“Go,” Naomi said quietly, almost in a whisper.

(Continued from Re-Imagining Ruth Part 1)

After stopping to gather her nerve, she began again. “Go home. Go back to your mother’s house.”

The tears began as she drew them near and blessed them. “May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find rest in the house of your husband.”

Though she loved them, Naomi knew she had to release them. She embraced them and kissed each of them on the forehead. And she wept. There were more tears after all.

Orpah and Ruth had also known this moment would come. They also wept now that it was upon them.

It was Orpah who spoke first. “No, we will return with you to your people.”

Naomi appreciated the gesture, but knew it would be impossible. She shook her head. “Turn back, my daughters. Why would you go with me? I have nothing to offer you. I wish that I had more sons who could marry you, but I have been left with no one. You have a chance for a future, but I’m too old to have a husband.”

Her voice had been rising as she spoke, as the raw emotion began to bubble forth. So she paused to collect herself.

The younger women didn’t know what to say. It was true. Naomi was not a young woman – she was well beyond the years where she could bear more children. No, the line and family of Elimelech would die with her.

They also all knew that, while Orpah and Ruth were young, they were older than most maidens. They could not afford to wait and squander their own hopes by following her to Bethlehem.

The silence of the young women led Naomi to continue.

“Even if I was younger, even if I took a husband tonight and bore sons, you could not wait for them to grow up. Would you follow an old woman and refrain from marrying? Would you wind up like me?”

Her tone and sarcasm betrayed her bitterness. “No, my daughters. It is exceedingly bitter to me – for your sake – that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.”

Naomi wept again. These were words she had passed through her mind frequently, but had not yet passed her lips. The Lord had abandoned her and taken from her everything – everyone – she loved. She had no doubt the Lord had punished her family when they left home and moved to Moab.

Perhaps they had abandoned Him. Naomi didn’t know, and she wasn’t even sure if she cared anymore. Those were difficult days in Israel, days of famine and unrest, so Elimelech and Naomi did what they felt they needed to do. They did what seemed right to them at the time. (Judges 17:6, 21:25) But now Naomi was sure the Lord had cast them away.

The three women embraced. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye. Of course Naomi was right – there was little sense in traveling with her to a foreign land at this season of her life. She would return to her parents’ house. They would care for her and help her find a husband with whom she could build a new life.

So with sorrow, she turned back and left, walking quickly to escape the emotional scene.

Naomi was not prepared for what happened next.

To be continued… 

It was time. 

Naomi stopped and stood still, staring down the road in front of her at nothing in particular.

The sun was well on its way up the sky, but the heat was not yet overwhelming, and the sound of livestock in the distance went unnoticed. The scene was familiar, but Naomi was looking beyond all of that. She had dreaded the moment that was now upon her.

She wasn’t sure she could endure another goodbye. She wasn’t sure there were any tears left.

Her husband had gone to his ancestors a few years ago. Her two sons had only recently followed him. Their untimely deaths had deeply shaken Naomi. As she mourned them she only wished to join them in Sheol. There was nothing left for her. With the period of mourning now over, she had embarked on today’s journey shortly after dawn.

As she stood there in the road, Naomi knew that in a few minutes she would be alone.

Naomi finally turned around to look at the two young women standing silently just behind her. Orpah and Ruth, the wives of her sons, were all she had left. She had come to love these Moabite women as her own daughters. Their shared grief had only deepened the bond they shared.

Naomi had expected to be spending this season of her life caring for grandchildren, but these had never come. But Orpah and Ruth were young enough to have a chance at starting over. Naomi knew she had no such future. There was nothing left for her to offer them, and so she knew it was time for each of them to go home.

To Be Continued… (Re-Imagining Ruth Part 2)

This is the first installment of a series on the book of Ruth. 

As an experiment, I’m going to interweave a re-imagining of the story with some teaching from the book itself. We’ll move between storytelling and Bible study. The storytelling will attempt to be faithful to the biblical narrative, but I will exercise some creative license to fill out the story. 

Other articles may get mixed into the blog, but I’ll put a “Ruth” tag on all of these entries. I hope you’ll follow along and engage with us in the comments.