◄ Ruth 1:21 ►
I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? After all, the LORD has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me."
Study Bible
I went away full
Naomi reflects on her departure from Bethlehem to Moab during a time of famine. "Full" signifies not only material wealth but also the presence of her family—her husband and two sons. This phrase highlights the initial hope and prosperity she felt, contrasting with her current state. The move to Moab, a land often at odds with Israel, was a significant decision, showing the desperation of the times (Ruth 1:1). The fullness she refers to is both physical and relational, emphasizing the loss she has experienced.

but the LORD has brought me back empty
Naomi attributes her return to the sovereignty of God, acknowledging His control over her circumstances. "Empty" signifies the loss of her husband and sons, as well as her perceived loss of purpose and identity. This reflects the cultural importance of family and lineage in ancient Israel. The emptiness also symbolizes spiritual and emotional desolation, a theme echoed in Job's lament (Job 1:21). Naomi's return to Bethlehem, the "house of bread," during the barley harvest (Ruth 1:22) foreshadows the restoration and provision that God will bring.

Why call me Naomi?
Naomi's name means "pleasant" or "delightful," and she questions its appropriateness given her current state of bitterness and sorrow. This reflects the biblical theme of names and their significance, as seen in other scriptural accounts where names are changed to reflect new realities or divine encounters (e.g., Abram to Abraham in Genesis 17:5). Naomi's question underscores her struggle with identity and the impact of her suffering.

After all, the LORD has testified against me
Naomi perceives her suffering as a divine testimony against her, suggesting a belief in retributive justice common in the Old Testament. This reflects the cultural understanding of God's direct involvement in the fortunes and misfortunes of individuals. The idea of God testifying against someone is seen in the lamentations of Job (Job 16:8) and the psalms of David (Psalm 51:4), where personal suffering is interpreted as divine judgment.

and the Almighty has afflicted me.
The use of "Almighty" (Shaddai) emphasizes God's power and authority. Naomi's statement reflects a deep sense of personal affliction and divine chastisement. This aligns with the biblical theme of God as both a source of comfort and a figure of awe-inspiring power, as seen in the narratives of the patriarchs and the prophets. Naomi's lament is a precursor to the redemptive arc that will unfold, pointing to the ultimate restoration and hope found in Christ, who bears our afflictions (Isaiah 53:4).

Persons / Places / Events
1. Naomi
A central figure in the Book of Ruth, Naomi is a widow who returns to Bethlehem from Moab after the death of her husband and sons. Her name means "pleasant," but she feels her life has become bitter.

2. Bethlehem
The town in Judah to which Naomi returns. It is significant as the birthplace of King David and later Jesus Christ.

3. Moab
A region east of the Dead Sea, where Naomi and her family had moved during a famine in Bethlehem. It was often seen as a place of exile or foreignness for Israelites.

4. Mara
The name Naomi chooses for herself upon returning to Bethlehem, meaning "bitter," reflecting her feelings of loss and emptiness.

5. The Almighty (Shaddai)
A name for God used by Naomi, emphasizing His power and sovereignty, even in her suffering.
Teaching Points
Understanding God's Sovereignty
Naomi's acknowledgment of God's role in her circumstances ("The Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me") invites believers to trust in God's sovereignty, even when life seems harsh.

Identity and Transformation
Naomi's name change to Mara reflects her internal struggle. Believers are encouraged to find their identity in Christ, who transforms bitterness into joy.

Community and Support
Naomi's return to Bethlehem and the support she receives from Ruth and the community highlight the importance of fellowship and support in times of trial.

Faith in Adversity
Naomi's account encourages believers to maintain faith and hope, trusting that God can bring redemption and purpose out of suffering.

God's Provision
Despite Naomi's emptiness, God's provision is evident through Ruth's loyalty and the eventual blessings that unfold, reminding believers of God's faithfulness.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Naomi's experience of loss and bitterness challenge or affirm your understanding of God's sovereignty in your own life?

2. In what ways can the account of Naomi and Ruth encourage you to seek and offer support within your community during difficult times?

3. Reflect on a time when you felt like Naomi, returning "empty." How did God provide for you, and how can you use that experience to encourage others?

4. How does Naomi's account connect with other biblical accounts of transformation from bitterness to blessing, and what can you learn from these connections?

5. Considering Naomi's journey, how can you cultivate a heart of gratitude and trust in God's provision, even when circumstances seem dire?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Job 1:21
Naomi's lament echoes Job's acknowledgment of God's sovereignty in both giving and taking away, highlighting a shared theme of suffering and divine providence.

Exodus 15:23-25
The Israelites' encounter with the bitter waters of Marah parallels Naomi's experience, both involving transformation from bitterness to blessing through God's intervention.

Psalm 34:18
This verse speaks to God's closeness to the brokenhearted, offering comfort to Naomi's situation and to all who feel similarly afflicted.
Sermons
Love Makes Life FullW.M. Statham Ruth 1:21
Heart Wounds ReopenedJ.R. Thomson Ruth 1:19-21
People
Chilion, Elimelech, Ephrathites, Mahlon, Mara, Naomi, Orpah, Ruth
Places
Bethlehem, Moab
Topics
Afflicted, Almighty, Calamity, Empty, Evil, Full, Home, Low, Misfortune, Naomi, Na'omi, Nothing, Ruler, Seeing, Sorrow, Testified, Witness, Witnessed
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Ruth 1:21

     5398   loss
     5845   emptiness
     5916   pessimism

Ruth 1:19-21

     5799   bitterness

Ruth 1:20-21

     1205   God, titles of
     5567   suffering, emotional
     5928   resentment, against God

Library
A Gentle Heroine, a Gentile Convert
'And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: 17. Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me. 18. When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her. 19. So they two went until they came to Beth-lehem. And it …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Worst Things Work for Good to the Godly
DO not mistake me, I do not say that of their own nature the worst things are good, for they are a fruit of the curse; but though they are naturally evil, yet the wise overruling hand of God disposing and sanctifying them, they are morally good. As the elements, though of contrary qualities, yet God has so tempered them, that they all work in a harmonious manner for the good of the universe. Or as in a watch, the wheels seem to move contrary one to another, but all carry on the motions of the watch: …
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial

Bands of Love
P. G. Ruth i. 16, 17 A homeless Stranger amongst us came To this land of death and mourning; He walked in a path of sorrow and shame, Through insult, and hate, and scorning. A Man of sorrows, of toil and tears, An outcast Man and a lonely; But He looked on me, and through endless years Him must I love--Him only. Then from this sad and sorrowful land, From this land of tears He departed; But the light of His eyes and the touch of His hand Had left me broken-hearted. And I clave to Him as He turned …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and Others

What is Thy Beloved, More than Another Beloved, O Thou Fairest among Women! what is Thy Beloved, More than Another Beloved, that Thou Dost So Charge Us?
The daughters of Jerusalem do not cease to call her the fairest among women, because her most painful wounds are hidden, and those which are exposed even add lustre to her beauty. They are astonished at beholding a love so strong, so constant and so faithful in the midst of so many disasters. They inquire, Who is this Well-beloved? For, say they, He must be of unequalled attraction, thus to engage His Spouse; for though these souls are spiritual, they are not yet sufficiently advanced to comprehend …
Madame Guyon—Song of Songs of Solomon

Whether the Old Law Set Forth Suitable Precepts About the Members of the Household?
Objection 1: It would seem that the Old Law set forth unsuitable precepts about the members of the household. For a slave "is in every respect his master's property," as the Philosopher states (Polit. i, 2). But that which is a man's property should be his always. Therefore it was unfitting for the Law to command (Ex. 21:2) that slaves should "go out free" in the seventh year. Objection 2: Further, a slave is his master's property, just as an animal, e.g. an ass or an ox. But it is commanded (Dt. …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Epistle xxxii. To Narses the Patrician.
To Narses the Patrician. Gregory to Narses, &c. Your most sweet Charity has said much to me in your letters in praise of my good deeds, to all which I briefly reply, Call me not Noemi, that is beautiful; but call me Mara, that is bitter; for I am full of bitterness (Ruth i. 20). But as to the cause of the presbyters [1555] , which is pending with my brother and fellow-bishop, the most reverend Patriarch John, we have, as I think, for our adversary the very man whom you assert to be desirous of observing …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Epistle cxxi. To Leander, Bishop of Hispalis (Seville).
To Leander, Bishop of Hispalis (Seville). Gregory to Leander, Bishop of Spain. I have the epistle of thy Holiness, written with the pen of charity alone. For what the tongue transferred to the paper had got its tincture from the heart. Good and wise men were present when it was read, and at once their bowels were stirred with emotion. Everyone began to seize thee in his heart with the hand of love, for that in that epistle the sweetness of thy disposition was not to be heard, but seen. All severally …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Man.
THE IMAGE OF GOD. MAN is God's image, and to curse wickedly the image of God, is to curse God himself. Suppose that a man should say with his mouth, I wish that the king's picture were burned; would not this man's so saying render him as an enemy to the person of the king? Even so it is with them that by cursing wish evil to their neighbors or themselves; they contemn the image of God himself. This world, as it dropped from the fingers of God, was far more glorious than it is now. VALUE OF THE SOUL. …
John Bunyan—The Riches of Bunyan

Epistle vi. To Narses, Patrician .
To Narses, Patrician [1305] . Gregory to Narses, &c. In describing loftily the sweetness of contemplation, you have renewed the groans of my fallen state, since I hear what I have lost inwardly while mounting outwardly, though undeserving, to the topmost height of rule. Know then that I am stricken with so great sorrow that I can scarcely speak; for the dark shades of grief block up the eyes of my soul. Whatever is beheld is sad, whatever is thought delightful appears to my heart lamentable. For …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

A Cloud of Witnesses.
"By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even concerning things to come. By faith Jacob, when he was a-dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when his end was nigh, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.... By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been compassed about for seven days. By faith Rahab the harlot perished not with them that were disobedient, …
Thomas Charles Edwards—The Expositor's Bible: The Epistle to the Hebrews

Departure from Ireland. Death and Burial at Clairvaux.
[Sidenote: 1148, May (?)] 67. (30). Being asked once, in what place, if a choice were given him, he would prefer to spend his last day--for on this subject the brothers used to ask one another what place each would select for himself--he hesitated, and made no reply. But when they insisted, he said, "If I take my departure hence[821] I shall do so nowhere more gladly than whence I may rise together with our Apostle"[822]--he referred to St. Patrick; "but if it behoves me to make a pilgrimage, and …
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh

Place of Jesus in the History of the World.
The great event of the History of the world is the revolution by which the noblest portions of humanity have passed from the ancient religions, comprised under the vague name of Paganism, to a religion founded on the Divine Unity, the Trinity, and the Incarnation of the Son of God. It has taken nearly a thousand years to accomplish this conversion. The new religion had itself taken at least three hundred years in its formation. But the origin of the revolution in question with which we have to do …
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus

Christ the Mediator of the Covenant
'Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant,' &c. Heb 12:24. Jesus Christ is the sum and quintessence of the gospel; the wonder of angels; the joy and triumph of saints. The name of Christ is sweet, it is as music in the ear, honey in the mouth, and a cordial at the heart. I shall waive the context, and only speak of that which concerns our present purpose. Having discoursed of the covenant of grace, I shall speak now of the Mediator of the covenant, and the restorer of lapsed sinners, Jesus the Mediator …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Appendix xii. The Baptism of Proselytes
ONLY those who have made study of it can have any idea how large, and sometimes bewildering, is the literature on the subject of Jewish Proselytes and their Baptism. Our present remarks will be confined to the Baptism of Proselytes. 1. Generally, as regards proselytes (Gerim) we have to distinguish between the Ger ha-Shaar (proselyte of the gate) and Ger Toshabh (sojourner,' settled among Israel), and again the Ger hatstsedeq (proselyte of righteousness) and Ger habberith (proselyte of the covenant). …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Meditations of the Blessed State of a Regenerate Man in Heaven.
Here my meditation dazzles, and my pen falls out of my hand; the one being not able to conceive, nor the other to describe, that most excellent bliss, and eternal weight of glory (2 Cor. iv. 17; Rom. viii. 18)--whereof all the afflictions of this present life are not worthy--which all the elect shall with the blessed Trinity enjoy, from that time that they shall be received with Christ, as joint-heirs (Rom. viii. 17) into that everlasting kingdom of joy. Notwithstanding, we may take a scantling thereof. …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Ruth
Goethe has characterized the book of Ruth as the loveliest little idyll that tradition has transmitted to us. Whatever be its didactic purpose--and some would prefer to think that it had little or none-it is, at any rate, a wonderful prose poem, sweet, artless, and persuasive, touched with the quaintness of an older world and fresh with the scent of the harvest fields. The love--stronger than country--of Ruth for Naomi, the gracious figure of Boaz as he moves about the fields with a word of blessing …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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