Practical Ways of Naomi Ruth 1:12 - Equipped for Battle

The idea of a “kinsman redeemer” was put in place by God through Moses whenever a man's brother should die before he had an offspring to carry his name. When this occurred, the next of kin was to marry the widow, have a son, and name the son after the one who died. This way the name of the deceased would live on. Such was the case for Naomi's daughters-in-law who were now widows because of the death of their husbands who were Naomi's sons. Naomi was returning home, and she decided that rather than have her daughters-in-law follow along with her, they should remain in their own country and find new husbands. Naomi continues her convincing words in verse twelve of chapter one where she says:

Turn again, my daughters, go [your way]; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, [if] I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons;

Naomi's appeal for her daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth, to stay in their homeland has already been made in our last verse, but for emphasis Naomi says, “Turn again, my daughters, go your way”. Naomi has faced tragedy with the death of her husband. She has known the heartfelt pain of burying her two sons. She cannot see the benefit to Orpah and Ruth returning to her homeland, so she tells them to “go your way.” Whenever the unseen is not considered, only the practical will do, and it just seems fitting to Naomi that her daughters-in-law stay in their own land.

Naomi then gives the argument for the two women staying, “for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also to night, and should bear sons.” In other words, the practical is impractical for Naomi. Her age puts her at odds with hope. The idea of her gaining a husband the very night she is departing and having a son who could marry either of them was simply unreasonable. Naomi could only look at the child bearing facts. She was “too old”; the gestation and maturing period would be too long, and the idea of her bearing sons was to far fetched. These were ample reasons for Orpah and Ruth to stay in their homeland rather than following her.

Notice with me if you will how Naomi has appealed to what she knows to be true, however, she doesn't know everything that is true. Sometimes when we go through tragedy we only resort to what we can figure out on our own. Other ways of something being accomplished or remedied may not even cross our thoughts, and because we tend to only think according to our own plan, we sometimes lose hope. Because we see only the answers we can conceive, hope is abandoned and despair is maintained. But oh, there is more to this story. God has a plan, and He is working it out. Naomi could not see it yet, but as we continue our reading we will discover that God, and a relationship with Him, is the most important aspect of the human existence even when tragedy strikes.

Next time we will continue the discussion of Naomi with Orpah and Ruth, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow...there is more...

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