The Book of Ruth
Chapter One
Today we will be studying Chapter 1 verses 19-22 of the Book of Ruth.
Naomi and Ruth return to Bethlehem
Memory Verse: "I went out full and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?"
Ruth 1:19-22
19 So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi?
20 And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.
21 I went out full and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?
22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.
They arrive in Bethlehem
" So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi?"
Naomi and Ruth go to Bethlehem and when they get there, everyone is excited to see them. Just as we would if we saw an old friend or relative after many years everyone was asking among themselves "Is this Naomi?" OR just as we would welcome a backslidden Christian back into the church so they welcomed Naomi back into the city of Bethlehem.
The city moved by her return.
v. 19a; "Is this Naomi?", or the price of backsliding. v. 19b
From "pleasant" to "bitter" in just a few years. v. 20. Ten years had left their mark. "And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me."
Naomi state of being is bitter. I believe just as many Christians get bitter againgst God when things go wrong because of our own disobedience, so Naomi was bitter against God for taking her children away. Also she tells everyone that the Lord has dealt very bitterly with her. He has chastised her for her disobedience to him by not returning to the land of Bethlehem sooner. Mara means bitter and that is what they are told to call her now.
"The Lord hath brought me home again." v. 21a.
God always does this for His erring children. She was "empty" as a result of backsliding. The Lord often times has to take things or people away from us in order to humble or hearts and get us back to where we need to be with him. A good example of this was when my husband and I were working with the youth at another church. We handled something the wrong way but my husband did not think that we had... later God took the youth group away and every ministry he tried at one point just didn't work. One day my husband came to me; he had realized that he was wrong in his thinking. God showed both of us that we were wrong and we repented. That brought us back to Him.
Almighty God had afflicted her. v. 21b.
Heb. 12:5-6, And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
6. They came at a time of harvest and blessing. v. 22.
Rom. 8:28, And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Phil. 2:13, For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
She left three graves in Moab as a result of sin, but at long last she is back in the land of blessing. At this time she has done that which the Lord wanted her to. This was to repent and turn away from the things that had gone on. She turned towards him...Just like Naomi there are things in our lives that we must turn away from and turn to God about. Once we do that God gives us more blessings that we can comprehend! Oh and the end of the story about my husband and I, we now have the opportunity once again to work with the youth...what a blessing right? AMEN!!!!!
I found a article about bitterness that I think would be appropriate to include in this passage:
Avoiding Bitterness
My husband gave me some principles that have helped him to avoid becoming a bitter man. If a person can have a valid reason for bitterness, I don’t know anyone who has more reason to be bitter than the man with whom I live. However, I can honestly say from the depth of my being that I believe he bears no ill feeling twoard anyone. These principles are the ones he follows to avoid bitterness.
1. When people are used to bring bitterness to you, look at them as what they are- people. We need to realize that people can be tools of Satan just as they can be used of God.
2. Live with the promise of Psalm 119:165. “Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.” Stay in the Word of God. If nothing offends us, it cannot lead to bitterness. 3. Realize that when Satan throws his darts, he is not trying to get you as much as he is trying to hurt all those to whom you can be a help. My husband, by no choosing of his own, has been a pastor to many people in this country for the last few years. Many people look to him. If he allows bitterness in his life, he can’t help those myriads of people who constantly need him. He feels that Satan’s arrows come to him so that all those who look to him will be destroyed.
You need to think that way, too. Remember, Naomi and Elimelech had two sons who married heathen daughters and died. Somebody else is always affected by your bitterness.
4. Realize that you are wounding yourself if you become bitter. The Bible dictionary says the word bitter means to cut. When you are bitter, you inflict more pain on yourself than on anyone else. Remember Matthew 5:11 and 12 which says, “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad.” Realize that you ought to be thanking God that you are being persecuted.
5. Realize that becoming bitter makes you a partner with those who are trying to hurt you. Don’t fall into Satan’s trap.
6. Accept your trouble as an opportunity. The Bible gives us a command to love our enemies. You can’t obey that command if you never have an enemy! If God told us to love our enemies, then He is going to allow enemies to come into our lives-people who might cause us to have bitterness. The Bible also says to “endure hardness.” (II Timothy 2:3) When that Scripture instead of allowing them to cause bitterness.
What is your name? Is it Mara?
Study Question
1. What did the people of Bethlehem-judah say when Naomi and Ruth arrived?
2. What time of the year was it when they arrived?
3. What did Naomi tell the people of Bethlehem to call her?
4. Why did she tell them to call her that?
5. What lesson can we learn from these verses?
6. Repeat the memory Verse.
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