Elimelech appears to have been a man of faith who did not or could not be fully faithful. Good News Translation It would do us well to review where the Moabites came from and how they related to Israel in the past. They arrived, in fact, just in time for the barley harvest. A lion approached and he fought off the lion. And Naomi was now ready to arrange for a marriage and offspring in an unconventional way, just as Tamar, the mother of Moab, and the Israelites (more recently) did. Can one dismiss the sincerity of a man of faith who fails to always live up to his convictions? 31 Later the older daughter said to the younger, Our father is old, and there is no man anywhere nearby to have sexual relations with us, according to the way of all the world. Ed, Issue 46, Winter 2023, Ruth: A Story of Redemption -- A Study of the Book of Ruth. We certainly are reminded of the sovereignty of God by our text, but unfortunately most of the emphasis on Gods sovereignty in chapter 1 comes from Naomi, and she is not seeing things as she should. Because he abandoned his people during a famine. Both the Benjamites sin and their judgment are similar to what happened in Genesis 19. Both had married Israelite husbands, had borne no children, and were now widows. , Akk. May your acts of kindness be repaid fully by the LORD God of Israel, from whom you have sought protection! (Ruth 2:10-12, emphasis mine). In an effort to escape the famine, a man named Elimelech took his family to Moab, where he intended for his family to sojourn until the famine ended.10 How could he have imagined how long his family would stay? The NEW ENGLISH TRANSLATION, also known as THE NET BIBLE, is a completely new translation of the Bible, not a revision or an update of a previous English version. Naomis people (Israel) would be her people, and Naomis God would be her God. The resolution to these irregularities is primarily exegetical. Some years ago I had the pleasure of meeting a lovely Christian in a hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia. Naomi told her friend not to call her Naomi (which means pleasant) any longer, but rather to call her Mara (which means bitter). Ruth 2:1 Now Naomi had a relative on her husband's side, a prominent man of noble character from the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. It is as though she has forgotten Gods description of Himself in Exodus 34: 6 The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed: The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness, 7 keeping loyal love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. It follows, therefore, that these characters must be important in setting the theme of the book. She was not a Jew, and she had not been raised by parents who taught her the law. Encyclopaedia Judaica. The two women, now forever bound together by Ruths covenant, continued on their way until they reached Bethlehem. From these events, we can easily see that the Moabites were no friend to Israel. And Elimelech Naomi's husband died; and she was left, and her two sons. 1:1-5 Elimelech's care to provide for his family, was not to be blamed; but his removal into the country of Moab could not be justified. And the removal ended in the wasting of his family. Elimelech had a wife named Naomi and two sons, Mahlon and Kilion. You, leaders, did not stand at the opening like Moses. If our text tells us anything about God, it is that His ways are not our ways. - As part of a small team, I organized a five-day congress (90 participants, budget 17,000), the largest yearly event of the association. Abraham put the seed at risk when he represented his wife Sarah as his sister, and she ended up (temporarily) in Pharaohs29 (and later Abimelechs)30 harem. What was Moses like? Leaving His land, His people, His office-bearers, His worship and His day is leaving God. Can this be Naomi? they asked (verse 19). She would have been very much at home in our Postmodern world. Best Answer. That is why some men and women will choose never to marry or to bear children. Naomis third appeal is to Ruth alone, based on Orpahs decision to return home. Surely it fell short of what Ruths experience will be. Ruths spiritual journey is similar to that of Abraham. The Midrash explains: What does a fox watch out for in the ruins? Their ultimate blessing would have been to leave their land, their people, their false religion, and to identify with the Israelites and with their God. Lot and his family were spared, but his wife died (turned to salt) because she looked back. Elimelech Weisblum 1717 Tykocin, Kingdom of Poland. She would be buried where Naomi was buried. Create a Memorial We shall see more about this in chapter 3. Naomi doesnt mention that these women would likely not find an Israelite husband. 10 But they said to her, No! And thus there is no evidence of repentance on her part at this point in time. They were of the clan of Ephrath from Bethlehem in Judah.) 1 Copyright 2010 by Robert L. Deffinbaugh. Such early setting out of the players is quite unusual in Biblical writing. He stood in the opening and blocked it with his body. For the Lord is afflicting me!. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. (6) Most (if not all) of Naomis actions, attitudes, and advice were misguided and downright wrong. Both women initially refused to heed Naomis exhortation to leave her and return to Moab. To do it any other way was to disobey God. I pray that you, like Ruth, have forsaken all confidence in yourself and have cast yourself upon the one true God for salvation. Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. In this emergency, she was proposing an unconventional solution to their problem. The contrast between Naomi and Ruth is very clear when the two womens words and actions are viewed from the vantage point of the Abrahamic Covenant. And so they, like Lots daughters (the oldest one in particular), devised a scheme whereby the line would be preserved, albeit apart from faith and obedience to Gods Word. <>/XObject<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/MediaBox[ 0 0 612 792] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 0>> When M, Elijah ben Solomon Abraham Ha-Kohen of Smyrna, Elijah ben Eliezer Philosoph Ha-Yerushalmi, Elijah ben Baruch (ben Solomon ben Abraham) The Elder, https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/elimelech. In short, Naomi is a picture of Israels spiritual condition at this point in their history. Web1290 BC Elimelech dies, likely stricken by God for abandoning his inheritance, allowing his two sons to marry Moabites and not joining the battle against Benjamin in Judges 20. Though a widow, Naomi still had her two sons to provide for and protect her. The best thing for her to do was to return to Bethlehem and live out the rest of her days, dying empty (i.e., childless). There do not appear to be many generations between Boaz and David, but biblical genealogies dont always include every genealogical link in such cases. A famine plagued Israel in the days of the judges. Not long afterward he died, and his two sons married Moabite Then she firmly stated her commitment to Naomi, to Israel, and to Israels God as a covenant. Hebrews 12:6,10,11 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth, Elimelech -- 'God is king', the husband of Naomi, Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular, Conjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular, Noun - masculine plural construct | third person feminine singular, Elimelech, driven by famine into Moab, dies there, Mahlon and Chilion, having married wives of Moab, die also, dissuades her two daughters-in-law from going with her, Orpah leaves her, but Ruth with great constancy accompanies her, The two come to Bethlehem, where they are gladly received, OT History: Ruth 1:3 Elimelech Naomi's husband died (Ru Rut. March 11, 1787 Leajsk, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria. For I am too old to get married again. Naomi thought of Gods blessings in terms of having food and a family. Lot fled with his daughters and was living in a cave. Naomi counseled Orpah and Ruth to do what seemed right in their eyes. WebThe Bible Exposition Commentary: The meaning of redemption. The mans name was Elimelech. ; Akkad. How could Naomi encourage Ruth (and, by inference, Orpah) to return to their god(s), when doing so would condemn them eternally? The genealogy provided in chapter 4 would incline us to believe that the events of Ruth took place later rather than sooner in the period of the judges, because Ruth is the great grandmother of David.17 But other than this, there do not appear to be any direct links to events or persons in the Book of Judges. She does not acknowledge sin on her part (and Elimelechs), and she does not seek to repent. Following their deaths, his wife Naomi returned to Beth-Lehem together with her daughter-in-law *Ruth (Ruth 1:13; 2:1, 3; 4:3, 9). , ), Phoenician port, N. of Tyre in Lebanon. In her mind, this was the normal, the customary, way to produce offspring. Who was Elimelech? Not even death would separate them. We read of the origin of the Moabites in Genesis 19,3 just after the account of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. There is no reason for you to return to Judah with me! The first chapter of Ruth is very important because our appraisal of Ruth, Naomi, and (soon) Boaz in the first chapters of Ruth will greatly shape our understanding of the rest of the book. As the story of Esther unfolds, it looks as though every Jew is doomed to annihilation, but for the providence of God, whereby Gods enemies are destroyed and His people are spared. 14 For those who speak in such a way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 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