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Who’s Your Daddy?

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Ruth 1: 1, 20-21 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem of Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, his wife, and his two sons…..20 And she said to them, Call me not Naomi [pleasant]; call me Mara [bitter], for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.21 I went out full, but the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?

There are many peculiar contradictions embedded in this first chapter of Ruth: there was a famine in the land…but Naomi claims, I went out full; there is a famine in Bethlehem…the House of Bread? Moab means Who’s your father or Who’s your daddy?…When God was to be their Father. Moabites were historical enemies of Israel from the Exodus through the times of King Saul. Yet this is where Naomi’s husband led his wife and family. What’s really sad is Naomi’s perspective on the entire ordeal: …call me Mara [bitter], for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me….the Lord has brought me home again empty…the Lord has testified against me….the Almighty has afflicted me. The Lord is receiving the blame yet she is missing the obvious and glaring fact that Her husband, Elimelech, led them into their predicament.

Ruth 1:1 states that these were the days the judges ruled. Yet the book of Judges states, But the Lord raised up judges, who delivered them out of the hands of those who robbed them. And yet they did not listen to their judges, for they played the harlot after other gods and bowed down to them. They turned quickly out of the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not so. (Judges 2:16-17) The book of Judges agrees with this Scripture stating that everyone did what was right in their own eyes. (Sound familiar?)

Naomi left Bethlehem full but returned spiritually famished after feeding off the idolatry of Moab. She had grown accustomed to the sacrifice of children in the land of Moab – the god of Chemosh. Her return to the land of her inheritance should have been a returning to God – her Father – instead all she could do was find fault with Him. The only thing she was full of was bitterness and self-pity. But that’s the life of one ruled by self – doing what is right in your own eyes. Hebrews 12:15 warns: See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;…ESV Over the years I have prayed for people who, although, they began with a root of bitterness – the root grew into a tree, and the fruit it bore was disastrous. Usually this seed sprouts from a perceived hurt. The hurt breeds unforgiveness. Unforgiveness evolves into judgments, and judgments become vows (I would never have done, I would have never said, etc.) While all of these things are rooted in pride, and the center of self, you become a curse. The good news is that our Father is forgiving and loving and Jesus, our Kinsman Redeemer, has already paid our redemption, or ransom. All you have to do is acknowledge your sins, release the person or persons from the judgments you have had, confess your vows, and be restored into right relationship with your True Father. In other words, be released from the prison cell of your own making.

The Glass is…?

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Ruth 1:19-21 So they both went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred about them, and said, Is this Naomi? 20 And she said to them, Call me not Naomi [pleasant]; call me Mara [bitter], for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.21 I went out full, but the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?

Whether it was intentional on the part of the author or not it’s ironic that Naomi’s husband leads his family to depart from Bethlehem, the House of Bread – full, while he and his two sons die in the “land of plenty” – empty. Not only is life drained from him and his sons, his wife also returns home empty or so she thought. For you see in the midst of a life that appears to have reached its’ lowest place she fails to recognize the “crumb” of faith being offered through her daughter-in-law, Ruth. Ruth, a Gentile unbeliever (Jews referred to them as dogs), makes an amazing statement of faith: Urge me not to leave you or to turn back from following you; for where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people and your God my God.17 Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts me from you. (Ruth 1:16-17 AMPC)

This misstep by Naomi reminds me of a song written by my son-in-law, Brian Albin, titled The Best Part. Here are some of the lyrics: It can be easy to let a moment with You slip away. Awake my soul, remember. I get distracted. I am concerned with many things. But there’s only one thing I need. Chorus: This is the Best Part. You are the Best Part of my life. I love to be with You. (Repeat) I wait for You God. You’re the One worth waiting for. There’s only one thing I need. There’s only one thing I need. You are the Bread of Life. You are the Living Word. There’s only one thing I need.…

Are you living from the perspective that “life’s half-empty” missing the Best Part of the “Bread-Crumbs” He’s been leaving? At first Naomi missed it stating the Almighty has afflicted me. She missed the “crumbs” He was presenting through and in the most unlikely of places: a pagan, Gentile daughter-in-law – who chose to believe. Don’t let them slip away. There’s only one thing you need.