Unexpected: Five Women in the Lineage of JesusSample

Ruth: When Disaster Srikes

By Sue Payne

When your plans are interrupted, when your life takes a sharp turn, when disaster strikes, what do you do? The story of Ruth and Naomi gives us a glimpse into God’s faithfulness and what we can do when our story takes a turn, whether it’s a small obstacle or a big catastrophe.

This story takes place during the time when judges led the people, the period after Moses brought the people back from Egypt and Joshua conquered the land for the Hebrews. In the book of Judges, twelve individuals are named as the leaders of the people. They were called to be military leaders of the regions and to lead the Hebrew people in following God. They did neither very well.

This is the backdrop for the story of Ruth and Naomi and their faithfulness to one another.

The book of Ruth begins with Naomi; her husband, Elimelek; and their two sons leaving Bethlehem (notice that this woman who is in the lineage of Jesus was from Bethlehem!) because there is a famine in the land.

To survive, they traveled on foot to Moab, a difficult 50-mile journey around the north end of the Dead Sea and through rugged, mountainous terrain. They probably assumed they would be able to move back when the famine ended, but their plans were interrupted.

The family settled in Moab, and at the beginning of the book, Elimelek dies, leaving Naomi alone in a foreign land with her two sons. Eventually, both sons marry women from Moab, Orpah and Ruth, and they settle into a life there.

Ten years go by, and another catastrophic disaster takes place. Both the sons die, leaving Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah as widows. Widows in that culture could not survive on their own because men were the sole providers and there were no options for women to take care of themselves. Can you imagine the grief?

But God wasn’t done with their story just yet.

Questions:

1. Have you experienced a turn in your life that changed everything? Perhaps even a catastrophe like Ruth and Naomi did?
2. Where was God’s faithfulness displayed in that time? Did you recognize it then? Can you look back and see it now? If not, what promises are you holding on to?
3. If you are in a time now where you are searching for God’s faithfulness, can you remember a time in your past when you experienced God’s love, mercy, and provision?