Ruth 1:1-5

Current Song: "The Power Of The Cross" by Keith Getty

Naomi Widowed

1 In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. 2 The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. 3 But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, 5 and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.


There are a few things worth pointing out in my reading of this great section of Ruth. I see that we are told the time, place, and conflict of the story told in the book of Ruth. The time is pointed out in verse 1 as "In the days when the judges ruled..." Also interesting to me is the very fact that the book previous to Ruth is Judges. Any person reading the bible in order from front to back would have easily caught this interesting fact. The second topic of interest is the place. We see that Elimelech was from Bethlehem in Judah and traveled out to the country of Moab.

The first thing to pop in my mind when seeing the word Bethlehem is Jesus being born. We can in Matthew 2:6 the quoting of Micah 5:2 in regards to Jesus being born in Bethlehem in Judah. What fascinates me is the rich history that God has given the place. From old to new testament, we see God working out biblical history in the land of Judah. And finally we see the conflict of the book of Ruth introduced in these first 5 verses. Naomi is left a widowed mother and eventually sonless. What a sad ordeal for any wife and mother to experience. These are just some of my thoughts reading the first few verses of Ruth.