Ruth 1:1–22
A famine came to the land when the judges ruled Israel. Elimelech of Bethlehem moved his family to Moab. After ten years there, Elimelech died. His two sons were married to women of Moab. But then they died, too. So Elimelech’s wife, Naomi, and her daughters-in-law were widows.
Naomi heard that God had brought good harvests to Israel. She decided to return. She told each of her sons’ wives, “Return to your mother’s home. May God be kind to you and give you a new husband.” She kissed them both and they wept together.
One young widow, Orpah, did go back to her family. But the second, Ruth, wouldn’t leave Naomi. “See,” said Naomi, “Orpah has returned to her people and her gods. You go, too.”
“Don’t make me leave you or stop following you,” Ruth said. “Where you go, I’ll go. Where you live, I’ll live. Your people will be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I’ll die, and there I’ll be buried. Only death will come between us.”
Naomi saw that Ruth was firm. She said no more, and they returned together to Bethlehem.
Questions: Why did Elimelech move his family to Moab? Why do you think Ruth stayed with Naomi?