Naomi and Ruth
Comments for Study 1
Pick to read this Bible passage in a separate window.
SORRY, THE COMMENTARY THIS BOOK HAS NOT BEEN STARTED.
CLICK HERE FOR A LIST OF BOOKS THAT ARE COMPLETED.
I. Naomi Emptied (1:1-5)
A wood engraving by Gustave Dore (1832-1883) titled "Naomi and Her Daughters-in-Law" that is in a Bible was titled: "The Holy Bible containing the Old and New Testaments, according to the authorized version. With illustrations by Gustave Doré.
Dore's drawings were in Bibles that are now in public domain. This one was scanned in by creationism.org.
>1. What time did the events in this chapter happen? (1)
* Ruth 1:1 "In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab."
*
*
*
*
*
>Where was this man from? (2)
* Ruth 1:2 "The man's name was Elimelech, his wife's name Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there."
* "Bethlehem in Judah"
* "Ephrathites" -Ephrath is another name for Bethlehem. Genesis 35:19 states, "So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem)."
*
*
*
>Where did Elimelech move to and what might this tell us about him? (Gen. 19:36-38; Num. 22:2-6; Judges 3:12-14, 28-30)
* Genesis 19:36-38 "So both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father. The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today. The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites of today."
* Numbers 22:2-6 "Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites, and Moab was terrified because there were so many people. Indeed, Moab was filled with dread because of the Israelites. The Moabites said to the elders of Midian, "This horde is going to lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field." So Balak son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor, who was at Pethor, near the River, in his native land. Balak said: "A people has come out of Egypt; they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. Now come and put a curse on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the country. For I know that those you bless are blessed, and those you curse are cursed."
* Judges 3:12-14 "Once again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and because they did this evil the LORD gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel. Getting the Ammonites and Amalekites to join him, Eglon came and attacked Israel, and they took possession of the City of Palms. The Israelites were subject to Eglon king of Moab for eighteen years."
* Judges 3:28-30 "Follow me," he ordered, "for the LORD has given Moab, your enemy, into your hands." So they followed him down and, taking possession of the fords of the Jordan that led to Moab, they allowed no one to cross over. At that time they struck down about ten thousand Moabites, all vigorous and strong; not a man escaped. That day Moab was made subject to Israel, and the land had peace for eighty years."
*
*
>Would this have been easy?
*
*
*
*
*
>2. What was the next tragic event to happen in Naomi's life? (3)
* Ruth 1:3 "Now Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons."
*
*
*
*
*
>How might she have taken the news that her sons were going to marry Moabite women? (4)
* Ruth 1:4 "They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years,"
*
*
*
*
*
>What might she have believed after he sons died? (5)
* Ruth 1:5 "both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband."
*
*
*
*
*
>What encouraging words did Jesus give us? (John 16:33; and 1 John 5:3-5)
* John 16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
* 1 John 5:3-5 "This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."
*
*
*
*
II. Ruth Clings to Naomi (1:6-18)
>3. What news came to Naomi? (6)
* Ruth 1:6 "When she heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there."
*
*
*
*
>What does the fact that she wanted to return to Moab say about her?
*
*
*
*
*
*
>What kind of trip would it have been like for three women to travel such along distance in those days?
*
*
*
*
*
>Who came with her and why might they do so? (7)
* Ruth 1:7 "With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah."
*
*
*
*
*
>4. What did Naomi say to her daughters-in-law? (8-9)
* Ruth 1:8-9 "Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back, each of you, to your mother's home. May the LORD show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead and to me. May the LORD grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband." Then she kissed them and they wept aloud"
*
*
*
*
>What can we learn about Naomi from her words?
* /p>
*
*
*
*
*
>Had she lost faith in the Lord?
*
*
*
*
*
*
>5. When the daughters-in-law insisted they would come with her, what logic did Naomi give about their future with her? (11-13)
* Ruth 1:11-13 "But Naomi said, "Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me--even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons-- would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD's hand has gone out against me!"
*
*
*
*
>What did he mean by "the LORD's hand has gone out against me"?
*
*
*
*
*
*
>What should be done when it appears the LORD's had is against you? (Heb. 12:5-8; and 1 Cor. 11:30-32)
* Hebrews 12:5-8 "And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son." Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons."
* 1 Corinthians 11:30-32 "That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world."
*
*
*
*
>6. Was Orpah wrong in her decision? (14-15)
* Ruth 1:14-15 "At this they wept again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-by, but Ruth clung to her. "Look," said Naomi, "your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her." "
*
*
*
*
>What was the basis of Ruth's decision to stay with Naomi? (16-18)
* Ruth 1:16-18 "But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me." When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her."
*
*
*
*
*
>When it appears that all is lost what should we confess? (John 6:66-71)
* John 6:66-71 "From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. "You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." Then Jesus replied, "Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!" (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)"
*
*
*
*
*
III. Ruth and Naomi Return to Bethlehem (1:19-22)
>7. Why might the whole town be stirred when Naomi returned? (19)
* Ruth 1:19 "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?""
*
*
*
*
>What did she want to be called and why? (20-21)
* Ruth 1:20-21 "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."
*
*
*
*
*
>Is it wrong to say such things? (Matt. 26:37)
* Matthew 26:37 "He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled."
*
*
*
*
*
>8. Who did Naomi say brought the tragedy in her life?
* "the Almighty"
* "the LORD"
*
*
*
*
>Was she wrong?
*
*
*
*
*
*
>What did she mean by calling her life "bitter"?
*
*
*
*
*
>9. Can it be said that her return was a form of repentance? (22)
* Ruth 1:22 "So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning."
*
*
*
*
>10. At what time of the year did she return?
* "barley harvest" -The barley harvest in this region would begin in mid- to late-April as the rainy season came to a close. It was the earliest of the major harvest seasons. (Bible Background Commentary - The IVP Bible Background Commentary – Old Testament.)
*
*
*
*
>What happens at this time of year?
* The barley harvest preceded the wheat harvest by about two weeks (Ex. 9:31-32). At the beginning of the barley harvest, the first fruits were offered as a consecration of the harvest (Lev. 23:10). (Holman Bible Dictionary)
*
*
*
*
*
|
