“But she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. “I went out full, and the LORD has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the LORD has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?” ” Ruth 1:20-21 (NKJV)
Naomi returned to her previous home in Bethlehem. Those who had known her before wondered if this was indeed the same woman they had known before. She had changed so much. Grief changes a person. How would you have felt in the same or a similar situation? I think it would have been difficult to come back to the same friends and places where she had enjoyed time with her husband and her boys had grown up, knowing they were all dead now.
The one somewhat bright spot in her life was that she came home with a daughter-in-law who had chosen Naomi’s God above her family and their gods. She had been a faithful witness to God’s love despite the pain and loss she had experienced. It is my prayer that when all is said and done, God will find me a faithful witness for Him.
Listen to Steve Green as he sings “Find Us Faithful.”
Published on MyBibleRoom.com 2/1/25, 5:00 pm