There are several things we know about Naomi. First of all, we know her husband’s name was Elimelech. We know she had two sons, Mahlon and Chilion. We also know that they moved to Moab because of a famine in Bethlehem. It was in Moab when her sons met and married wives. Mahlon married Ruth and Chilion married Orpah. After the death of her husband and sons, Naomi decided to return to her homeland of Bethlehem. Ruth made the journey back with Naomi, Orpah decided to stay in her homeland of Moab.
The name Naomi means pleasantness, a delight; and as you read the story of Naomi, she was a delight to at least Ruth, and I am sure to others as well. But it was not always that way. We read in Ruth 1:20 where she said, “Call me not Naomi, call me Mara (bitterness).”
As you read Naomi’s story it seems that joy returned as she found a place of service for God through her ministry to Ruth.
Albert Schweitzer was a man willing to abandon a great career in order to serve his fellow man. In 1913, he sailed for Africa, having turned his back on fame, money and prestige. His first hospital was an old abandoned hen house and his first operating table an old camp board. On a trip to the United States, a reporter asked, “Dr. Schweitzer, have you found happiness in Africa?” “I have found a place of service,” he replied, “and that is enough for anyone.”
What to do:
✞ Be a delight to others; find a place of service for God.
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