“Go back, my daughters; go your way; for I’m too old to have a husband. Even if I were to say, ‘I still have hope’; even if I had a husband tonight and bore sons; would you wait for them until they grew up? Would you refuse to marry, just for them? No, my daughters. On your behalf I feel very bitter that the hand ofAdonai has gone out against me.”-Ruth 1:12-13
In our discussion of Naomi’s concern for her daughters-in-law, the truth is Naomi stood to benefit just as much if not more if the girls were able to remarry according to Levirate marriage protocol.
Or to put it another way, it was much more of a serious problem for Naomi that there was no reasonable chance of Levirate Marriage for her daughters-in-law.
Why is this so?
Well, as I’ve already explained, simply by virtue of their youth, the girls had options.
They had homes they could return to in Moab…
And then over time, they could find new husbands and start life over.
But because of her old age Naomi couldn’t harbor such hopes.
Imagine if her deceased husband Elimelech had brothers that Ruth and Orpah could remarry.
That meant that Ruth and Orpah could produce children that would care for her in her old age.
Again, that’s really the main problem we’re dealing with here.
How to find a solution so Naomi could be economically provided for in her old age.
Hypothetically speaking, if even one of the girls was to marry and have children with one of Elimelech’s brothers (assuming he had brothers), then those kids would become grandchildren of Naomi’s…
And then according to the customs of the ancient Middle East, they would be as obligated to care for Naomi just as much as for their own parents.
I think this situation is completely lost on us modern folks.
There was no such thing as welfare…
Or disability checks…
Or government-sponsored housing…
Or the internet, where one could pull in a 6-figure income (yes, there are many seniors doing just that!) by writing a blog or uploading YouTube videos…
It seemed like every possible door that could have led to Naomi’s rescue in her old age had been shut.
All the men in her life…
Her husband and the husbands of her daughters-in-law had died…
On top of that, her husband didn’t have any brothers which instantly ruled out the possibility of Levirate marriage.
So I think we can understand with greater clarity and intensity why Naomi said…
“I feel very bitter that
the hand of Adonai
has gone out against me”
Anyways, let me close by summarizing the main points.
FIRST, Levirate Marriage would have benefited Naomi just as much as it would’ve benefited the girls…actually it would have benefited her even more.
SECOND, the big villain or problem in this story is how to care for Naomi in her old age…period.
That’s the main issue we’re dealing with here.
Finally, I’ve already said this before, but although the book of Ruth is titled “Ruth”, the real main character in this story is Naomi and how to solve her old age caretaking problem.
See ya all next time.
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