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Naomi's Story Naomi’s story is one that intrigues me. Many gloss over her part in the larger story. After all, the book is named after Ruth, right? Not Naomi. Naomi is the older. Ruth is the younger. Naomi is the one who is part of God’s chosen people. Ruth is from Moab, an enemy of the people of God and who worship other gods. In fact, Deuteronomy says no one from Moab may enter the assembly of the Lord even to the tenth generation. Yet, she is not only redeemed into the family of God, she has an entire book named for her in Scripture! God is so gracious and kind! Boaz, as her kinsman redeemer, already knew how God can change the life of a woman who was from the wrong family, tribe, nation. It was his own mother, Rahab, yes, the prostitute, who was also named in the genealogy of Jesus! What a Redeemer! He turns lives around and brings them into His own family! Naomi was already in. She had the right lineage, the right patronage, the right bloodline. She was living in the Promised Land! She and her husband, Elimelech, made their home in Bethlehem which means house of Bread. God has provided the land of the promise. They had all that they needed if they would trust Him. However, many enemies surrounded them and heard of the great name of their God and all the miracles He had done for them. These people ravaged their crops and destroyed land so that there was a famine. The House of Bread was not overflowing with abundance. The place flowing with milk and honey was run dry. Rather than trust God for “their daily bread”, Naomi and Elimelech decided to take matters into their own hands. It’s important to note that this story takes place during the time of the judges when there was no king in Israel and everyone did what was right in their own eyes. The Israelites had complained and begged for a king. Yet this man, whose name means literally “My God is King”, decided he was going to be king of his own castle so to speak and do what seemed right in his own eyes: leave Bethlehem and sojourn (KJV) in Moab. They intended to stay only for a while, perhaps to provide food and sustenance for their two boys, Mahlon and Chilion, whose names mean “sickly” and “weak”, or “wasting away”. Maybe they had valid concerns for the health and well being of their children. He did what any good dad might want to do and tried to provide for the physical needs of his family. That’s not the bad part. He left God’s plan, place, and people to try to go it alone. He abandoned the command to provide for his children in the other ways God told fathers to instruct and lead their children, to write the commands upon their hearts and impress them to their children. All of that is neglected by their move. Maybe they initially didn’t mean to stay a long time. We see they crossed over Jordan (the wrong way) out of Bethlehem and headed east to Moab (the wrong place) and left the land promised by the one true God to live among the Moabites (the wrong people) because it seemed right to them?! I can’t help but think that everywhere he went when he undoubtedly met someone new he had to introduce himself. “Hello, my name is Elimelech, “My God is King!” Can you imagine! To the Baal worshippers: “My God is King!” Every single time they said his name to a new person or every time they addressed him they declared “My God is King!” Yet they weren’t living on the King’s land or with the King’s people or worshipping in His synagogue or partaking in the King’s provision. Doesn’t that still ring true for our culture today? Many are still doing whatever seems right in their own eyes. “This is my truth.” Some even claim the name “Christian”, meaning I am like Christ, all while living outside of the boundaries he has set for them, among people who are not his followers, among people worshipping false gods and idols. They do not trust him for his provisions daily. While Naomi and Elimelech may have only intended to stay for a short while, or sojourn, they stayed. They got the address, the house, the work, etc. They stayed for ten years! They allowed their sons to marry women from that land which invites false gods into their family. They “may” have gone to escape what they perceived as inevitable and impending death at the hands of the famine, but found it anyways outside of the people and place of God. In fact, Naomi was living outside of the presence, people, and promise of God when she finally heard the Lord had provided for His people and there was once again food in Bethlehem. God was moving and she had to hear about it from his enemies who were awestruck by the stories they’d heard of his miracles, protection, and provision for his people. She, herself, was now an outsider. That’s the saddest part of this story to me. It’s heartbreaking. Naomi has changed. That happens when we get out of daily communion with God and his people. She makes her way back to Bethlehem with Ruth in tow and gets reacquainted with her former neighbors, friends, and family. They knew her as Naomi, “sweet” and “friendly” as her name indicates, yet now she says, “call me Mara” which means “bitter.” She then proceeds to blame God for all her troubles and loss! She is bitter alright, bitter with God and angry with him. She is now spewing that bitterness all over anyone and everyone she speaks to. “Could it be?,” they ask. “Is this really Naomi?” She retorts with, “No, call me Mara for am bitter now! God has taken everything from me. I went away full, and he has brought me back empty!” Now she isn’t completely wrong. SHE went away. He brought her back. She said he has dealt bitterly with her?! He brought this calamity upon her?! No, honey. This is a perfect example of sin taking you further than you wanted to go, keeping you longer than you wanted to stay, and costing you more than you wanted to pay. It was their choice to walk away. They chose to leave the family and fellowship of God’s people. Then, unfortunately, calamity followed. He still offers us a choice. Free will. He has very lovingly provided. His promises are true and good. Jesus himself modeled how to pray, “Give is this day our daily bread. He didn’t say he’d give a life time supply all at once! He said he would give you daily bread for life. He gives just enough for each day like with the manna in the desert. He’s proven he’s good. You can trust his promises. Stay inside his plan. Partake of his goodness and provision. He will take care of you and your posterity for generations, but they have to know about him we have to teach them. Train them. Disciple them. Show them how to fight their battles in the heavenly realm. Praise is their weapon. We are commanded to make disciples. We must. We can learn from examples in Scripture like Naomi and Elimelech and know that no matter how many times we say “I am a Christian” or “My God is King” we must love it out faithfully every day or it means nothing. It can, in fact, due real damage to the very name we proclaim. That is a very serious responsibility. Chaos and calamity or peace, promise, and provision. The choice is before us. I trust you’ll take time to reflect on what it means every time you say you bear his name, “Christian” or “little Christ” and consider carefully how you represent him in this world. It matters. Amy Mitchell AuthorAmy Mitchell and her husband Matthew attend Christ Community Church in Jessie, West Virginia , with their two teenage boys, Samuel and Elijah. There Amy teaches both adults and children at her local church. Amy and Matthew were both saved at a very young age and have spent their life in service and ministry. Amy is a teacher and now works for the Wyoming County Board of Education where she serves as Director of Instructional Resources and Services. ArchivesNo Archives Categories |
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