“In the days when the judges ruled in Israel, a severe famine came upon the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah left his home and went to live in the country of Moab, taking his wife and two sons with him. The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife was Naomi. Their two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. And when they reached Moab, they settled there. Then Elimelech died, and Naomi was left with her two sons. The two sons married Moabite women. One married a woman named Orpah, and the other a woman named Ruth. But about ten years later, both Mahlon and Kilion died. This left Naomi alone, without her two sons or her husband.” (Ruth 1:1-5)

By the end of the first five verses of the first chapter of the book of Ruth, Naomi is all alone, with her husband and both sons dead. It all started with Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, leaving Israel because of a famine. We’ve seen this happen many times in Scripture: Abraham left the land God showed him because of a famine, and we find that when we leave the place God wants us to be, things don’t turn out very well for us. Elimelech died and they stayed in Moab for ten more years and then Elimelech’s sons died. It’s how Naomi reacts to this tragedy that makes God irresistible to her daughter-in-law.

“With her two daughters-in-law she set out from the place where she had been living, and they took the road that would lead them back to Judah. But on the way, Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, ‘Go back to your mothers’ homes. And may the Lord reward you for your kindness to your husbands and to me. May the Lord bless you with the security of another marriage.’ Then she kissed them good-bye, and they all broke down and wept.

“‘No,’ they said. ‘We want to go with you to your people.’” (Ruth 1:7-10)

Naomi seeks to return to her people and her daughters-in-law want to go with her. Naomi doesn’t get mad at God for the the loss of her husband and sons. She doesn’t blame God or chalk it up to bad luck. Instead, she returns to God and this dedication is irresistible to her daughters-in-law. God makes it rain on the just and unjust; things will not always go perfectly for us, but when we do not blame God, when we hold tight to our faith in Him in both the good times and bad, we make Him irresistible to those who don’t know Him. Live your life in a way that points to God and makes Him irresistible to the world that so desperately needs Him.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.