mahlon and Chilion died: As time went on (about ten years) Naomi’s sons died. So now there were three childless widows — Naomi and her two daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth.
To be a childless widow was to be among the lowest, most disadvantaged classes in the ancient world. There was no one to support you, and you had to live on the generosity of strangers. Naomi had no family in Moab, and no one else to help her. It was a desperate situation.
Welcome to the Book of Ruth. After reading Judges the beginning of the Book of Ruth seems a lot different to me. Now I understand the situation a little more.Women were worth nothing if they weren't barefoot and pregnant with a male heir.
Women were only good to keep a man's feet warm at night.
Women were not even counted in the census.
Even slaves and sheep were counted in the census.... but not women.
Naomi and her husband, Elimelek, were Israelites. They had no business going to live in Moab. That's one of the lessons we learned reading through the Book of Judges. But times were bad in Bethlehem... so that's what they did... they went to Moab for a while.
Apparently, they stayed longer than just a while. Naomi had two sons and raised them in Moab. The sons took Moabite wives. That was a no-no-no to the Israelites...But, what were they to do? They were in Moab; Israelite women were slim pickings.
While in Moab, there were wars. We read about how the Moabites were constantly battling the Israelites. This is why Balaam [the guy with the talking donkey] is in the Bible. The Moabites wanted Balaam to put a curse on the Israelites so the Moabites could conquer the Israelites.
AND NOW Naomi, an Israelite woman, is stuck in Moab with no husband or sons to support her. She would have to either move into a brothel or beg on the streets. On top of that she's got these two Moabite daughters-in-law depending on her. She couldn't move them into the brothel. They were widows too. They would have to beg on the street or get a man friend.
Three women, one Israelite, and two Moabite women, alone in the world where everyone did exactly as they wished.
Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah were in a horrible pickle.
