6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had visited His people by giving them bread. 7 Therefore she went out from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. 8 And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each to her mother’s house. The Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 9 The Lord grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband.” So she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. 10 And they said to her, “Surely we will return with you to your people.”
1:6
Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had visited His people by giving them bread.
It was the Lord who stopped the famine, not Baal.
“Return” is a key idea in the book of Ruth.
1:7
Therefore she went out from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.
Naomi told her daughters-in-law that because they were Moabites, it would be difficult for them in the Promised Land.
1:8
And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each to her mother’s house.
Naomi encouraged her two daughters-in-law to return to their homesteads.
The Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me.
The word “kindly” (hesed in Hebrew) is not referring merely to an emotion but to an attitude that leads to actively benefiting another person. This word hesed—meaning mercy, loyalty, kindness, or lovingkindness—is thematic in the book of Ruth. The idea is deep and enduring commitment to another. It is a word indicating a covenant of loyalty. The word is a grace-leaning word because God gives His mercy even when it is not deserved. God would enable Naomi’s daughters-in-law to find rest.
Naomi saw that the prospects for her daughters-in-law were better in Moab, so she encouraged them to stay.
1:9
The Lord grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband.” So she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept.
The word “rest” carries the idea of security, as security in marriage. This word means protection and refuge. Naomi wanted her daughters-in-law to understand that if they came to live in her country, it would be very difficult for them to find a husband. They would experience cultural dislocation.
1:10
And they said to her, “Surely we will return with you to your people.”
Both Moabite women wanted to return with Naomi.
PRINCIPLE:
Believers ought to openly recognize God’s hand in their circumstances.
APPLICATION:
God puts the pieces together in His providential care over us. We may have no conscious awareness of what He does. God works all things together in His plan. God does not act in an isolated way, but He continuously governs everything that happens to us. Things do not happen by chance; God rules. We ought to openly glorify Him for this.
