Journey
Ruth and Naomi
Follow two widows from famine and loss in Moab to a harvest field in Bethlehem and a child in Naomi's arms.
People in this journey
Opening stop: Famine in the land, Ruth 1:1
Ruth opens in the days when the judges ruled, the years that end with no king in Israel and every man doing what was right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25). Famine drives this family out of Bethlehem, and word that the Lord has given his people bread is what brings Naomi home (Ruth 1:6). Moab's people traced their line to Lot (Genesis 19:37), and the law barred Moabites from the congregation of the Lord (Deuteronomy 23:3).
Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Beth-lehem-judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
King James Version
Naomi is returning from Moab after the deaths of her husband and sons. She tells her daughters-in-law to return to their own families. Orpah says goodbye, while Ruth stays with her. Ruth's promise is a response to Naomi's request to leave: she commits to share Naomi's destination, people and God. The chapter ends with the two women arriving in Bethlehem.
Continue the journey
This journey has 8 stops. The opening stop is free. Premium opens the rest of the guided path, and every Scripture chapter stays free to read.