“So the two of them went on until they came to Beit-Lechem. When they arrived in Beit-Lechem, the whole city was stirred with excitement over them. The women asked, ‘Can this be Naomi?’ ‘Don’t call me Naomi [pleasant],’ she answered them; ‘call me Marah [bitter], because Shaddai has made my life very bitter'”.-Ruth 1:19-20
So Naomi has returned to her hometown in Beit-Lechem.
And it’s as if she’s come back from the dead!
We’re told the “whole city” was in an excited uproar over her arrival.
However, it wasn’t actually the whole city.
That’s just a figure of speech.
It was only the female population of the city that was “stirred to excitement”.
How do I know that?
The Hebrew baby, the Hebrew.
The Hebrew verb being used to describe all of the ruckus taking place is HOOM…
And it’s in the feminine plural form of the word.
That’s an important attribute of the Hebrew language you should be aware of.
The conjugation of all verbs changes depending on whether the action is being done by a man or woman.
If we’re talking about a mixed group of men and women, then the conjugation defaults to the masculine form.
Anyways, the original Hebrew text here makes it clear it was ONLY the women of the town who noticed Naomi and approached her all excited.
Keep in mind, the book of Ruth is a story told from a woman’s perspective.
And when the women gathered around and asked “Is that Naomi?”, understand that was more an expression of surprise rather than a question.
It wasn’t like they didn’t recognize her.
They knew it was Naomi.
They were simply overjoyed and just couldn’t believe their eyes that she had suddenly reappeared as if back from the dead after so many long years.
However, Naomi’s response to the female crowd’s joy is anything but positive.
She tells them…
“Don’t call me NAOMI anymore…
Instead call me MARA”.
Remember NAOMI means “pleasant” and MARA means “bitter”.
Naomi is telling the crowd because of the horrible hand God has dealt her in this life, she no longer has reason to be pleasant but is now only filled with bitterness.
Notice also that Naomi refers to God as SHADDAI here.
SHADDAI means “mountain”…
The phrase EL SHADDAI literally means the “Highest God of the Mountain” although it’s usually translated as “God Almighty”.
Apparently during the time of Ruth, SHADDAI was used as an abbreviated nickname for EL SHADDAI.
Alrighty, let’s move to the takeaway for today.
Do you find it surprising WHO Naomi says is the cause of all the bitterness in her life?
She accurately states it is the God of Israel who has CAUSED her current situation of dire poverty and hopelessness.
This is quite different than your average Christian who’s always quick to point the finger at the devil whenever misfortune strikes in his or her life, don’t you think?
Which notion would you say is more Biblical?
Well, just take a look at the Scriptures to find out.
Have a look at these verses:
“I form the light, and create darkness:
I make peace, and create evil:
I the LORD do all these things.”
– Isaiah 45:7
“When the shofar is blown in the city,
don’t the people tremble?
Can disaster befall a city
without Adonai having done it?”
-Amos 3:6
“Don’t both bad things
and good proceed
from the mouth
of the Most High??”
-Lamentations 3:38
I think the lesson here is whenever bad things happen to us, instead of being so quick to blame the devil for our misfortune, it might be wiser to look at our past behavior and maybe see if there might be some sin in our life that has CAUSED God Himself to judge us.
Am I saying that porno binge you went on last weekend is cause for your big business deal falling through?
No I’m not…
But I’m saying it could be..
I’m not God and can’t tell you if there’s a direct correlation between such things.
But remember, the Scripture makes it clear you shall reap what you sow.
And scientifically, we know the mechanism that runs our universe is based on simple cause and effect.
“If you do this, then this will happen” kinda thing.
That’s basic Newtonian physics homies.
For every ACTION, there is a REACTION.
Or Scripturally speaking, the Lord says “If you obey me, then you will be blessed, and if you don’t, then you will be cursed”.
I believe the ancient Jewish sages discerned properly when they said the reason why God brought misfortune upon Naomi’s family was because they left the Promised Land to find better pickings in gentile territory.
The Lord would NOT allow them to prosper anywhere but in the land He had chosen for His people…
As a result, Elimelech (Naomi’s husband) and her two sons died.
They paid dearly for disobeying the Lord’s command on that matter.
Alrighty, that does it for today…
See ya all next time.
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