Verse One: “In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.”

History:

The time of the judges is accounted for in the book prior to Ruth, appropriately named Judges. During the book of Judges, the people of Israel would follow God for a period of time, usually when a judge was alive, and then as soon as that judge died, they would go back to doing what was evil in God’s eyes. This cycle repeats throughout the book of Judges and is the background for the events in the book of Ruth.

Now Moab was a group of people whom God had warned the Israelites not to mingle with. They worshiped idols and false gods and God knew that they would turn the Israelites against Him. Not only were they not supposed to mingle with the Moabites, but they weren’t supposed to marry them either.

Interesting fact: Bethlehem would be the hometown of king David later in the Old Testament and would also be the birthplace of Jesus in the New Testament.

Verse Two: “The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah.”

The geographical location is important because the future king is supposed to come from the tribe of Judah. Remember this when we go over chapter four. Judah is one of the twelve tribes of Israel and the land of Israel was broken up between the twelve tribes. Bethlehem is a city in Judah.

According the the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Ephrathites were people who were from Ephrath, which was often associated with Bethlehem. It is possible that it is a family name of importance in Bethlehem (502).

Verse Three: “But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons.”

Elimelech’s name means, “my God is king.” His death means Naomi needs to rely on her sons to care for her. Her sons need to marry in order to bear children, hence the next verse.

Verse Four: These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years.”

As stated earlier, the Israelites were not supposed to marry the Moabites. Some didn’t care quite as much since everyone did what was right in their own eyes during this time period, but there was still a stigma about it which will appear later on.

What is also interesting is that neither Orpah nor Ruth had any children during this time. We are not told when exactly they were married during the ten year time span, but it is an interesting note. It shows how God was preparing for what comes in the later chapters.

Verse Five: “and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.”

Naomi was left without the means to be cared for. This does not mean that she couldn’t take care of herself, but in this society, the men worked and provided for the women. When the parents would get too old, the children would care for them. From Naomi’s point of view, her future is very bleak.

Interestingly, Mahlon and Chilion both mean “sickly.”

From what we know of the book of Ruth, we can see that God works to achieve His glory. In the moment, however, it can seem hopeless. That is how Naomi probably felt at the end of this section and it is shown at the end of the chapter when she changes her name.

Ruth has just entered the story. Naomi has lost almost everything. This is only the beginning of God’s wonderful plan. When life seems hopeless or like trials will never end, we can remember that God isn’t finished yet. The trials grow us and strengthen us. They bring us closer to Him. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” – Psalm 30:5.