Ruth 1:19-22

SOME HOMECOMING

Naomi had been gone about ten years from her hometown, and those years had taken a toll on her. She had lost her husband and her two sons. As Naomi described her life to the women of Bethlehem, she was in agony. She did not depict the meaning of her name Naomi, which means "pleasant." Rather, her life was "very bitter" and she thought it would be better to be called Mara, which means "bitterness." She was "empty" and "afflicted" and "misfortune" had been brought upon her. However, through it all, she recognized that the Lord is in control, though it was very difficult for her to understand his ways and in the weakness of her sinful nature complained about her bitter life.

Naomi's misfortune, however, set the stage for the wonderful blessings God was about to bring to her—and to Ruth. God had not forgotten about her. God had good things in store for her. This is where the real story of Ruth takes off. What we have heard up to this point is background. God had ended the famine, enabling Naomi to return home with Ruth. And their arrival was coincident with the beginning of the barley harvest. This relatively minor detail sets up everything that follows. The timing of their arrival enabled Ruth to meet a certain man who plays a role in God's plan.

God has not forgotten about us or this world. God has a plan, and that plan included sending his Son to pay for the sins of the world, including our sins of dissatisfaction and complaint. In the chapters ahead we will see some of the significant steps that God took to bring his Son into the world to be our Savior.