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Heart Break to Heart Ache
Heart Break to Heart Ache
Do you remember your first love? You fall head over heels and assimilate to the very core of their being. I read in one of my favorite books about an ugly separation and rebound in a marraige. She describes these relationship very well. Disclaimer: This particular book's protagonist is an atheist. I do not support atheism or the things the character pursues as an alternative to a loving savior. I just really love her journey (although misguided) through grief.
"I believe that my husband and I shocked each other by how swiftly we went from being the people who knew each other best in the world to being a pair of the most mutually incomprehensible strangers who ever lived. At the bottom of that strangeness was the abysmal fact that we were both doing something the other person would never have conceived possible; he never dreamed I would actually leave him, and I never, in my wildest imagination, thought he would make it so difficult for me to go.
And then there was David.
All the complications and traumas of those ugly divorce years were multiplied by the drama of David—the guy I fell in love with as I was taking leave of my marriage. Did I say that I "fell in love" with David? What I meant to say is that I dove out of my marriage and into David's arms exactly the same way a cartoon circus performer dives off a high platform and into a small cup of water, vanishing completely."
---Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Ephratites
Ephratites
These particular people are from Bethlehem of the line of Judah. They leave because of a famine and settle in Moab.
Moabites
Moabites
Moab was a land originally associated with Israel through Moab, Lot's son. Chemosh became their god.
Why are these things important or relevant to our study in Ruth?
Lineage of Christ
Fulfillment of prophecy on heritage
Moab, son of Lot, and his lack of firm foundation-generational affects
Why choose Moab during the famine?
Is this a bad choice?
Will there be repercussions?
Naomi is not the first documented "female" widow in the old testament. Tamar, the daughter of Judah, is the first mentioned widow. She is left with her two sons in a pagan land. Why did she choose not to return to Bethlehem then? Why encourage her sons to marry in this land?
The sons die and she is left with foreign daughter in laws. During this grief she chooses to return to Bethlehem upon hearing about the Lord blessing His people once more. She also lacks connections to stay established in Moab. The dismissal of her daughter in laws during verse 9 is remorseful and hurtful.
Naomi is currently working through the first few stages of grief. Her tail is tucked between legs. She is returning ashamed that so many things have gone wrong. She feels like a failure, and that God has abandoned her. To further affirm her loneliness she dismisses the two women who are closest to her. She isolating herself from comfort.
Grief is so hard to deal with as a Christian. We feel that we should be better at it than others. There is a pressure to grieve quickly or like other people. Naomi here made the best decisions that she could while still honoring her husband. Self inflicted persecution is one of the greatest tools of the enemy. How would you counsel Naomi?
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