NAOMI


A. "AND SHE SAID UNTO THEM, CALL ME NOT NAOMI, CALL ME MARA; FOR THE ALMIGHTY HATH DEALT VERY BITTERLY WITH ME" - RUTH 1:20
  1. The book of Ruth is one of the most loved books in the Bible:
    1. It concerns itself mainly with two outstanding women of the Bible - Ruth and her mother-in-law, Naomi
    2. Their names have become household words in millions of homes
  2. In this sketch let us take a brief look into the story of Naomi:
    1. One of the most beautiful Bible characters
    2. The virtues that made her beautiful and her influence immortal
B. NAOMI WHO TASTED THE CUP OF BITTERNESS
  1. Her name:
    1. Means that which is pleasant - "Jehovah is pleasant, my joy"
    2. She suggested that her name should be Mara; "for the Almighty hath dealt bitterly with me"
  2. Family connections: While both Naomi and her husband were devout or staunch members of the Hebrew race, we are told nothing of their genealogy. Elimelech is believed to have been a member of a prominent family, living under favorable circumstance. Some think that Elimelech was a descendent of Rahab, the wife of a Hebrew prince named Salmon.
  3. The following high points in the history of Naomi will be of interest to the discerning reader:
    1. Naomi and Elimelech had two sons - Mahlon and Chilion
    2. Elimelech and his family moved into the land of Moab - this they did to better their financial circumstances
    3. The two boys married wives of the land of Moab - Orpha and Ruth
    4. Tragedy overtook the family - the father and the two sons died - leaving three widows to make their way
    5. Word came to Naomi that conditions in her homeland were more favorable and she decided to go home
    6. She informed the daughters'-in-laws of her intention and she suggested for them to go back to their parents; this brought sorrow and weeping to all concerned; because the daughters loved Naomi; Orpha returned home but Ruth went with her mother-in-law to the land of Israel
C. AN INSPIRING OBJECT LESSON
  1. What has been written about Naomi reveals:
    1. That she was a noble person motivated by high principles
    2. That virtue is the foundation of true greatness; a motive that seeks to follow the golden rule - "Therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them; for this is the law and the prophets" - Matt. 7:12
    3. She sought to shield the two girls against the possible hardships she might meet when coming back to her home country
  2. Perhaps best of all:
    1. Was her home influence - Ruth decision to go with her mother-in-law testifies to this truth; said Ruth, "Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee; for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God" - Ruth 1:16
    2. Note, please, Ruth's attachment to her mother-in-law; here readiness to forsake her relatives and her former religion - all these decisions were the fruit of a consistent life of Naomi in the home
  3. Finally:
    1. One can see the hand of providence in the experience of Naomi from the beginning to the end
    2. Her sojourn in the land of Moab linked Ruth with the ancestry with such might men as King David, and best of all with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords
    3. Could we always foresee that we are not left to ourselves; but a providence watches over us, we would thank God the way He leads


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