What is the meaning of Ruth 1:20? “Do not call me Naomi,” • In Scripture a name reflects character and destiny. “No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham” (Genesis 17:5); “you will be called by a new name” (Isaiah 62:2). • Naomi (“pleasant”) feels that title is a lie now that famine, widowhood, and childlessness mark her life (Ruth 1:3–5, 21). • Suffering can shrink our outlook until promise seems impossible, yet Psalm 30:5 whispers, “Weeping may stay the night, but joy comes in the morning.” “she replied.” • She answers the welcoming crowd (Ruth 1:19). Her honesty models the call to “pour out your hearts before Him” (Psalm 62:8). • Job likewise spoke candidly and “did not charge God with wrongdoing” (Job 1:22). • Lament voiced within community prepares others to share the load—“Carry one another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2). “Call me Mara,” • “Mara” echoes the bitter waters of Marah (Exodus 15:23). The new name declares what life now tastes like. • It signals: – Profound grief over lost family. – Expectation that bitterness will define the future. • Yet the book’s close shows God turning Mara back into Naomi through Obed’s birth (Ruth 4:14-17). “because the Almighty” • She invokes “God Almighty” (Genesis 17:1), confessing divine sovereignty even while hurting. • The title underscores: – Unlimited power. – The right to give and take: “The LORD gives and the LORD takes away” (Job 1:21). • Her theology is solid—events are not random but under the hand of the One whose “God is in the heavens; He does as He pleases” (Psalm 115:3). “has dealt quite bitterly with me.” • Naomi feels the Lord’s hand has made life taste like wormwood, echoing Lamentations 3:15. • Scripture balances this perception: – Trials refine faith (James 1:2-3; Hebrews 12:6). – God still “works all things together for good” (Romans 8:28) and “will show compassion” (Lamentations 3:32). • The narrative soon reveals hidden kindness—Boaz’s provision, Ruth’s loyalty, and Messiah’s lineage (Matthew 1:5-6). summary Naomi’s outcry captures a soul eclipsed by loss. She rejects “pleasant” for “bitter,” yet even her lament bows to the Almighty’s rule. The chapters that follow prove His sovereignty is not cruel but redemptive, turning bitterness into blessing and emptiness into a lineage that leads to Christ. |
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