Naomi

Naomi

Scripture References: The Book of Ruth

Her Start:

Read Ruth 1:1-13

“Naomi was fortunate in that her husband’s inheritance lay in the fertile fields of Bethlehem. From early history, the lush valley that sloped from the hilltop city to the north, south, and east had been so exceptionally productive that the city that overlooked the terraced expanse of grain and fruits was called the House of Bread. Now the unexpected happened. There was dire famine in the land! Elimelech’s fertile fields lay stripped and desolate. Poverty and hunger prevailed. Some believed that the famine was occasioned by an invasion of enemies who came like a multitude of locusts to destroy the land (Judges 6:1-6). Elimelech was desparate; he could not keep the wolf of hunger from the door.” -Frances Vander Velde

Naomi and Elimelech moved to Moab where they had plenty to eat.

Elimelech’s names means “God is King”

Naomi had two sons named Mahlon and Chilion.

“During the rule of the Judges, Israel suffered a serious famine which was deemed to be one of the punishments visited upon the people when they had sinned (Leviticus 26:14, 16)...In taking the initiative to go to Moab -a foreign country -from Bethlehem, Naomi’s husband stepped out of the will of God. If famine was a judgement upon the nation, Elimelech should have repented, tried to have helped his countrymen back to God, and prayed for the removal of the scourge (Psalm 34:9, 10, 17).” -Herbert Lockyer

Bethlehem means “House of Bread”

Jesus said “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35). And He quotes in Matthew 4:4 “Man shall not live on bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” That word for “word” there in the Greek is “rhema.” It is the spoken, living word of God.

We will be blessed when we stay in the “House of Bread” which is God’s Word.

Psalm 1:2-3 NIV “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.”
The grass only appears to be greener on the other side. Remember, grass eventually with wither and fade. It is but for a moment.

“Precious people, I don’t care who you are or how close to God you might be. You can bet your bottom dollar that there will come into your walk seasons of dryness and times of difficulty. The question is not whether times of famine will come. The question is: ‘Where will you go when they do?’” -Jon Courson

In what is known as the “Lord’s Prayer” Jesus teaches His disciples to pray “Give us this day our daily bread...” (Matthew 6:11). When a great need arises in our lives we need to pray and carefully consider our course of action. Physically, Elimelech and Naomi needed to survive, but did they consider the spiritual and moral effects this move would have on their lives? When they returned to Bethlehem people recognized Naomi. Those people had managed to survive. Why didn’t Elimelech and Naomi return to Bethlehem as soon as possible? Why did they stay so long?

When need arises in your life your first course of action should be to pray and ask God.

James 4:2 NASB says, “You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. And you are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask.”

The enemy schemes against us to keep us from praying. When we stop praying, we stop obtaining what the Lord has for our lives. We stop walking in fellowship with the Father and start depending and relying on ourselves, our skills and abilities. We act and even serve God out of our natural selves rather than walking in the spirit.

James 1:5 NASB “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”

God will ask us to do something that requires faith. (What God asks us to do always requires faith). We will instead look for something to do or pour ourselves into (even in service to God) that doesn’t require faith. Time spent in prayer and seeking the Lord will prevent us from living like this.

Hebrews 11:6 NASB “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

How do you hear God’s voice? How do you know God’s will? The discernment comes through the day-by-day time spent in prayer and God’s Word. It’s knowing the Author of the Bible that you are studying. It’s praying and talking to God as you are reading and studying His Word. It’s putting in a journal daily those scriptures and words from the Lord. It’s actively waiting on Him. Waiting on God is an actual process of seeking Him.

The Lord took Elimelech and Naomi became a widow.

Mahlon and Chilion married Moabite women Ruth and Orpah.

Orpah means “youthful” or “immature”

Ruth means “friendship”

Naomi’s sons, Mahlon and Chilion, both died.

The Lord broke off the ties that kept Naomi in Moab and these trials stirred her to return back to Bethlehem. Day-by-day, seek to stay in the will of God. Again, in the “Lord’s Prayer,” which is a daily prayer guide for us, we see “Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10)

Every day keep your heart sensitive to God’s will, to His kingdom purposes, to His provision. It is not God’s desire that we are the captain of our ship and that we chart our course. We think we know what is good for us but we don’t.

“Keep the main things the main things.”

“Don’t major on the minors.”

Refrain from the temptation to minimize prayer and time spent in God’s presence and maximizing what “needs to get done” and what we “need to do”. We really need to filter all our activity through prayer. We need to learn to let God be the captain of our ship and the charter of our course.

Jeremiah 29:11-13 NASB
“‘For I know the plants that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.’”

1. -God’s plans for us are good (for our welfare)
2. -We need to call on God and pray to Him
3. -He will listen to us
4. -If we seek Him with all our heart, we will find Him

In other words, if we’re seeking the Lord just to get our way, or to get something from Him that we want to happen...He sees right through that. We are seeking our will to be done. The kind of seeking that allows us to find God involves surrender our will, desires and what we think is best for us.

Her New Name:

After her sons died, Naomi longed to go back to Bethlehem and was determined to go.

“This intrigues me because it was Naomi’s loss that led her to listen. Please keep this in mind: This story is not to show God punishing Naomi for wandering off into Moab. Her loss was not punitive -it was corrective. It’s purpose was to get her back on track -back to Bethlehem, the House of Bread; back to Judah, the Place of Praise.” -Jon Courson

“Certainly this was not how Naomi had expected her life to unfold, but she was learning to trust God more, to trust Him to work in her life through unexpected people, events and circumstances.” -Elizabeth George

Naomi and her daughters-in-law were bonded together by the affliction they had experienced. They now were all widows. Naomi encouraged them to stay and find husbands as she journeyed back to Bethlehem. Orpah stayed but Ruth decided to go with Naomi.

“Because Naomi was true to God in the stress and storm of life, a beautiful thing happened. She won Ruth for God, and no confession of love has ever surpassed that of Ruth, the daugher-in-law to her mother-in-law.” -Frances Vander Velde

Naomi means “my joy,” “my bliss” or “pleasantness of Jehovah”

In God’s grace, Ruth saw enough of God in Naomi’s life to still desire to stay with her and go where she went, and serve the God that she served. God sets it up so He receives the glory.

In verse 8 we see Naomi did not take her pain out on her daughters-in-law. Instead she was loving and spoke blessings over their lives.

Sometimes when we are going through a trial we can misdirect our anger or frustration to people in our lives. Pray to be like Naomi and instead speak blessings to them.

Proverbs 18:21 NKJV “Life and death are in the power of the tongue.”

Proverbs 16:24 NASB “Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”

Read Ruth 1:14-22

Naomi asked them to call her Mara which means “bitter”

“Trials will either make you bitter or better.”

Naomi was honest. She was broken and she was open about it. She wasn’t trying to hide it, cover it, or act as if she had it all together.

Keys to overcoming or avoiding bitterness:

1. Give thanks - Ephesians 5:20 NASB “always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father”
2. Pray without ceasing - 1 Thessalonians 5:17 NASB “pray without ceasing”
3. Reach out to others - 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NASB “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; who comforts us in all our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

In verse 13 we see Naomi declare that God’s hand was against her. God never told her this and it was simply not true. God has a good plan, a divine design. God transforms and restores. God is a God of redemption.

Verse 21 describes to us the life of a backslider. When you leave the “House of Bread” of God’s Word...you will always go out full and come back empty!

Read Ruth 2:1-2; 18-22

Naomi directed Ruth and a beautiful God-story unraveled. Naomi guided and instructed Ruth each step of the way. She offered wisdom and Naomi’s family ties in Bethlehem brought blessing and provision by God.

The Law of Kinsman Redeemer
“A kinsman redeemer is a male relative who, according to various laws of the Pentateuch, had the privilege or responsibility to act on behalf of a relative who was in trouble, danger, or in need. The Hebrew term (go el) for kinsman redeemer designates one who delivers or rescues (Gen 48:16; Exodus 6:6) or redeems property or person (Leviticus 27:9-25; 25:47-55). The kinsman who redeems or vindicates a relative is illustrated most clearly in the book of Ruth, where the kinsman-redeemer is Boaz.” (Got Questions Ministries)

Naomi opened her mouth in praise in Ruth 2:20 “May he be blessed of the Lord who has not withdrawn his kindness to the living and to the dead.”

Her Hope:

Read Ruth 4:14-17

The women blessed Naomi in Ruth 4:14-15 NASB “Then the women said to Naomi, ‘Blessed is the Lord who has not left you without a redeemer today, and may his name become famous in Israel. May he also be to you a restorer of life and a sustainer of your old age; for your daugher-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.’”

Our God is a God of restoration!

Isaiah 40:31 ESV “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Psalm 145:15 NKJV “The eyes of all look expectantly to You, and You give them their food in due season.”

v. 16-17 “Naomi became the nurse for Obed. This may have been a formal act of adoption. The women of Bethlehem named the boy Obed which means ‘worshipper.’ Naomi accepted the name. She, the empty one, was now full. The bitter one was now blessed. Naomi had a son (actually a grandson but ‘son’ in Hebrew often means ‘decendant’).” -The Bible Knowledge Commentary

Life Lesson:

“You left full Naomi. You came back empty. And now God is blessing you once again. The women told Naomi that Ruth was better that seven sons, seven being the number of perfection. Their words were prophetic indeed for out of Ruth’s line would come forth not only King David, but the Perfect One -Jesus Christ. Naomi, this prodigal daughter of the Old Testament, came back to Bethlehem, where God rebuilt, rebirthed, restored, and renewed her. And that’s what He’ll do with us -if we’ll just come back to Him.” -Jon Courson


Discussion Questions:

1. Was it right for Naomi to say “the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me” (Ruth 1:20)?
2. What trial have you experienced in your life that has made you closer to the Lord? (the better not the bitter)
3. What did you glean most from Naomi’s life?
4. What lesson from Naomi’s life do you not want to miss in your life? (meaning what do you want to avoid)