R12 BIBLE STUDY- RUTH: CHAPTER 1 VERSES 1-13

Introduction: Understanding the context

The story of Ruth begins “in the days when the judges ruled.” This was a dark and unstable time for Israel. The people often turned away from God, and as a result, God allowed hardships like famine to come on the land. The famine in Bethlehem was not just bad luck—it was a sign that Israel had sinned and needed to repent.

Instead of staying in the promised land and turning back to God, Elimelech and his family chose to leave and go to Moab. This was a troubling choice because Moab had a long and difficult history with Israel. The Moabites came from Lot’s daughters, who in desperation tricked their father into having children with them (Gen. 19:30–38). Later, the Moabites led Israel into idolatry and immorality (Num. 25:1–3), and God even commanded that they should not enter His assembly (Deut. 23:3–4).

So right from the start, the book of Ruth places us in a season of rebellion and judgment. Instead of responding to God’s discipline with repentance, this family runs to a land with a broken past and strained relationship with Israel and God. 

Genesis 19:28-30 *Mobites introduced 

Exodus 34:13-16 *Israel’s instruction 

Numbers 25:1-3 

Deuteronomy 23:3-4 *No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord. 

Judges 2:16-23 

Leviticus 26: 19-20

Deuteronomy 28:23-24

• I. RUTH 1:1–2 – Flight from the Land of Promise

  Instead of responding to covenant judgment with repentance, Elimelech leads his family into Moab. This decision reveals distrust in the covenant promises of Yahweh. The land itself was a tangible sign of Israel’s relationship with God; to abandon it is to symbolically abandon reliance on the covenant-keeping, faithful God. As Gods warning in Leviticus, deutoronomy and judges emphasize, the famine could have ended if they (Israel) had just repented.

  Also, the families’ choice of Moab is particularly interesting. The Moabites, born from Lot’s incestuous union (Gen. 19:30–38), were historically hostile to Israel (Num. 25:1–3; Deut. 23:3–4). They represent a nation under divine disfavor, excluded from the assembly of the Lord. By migrating to Moab, Elimelech’s family seeks refuge among a people aligned against Yahweh, rather than seeking reconciliation with Yahweh himself. In essence, they take matters into their own hands, embodying the spirit of the Judges era: “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judg. 21:25).

• II. RUTH 1:3–5 – Escalating Tragedy

  The narrative quickly unfolds with a series of deaths: Elimelech, then his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, leaving Naomi without a husband or children. The sons’ marriages to Moabite women highlight the family’s assimilation into Moabite life, transgressing covenantal warnings against intermarriage (Exod. 34:16). Their (Ruth and Orpah) childlessness after years of marriage further emphasizes divine displeasure.

  Each tragedy is a covenant echo: famine, exile from the land, childlessness, and death (cf. Lev. 26). Rather than random misfortune, these events align with the warnings that disobedience would bring barrenness and the severing of family lines.

• III. RUTH 1:6–9 – Naomi’s Return

  Naomi hears that “the Lord had visited his people and given them food” (1:6). Significantly, it is divine mercy that restore Bethlehem’s fertility, not human ingenuity. This further underscores the folly of Elimelech’s decision. Naomi sets out to return but urges her daughters-in-law to remain in Moab. Her argument is practical—she has no sons left to give them. Her attempt to send them back to their “mothers home” makes the reader wonder, why? (see more in essential questions)

  It’s important to note, in this time period being a widow without sons meant almost certain homelessness, poverty, and possibly death from lack of resources. It’s also imporant to remember the relationship between the Israelites and Moabites at this time. How might have Naomi considered this?

• IV. RUTH 1:10–13 – Naomi’s Bitterness

  Naomi acknowledges God’s sovereignty—“the hand of the Lord has gone out against me” (1:13)—but she misreads her circumstances. She interprets her suffering primarily as divine injustice rather than the fruit of covenant rebellion and lack of repentance. Instead of confessing sin and leading her daughters-in-law toward the God of Israel, she distances them from His promises.

  This bitterness foreshadows her later lament in 1:20–21: “the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.” Naomi rightly recognizes that Yahweh is no passive observer but she errs in viewing His dealings as arbitrary cruelty. Her tragedy lies not simply in loss, but in her failure to discern that judgment was designed to draw her back to repentance and renewal.

• V. Conclusion

  Ruth 1:1–13 illustrates the dangers of self-reliance. The famine was not a call to flee but to repent. By leaving Bethlehem for Moab, Elimelech’s family embodies Israel’s broader tendency in the Judges era: to seek solutions apart from covenant faithfulness. Naomi’s later bitterness reflects a posture of misdirected blame rather than repentance, a warning to readers who may confuse God’s chastisement with divine injustice.

  Yet, embedded in this dark beginning is a glimmer of hope: Yahweh “visited his people” with bread (1:6). The covenant God still responds with provision and mercy. Even Naomi’s missteps become the stage for Ruth’s loyalty and the unfolding of redemptive history.

• Reflection questions

  1.) How/where do you see God moving in this story? 

  2.) How do you think Naomi feels that she has to take two Mobite women with her to a place that is hostile towards Mobites? 

  3.) Where have you seen in your personal life God’s faithfulness, but also see that God has dealt bitterly with you? (Double faith) 

  4.) How do you see these families give up God’s promises (distrust) for personal gain? 

  5.) How should the conversation between Elimelech and Naomi should have been when Elimelech talked about leaving the Promise Land (Judah) and go to Moab? - “

  ~ Men: ~ what would you have struggled with as the leader of the family taking them out of Bethlehem?”- 

  ~ Women ~ how would you have advocated to stay (in Judah) to your husband?” 

  6.) How do we stay faithful to God and trust in Him through the trials or persecution? (James 1, Colossions 2:7) 

  * Lean not on your own understanding 

  *Be in the word Gratitude (trusting in His Promises) 

  *Loving Kindness Praying to Him 

  *Recognize what He did on the Cross, He is ultimately our salvation.