Elimelech
made the decision to relocate to Moab because of the famine in Bethlehem where
he and his family lived. This leads me
to believe they were a family of means (perhaps not rich but) resourceful
enough to move from one country to another.
Perhaps he had a hook up with a friend that had a camel caravan or he
bartered for his family’s travel accommodations with a promise to do certain
work that he was skilled at, etc.
Moab,
which means of his father, was born
to Lot’s eldest daughter. Lot is the
nephew of Abram (aka Abraham, Patriarch of the Jews -- remember during our
journey of Joseph’s life they mentioned the God of Abraham and Isaac his
ancestors?) Lot ultimately separated
from Abram on good terms but he moved to Sodom & Gomorrah. The two cities and the nearby surrounding
suburbs that were destroyed by fire and brimstone that rained down from heaven because
of their ungodly and wicked activity.
Lot and his family were the only ones to escape God’s wrath because of
Abram interceded on his behalf (i.e. Abram prayed for Lot and his family and
asked God to spare them). Moab is the
son of Lot’s eldest daughter who is so insignificant that we don’t even know
her name. Moab’s birth occurred because
his mother (Lot’s eldest daughter) realized there was no way to keep their
family lineage unless she and her younger sister had children. The problem was that the only prospect was
their father. They were both virgins and
they knew their father wouldn’t voluntarily have sex with them so they got him
drunk and on two separate nights had sex with him and both got pregnant. The
eldest gave birth to Moab, progenitor of the Moabites and the younger daughter
(we don’t know her name either) gave birth to Benammi (“ben-ah-me”) the progenitor
of the Ammonites. During this period in
history incest was allowed in order to populate the earth, however, it is not observed
in western cultures today.
Progenitor -- a biologically related ancestor: Genesis
19:31-38 (MSG)
We
are not sure when but after being in Moab Elimelech died. Though Naomi is saddened by her husband’s
death the family is not destitute or in debt.
If that were the case the sons would have been sold into slavery based
on the culture of that time. A
certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha,
saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared
the Lord. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons
to be his slaves. 2 Kings 4:1
(NKJV). This fact supports my
theory that they were a family of means.
Jewish tradition dictated that the sons would take care of their mother
but since the sons were both single, it was now Naomi’s job as the matriarch to
ensure her sons were married so they could keep the family lineage alive. Though she had the opportunity to return to
Bethlehem she made a conscious decision to settle in Moab and to find Moabite
wives for her sons, clearly mixing two different cultures (e.g. no different
than an African-American marrying an Asian, a Pacific Islander marrying a
Latino, etc.). The Jews were instructed
not to mix cultures primarily because of the pagan Gods they worshipped and
potential for spiritual contamination.
While I don’t want to add my own words to the mix I feel comfortable
using my imagination as you have grown accustomed to over these past few
months.
I
believe Naomi was in survival mode. She was
in a foreign country and although we don’t know of any major challenges outside
of the men dying prematurely, she is now a widowed woman with two sons that she
needs to get married so she can secure the family’s future. For all we know the sons were too sickly to
make a trip back to Bethlehem, whatever the case she decided to go on a mission,
find wives and get them settled. She is
successful and finds two amazing young women, Orpah and Ruth. In my sanctified imagination I see Naomi finally
exhaling as a happy and content mother in law, soon to be grandmother. She may have started to knit booties and
blankets in preparation for all the grandchildren she assumed her two sons were
going to produce. She settled into the
life of a widow and mother-in-law, content with her new family. It bothered her I am sure after 10 years that
neither of her “sickly” sons had produced children. It was probably a little embarrassing too
because young men were expected to start families almost immediately after
marriage. It is not clear if Mahlon and
Chillion had bouts with illness or if they both started to decline simultaneously
but I would imagine their sickly state affected their ability to work and given
that there was no SSI or other federally funded programs that offered
assistance to the disabled, their combined sickly state probably presented a challenge
financially. The booties, blankets and dreams Naomi made slowly began to fade
but at least she had her boys and even though they weren’t as robust and active
as her girlfriend’s sons, they were alive.
And suddenly it happened, both sons died. We are not clear if they died on the same
day, within the same week, month or year, but the deaths clearly happen
relatively quickly.
I
have two sons whom I absolutely love to the core of my very being. I won’t pretend to know how Naomi felt, but I
have a strong idea because seven years ago I almost lost my youngest son to a stage
four cancer (Hodgkins Lymphoma) when he was 24 years old. However, but I fought like a lion, believed
God for my son’s healing and was spared the experience of burying a child
prematurely.
Losing
her husband was devastating I am sure but losing her two sons at or near the
same time had to send Naomi over the edge.
I don’t think you understand the gravity of their deaths. Whatever future she thought she had was gone
in an instant or at least that is what it looked like. After burying them and working through the
grief of the men in her life she and her daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth
probably pitched in as much as they could to keep the family estate but it
wasn’t enough. They eventually lost
everything and Naomi decided it was best that they go to Bethlehem, her native
land where she had relatives who would possibly help them. While it was a longshot because there was no
immediate family there, it was definitely a more viable option that remaining
in Moab. Here’s what I imagined happened:
The
three women were walking on the road just outside of the city limits, yes dear
heart I said
I’m
out of time, we’ll have to meet the girls on the side of the road in the
morning
I
am totally out of time but I promise we’ll pick it up tomorrow.
In
His New Excellence,
Tania
Not Tanya
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