Ruth 1:19-22 New International Version (NIV)
19 So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”
20 “Don’t call me Naomi,[a]” she told them. “Call me Mara,[b] because the Almighty[c] has made my life very bitter. 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted[d] me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”
22 So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.
Mon. November 2 Many people are scared about saying what they really feel about God or to God. But the Bible is filled with real, honest, hard conversations about God and with God. Naomi blames God for her pain and suffering! She changes her name to declare to everyone how “bitterly” God has dealt with her! But there is hope. Her home town “Bethlehem” literally translates to “house of bread.” Naomi’s family ran from Bethlehem because there was no “bread,” but God has brought “bread” once again. God is up to something, but in her bitterness, Naomi cannot fully see that. Naomi’s story shows that even when we show our honest and real thoughts, emotions, and attitudes with God that God will still forgive us. God will not abandon us. God is at work in us and for us even when it seems that God is against us. No matter how bitter Naomi is, God is still with her and for her. In the cross Jesus has shown that even if we reject him and kill him that he will forgive us and care for us.
Comments