Naomi

The account of Ruth is a great one. It demonstrates God’s providence, His care and concern for all nations (not just Israel). Further, it teaches the value of hard work and many other great lessons, both theological and practical.

Most lessons based out of Ruth focus on her, and rightly so. She is the main character and heroine of the biblical record. For this lesson I want to briefly contemplate what kind of woman and mother Naomi was. As the book of Ruth begins, she and her husband had journeyed to Moab because of a famine in Canaan. Their two sons selected wives from among the Moabites.

Later, all three of the men died. Subsequently, Naomi encouraged her daughters-in-law to return to their families. What I find very interesting is that both expressed a desire to stay with Naomi (Ruth 1:10). There are many details we don’t have, but what we know is that Naomi was the kind of person and the kind of mother people wanted to have and to be around. It is because of this that we have the book of Ruth.