Our Hearts’ Desires

In this text from Ruth, all that Naomi has hoped for has happened. Naomi’s daughter-in-law Ruth is now the wife of Boaz, and she has given birth to a boy. The arrival of a male next-of-kin in a patriarchal society means there is now someone who will take care of them. The women of the village celebrate and give praise to God; the security and well-being for which Naomi prayed and planned have come to pass.

This makes it all the more interesting and curious that the village women specifically proclaim that Ruth is more important to Naomi than seven sons. Given that much of the story has been focused on Naomi and Ruth finding security as sonless widows, it might seem natural that Obed, the prayed-for son, would be the sole focus at the end of the story—perhaps especially since Obed is in the lineage of David, from whose house Jesus will be born. Instead, the story circles back around to the love shared between Ruth and Naomi, which is where the story began. (See Ruth 1:16-18.) Their relationship has led to their salvation in a very tangible way—through a marriage and the birth of a child who can care for them. But it appears that the relationship they share with each other is even more important.

As the old saying goes, “Money can’t buy happiness.” Perhaps for Ruth and Naomi, something similar has happened. Security and well-being were critical for their survival, of course; and they are overjoyed to no longer live in the anxiety of a hand-to-mouth existence. Still, even in their most desperate moments, they had each other—and perhaps because of that, they found the strength to persevere and to keep faith. In the midst of their wretched circumstances, they had been given the gift of their close bond, and that gift became as precious as everything else for which they longed.