Ruth and Naomi -"Where You Go I Shall Go" -Conclusion of A Family Torn Apart by Tragedy

Did Ruth's background prepare her for such a tragedy?  It is hard to see how it could have.  The Moabites worshipped  man gods, the chief among them being Chemosh.  (Numbers 21:29)  It seems that the Moabite religion was not exempt from the brutality and horrors  common in those times, including the sacrifice of children.  Anything Ruth learned from Mahlon or Naomi about the loving merciful God of Israel, Jehovah surely struck her as a marked  contrast.  Jehovah ruled through love, not terror.  (Read Deuteronomy 6:5)  In the wake of her devastating loss, Ruth may have drawn even closer to Naomi and listened willingly to the older woman as she spoke about the almighty God, Jehovah, his wonderful works, and the loving merciful way he dealt with his people.

Naomi, for her part, was eager for new of her homeland.  One day she heard, perhaps from a traveling merchant, that the famine in Israel was over.  Jehovah had turned his attention to his people. Bethlehem was again living up to its name, which means "House of Bread."  Naomi decided to return home. -Ruth 1:6.

What would Ruth and Orpah do?  (Ruth 1:7) They had grown close to Naomi through their shared ordeal.  Ruth in particular, it seems, was drawn to Naomi's kindness and her steadfast faith in Jehovah.  The three widows set off for Judah together. 

The account of Ruth reminds us that tragedy and loss beset good, honest people as well as bad.  (Ecclesiastes 9:2, 11)  It shows us too that in the face of unbearable loss, we are wise to seek comfort and solace in others-especially  those who seek refuge in Jehovah, the God whom Naomi worshipped. - Proverbs 17:17.  

Next time:  Ruth and Naomi - "Where You Go I Shall Go" -The Loyal Love of Ruth

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