Title: Naomi's Sorrow
Ruth 1:3-5
Naomi's husband Elimelech died, and Naomi and her two sons remained, and they took wives from the women of Moab, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. The woman remained behind her two sons and her husband.
In the days of the judges, a man from Bethlehem of Judah had to leave his beloved hometown with his wife and two sons. He had to leave his hometown because of a famine. They went to the foreign land of Moab and lived there.
The status of the family and the family are explained in detail in verse 2. The man's name was Elimelech, his wife's name was Naomi, and their two sons were Marlon and Kirion. Their hometown was Bethlehem, Judah, and their example was Ephrath.
Whose home will this Ephrath later become? David's hometown. And who will be born here later than that?
Matthew 2:6, "You are not the least among the towns of Judea, Bethlehem, in the land of Judea; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel."
This is where Jesus Christ was born.
Looking at verse 3, the focus of the story changes differently from before. The protagonist of the story is changing. The protagonist changes from Elimelech, the head of the family, to his wife, Naomi.
1:3, "And Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and Naomi and her two sons remained."
Elimelech can be understood from the words, "Elimelech the husband of Naomi." Now Naomi is the center of the story. Let's compare it with the words of verse 2.
1:2, "The man's name was Elimelech, his wife's name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Marlon and Kirion."
Who is the "he" of "his wife" in this verse 2? This is Elimelech. Who is the "he" of "the two sons"? Also Elimelech. But in verse 3 it says, "Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and Naomi and her two sons were left." Whose sons are the "two sons" here? This is Naomi. Now the responsibility rests with Naomi. The heavy responsibility of leading a family rested on Naomi.
What did the name Naomi mean? I called it "fun". In Korean, Heeja, Nakja, and Heesun would be names like this. However, the situation did not live up to its name. My husband died. Naomi left her beloved hometown due to a famine, and death separated her from her beloved husband. Now Naomi is responsible for her two sons. My shoulders became heavy.
But there is still hope. Because they have two sons left. Now Naomi's two sons are getting married.
“They took wives from the women of Moab.”
According to the law, the Israelites were not allowed to marry any of the Gentiles of Canaan.
Deuteronomy 7:3, "And you shall not marry them; you shall not give thy daughter to his son, nor take his daughter thy daughter-in-law."
But there is no law against marrying a Moabitess. It was also an unavoidable situation. Because they live in the land of Moab. It was unavoidable because they were completely migrating, not staying for a while. So he had no choice but to take a wife from among the women of Moab.
The name of the Moabite woman to whom the sons married is given.
“The name of one was Orpah, and the name of the other was Ruth.”
Whose wife would Orpah be? Is it Malone? Is it girion? So who would be Ruth's husband? Judging from your assumptions, Orpah's husband is probably Marlon, and Ruth's husband's spirit? It's not like that. The exact answer is found in Ruth 4:10.
Ruth 4:10, "I also bought Ruth the Moabitess for Marlon's wife."
Usually the opposite is known. But the truth is, Marlon's wife is Ruth, and Kirion's wife is Orpah.
Please see the second half of verse 4.
"About ten years of living there."
If interpreted according to the original text, the story of marriage comes first, followed by the period of sojourn in the land of Moab, so it seems safe to say that they have been married for about a decade. If it were, I would have lived in the land of Moab for a little over ten years. There is something we usually look forward to when we get married for about 10 years. child. Abraham left Ur of the Chaldeans and entered the land of Canaan. It's been ten years. The child is waiting. But there was no son. So Sarah, his wife, gave her maidservant Hagar to Abraham as a concubine. It had been 10 years since they entered the land of Canaan.
Genesis 16:3, "It was ten years after Abram had dwelt in the land of Canaan when Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her maidservant, and gave it to her husband Abram as a concubine."
The marriage of two sons would have brought Naomi back to joy after her husband Elimelech died. And he would have expected a grandson to be born. But looking at verse 5, I was faced with a completely unexpected situation. It was not a son born to married sons, but a whole 180 degree different situation. How did it go? Malone and Kirill, both sons died. Her husband died and her two sons died. There is no explanation of where and how he died. But somehow, Marlon and Kirill, both sons died. The woman was left alone behind her two sons and her husband. A family of four went together, and three of them died, leaving me poorly alone.
This brought Naomi the great grief of losing loved ones, but it also created a very serious and serious problem for Naomi's family. That is, there are no heirs. There is no one who can take over the company. This means the destruction of the lineage.
In the meantime, the line that I believed to be my hometown had also been cut. Also, the line of love called husband has been cut. And even the cords of his two sons, his only hope, were cut. "God, where are you?" Perhaps Naomi cried out so sadly in her heart.
But in this desperate state, God's amazing providence awaits. From a human point of view, it is a desperate state. All the ropes in the world that I believed in and held onto were cut off. But the line of connection with God is never broken. We will be able to see God's amazing work being done in desperate circumstances.
Dear saints, The chains of the world will be cut someday. But the bond between us and God will never be broken.
Psalm 121:1, "I lift up my eyes to the mountains; where will my help come from? My help is from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
Even if all the ropes of the world we believed in have been broken, I hope that you and I will all be victorious by holding on to God's ropes. Even if there are difficulties, do not be discouraged because of them, and trust God more strongly, thinking, “God is training me to accomplish a greater work.” Just as Peter walked on the water looking at Jesus, we too do not try to look at the storms of the world, but look to Jesus and walk vigorously on the water. I pray that you and I have a victorious life in Jesus name.