Naomi, O' Naomi

Heart of Roots

Did Naomi wonder what was wrong with her that every man she held close died? Did she feel cursed? The root of rejection is so powerful : "See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many" (Hebrews 12:15). Hebrews cautions about a bitter root of judgment, but what about when we judge ourselves? Paul tells us not to compare ourselves to others because all we have comes from Christ anyway. Yet, when I look in the mirror, how can I keep myself from judging myself based on  a self-perceived scale of perfection.

Naomi rejects herself when she rejects her name of  'pleasant' and asks to be called bitter or Mara. Naomi must have feared that something was intrinsically broken and damaged in her that all that she loved died. She left her home, her community, and country. She embraced a new life with her small family unit, without the benefit of the extended clan that was so essential in Middle Eastern culture. Now, she had nothing. No husband to comfort her in the night watches; no sons to defend her in the city gate. A widow, alone in the world, in the truest sense of the word. I can understand that sentiment a bit.

Did Naomi feel abandoned? I am sure she did. In her mind, she had merely been simply an obedient wife who followed her husband to Moab. Here is the context of the story, "there was a famine in the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab." ( Ruth 1:1) . Eventually^{, "}Naomi was left without her two sons and her  husband" (v.2). With no offspring from her sons' unions, her husband's name and those of her sons would not continue. She now had no one to care for her in her old age.

With despondency in her heart, she even urges her daugther-in-laws to return home: “Go back, each of you, to your mother’s home. May the LORD show you kindness, as you have shown kindness to your dead husbands and to me.  May the LORD grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband" (v.9). She was empty-handed, nothing left to offer, in her mind. She declares, "It is more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD’s hand has turned against me!”(v.13). Is that possibly why she so vehemently pushed her two daughter-in-laws away? Maybe as a friend thought, she feared something would happen to her daughter-in-laws as well if they remained with her.

Eventually, Naomi finally gives into Ruth's request to return to Bethlehem. Once there, Naomi illustrates such chutzpah few of us have the courage to express. She was angry with El Shaddai and let everyone know it. She didn't put a pretty face on it. No plastic Fruit of the Spirit. She wastes no time and setting the record straight, “Don’t call me Naomi, she told them. “Call me Mara because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. ²¹ I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”  The term afflicted can also be understood as testified against. She felt that God was a witness for the prosecution. El Shaddai is the term used in the scripture; Shaddai is a derivative of a term that means breast; God's name here signifies the Almighty one who nourishes, replenishes, and satisfies.  Despite, her misgivings, I have to wonder if God did not bring Naomi home to fill her with Himself?

I guess I can be both Ruth and Naomi. Like Ruth,  I can look to God for help and sustenance. Yet, I can also be Naomi and wonder why God has been brought me into such a hard place- yet,He wants to give me His best. I am in such place at present. I thank God for all those Ruths that walk beside me at present.  We have much more to glean from Naomi. So, until next time.

God asks Naomi, me, and you:
When did I stop being enough?
Obedience without love

quickly becomes disgruntled compliance

Why I am not enough for you?

With joy, we say You will always be enough for us, O'Lord
M.J.