by John O’Malley
“And she took it up, and went into the city: and her mother in law saw what she had gleaned: and she brought forth, and gave to her that she had reserved after she was sufficed” (Ruth 2:18).
Naomi’s life since she left Bethlehem-judah the first time had been dramatically altered. The days of raising children in the Promised Land had been exchanged for burying two sons in the deserts of Moab. The anticipation of growing old with her husband Elimelech and watching their grandchildren play and grow up in the faith was crushed when Elimelech was interred in Moab’s plains.
She had returned to the God of her childhood and the land of His promise with a daughter-in-law remaining in Moab. No, her life was not the same. Her plaintive mourning over joys buried in Moab was echoed upon her return to Bethlehem-judah. She announced upon her arrival after more than a decade,
“Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?” (Ruth 1:20-21).
She desired that her name be changed from “delightsome one” to “disappointed one.” Her very name stood as a monument to her husband’s decision to leave Bethlehem-judah and her decision to remain in Moab after her husband’s death. Though her decision to remain in Moab drained her of her delights, Moab could not detain her in its shackles of death, disappointment, and discouragement.
Naomi’s departure from Moab to return to Bethlehem-judah revealed her awareness of God’s dealing in her life. God had worked in her life. She saw the emptiness of her home, heart, and hope. She declared to them that God’s working in her life testified against her actions. She knew that He had dealt very bitterly with her. Yet the low spot of her return in the previous chapter is now placed in the shadows as the sunlight of God’s provision breaks across the horizon of her tomorrows upon the return of Ruth from the fields.
Naomi saw what Ruth had gleaned. Deep within her bosom, she knew this visit from the Almighty was a visit of bread and blessing, not bitterness. She received the barley and the parched corn from Ruth. It had been a decade or longer since she had known this kind of blessing. The Almighty’s grace was beginning to replace the emptiness and disappointment with bread, barley, and blessings.
Ruth returning to Naomi laden with God’s provisions was more than just a trip home; it was the beginning of God’s replacement warranty. Naomi returned broken and God honored His Word and began to replace the missing elements in her life.
Have you a blessing to share today? Has God touched your life? Someone is out there that needs to hear of His visit in your life. Proclaim today His goodness; it may mark the beginning of a turnaround in someone’s life.