Question 1

What was happening when Naomi’s family left Bethlehem for Moab?

Accepted Answer

Naomi’s family left Bethlehem during a time when judges ruled Israel and there was a famine in the land. Famine was not just bad luck. It could be a sign that God’s people were turning from Him and He was using hardship to get their attention. Elimelech took his wife Naomi and their two sons to Moab to find food and safety. Moab was a nearby nation that did not worship the Lord. So this move meant leaving the promised land and living among people with other gods.

Question 2

Why did Naomi say the hand of the Lord was against her?

Accepted Answer

Naomi had buried her husband and both of her sons in a foreign land. She went out from Bethlehem with a full family and came back with only Ruth beside her. Because of this deep pain, she saw her sorrow as coming from God’s hand. She said the Lord had testified against her and the Almighty had made her life bitter. She was not denying God or His power. Instead, she was honest about her hurt and saw her losses as part of God’s dealings with her, even if she did not yet see any good in it.

Question 3

What does Ruth mean by “thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God”?

Accepted Answer

When Ruth says these words to Naomi, she is making a strong promise. She is not only staying with Naomi as family; she is leaving her own people and former gods and joining Naomi’s people and Naomi’s God. She is choosing to share Naomi’s life, faith, and future. This sounds like a conversion, a turning from the gods of Moab to trust the Lord, the God of Israel. Ruth is willing to live where Naomi lives, die where Naomi dies, and be buried there, even though it means giving up her old life.

Question 4

Why did Orpah go back but Ruth stayed with Naomi?

Accepted Answer

Both Orpah and Ruth wept and loved Naomi, but when Naomi urged them to return to their own homes, Orpah finally went back to her people and her gods. Ruth, however, “claved” to Naomi and would not leave. The passage suggests that Orpah chose the safer, more natural path of staying in her own land and culture. Ruth chose a harder path, leaving her home to follow Naomi and the Lord. Faithful readers have seen this as showing how some turn back when it is costly, while others hold fast to God even when the path is hard.

Question 5

What does this passage teach about God’s providence in hardship?

Accepted Answer

This chapter shows that God is at work even when life feels empty and bitter. The famine, the move to Moab, the deaths of Elimelech and his sons, and Naomi’s return all happen under God’s rule. Naomi feels that God has dealt bitterly with her, yet the story hints that He has not left her. Ruth’s loyal faith and decision to follow the Lord are part of God’s quiet plan. They return to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest, a sign that God is again providing and that new hope will grow out of Naomi’s pain.

Question 6

Why did Naomi urge her daughters-in-law to return to their mother’s houses?

Accepted Answer

Naomi knew she had nothing earthly to offer Orpah and Ruth. She was too old to marry again and have sons who might one day marry them. In their culture, that would have been one way for widows to find security. Naomi loved them and wanted them to find rest and new husbands among their own people. Her words show both care and sadness. She felt the Lord’s hand was against her and did not want them to share in her bitter lot, even though they had shown kindness to her and to their dead husbands.

Question 7

Who are the main people in this story, and why are they important?

Accepted Answer

The main people are Elimelech, his wife Naomi, their sons Mahlon and Chilion, and the sons’ Moabite wives, Orpah and Ruth. Elimelech’s choice to leave Bethlehem starts the story. His death, and then the deaths of Mahlon and Chilion, leave three widows. Naomi becomes the bitter, grieving mother who still recognizes God’s hand in her life. Orpah shows natural affection but turns back. Ruth, a foreigner, becomes a picture of deep loyalty and living faith in the Lord. Through this, God begins a plan that will reach far beyond their small family.

Question 8

How can this passage guide someone facing loss or feeling bitter?

Accepted Answer

Naomi’s story shows that it is honest to bring your pain and even your bitter feelings before God. She does not hide her sorrow when she returns to Bethlehem. At the same time, she goes back to the place where the Lord is blessing His people with bread. Her return, and Ruth’s loyal faith, point to a way forward in grief: come back to God and His people, even if your heart is heavy. This passage encourages those in loss that God can still be at work in the darkest times, beginning a new story when all seems empty.

Ruth 1:1

Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Beth-lehem-judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.

Naomi Becomes a Widow

Ruth’s Loyalty to Naomi

The Return to Bethlehem

Naomi Becomes a Widow

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Ruth 1:1

Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Beth-lehem-judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.

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Naomi Becomes a Widow

Ruth’s Loyalty to Naomi

The Return to Bethlehem

Naomi Becomes a Widow

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