Ruth 1:21-2:1.
Naomi now makes her public confession. She said, “I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?” How lovely to read such a confession as this! How rare to hear one like it today! There are, I believe, five things to be noticed here, which show the reality of it all.
1. “I went out full.” She did not blame her husband, or her sons, or the famine. She took all the blame herself —it was her own self-will. She had left the place of “full” blessing and had gone out.
2.“The LORD hath brought me home again empty.” It was the Lord who had brought her back. The restoration was His doing—not hers. Moreover she had not gathered any good in Moab. Instead she had lost what she had before, and had come back “empty.”
3.“Why then call ye me Naomi?” She said she did not deserve to be called “Pleasant” (which her name means). What a contrast this is to king Saul, who said, “I have sinned: yet honor me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel.” 1 Samuel 15:30. The Lord saw to it that Naomi was still called “Pleasant,” while Saul lost everything. Naomi did not seek honor, but rather owned that she did not deserve it. This is true self-judgment.
4.“The LORD hath testified against me.” She did not feel that it was her brethren that were against her, but that it was the Word of the Lord she had disobeyed, and it was not her brethren, but His Word, that testified against her.
5.“And the Almighty hath afflicted me.” She unquestioningly bowed to the hand of God in all she had passed through. There were no “second causes” —it was the LORD who had afflicted her.
“So Naomi returned.” It is lovely to see a return like this! Moreover Naomi never spoke of Ruth’s return with her —it might have seemed like boasting that she had done some good in Moab. Hers was a real restoration, and she knew in her heart that she could not take any credit for Ruth’s return, for she had tried to persuade her otherwise. It was all of grace from first to last. Is it any wonder then that the barley harvest, in which she returned, was the beginning of such large blessing for herself and Ruth?
If there is one who has wandered away, who is now reading these lines, we beseech you, do not let the devil hinder you from coming back in the way Naomi did. You will then see for yourself that God’s grace is greater than all your failure. Be assured of this, however, that if we spare the self-judgment, we but limit the blessing. God cannot put one bit of His approval or blessing upon our miserable self-will and self-importance.
Now that Naomi had been restored the blessing begins to come, quite unsought and undeserved, for it is the grace of God manifesting itself. Naomi had a very wealthy relative named Boaz, and we believe he is beautifully typical of Christ here. He, the One to whom everything belongs — truly a “Mighty Man of Wealth”—became a man and dwelt among us. While we must never speak of Him as brother, He in matchless grace is not ashamed to call us brethren (Heb. 2:11). He is the true “Boaz” who has redeemed us.
ML 02/21/1954