What does Ruth 1:10 mean?
Ten years before, an Israelite family settled in Moab because God had sent a famine to their hometown of Bethlehem. In the interim, the husband died, the two sons married, and then the sons died. Naomi is left with her two Moabite daughters-in-law (Ruth 1:1–5).While working in the field one day, Naomi hears from other workers that the famine is over (Ruth 1:6). In Israel, she will not be able to hold her husband's land. She is too old to remarry. She apparently has no close family to care for her. But she will be home. She will be able to glean for food (Leviticus 23:22). And even though she is bitter at God for her losses (Ruth 1:20–21), she will be able to worship Him, surrounded by others who do the same.
At first, her daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth, accompany her (Ruth 1:7–9). They love their mother-in-law so much they can't bear the thought of leaving her alone. Having lived with a loving Israelite family, they may not understand the history behind the Moabites and the Israelites. A few hundred years before, when the Israelites marched up from the Sinai Peninsula to the river ford near Jericho, the Moabite king hired the prophet Balaam to curse them. God prevented Balaam from speaking any words but God's blessings on His people. So, Balaam suggested the king send down Moabite women to entice the Israelite men away from their wives and the worship of their God. The temptation worked so well that God punished the Israelites with a massive wave of death (Numbers 22:1—25:9; 31:16).
Whether or not Orpah and Ruth know this, they should know that life will be much more difficult in Israel. They will be unmarried widows from a people God has cursed (Deuteronomy 23:3–6). Their future will be much brighter if they return to their parents and find new husbands.
At first, they refuse. Moving on to other families and regions, in that era of history, almost always meant a permanent "goodbye." What Naomi suggests is a permanent separation. The younger women prefer to stay with Naomi and go to Israel with her. Naomi refortifies her argument and, eventually, Orpah reluctantly agrees and returns home. Ruth, however, clings to her mother-in-law, and that makes all the difference (Ruth 1:11–18).
Ruth 1:6–14 records Naomi receiving good news: the famine in Bethlehem is over. She and her family fled to Moab ten years prior. Now, her husband and sons are gone, but she has two loving daughters-in-law. At first, they accompany her. Yet Naomi becomes convinced their arrangement cannot work. Orpah and Ruth can live with her in poverty, or they can find rest in a new family. After a persuasive argument, Orpah tearfully agrees to leave, but Ruth stays. Naomi is bitter now, but Ruth will prove to be everything the mourning widow needs.
Ruth 1 depicts how a person can feel "starved" for things other than food. Elimelech and his wife, Naomi, flee a famine in Bethlehem and settle in Moab where there is plenty of food and their sons find devoted wives. Within ten years, however, Naomi's husband and sons are dead. When she hears Judah has food again, she prepares to return as an old, bitter widow. One daughter-in-law, Ruth, insists on accompanying her. On the surface, a young Moabite widow in Israel would be the last person who could help, but God honors Ruth's lovingkindness and eventually uses her to restore Naomi's hope and future.
