Ruth Chapter 1 Bible Study

Today we are reading chapter 1 in the book of Ruth. Ruth is in the Old Testament sandwiched between Judges and 1 Samuel. There are only four chapters in Ruth. This is a great book to study to see the hand of God leading Ruth to a new location she had never lived in, and to see how God continues to bless Ruth as she trusts in God.

We read in verse 1 this story takes place when there were appointed judges ruling the land. The first thing we read is there is a famine in the land. Food was scarce. This was a difficult time for many people. There were people who were very hungry. There was a shortage of food in the land. Next, we read that a certain man from Bethlehemjudah moved to a different country and he took his wife with them and their two sons. The famine was so bad that it caused a certain man to uproot his family from every thing they had known and move to another country in hopes that things would be better there. The country he moved to is called Moab and they worshipped many gods, but did not know the one true God. This was a nation that did not serve the God they served, yet they moved there anyway.

Question: Have you ever been very hungry before? What do you think it would be like to be in a land where there was a famine? Would you be afraid? What do you think you would do? How would you feel if you had to move to another country with your family?

My husband and I moved to Alabama with our two children on August 1. We did not know anyone in Alabama, except for a couple of people we met briefly at a church service one month prior to moving. We were not afraid because we knew God told us to move and He made a way for everything we needed.

Verse 2 tells us the name of the people in the story. Elimelech is the dad and he is married to Naomi. Their sons are named Mahlon and Chilion. The family came to Moab and stayed there.

Things were bad in Bethlehemjudah, so the family left in hopes that things would get better. Tragedy strikes in verse 3 as we read that Naomi's husband, Elimelech died. There is no reason given for his death, but we can assume this was unexpected given the circumstances. Naomi finds herself in a strange country with her two sons. I cannot imagine the heartache and grief she felt as she tried to move forward with her life, doing the best she could. Now a widow and a single mother, she had to provide for her family.

Mahlon and Chilion found wives among the women in Moab. Their wives, Orpah and Ruth, were not familiar with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They did not know His love, His power, His goodness. They did not know that God existed. Verse 4 says that Naomi, her sons, and daughters-in-law lived in Moab for ten years.

We do not know what caused Elimelech to die. It could have been something hereditary because in verse 5 we read that Mahlon and Chilion had both died, too. I have been told the worst pain is the loss of a child. Naomi has lost her husband, and now ten years later she finds herself burying her two sons. She feels empty, lost, hopeless, and worthless.

Naomi has buried her sons and now looks at her daughters-in-law. She decided to leave Moab. She had heard that the Lord had blessed his people with bread in Bethlehemjudah. She felt alone in a strange country. She had been there for ten years with her sons and their wives after her husband had died. She longed for home. She missed her people. She missed her country. She missed her culture. She missed the bread. Now there was a glimmer of hope that she could find some comfort in the place she had left.

Question: Have you ever lost someone you loved? What helped you get through the pain of knowing they were not coming back? How do you think Naomi felt? Why do you think Naomi wanted to go back to the country she came from? 

Naomi takes her daughters-in-law with her, in verse 7, as she heads to Judah. She decided there was nothing left in Moab for her and she wanted to go back to the familiar. She had friends in Judah. People knew her there. But just as she starts to make the long trip back, she decided to release her daughters-in-law from going with her. She cared for these girls. She tells them in verse 8, to return to their mothers. She tells them they are free to go and even blesses them for their kindness to her sons and her husband and even to her. She loved these girls but she did not have anything left to give them, she thought. She loved them too much to hold them back from finding love and happiness in another husband and family.

Verse 9 Naomi continues to bless them. She asks for God to give them rest. Rest from the role of being a wife to her sons. Rest from the work of being a wife. Of all the things she could have said, rest is such a beautiful blessing to give. Rest is what Jesus wants us to do in Him. She wants them to relax, refresh, and recover their strength. She kisses each daughter-in-law and they cry. They mourn the loss of their mother-in-law. This is a sad time for all three of the women.

In verse 10, Orpah and Ruth tell Naomi that they will return to Naomi's people with her. They want to go on the long journey with her. Naomi was not just the mother of their husbands, but she was kind to them. They were kind to her. They had a beautiful relationship and the thought of all that ending left them so sad that they insisted on going with her to Judah. These women did not know the language, the culture, or if they would be accepted, but they saw something in Naomi that made them want to cling to her. I believe they saw the way she worshiped the one true God.

In verses 11-13 Naomi explains to them why they cannot go with her. She tells them to go back to their families. She said she doesn't have any hope left. She explains to them that she has no other sons to give them. She reminds them that even if she was to get pregnant again that very night, it would still be 9 months before the child was born and then he would have to grow up. Who is to say that the baby would be a male? She sadly encourages them to go on and find someone else to marry, to have a future with, because she feels as though God has been unkind to her. She is overwhelmed with grief and pain at not only losing her husband and both sons, but now her daughters-in-law would be leaving her as well. They just cried together.

Verse 14 is a crossroads verse. Ruth and Orpah are looking at the fork in the road. Orpah decides she doesn't think she should go to Judah. She listens to Ruth and she feels that she has a lot of life left in her. She has all her family and friends in this country. She knows the best places to go, the ways of the people, the language. The more she thought about what Naomi said, the more she desired to go back to the familiar. She chose to go back to the comfort zone of home, than to step out in faith and see what good things might be waiting in Judah for her.

Ruth is not like Orpah. Ruth has been listening to all the reasons Naomi gave for her to go back home and she does not want to. Something is stirring in her heart to go with Naomi, no matter where that might be. Ruth was not familiar with Judah but she knew Naomi and she saw the kind of woman she was. Ruth had just lost her husband. She could not bear to lose her mother-in-law, too. Ruth attached herself to Naomi. She formed a bond and held on. 

Verse 15 Naomi tells Ruth that her sister-in-law had returned to her people and her gods, and she encouraged her to go with her. Verses 16 and 17 Ruth clings to Naomi and abandons everything she has ever known to promise Naomi that she will not leave her.

Ruth 1:16, 17

16 And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:

17 Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried; the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part me and thee.

Imagine the desperation, as she clings to Naomi, and says to her, wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live is where I am going to live. Your family, your culture, your friends, will be my people, too. Wherever you die, is where I will die, also, and may the LORD punish me if anything other than death separates us. That is devotion! That is a friend who is going to go the distance with you.

Question: What would you have done? Would you be like Orpah and go back to the familiar, or step out in faith like Ruth to accompany Naomi back to Judah? What do you think made Ruth cling to Naomi so much?

Naomi realizes Ruth has made her mind up to follow her all the way back to Judah. She knows she cannot talk her out of going and she finally stops trying to convince her to stay in Moab. Verse 19 we read the two women traveled until they arrived in Bethlehem. Once they got to the city, the people started coming up to them and questioning if it was Naomi. She had been away so long. She had changed a lot. She went away happily married and the mother of two sons, now she came back with sadness on her face and a foreign girl with her. Where was her husband? Where was her sons? Who was this girl walking with Naomi?

In verse 20, Naomi answers them that she is no longer the same person she left as. She said she is so different, she was changing her name. She said she was a bitter woman now. She was bitter with the way things happened in her life. She said she is bitter because God had not been good to her. We conclude with a recap that Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth had returned from Moab to Bethlehem in time for the barley harvest.

Naomi does not see the hand of God upon her. She cannot even see the blessing of Ruth right in front of her face. Ruth is a companion to Naomi. Ruth is kind to Naomi. Ruth loves Naomi. Naomi has lost her husband, two sons, and one daughter-in-law but she still has one person in her life that loves her very much and would go to great lengths to stay connected to her. We will see what happens next week, when we visit the book of Ruth, chapter 2.

Join me each Wednesday for a Bible study session. Write the answers to these questions in a notebook, faith journal, or wherever you would like. Read through Ruth chapter 1 first, then read along as you read this devotional. Take your time to think about the questions and to understand where each one of these characters is coming from. Allow the Holy Spirit to teach you what the scriptures are saying. I read from the King James Version, but you may have a different version. Just use the one you have and ask God to help you understand what you are reading.

Feel free to leave me a comment below and let me know if you are following along with this series. I am excited to reach out to the kids in my Children's Church class from Indiana. I hope that kids and adults can follow along with me each Wednesday and we can learn and grow as we break the bread together.

I hope something I have said has been encouraging to you. May you find strength for your journey and light for you way. God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens