Naomi the Mentor

  We all need a mentor. We all need someone who can take us under their wing, so to speak, and show us how it is done.
   In the Bible we have a woman like that. Her story is found in the book of Ruth. Only four chapters. This womans' name is Naomi.
   She was a Jew. She was also a mother. She had two sons. Their mames were Mahlon and Chilion. Not much is said about them. They no doubt wouldn't be mentioned if it wasn't for the fact of them being the husbands of two Moabite women.  The womens' name were Orpah and Ruth.

   It starts out a sad story. There was a famine in the land where Naomi and her husband, Elimelech along with her two osns lived. They were hungray so Elimelech decides to take his family into Moab where there was food. While there Elimelich dies. The two sons marry the Moabite women. They die. Naomi is left with these two Moabite women. Ten years have poassed. Ruth and Orphah have observed during these years how Naoiomi lived after the death of her husband. And how she cared for them even thoughh they were not of the Jewsih faith. The Moanbites were the offfspring of Lot, so they were related by blood but were not in the promised line that God had set up. They were not Jews.
  As ther story goesd on there is the reprot of better times back in the land of the Jews. Naomi had no reaon to stay in Moab. She wants to get back to her home land. But since she had no sons anymore nor a husband to take care of her she was without hope.Her only chance was back ion the land. Maybe she could find .. what?? The only way she could live on is to have a husband or sons to care for her. She had none of these. She was too old to get married and have sons.
   Sbe only had these two women and they were young enough to find husbands if they returned to the land of Maob. They were aliens.
   Naomi tells them to go back home and find a husband. They were young enough and no dount pretty enough to find a husband among the people of Moab.
    Orpah went back. But Ruth had seen something in Naomi that made her choose to follow Naomi.
     So Ruth went home with Naomi.
    The rest of the story is that God blessed Ruth by directing her to the field of a kinsman Redeemer. Naomi was too old to work but Ruth took on the responsibility of the care of her mother-in-law. Rutn no doubt saw something in the example of Naomi that made her want to do this.