There is a whole book of the Bible dedicated to Ruth. Ruth was from Moab, but married into a family from Judah. This changed her life, and the life of generations of people following. She was the mother of Obed, who was the father of Jesse, who was the father of David.
How did you, a Moabite, connect with people from Israel?The first person I met in Naomi’s family was Mahlon, and the first time I saw him I knew he was special. He was very handsome, but it was not only his beauty that attracted me. I would sometimes see him at the well where I went daily for water. It seemed that each time I saw him he was selflessly giving aid to someone. He was there on his own family’s business, but was just as much concerned with helping others loading water jugs onto carts, or helping with watering their animals. The first time he spoke to me I was so nervous I could hardly breathe, but he put me at ease asking questions about the area in which we lived. His family had come from Ephrath in Judah to Moab seeking a place to live where they could work and sustain their family as there was famine in Judah.
I often connected with someone from his family at the community well, and I always looked forward to seeing them. They were such nice people – they were different. Mahlon’s parents, Elimelech and Naomi, were amazing. They were hard working, but never to the detriment of others. They were always willing to sacrifice their own comfort when others had a need. Naomi often injected into the conversation their beliefs about their god, Yahweh. I began to realize that Yahweh was indeed much different from our god, Chemosh. Chemosh was known as the destroyer or subduer. He wanted sacrifice, blood sacrifice. My people, the Moabites, would sometimes offer human sacrifices to Chemosh – not because we wanted to, but because we were afraid to anger him. We lived in fear that the high priests would choose one of our loved ones for this horror. Naomi explained to me that Yahweh did not ask for human sacrifice, that Yahweh was the god of love. We should demonstrate our love for him by loving each other. Wow! That was different. Beyond what Naomi and Elimelech said about their god, it was the way they lived each day that told a deeper story.
What was different about the way they lived?Each of them were intent on caring for each other, but beyond that they cared about everyone – even perfect strangers. They were more interested in people than in things. They would give away whatever they had, but that very giving seemed to make them happier than anyone else I knew. Their wealth was in the relationships they built with others. They taught us about the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who was later called Israel. They explained the reason our language is so similar is that we are all descendants of Shem, the son of Noah. We learned of Moses and how the one god called Yahweh passed down commandments for living. Living by these commandments is the reason that Elimelech and Naomi‘s behavior is so different from the worshipers of Chemosh.
The true test of anyone’s belief is how they act when faced with adversity. Devastation struck the family when Elimelech suddenly died. Mahlon and his brother Chilion, in their grief, comforted Naomi. Although her heart was broken she knew her boys would take care of her. Nonetheless, no one worked harder than Naomi. The three of them were a unit, and love abounded in their house even in the face of loss. Naomi explained that their belief was that there was spiritual life after death, and that they were awaiting a messiah who would save and unite them. I thought a lot about what she said. It was a big leap for me to believe the way these people believed, but at the same time they were living examples of the beauty of these beliefs.
After Elimelech died, did they talk about moving back to Israel?No, actually conditions in Israel had not improved very much. We sometimes would get news from that area, and at that time the family was still better off in Moab. Because the Moabites and the Israelites, both descendants of Shem, have language that is similar in many ways, we did not have problems communicating with people traveling from Israel to or through Moab. Of course another reason for them staying was both Mahlon and Chilion already had an interest in Moabite women – myself and Orpah. It wasn’t long after the death of Elimelech that Mahlon and I were married, and Chilion married Orpah. Both Orpah and I did everything we could to make life easier for Naomi.
What was your daily life like?Our family, Mahlon, me, Naomi, Chilion and Orpah, all worked together and provided for each other. We got our water from a community well, so either Orpah or I would go sometimes more than once a day for water. It was also our job to take care of growing barley and wheat for bread. Naomi taught us a new method for basket making, and we made woven matts for our floors from various grasses. The men traded for goods, hunted, and fished for us. We were not rich, but we were not poor either. We had a wonderful life together.
Then tragedy struck again. Mahlon and Chilion became very ill and both died within days of each other. We were stunned. We went about our daily tasks for a short time out of habit and without any plan for the future. Then one day Naomi brought Orpah and me together and said that she must return to her native country where she had family, and she said we should return to our families and make a new life. Orpah and I both knew that Naomi was right because it was impossible for three women to survive alone. Orpah reluctantly returned to her family home, but I could not separate myself from Naomi. She had given me much love, taught me about a different way of life, and about Yahweh – the one God, the God that loves. I could not walk away from Yahweh and Naomi to return to my former life. Naomi urged me to return to my family, but I said, “Wherever you go I will go, wherever you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people and your God, my God. Where you die I will die, and there be buried.” Naomi realized that she could not persuade me to leave her and relented.
Tell us about the journey from Moab to Israel.We packed food for the journey, and those things that we would need along the way. All the rest was left behind. It was a long walk from the green Moab plateau to the dry country in Israel. We walked all day, and camped at night. We prayed when we rose in the morning, and when we lied down at night. We praised Yahweh, we thanked Yahweh, and asked for His protection on our journey. Naomi said that she knew that Yahweh was always near, and it was important to have a relationship with Him. This was very different from Chemosh who could only be found as a molded form in a temple in the high places. Chemosh did not care about protecting me, he cared about me protecting him. Naomi’s Yahweh made sense to me, and as I learned to pray and to believe I knew in my heart that this indeed was the one true faith.
By the time we arrived at Ephrath in Judah we had used all of our supplies. Naomi suggested that I could go to fields and pick grain left behind after the harvest. This is very slow and difficult work just to get enough grain to feed us for maybe one day. I followed her direction, but I first asked those doing the harvesting if I could follow behind them to pick grain, and was given permission. The grain I was able to bring home fed us and saved our lives.
What about Naomi’s family – did she seek help from them?Interestingly, at the end of that very first day in the barley field, I met one of Naomi’s relatives. Boaz approached me and graciously suggested that I follow his harvesters, and glean grain when they have moved on. He said I was welcome to drink from their water jugs. I thanked him profusely. He said that he knew I was the Moabite who came with Naomi from the Moab plain. He praised the fact that I had left my homeland to come to a place I did not know, and all that I had done to care for his relative, Naomi. He invited me to eat with them which was sustaining for me while I worked gleaning grain from the field until evening. When I returned home to Naomi that evening I gave her the food I had saved for her from the meal Boaz gave me, and told Naomi all about my day in the field. Naomi was happy that I had met Boaz as she knew him to be a relative of hers and an honorable man. I continued to glean in the fields of Boaz during the harvesting of the barley and then the wheat. When the harvest was over we had built up a supply of grain we hoped would last us until the next harvest.
Did you have a plan for the future? What was the next step?Boaz, as a relative of Naomi, was considered a potential redeemer for her. It was up to a redeemer to buy back the land that had belonged to her husband, Elimelech and take care of Naomi. On the urging of Naomi, I made the suggestion to Boaz that he be our redeemer, and he was gratified with the suggestion. Both Boaz and I knew that as our redeemer part of his responsibility would be to marry me and hopefully we could produce heirs for Naomi. I had great regard for Boaz, and all he had already done for us. I had appreciation for his integrity, his ideals and sensitivity to the needs of others. I loved him with a different love than I had had for Mahlon, but it was a deep felt love nonetheless. So Boaz met with all the elders and other potential redeemers. The result was Boaz bought back the land once owned by Elimelech, and we were married. Naomi and I were secure, and once again we lived in a happy home where love abounded. We both grew in regard for Boaz as he was such a kind, God fearing man. I learned to celebrate all of the feast days of the believers in the one God. As I followed the commandments Moses passed to us, I remained in the love of God and joy filled my heart.
Tell us about Obed.Obed was a beautiful boy, and an answer to prayer. He was well loved by both Boaz and me, but loved most of all by Naomi. Naomi did not live to see Obed’s son, Jesse. When Jesse was born I knew just how Naomi must have felt when she held Obed to her breast. Who knows how many children Jesse will have and what their future will hold. Obed was raised and carefully tutored in the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Obed is a very good man. He is honest, trustworthy, and faithful to our Lord. I trust that his children will be raised as he was raised and be faithful to Yahweh.
The choice I made to stay with Naomi was the only choice for me. Once I knew her, felt her love, and was gifted with a faith in Yahweh I could not possibly have done anything else. The love began for me with Naomi and Mahlon, the love continued through adversity to peaceful times and the love of Boaz. From Boaz came Obed, and the love continues. It is really just all about the love.
