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. (Ruth
1:19-22)
There are important lessons on choices we make in
our lives, and how those decisions are hurtful to us when made outside the
counsel of Almighty God. There are a couple of old German Dutch sayings which
go: “We grow too soon old, and too late smart,” and “It is better to lose the
anchor than the whole ship.” These wise old sayings suggests to our minds that time
is fleeting, and opportunity flies away; however, with only a small bit of time
left, after all the time wasted, we should make the best of that time remaining
in life. Though Naomi has wasted some of her best years in Moab, she has, in
her latter days, returned to the place of her birth and the favored home of
blessing. Better late than never, and even with our last remaining days, we can
find that favor of God in our lives. Though our ship of life may be grounded on
the breakers or stones of the far shore, we may yet reach out for that life
preserver that the Lord makes continually available to shipwrecked seaman.
Though Naomi left Bethlehem in Judah with a husband
and two sons, she now returns with a single soul so well favored by the Lord –
Ruth. There have been very few women of the character of Ruth. She is a
singular example to all women – and to those of us less lovely men. She had a
character of faith and love that was not affected, but genuine and pure to such
a degree that the Lord allowed her to be included in the accounted genealogy of
the Lord Jesus Christ. She was, as well, privileged to be the great-grandmother
of King David. So the line of David and Jesus descends from a Jew and a
Gentile.
“So they two went until they came to Bethlehem.” We
may start out with more than we finish with in the way of souls. Churches
certainly seem to do so. Three began the journey, and one (Orpah), turned back.
Confucius said “the journey of one thousand miles begins with the first step.”
He could have added wisdom to that statement if he ended his comment with “and
ends with the last step.” Unless the last step is taken toward Bethlehem, one
falls short of the journey. But “they two went until they came to Bethlehem” –
all of the way! The lesson of life here is that a journey worth beginning is
worth completing.
“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?” The women travelled together apparently on foot to Jerusalem. The going
must have been slow due to Ruth’s aging mother-in-law (Naomi), but
determination and perseverance will at last realize success. After so many
years, and such great losses, Naomi once more graces the gates of Bethlehem.
She had been away so very long that all of her family, friends, and neighbors
considered that she must be dead – but God never gave up watching over Naomi
even if she had been in a far country, and a great distance out of His divine
will. The whole city was anxious to see Naomi. They probably could not believe
their eyes for two reasons:
1.
As stated earlier, they presumed she had perished
in Moab;
2.
The years had not been kind to Naomi.
Naomi’s name means pleasant, but she does not
appear at all to fulfill the merits of that name anymore. That is the toll that
living away from God can take on a body. They all wondered, “Is this really
Naomi?” Well, yes, it WAS Naomi. Though the container was battered and bruised,
the soulful contents were the same.
It is amazing how ingeniously we are able to find
ways for blaming God when we have departed from Him. When the women asked, “Is
this Naomi?” she responded, “Call me not Naomi (pleasant), call me Mara
(bitter): for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.” That is like a
young child going into the briar patch where his mother has forbidden him to
go, and then blaming his mother for all of the cuts and scratches he got there.
We go where God has not told us to go, get into deep ruts and troubles, and
then have the audacity to blame God for what has happened to us! Has God really
dealt bitterly with Naomi in Moab where God was not a partner to her
misfortune. She placed herself in jeopardy by going where she was not supposed
to go, and she did so with her eyes open.
At this point in the lesson, I will ask a question
of the reader: Why did Naomi leave Bethlehem-Judah in the first place and
travel to Moab? Was it not due to famine in Canaan? “Now it came to pass in the
days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain
man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife,
and his two sons.” (Ruth
1:1) Naomi and Elimelech were of the higher strata of society in Bethlehem.
Famine may have placed a great want on the common people of the city, but those
who were in Naomi’s class were by no means starving. They left for better
opportunity – and lost all. See how Naomi blames God for her predicament: “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?” Don’t blame God for the consequences of sin – sin bears its own
punishments. Observe that Naomi went out full (that is right, in the midst of a
famine she and her family were quite well off and able to endure the
deprivation of famine.) Do you know that the Lord never moves – He is the same
yesterday, today, and forever. Our sins MOVE us from God. Naomi blames God for
her returning empty, but God never told Naomi to go to Moab. Naomi took herself
away from God’s protection in Moab, but blames God for all that transpired
there.
I received a letter recently from a close friend
who had finally met a perfect gentleman. He is mannerly, considerate and
loving, yet, he is an unbeliever. What is his reason for being an unbeliever,
you might ask? Here is his tale: He went to the Vietnam War as an Army
Intelligence officer (I know, a misnomer!), and saw such terrible cruelty and
mayhem that he asked, “How could God allow that?” That is it! That is his reason
for not believing! I should say, more correctly, that it is his EXCUSE for not
believing in a God to whom he does not wish to surrender that ‘free will’ that
is yet in bondage to sin. God is not the Author of sin and wickedness – man is.
The only force on earth that brings man’s heart into closer harmony with love
and compassion is the element of faith in God. Without it, cruelty and mayhem
rule.
I love this last verse of Ruth, Chapter 1: “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.” It is always ‘harvest time’ when a soul returns
to, or comes for the first time, to the Lord. The very best time to return home
is NOW – during the time of barley harvest. Home is certainly where the heart
should be, but often wanders from it. Home is where God is pleased for you to
be always. Wandering about in the briar patches and pig sties of the world will
never profit no matter how large the berries appear. I have been to the briar
patch, and I have been in the pigsty as well. They are not the place to grow
and to live a rewarding life. One cannot move without getting cut by the
briars, or walk without stepping in unmentionable filth. So why go there. Why
not remain close to God – even by His side (hand in hand). The times of my
childhood when I felt most secure was when I walked, hand in hand, with my
father. Regardless the city traffic, or the beasts of the woodland hills, I
felt secure when my father held my hand. Do you believe that the old Serpent of
the Garden will dare approach if you are walking hand-in-hand with God? No, he
has learnt a lesson. He has already been vanquished from Heaven and from the
Garden eastward at Eden, and he is just about to be banished from the
inhabitable main-lands of the earth into the fires of the deep.
But the only way you can walk with God is to
surrender that old wicked, human will (erroneously called Free Will) to His
divine and perfect will. Amos has already posited the question: “Can two walk
together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3) Are you, my friend, in perfect agreement with God
– enough so that you may place your hand in His and walk side by side on the
same path? If not, why not leave Moab now and return home to God?
