This is a lesson I prepared for a Sunday School class series titled, “Desperate People of the Bible.” The lessons are meant to be a mix of teaching and interactive discussion in the group. This is an outline of my presentation that guided the teaching and discussion. It was adapted from the ESV Bible Study Series – Ruth and Esther: A 12-Week Study.
Desolate Context
- Ruth 1:1 “In the days when the judges ruled”
- Judges 2:6-10 Death of Joshua
- Judges 2:11-15 Abandoned the Lord
Ruth 1:1-5
- Verse 1: Went to sojourn or “stay a while” in Moab to escape the famine in Israel.
- Verse 2: Remained there in Moab.
- Moab inhabitants were descendants of the incestuous union between Lot and one of his daughters (Genesis 19:30-38). They are the same people of Moab in Numbers 22-25, where Balak summons Balaam to pronounce a curse on the Israelites as they sojourned on the way to the Promised Land. They worshiped other gods and were no friends of God’s people.
- After 10 years in the land of Moab, Naomi is in crisis. She has lost her husband and both of her sons.
- In this context, a woman without a husband or a son was without a means of support. She was helpless and vulnerable.
- In this context, a woman without children to continue the family line was regarded as a failure.
For Discussion
Do these words ring true to you? Can you identify with Naomi?
Think back to a time when you felt helpless and vulnerable? Or when you felt like a failure?
Based on your experience, what are the emotions and feelings that Naomi is experiencing at this point?
A Plan and Some Determination
Ruth 1:6-18
Verses 6–13
Listen to Naomi in this section. What can you discern about her through her words and actions?
- (v6) She was sensitive to the work of God in her homeland
- (v6) She was decisive and determined to take action
- (v7) Starts out taking both daughters-in-law with her because they have been kind to her and helped her
- (v8-9) Sends them away with the blessing of the Lord
- (v10) They want to return to her people
- (v11-13) Naomi looks at the impossibility of her ability to provide for them.
- (v11-13) Naomi sees her circumstances as the Lord being against her.
Verses 14–17
Listen to the commitment of Ruth to her mother-in-law. What can you discern about Ruth in this section?
- (v14) “Clung to her” is the same phrase used in Genesis 2:24 where a man will leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife.
- (v16) Ruth’s commitment is to Naomi, her people, and her God. In contrast to v10.
- (v17) Ruth invokes an oath before the Lord to show her determination.
The Return
Ruth 1:19-22
- Naomi could only see the hand of God against her.
- Naomi could only taste the bitterness of her circumstances.
- Naomi was stuck in her wrong thinking and wrong perspective, and it blinded her to the work of God of in her life.
- She renames herself “Mara,” which is a reference back to Exodus.
- Read Exodus 15:22-23
- Instead of a log being thrown into the water to turn it from bitter Mara to sweet, the Lord threw the determined steadfastness of Ruth into the life of Mara to make her sweet.
Fullness Returns
Ruth 4:13-17
- Naomi thought she had lost everything and was left empty and bitter.
- The Lord continued to guide, protect, and provide for her.
- Naomi returned to her people empty in her own eyes but is now seen as blessed with the fullness of the Lord.
How is the view of God expressed here both similar to and different from the view expressed by Naomi in chapter 1?
In what ways does this concluding scene perfectly complete the shape of Naomi’s story?