Last Week we left Naomi in Moab with grown sons and new daughter-in-laws. Our story is about to take another turn, a very hard one. But before we go any further, let’s stop a moment and consider the validity and importance of the Book of Ruth. I think we can sum it up with a few of Benjamin Franklin’s observations.
WHAT BENJAMIN FRANKLIN KNEW
In his frequent travels to France on United States business, Benjamin Franklin was associated with a group of people who formed a club called The Infidels. This club spent their time reading and critiquing literary masterpieces.
Benjamin Franklin wanted the club to critique The Book of Ruth, but he feared they would not be interested. In order to make this happen, he read the book to them without giving the title and changed all of the characters’ names. They had no idea what book he was reading from; but their response was to absolutely love the book.
These lovers of literary works would never consider any literature from the bible. They held the scriptures in great disdain. However, when Benjamin Franklin read the Book of Ruth without knowing where it came from, they had the highest praises for the reading. It was proclaimed a masterpiece.
Of course they asked Benjamin Franklin to tell them where he had found such an astounding short story. At that point, Mr. Franklin glady and proudly announced that he had found the story in the Bible.
A DIFFERENT TYPE OF TESTIMONY
It seems there is more than one way to give testimony to God’s goodness from the scriptures. This was a clever ploy by Mr. Franklin.
Maybe we should tell stories from the scriptures in the pulpit with name changes. We could then see if anyone in the congregation is able to recognize the passages. Without bias, we might gain a few new listeners.
Who knows?
That would certainly be an interesting experiment to try.
KNOWING GOD’S EXISTENCE MAKES THE DIFFERENCE
What was the difference between Benjamin Franklin’s outlook on life with God and the outlook of this Infidel Club’s members?
It would appear the difference was that Benjamin Franklin believed that God exists.
The men of the club seemed to be totally ignorant of that fact. They were depending on their own intelligence instead of the wisdom of God.
Benjamin Franklin was able to elevate their thinking to a higher level, a level that was God-given instead of man-made. This little observation also helps to explain the whole essence of The Book of Ruth. It is about the romance of redemption. There can be no redemption if there is no belief in God. That is always the starting place.
IT ALL STARTS WITH BELIEVING GOD EXISTS
This was the starting place during the days of Benjamin Franklin, and it is the starting place for those of us today.
As for the times of Ruth; it was also Ruth’s starting place.
Ruth started to make better decisions in her life by learning to believe that the God who Naomi prayed to was real.
By this time, just as she becomes a widow herself; Ruth comes to believe that God exists.
MORE GRIEF FOR NAOMI
Two tragic things are about to happen in the life of Naomi.
The first tragedy is the loss of Noami’s two sons to death. We are not given the reason or way that these two boys died. It seems to have happened simoultaniously, be we aren’t even sure of that fact. Those are irrelevant to the whole story; we simply need to know and understand that Mahlon and Chilion died.
The next tragic thing that happens with Naomi is the realization that she cannot support two foreign daughter-in-laws on her own and survive.
Naomi decides to be unselfish. She chooses to think of what would be best for the future of these girls who had been widowed way too early in life. How well Naomi knew that pain. Perhaps she wanted to spare them of any suffering that she could. She wanted to do all she could to help them have a new chance at love and life.
FROM PLEASURE TO BITTERNESS
Now Naomi’s pain was doubled.
She wanted to change her name because of the great burden of grief she bore. Naomi began to call herself Mara instead of Naomi.
Naomi meant “pleasure.”
Mara meant “bitter.”
Naomi stated that The LORD had dealt bitterly with her. With this name change she gave to herself Naomi began a turn down a different road of life. It was a wrong turn.
She took the path to a place of bitterness instead of the path of love that she had always experienced before. Many widows make this mistake. They are unable, because of their great grief, to look beyond where they stand in the moment and see what God will do in the future. Not being able to trust in a future often leads to a life of bitterness.
CHANGE A NAME; CHANGE A HEART
Mara. This was Naiomi’s new name.
Day-by-day, as they struggled to make it in Moab, the daughter-in-laws of Naomi could see the seed of bitterness that was growing inside of Naomi’s heart. Ruth worried about this. She had known a very loving mother-in-law who had never once showed a sign of bitterness. Now Naomi was openly and outwardly proclaiming to everyone that God had dealt bitterly with her.
Ruth longed for the strong, loving woman that she knew still existed inside Naomi. She knew that had come from faith in her Great God. Slowly Ruth began to turn to this Great God of Naomi and ask Him to help her mother-in-law.
Most days for Ruth now were spent with working, selling bread in the marketplace, trading household items for money, hoping to find gold somewhere out there, seeking employment whereever and whenever she could find it. Ruth felt the heavey responsibility of taking care of the two women who were left in her family.
SILENT NIGHTLY TEARS
There must have been many nights when three lonely women cried themselves to sleep. Their inspiration and role model, Naomi had now become Mara.
It was up to Ruth and Orpha to carry on.
How could they even begin to do all that was needed here?
Only through the unseen hand of God working daily in their lives.