And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died; and she was left, and her two sons.
Elimelech died in Moab and left Naomi a widow with her two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, after the family had left Bethlehem for Moab because of famine in Israel about ten years before Naomi returned. His death begins the line that runs through Ruth the Moabitess, who by marriage to Naomi's kinsman became mother of Obed and grandmother of David, and so entered the ancestry of Jesus as shown to descend from Abraham, showing God's care for the promised Seed and His providence toward a poor Moabite woman. With Naomi widowed and then left with no son to hold the Bethlehem inheritance or keep the family name, only the nearest kinsman could redeem it, and that kinsman stands as a type of Christ, revealing beforehand that the Son of God must come in the same sinful flesh in which sin reigned so that grace would abound where sin abounded. The sojourn in heathen Moab was a disobedient move for gain, deepened by the sons marrying Moabite women, yet the Lord overruled it for good in the conversion of Ruth, and kept Naomi in His sight to turn her bitter bereavement and gloom into light.
Narrative Setting and Sequence
Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died in Moab and left her with their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, after the family of four had left Bethlehem to sojourn in Moab because of famine in Israel about ten years before Naomi's return. His death was the first bereavement, still leaving Naomi the comfort of her children. The move had left an inheritance in Bethlehem behind to settle in a foreign, idolatrous, heathen land. The family had gone out full and well-to-do and could have stayed through drought and hard times in Bethlehem.
The account belongs to a brief pastoral story of simple home life among Israel set in the time of the judges. It is a peaceful contrast to the violence in Judges. In the order of Israel's history from the building of the tabernacle to the return of the ark, it comes after Gideon and Samson and before Child Samuel and the taking and sending back of the ark.
The two sons then married the Moabite women Orpah and Ruth. After both sons also died, Naomi was bereaved of her whole immediate family. She decided to return to Bethlehem with Ruth, one of her daughters-in-law, because she heard everything was prosperous there.
Redemption and Messianic Lineage
The death of Naomi's husband in Moab leaves her with her two sons and begins the account of the family line that leads to David. The account is a brief pastoral story set in the time of the judges that ends by tracing the ancestry of Jesus through a Moabite woman. After the sons also died, Naomi returned to Bethlehem with Ruth, one of her daughters-in-law. Through Ruth's marriage to Naomi's kinsman, she became the mother of Obed, grandfather of David, and entered the family line through which Jesus was shown to descend from Abraham.
The book presents simple home life among Israel and shows God's care for the promised Seed, in that Ruth became an ancestor of Jesus. It is a peaceful contrast to the violence in Judges, and the later story shows God's blessing on Ruth, a poor Moabite woman, and His providence in making her an ancestress of Christ.
The death leaving Naomi and her two sons sets in motion the need for redemption by a near kinsman, since only the nearest kinsman could redeem the inheritance. Elimelech died after leaving his inheritance in Bethlehem and settling with his family in a foreign, idolatrous land. Naomi was left a widow, and after both sons also died she had no son to hold the inheritance or preserve the family name. Her poverty put the inheritance at risk, and her return to Bethlehem with Ruth opened a last hope because kinsmen remained there. The near kinsman serves as a type of Christ. That kinsman law revealed beforehand the central fact of the gospel that the Son of God must be manifested in flesh, in the very same kind of sinful flesh in which sin reigned, so that redeeming grace would abound where sin abounded and victory for man would be victory in man.
Providence in Sorrow and Disobedience
Elimelech's removal to Moab was a move God did not approve, undertaken in disobedience to God for mere mercenary purposes in order to live among the heathen. His household went out from Bethlehem full and well-to-do, when they could have stayed through the drought and hard times at home. His sons added further disobedience by marrying Moabite women.
His death in Moab was an early bereavement that still left Naomi the comfort of her children. Their later deaths left her poor and bereaved, one of a mournful tearful group saying a long last farewell, with desolation reigning where joy had dwelt. On returning to Bethlehem amid the scenes of happier days she felt her loss keenly and called herself Mara, bitter, as the true expression of her condition.
The bereavement brought gloom and sorrow on this side of the grave as part of Naomi's bitter sorrow. Yet God had her in His sight to turn her darkness into light, proving that shadows turn to sunlight at His touch and that He counts all tears. Hope therefore remains when life appears a vale of weariness and all around is dim. He used her suffering to carry out His purpose.
The Lord overruled even that disobedient sojourn for good in the conversion of Ruth. The Story of Ruth to which this death belongs is to be told to children as a simple, pure, and connected Bible story. Practical moral lessons are to be woven in where a child could not draw them from the text alone.
Elimelech died in Moab and left Naomi a widow with her two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, after the family had left Bethlehem for Moab because of famine in Israel about ten years before Naomi returned.
His death begins the line that runs through Ruth the Moabitess, who by marriage to Naomi's kinsman became mother of Obed and grandmother of David, and so entered the ancestry of Jesus as shown to descend from Abraham, showing God's care for the promised Seed and His providence toward a poor Moabite woman.
With Naomi widowed and then left with no son to hold the Bethlehem inheritance or keep the family name, only the nearest kinsman could redeem it, and that kinsman stands as a type of Christ, revealing beforehand that the Son of God must come in the same sinful flesh in which sin reigned so that grace would abound where sin abounded.
The sojourn in heathen Moab was a disobedient move for gain, deepened by the sons marrying Moabite women, yet the Lord overruled it for good in the conversion of Ruth, and kept Naomi in His sight to turn her bitter bereavement and gloom into light.
Narrative Setting and Sequence
Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died in Moab and left her with their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, after the family of four had left Bethlehem to sojourn in Moab because of famine in Israel about ten years before Naomi's return. His death was the first bereavement, still leaving Naomi the comfort of her children. The move had left an inheritance in Bethlehem behind to settle in a foreign, idolatrous, heathen land. The family had gone out full and well-to-do and could have stayed through drought and hard times in Bethlehem.
The account belongs to a brief pastoral story of simple home life among Israel set in the time of the judges. It is a peaceful contrast to the violence in Judges. In the order of Israel's history from the building of the tabernacle to the return of the ark, it comes after Gideon and Samson and before Child Samuel and the taking and sending back of the ark.
The two sons then married the Moabite women Orpah and Ruth. After both sons also died, Naomi was bereaved of her whole immediate family. She decided to return to Bethlehem with Ruth, one of her daughters-in-law, because she heard everything was prosperous there.
Redemption and Messianic Lineage
The death of Naomi's husband in Moab leaves her with her two sons and begins the account of the family line that leads to David. The account is a brief pastoral story set in the time of the judges that ends by tracing the ancestry of Jesus through a Moabite woman. After the sons also died, Naomi returned to Bethlehem with Ruth, one of her daughters-in-law. Through Ruth's marriage to Naomi's kinsman, she became the mother of Obed, grandfather of David, and entered the family line through which Jesus was shown to descend from Abraham.
The book presents simple home life among Israel and shows God's care for the promised Seed, in that Ruth became an ancestor of Jesus. It is a peaceful contrast to the violence in Judges, and the later story shows God's blessing on Ruth, a poor Moabite woman, and His providence in making her an ancestress of Christ.
The death leaving Naomi and her two sons sets in motion the need for redemption by a near kinsman, since only the nearest kinsman could redeem the inheritance. Elimelech died after leaving his inheritance in Bethlehem and settling with his family in a foreign, idolatrous land. Naomi was left a widow, and after both sons also died she had no son to hold the inheritance or preserve the family name. Her poverty put the inheritance at risk, and her return to Bethlehem with Ruth opened a last hope because kinsmen remained there. The near kinsman serves as a type of Christ. That kinsman law revealed beforehand the central fact of the gospel that the Son of God must be manifested in flesh, in the very same kind of sinful flesh in which sin reigned, so that redeeming grace would abound where sin abounded and victory for man would be victory in man.
Providence in Sorrow and Disobedience
Elimelech's removal to Moab was a move God did not approve, undertaken in disobedience to God for mere mercenary purposes in order to live among the heathen. His household went out from Bethlehem full and well-to-do, when they could have stayed through the drought and hard times at home. His sons added further disobedience by marrying Moabite women.
His death in Moab was an early bereavement that still left Naomi the comfort of her children. Their later deaths left her poor and bereaved, one of a mournful tearful group saying a long last farewell, with desolation reigning where joy had dwelt. On returning to Bethlehem amid the scenes of happier days she felt her loss keenly and called herself Mara, bitter, as the true expression of her condition.
The bereavement brought gloom and sorrow on this side of the grave as part of Naomi's bitter sorrow. Yet God had her in His sight to turn her darkness into light, proving that shadows turn to sunlight at His touch and that He counts all tears. Hope therefore remains when life appears a vale of weariness and all around is dim. He used her suffering to carry out His purpose.
The Lord overruled even that disobedient sojourn for good in the conversion of Ruth. The Story of Ruth to which this death belongs is to be told to children as a simple, pure, and connected Bible story. Practical moral lessons are to be woven in where a child could not draw them from the text alone.