Ruth 1:19-21 Bitter Circumstances!

 ”Now the two of them went until they came to Bethlehem. And it happened, when they had come to Bethlehem, that all the city was excited because of them; and the women said, “Is this Naomi?” 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 ‭1‬:‭19‬-‭21‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. The two of them went until they came to Bethlehem: It was a long walk from Moab to Bethlehem, and the trip was mostly uphill. We can imagine along the way, Ruth asking her mother-in-law Naomi all about the God of Israel and the land of Israel.

b. All the city was excited because of them: Bethlehem was just a large village; everyone in the village would have known everyone else and remembered those who had left years ago.

c. Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara: The name Naomi means “pleasant”; the name Mara means “bitter.” Naomi used this to tell the people of Bethlehem that her time away from Israel, her time away from the God of Israel, had not been pleasant - it was bitter.

i. Naomi wasn’t a phony. She wasn’t going to go home, pretend everything was fine, and be “pleasant.” She was going to be honest and say “Here I am and my life has been bitter.”

d. The Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me... the LORD has brought me home again empty... the LORD has testified against me: Naomi was not afraid to see the hand of God in all her calamity.

i. Naomi knew that the tragedy that came into her life was not because of fate, chance, or blind fortune. She felt the tragedies were an example of God’s affliction because she could not see the end of His plan. But she knew there was a sovereign God of heaven and didn’t think she had just run into a string of “bad luck.”

ii. Yet, in the midst of all these bitter circumstances, Naomi was not bitter against the LORD. We can imagine one of the villagers asking, “Naomi, if God has dealt very bitterly with you, if the LORD has brought you home empty, if the LORD has testified against you, then why have you come back?” And she would have said, “Because I want to get right with Him again. Things have been terrible, and the answer isn’t in going further from God, but in drawing closer to Him.”

iii. Not everyone reacts to trials the way Naomi did. “Many are humbled, but not humble; low, but not lowly. These have lost the fruit of their afflictions... and are therefore most miserable.” (Trapp)

Bitter Circumstances

Have you been given the short end of the shaft? Drew the short straw and became bitter? Re-read Trapp’s commentary! Our human nature wants to drag us down into the abyss! But we have the Almighty! 

Brethren, when life throws you bitter circumstances, examine yourself to see if you are being spanked by the hand of the Lord or tested like Job!

Remember the prize 🏆, the crown 👑 that you’ll receive in heaven! Read the book of Romans, read the book of Job and keep the faith! 

As the sun rises and sets we will have trials and bitter circumstances! It’s how you react to those that the world will know you are His.

Blessings