From Bitterness to Redemption: God’s Hand in Ruth and Naomi’s Story

“But Ruth replied… ‘don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!” (Ruth 1:16-17).

Welcome back dear student, last week our Scripture from Psalms 40 rejoiced on how God rescues us from the mire of despair and sets us on a new path. Ruth was the daughter-in-law of Naomi. She was from a different nation and culture but chose to stay with her mother-in-law after both their husbands had died, for Naomi was all alone. The verse above is from a passage often read at weddings - signifying the devotion of the newlyweds to each other no matter what the future brings. In Naomi’s time, the outlook for a widow was not favourable. Once her money was gone her future was starvation, unless someone took her in. So, Ruth staying with Naomi rather than going home to find a new husband, was a sacrificial act.

Now the reality set in when they came to Naomi’s home place: Bethlehem,

which incidentally translates ‘House of Bread’. They returned as beggars, causing Naomi (which means ‘sweetness’ in Hebrew) to want to change her name to ‘Mara’ - meaning ‘bitter’. She had lost her husband, the breadwinner, and her two sons - her legacy, so she was desolate. To survive Ruth went to work in the fields gathering leftovers from those who were bringing in the barley harvest. The practice in Israel was to let the poor glean behind the reapers to feed themselves. God’s plan of Redemption for Naomi and Ruth now kicked into action. “The steps of the godly are ordered by the Lord. He takes delight in their journey” (Psalms 37:23).This is how the Lord works - when all looks hopeless and lost ‘light shines in the darkness’ (John 1:5).

The field that Ruth was working in belonged to Boaz, who unbeknownst to her, was a close relative to Naomi. He saw Ruth and inquired who she was. Already a good report had gone out about her in the city – that she was the widowed daughter-in-law, who chose to look after Naomi. Friend, oftentimes we do things, or go through things that no one notices – but God knows everything! He knows the truth. The Lord Jesus sees you at your weakest – He knows what it feels like (Hebrews 4:15). He understands the sacrifices, the pain, and the heartache, and He is your Redeemer! (Job 19:25) This means He will bring healing for all that has been lost. God is the One Who restores the years the locusts have stolen (Joel 2:25). He rebukes the devourer for our sake (Malachi 3:11).

Things may not turn out like you had planned or imagined, but if you trust Him the Lord will bring redemption. To redeem means to buy back or rescue what was lost and restore with atonement. Because there is no time in eternity where God lives, we can ask Jesus to go back to that time when the enemy came in and destroyed, and He will bring redemption and turn around with healing for the pain. Life keeps going on friend, but if we trust God we can go forward into a new beginning. The book of Ruth, only four chapters long, foreshadows Jesus the Messiah redeeming our lives from sin, hopelessness, death, and destruction. Boaz was her Kinsman Redeemer. He ended up marrying Ruth, and they brought forth a grandson for Naomi called Obed, who later became grandfather to King David, in the ancestral line of Messiah Jesus!