Naomi, the Unsung Heroine

This morning’s Scripture lesson is taken from Ruth 1:1-5:

Ruth 1:1–5 ESV

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. 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. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

There is perhaps no greater heartache for a believer than to see their spouse persist in unbelief and rebellion against Christ. Running in a close second to this is the heartache of seeing ones child doing the same. The story of Ruth begins with such a heartache. Not only did Naomi’s husband and sons die physically, they had died years before spiritually. Her husband’s decision to take his family to Moab and her sons’ decisions to take Moabite wives reveal hearts not only lacking wisdom, but a love for God and the things of God.

It has always been God’s plan to extend His Kingdom and reign over the whole earth. The Great Commission was first expressed in these words:

Genesis 1:28 ESV

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

In addition, it has always been God’s plan to do this primarily through the family. In Genesis 2, Adam needed a helper, not because he was lonely, but because he was overwhelmed; the task of filling the earth with the knowledge of God was too much for him alone. Modern readers are often puzzled by why children were so celebrated and longed for. Many today see children as a burden, not a gift. One or two, but no more; large families we are told are not “sustainable”. The reason why believers are forbidden to marry unbelievers in both Testaments is because God desires for the earth to be filled with “godly offspring” (Mal 2:15).

As the book of Ruth opens, we see Naomi as a woman whose dreams of a godly inheritance were shattered. “I went away full,” Naomi said to the women of Bethlehem, “and the Lord has brought me back empty” (Ruth 1:21). Yet in a surprising turn of events, God rewards her covenantal faithfulness and by the close of the book of Ruth, she is blessed beyond her wildest dreams—not only is she a grandmother, her grandson will be the great-grandfather of King David, from whom Jesus, the Messiah would come! How did this surprising turn of events happen?

Naomi’s Faithful Witness

As I stated before, it is highly unlikely that Ruth came to faith by observing the behavior of her father-in-law or husband. Naomi must have had a tremendous impact upon Ruth for her to make the surprising confession we find in this chapter, “Where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.”

To fully appreciate the amazing faith Ruth’s confession represented, you have to understand what grim prospects Ruth would have if she went to Israel with Naomi. Although she was now a believer, and now by faith a daughter of Abraham, rather than a daughter of Moab, she would still be viewed by most Israelites as a Moabite. We see in the pages of the New Testament how difficult it was for Israelites to accept Gentile converts, it reasonable to expect that it was even worse at the time of Ruth. The Moabites were not just Gentiles, they were bitter enemies of Israel and subject to special sanctions in the Law.

This amazing faith happened because Naomi, by both her words and her deeds “preached” the gospel within her household, but it was not just Naomi that was at work in that household, God was as well and this brings us to the second point:

God’s Faithful Providence

God is mentioned rarely in the book of Ruth, but just as we saw last year in our series from Esther, God’s hand is everywhere. This is most powerfully seen in the difference in the response between Ruth and her sister-in-law Orpah. In 1 Corinthians 1:22-24, Paul writes:

1 Corinthians 1:22–24 ESV

For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

From this text we see that there are three possible response to our gospel witness:

Some will see the gospel as a stumbling block.

Some will see the gospel as folly.

Some will see the gospel as the power of salvation!

What is the difference between these three responses? It is not the noble character of the hearer, but the call of God! In Ephesians 2, we learn how God takes the spiritually dead and makes them alive so that they might have faith in Christ. In that same chapter, we read that we are all born spiritually dead. Naomi’s husband and sons were born spiritually dead, and so were Orpah and Ruth. Naomi was faithful in her witness to all of them, but it was only Ruth whom God called and made alive.

I say this to remind you of what you have probably heard before: It is our job to be faithful witnesses, it is God’s job to be a faithful Savior. I am sure we can all find fault in our witness as a spouse and parent, but ultimately salvation is in the hands of the Lord. Too many Christians are unnecessarily beating themselves up because their spouse or one or more children are unbelievers. What we have failed to do we need to correct, but let none of us turn self-reflection into self-flagellation. More importantly, let none of us give up hope!

This brings us to the third and final point:

God’s Faithful Reward

The great encouragement of the book of Ruth is that God is faithful in rewarding our covenantal faithfulness. For a time Naomi gave up all hope. All she could see was bitterness. She even changed her name to Mara, which means “bitter”.

The time during which Isaiah the prophet ministered was a bitter time as well. Isaiah called the nation to repentance, but the vast majority remained dead in their trespasses and sins. To encourage believers, God gave this promise to them:

Isaiah 54:1 ESV

“Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married,” says the Lord.

What God is saying to us is this, “My power transcends the ordinary in order that I might reward your faithfulness!” One of the reasons God gave us the book of Ruth is to remind us of this. Who would have ever foreseen that God would use the Moabite daughter-in-law of Naomi to bring His Messiah into this world! The book of Ruth begins with Naomi full of sorrow, but ends with Naomi full of blessing!

God is still rewarding the conventional faithfulness of His people. The spiritual fruit of your faithfulness may not be your birth children. Perhaps like Naomi, it will be a daughter-in-law or son-in-law. Perhaps it will be co-worker or customer, a neighbor or even a stranger. If the Bible teaches us anything, we serve a God who is full of surprises. One thing God will never surprise us with is His faithfulness, God WILL reward His peoples’ faithfulness. The faithful woman of faith will by the power of God have children who will raise up and call her blessed. The faithful man of faith will by the power of God have children who honor him by following in his footsteps.

Just as in the case of Naomi, the world may be overlooking your faithfulness, but God never will! You too can be one of God’s unsung heroes or heroines!