Ruth 1:19 - Meaning and Application

Naomi and Ruth came to Bethlehem after many tiring steps. We may think the journey felt easier because Naomi had given Ruth good advice, and they had spoken together along the way. They arrived just at the right time, at the start of the barley harvest, the first harvest of the year, before the wheat harvest followed. Now Naomi could see with her own eyes that the Lord had indeed given bread to his people in Judah, and Ruth could see the land at its best. They also had a good chance to get ready for the coming winter. Our times are in God’s hand, both what happens and when it happens.

The neighbors were stirred by their arrival. The people of the town gathered around Naomi to ask how she was and to welcome her back to Bethlehem. Or perhaps they were concerned because she looked so poor and could become a burden to the town. This shows that Naomi had once been known and respected, because so many people noticed her return. When someone has once been well off and then falls into hardship or shame, the change stands out more sharply.

The women of the city said, “Is this Naomi?” They were shocked to see how much sorrow had changed her. She was so worn down by affliction that they could hardly believe she was the same woman they had once known, fresh and lively. A rose looks very different once it has withered. Naomi’s present condition was a poor sight compared with her earlier prosperity.

If anyone asked that question in a mocking way, to shame her for leaving and returning empty, that would have been cruel and mean-hearted. Nothing is more barbaric than to celebrate over someone who has fallen. But it is likely that most of them spoke from pity and sadness. They remembered that she had once lived in comfort, kept a good house, and given generously to the poor. Affliction brings sudden and striking change. When we see how sickness and old age change people, even their faces and temper, we may think of the Bethlehemites’ words, “Is this Naomi?” God’s grace should prepare us for all such changes, especially the great change that comes at death.

Naomi’s spirit, however, was calm. If some people reproached her for her poverty, she did not answer back, as a proud person might have done. With patient faith, she bore her loss and all the sad effects of it (Ruth 1:20, Ruth 1:21). “Do not call me Naomi,” she said, “call me Mara,” that is, bitter. Naomi means pleasant or lovely, but all her pleasant things were gone. She felt bitter, and she spoke from a sorrowful heart. She accepted her condition, and we should learn to do the same when life does not go the way we would like.

She spoke of her changed state with reverence toward God’s providence, and without wild complaints. It was a very sad change. She went out full, as she felt when her husband and two sons were with her. Much of the comfort people enjoy in this life comes from dear relationships. But now she came back empty, a widow with no children, and likely with little more than the clothes she wore. Earthly fullness is uncertain (1 Samuel 2:5). Even when we seem to have enough, we may still be in need. But there is a deeper fullness, a spiritual fullness, that cannot be taken away, and those who have it will never lose their best treasure.

Naomi also saw God’s hand in her suffering. “It is the Lord who has brought me back empty,” she said, “the Almighty has afflicted me.” Nothing helps a faithful soul bear trouble more than seeing God’s hand in it. It is the Lord who sends it (1 Samuel 3:18; Job 1:21). She especially names him as the Almighty, the all-powerful one, because it is foolish to fight against him, and wise to submit to him. This is also the name by which God made covenant with his people: “I am God Almighty” (Genesis 17:1). He afflicts as the God of covenant, and his all-sufficiency can support us and supply what we need in every trouble. The One who empties us of created things also knows how to fill us with himself.

Naomi also felt the bitterness of her loss deeply. “He has dealt very bitterly with me,” she said. The cup of suffering is bitter, even when it later yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. For the moment, it is painful and distressing (Hebrews 12:11). Job said something similar: “You write bitter things against me” (Job 13:26). She also saw her suffering as a case against her: “The Lord has testified against me.” When God corrects us, he also speaks against us and deals with us as one who is displeased (Job 10:17). Every rod has a voice, and it speaks as a witness.

Naomi then adjusted herself to her new condition. “Do not call me Naomi,” she said, “for I am no longer pleasant, either to myself or to my friends. Call me Mara, bitter.” Many people who have been lowered or made poor still cling to the empty titles they once had. Naomi did not do that. Her humility would not hold onto a grand name when her state had become so low. If God had dealt bitterly with her, she was willing to fit her words to her life. It is fitting for us to have humbled hearts under humbling providences. When our condition is brought low, our spirit should come down with it. Our troubles are sanctified to us when we bear them rightly, for it is not suffering itself, but suffering borne well, that does us good. As Seneca said, many losses are wasted on a person if he has not yet learned how to suffer. Trouble works patience.