04.08.2015 Old Testament: Ruth 1.19–21

To read the Bible in a year, read The Book of Ruth on April 8, In the year of our Lord 2015

By Don Ruhl

The hometown of Naomi rejoiced to see her return after having been gone for ten years. However, when they said her name, she said not to call her that any longer, but to call her by a new name, Now the two of them went until they came to Bethlehem. And it happened, when they had come to Bethlehem, that all the city was excited because of them; and the women said, “Is this Naomi?”

But she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?” (Ruth 1.19–21). 

Naomi means pleasant, but having lost her husband and both sons, that name did not seem appropriate anymore, but Mara, meaning bitterness, did. Yet, in a short while, she would have new blessings that would bring pleasantness into her life. Some of you know of her bitterness. You have lost people you love, and it has filled your heart with bitterness. However, learn from the Book of Ruth that many people still care for you, and they will make your life pleasant again, if you let them into your life, as Naomi let Ruth into her life.