Just like real life, the Bible is full of complex situations. And in life, just as in the Bible, we have to decide what to do when faced with these situations. The story of Ruth the Moabitess is one of the more difficult and complex accounts, challenging us as it does to confront tragedy and grief even to the extent of changing our “fate.”
Ruth had married one of the sons of Naomi, who had immigrated from Canaan to Moab due to difficult economic conditions in her own country. The same still happens today. Whole families still leave Israel due to hardships and financial difficulties.
The immigrant family appears to have had initial success, considering that Naomi’s sons easily found local brides with the hope of settling down and starting a new lineage. But fate was against them. The family head, Elimelech, died soon after, followed by his sons, Mahlon and Chilion. Both of their names already attested to their tragic fates. Mahlon (Heb. מחלון = sickness) and Chilion (Heb. כליון = end or final).
Naomi was left alone with her two daughters-in-law....
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