Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, "Can this be Naomi?"
"Don't call me Naomi," she told them. "Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me."
So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.
Ruth 1:19-22
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
At the beginning of Ruth, Chapter 1, we see where a Judean woman, Naomi, experiences terrible tragedy after her husband relocates their family to Moab during a time of famine. In Moab, her husband, Elimelech, passes away and leaves her to care for their two sons who also die soon after marrying two Moabite girls. And so Naomi, facing a life of loneliness void of her husband and her sons, urges her Moabite daughter-in-law, Ruth and Orpah, to return to their families in Moab so they at least could reestablish their lives by remarrying. Orpah decides to return but Ruth refuses to leave Naomi alone, willing to leave her culture and family and gods behind in exchange for Naomi’s Israelite customs and God.
As the chapter ends, we see Naomi and Ruth arriving in Bethlehem “as the barley harvest was beginning” after traveling from Moab. They went back to Judah because Naomi had heard the “Lord had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them”. (Ruth 1:6) Scripture tells us that the arrival of Naomi and Ruth resulted in the “whole town (being) stirred because of them” with the women exclaiming, "Can this be Naomi?" Obviously, they were surprised to have seen her arrive alone without her family.
We sense the sorrow and grief Naomi was experiencing in her reply as she told the women, “Don't call me Naomi…Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me." With these words, we see clearly that Naomi is blaming God for her troubles. He made her life bitter. He brought her back empty. He afflicted her. He brought misfortune upon her.
Naomi’s attitude was understandable and unmistakably human. But it was also worldly and short of what God would have expected.
For although we serve a God of great power and wonder and miracles, we also serve a God who has never assured us that we will live a worldly life forever. In fact, He never guaranteed how long anyone would live. The truth of the matter is only God knows how long any of us will remain alive in His earthly kingdom. This only underscores the importance of valuing the time we have with one another when while we have it…because it isn’t going to last forever. And when we value our relationships the right way…seeing them as true blessings from God…then we can handle loss differently as well...because we see every day we are allowed to spend with someone dear as a blessing and gift, something that is to be celebrated in life and after death.
Maybe…just maybe…if Naomi would have had that kind of perspective on her life and the relationship she had with her husband and sons, she would have spoken differently to the women in Bethlehem. Maybe she would have told them that they shouldn’t call her Naomi but instead call her “Blessed” because the Lord had made her life so joyful because although she went away full and came back empty, she at least had a husband and sons to love and live with. And even with their deaths, she still wasn’t truly alone because the Lord had blessed her with such a loving, caring daughter-in-law who vowed to stay by her side. Yes…she had endured affliction and misfortune but the Lord was always with her through those difficult times. He was the source of her strength…then, now and in what was to come. Indeed, she should be called “Blessed”.
Imagine how strong of an impact a positive testimony would have had on the women Naomi spoke with. Think about how powerful and profound that would have been. But it wasn’t to be. Instead, Naomi squandered her chance to witness effectively on the Lord’s behalf. Instead, she chose to complain and whine about her circumstances.
Friends, it’s easy to complain about things. We all could easily adopt a Naomi-like attitude and ask others to call us “Mara”, blaming a bitter life experience on the Lord. And too often, we do just that. My prayer is that we learn from Naomi’s mistake and commit ourselves to remaining faithful to the Lord, no matter what our circumstances might be. For it’s then and only then, that we can consistently tell others to just call us “Blessed”…because that’s what we truly are no matter what life might bring. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
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