God Disciplines those He Loves

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Ruth 1:22 “So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.”

So they make it back to Bethlehem but Naomi (which means “pleasant”) doesn’t want to be called that anymore. She prefers to now be called Mara, which means “bitter”. We can understand her sorrow for she has lost both her husband and her sons but there is no point in blaming God! It’s a hard lesson to learn that backsliding and running off to the world never produces anything but death and though the Lord has called her back, yet she comes back empty-handed.

It’s the same for us. We can never expect to bring back anything productive from our sojourn into Moab! If we are true sons of God then the Lord will bring us back to Himself, but it’s not usually pleasant. You may lose your husband or your sons. Above all things, the Lord desires a relationship with us and his chastening and discipline, Hebrews tells us, is for our good because He loves us (Heb 12:5-11). Naomi may have come back empty and in bitterness, but that is not how things would end. Having returned she would once again soon see the blessing of the Lord.