Ruth 1:1-2; 4:16-17
[1]
In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of
Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and
his two sons. [2] The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife
Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were
Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and
remained there.
[16] Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his
nurse. [17] And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son
has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the
father of David.
Mother’s Day is coming up May 10. Typically in church we make a big deal about Mother’s Day. We often have flowers, or some little gift. We will sometimes have mothers stand up and acknowledge them. We pray for them and we often preach sermons extolling the virtues of mothers. But other than on Mother’s Day, mothers are often not the center of our accolades. Still mothers are often the foundation of our greatest achievements.
The book of Ruth in the Old Testament starts with Elimelech. His name means God is King, but the story starts with Elimelech making a poor choice by moving to Moab. The book ends with God’s blessing. It is a story of incredible grace. At the center of the story is a quiet individual that we almost forget about, Naomi. Naomi first shows up in the second verse of Ruth, and plays a part in every chapter. She is the center of the story again in the last paragraph just before the final, short genealogy. When we think of the book of Ruth we think about Ruth. We think about Boaz, the redeemer who is a picture of Christ. We think about their great grandson, David. We sometimes forget Naomi. That is a lot like motherhood. William Ross Wallace wrote a poem entitled, The Hand That Rocks The Cradle Is The Hand That Rules The World. You can find the full text of his poem here http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/wallace1.html. It extolls the power of the woman behind the scenes.
“The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world,” yet it is often an invisible hand. Thinking about the quiet presence of Naomi in the background of the book of Ruth, what godly characteristics does she portray that we would all do well to emulate? Throughout this week I intend to reflect on three characteristics of mother-in-law Naomi that often get forgotten when we focus on Ruth and Boaz. Naomi was selfless, she was industrious, and she was a woman of faith. Whether you are a mother or not, whether you are a woman, a man, or a child, you would do well to develop the character of Naomi. Selflessness, industriousness, and faith not only characterized Naomi, they were evident in the life of Christ as well. May they be evident in the life of every believer in Jesus Christ.
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