“Naomi, dear – we have to leave this place. Trusting God is great in theory, but when the crops have failed, and the grass is turning brown and the wells are going dry, common sense tells you – it’s time to make a move. We must pack our bags and leave.”
How did the conversation unfold between Elimelech and Naomi the morning they decided to leave Bethlehem for a foreign land dominated by false gods? What questions did their two boys ask as they saw their parents packing? “Mom, what are you and dad doing? Do we no longer believe in God? Is that why we are going down there? What happened?” And what answers did they give?
What seemed like common sense to Elimelech, spelled disaster for his family. Moab couldn’t have been a lonelier place for Naomi as she broke the news to her sons: “Boys, I’m sorry. Last night your dear dad passed away.”
“Mom, it seems like everything is going wrong down here in Moab. Ever since we left, it hasn’t been the same.” Such might have been the response of the boys.
The funeral was over, and life had to go on. The two boys married girls who knew nothing about God. Disaster strikes again; both boys die. It was a tragic and tearful period in Naomi’s life. Oh, to be home again where she belonged!
Naomi returned to Bethlehem. But time and hardships had taken their toll on her down in Moab. Those who once knew her asked: “Is this Naomi?” More grey hairs; more wrinkles; no sparkle in her eye and no bounce in her step and a touch of sadness in her voice. “Could this be the same Naomi who used to be here?”
“Yes, it’s me, but don’t call me Naomi (pleasant) any more. A better name for me is Mara (bitterness.)”
I went out full, and the LORD has brought me home again empty. Ruth 1:21
Imagine her soliloquy:
“I went out full. The Lord did not lead me away. It was my choice to leave. I thought things were empty when I left. It seemed like our supplies were almost gone. Back then, those things seemed so important to us. But, somehow, we misjudged how full and how blessed we really were.
We had each other. We had our boys. We had the Lord. What more could we have wanted?
While I was away, I lost everything that was truly important. My husband. My boys. My enjoyment of the Lord.
How empty my life has been away from the Lord! I could never count the tears I shed in secret down there.
But thank God, the Lord has brought me home again. Empty but home. Just the Lord and me – home again. Full.”
In August of 2018, don’t make a wrong move during your famine – during your barren time of discouragement. Disastrous choices for ourselves and family are too often made during life’s storms. If you’re already down in your own Moab, would you like to return home again? Listen to your Lord whispering lovingly, sweetly, softly, gently and longingly into your heart as you read this:
“Dear child, come back home. Wander no more. I will be your portion. I will restore you completely and fully. I will bring you joy again. Come home to Me.”
Walk carefully and closely with the Lord today.
Warmly in Christ
Peter Ramsay
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