Femme Friday- Naomi

This week's Femme Friday is a story of relationships. A story of woman so distraught, she changes her name from pleasantness to bitter. This is a story of a woman who loses everything except her in-laws. Through our heroine we learn how the only thing that endures is God's provision for us. 

Today, we learn about Naomi. 

Naomi is a woman who has been married and raised her two sons. They have been living away from the land of Israel in a foreign country called Moab. They left Bethlehem because of a famine. When the boys are grown and have married two Moabites, a famine strikes their home. Elimelech and his two sons die. This leaves Naomi and her two daughters-in-law as widows. Meaning they have no way to provide for themselves. Or to protect themselves. They are women in a hostile world. 

Naomi entreats her two daughters-in-law to return to their families of origin. One, Orpah, does. She takes the road back to familiarity. Because the two younger women have hope of remarrying. Or can return to the protection of their fathers. The other woman, Ruth, pleads to stay with Naomi. Ruth has adopted the religion of Israel, that of Yahweh. Ruth desires to go back to Bethlehem to support and be with Naomi. We are never told why, but we see the character of Ruth that allows her to stay with a woman who has lost everything. 

These two women, Ruth and Naomi, return to the land of Bethlehem. When they do, and Naomi runs into some old friends and relatives, Naomi informs them to no longer call her Naomi, which means pleasant. Instead, Naomi chooses to name herself Mara or bitter. (Ruth 1:20-21). 

As the story unfolds, we do see that Mara's life has become bitter. She is forced to live from the dependence on her kinfolk. Gleaning behind the harvesters for food. There were few if any moral ways that Ruth and Naomi could provide monies for themselves. None that would allow them to remain in town. Right at the beginning of the story we see that Mara has little to hope for. She is without a husband or son to care for her. She cannot remarry because she is past the age of producing another heir for her husband. She is gleaning from barley fields along with her daughter-in-law who is a foreigner. These two women have little to be hopeful for. 

However, we see that in the next chapter, Naomi and Ruth are connected with a distant relative that will be their salvation. That although Mara was circumstantially and emotionally bereft, the God of her ancestors is still her God. When all SEEMS hopeless and lost, God shows up in a funny way to provide deliverance to these women. 

Through Naomi/Mara we learn that dependence on earthly treasures and relationships cannot be sustained. Either they or we will eventually run out. But God, our eternal and generous God, is eternal. His provision is long-lasting. That is where our hope and dependence can rely.