Here we go into the Book of Ruth, which has a surprising start:

Once upon a time—it was back in the days when judges led Israel… (Ruth 1.1, MSG)

“In the days of the judges…” – a chaotic time when “everyone did what was right in their own eyes” and some of their leaders ranged between “not all that great” and evil. During that time, God is at work in the lives of ordinary people.

The leading lady at the beginning of the story is Naomi, and things aren’t going well:

A man from Bethlehem in Judah left home to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. The man’s name was Elimelech; his wife’s name was Naomi; his sons were named Mahlon and Kilion—all Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They all went to the country of Moab and settled there. Elimelech died and Naomi was left, she and her two sons. The sons took Moabite wives; the name of the first was Orpah, the second Ruth…But then the two brothers, Mahlon and Kilion, died. Now the woman was left without either her young men or her husband. (Ruth 1.1 – 5, MSG)

Widowed and destitute in a foreign country, Naomi does the only thing she can do, and that’s return home. Her daughters-in-law start with her, but then she attempts to send them home. She has nothing to offer them, and Orpah stays in Moab. Then we have the famous scene of Ruth declaring her undying loyalty, remembered best by some of us in the old King James:

And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God… (Ruth 1.16, KJV)

“Whither thou goest” inspired the words of a popular song, often sung at weddings – I played it for wedding soloists several times back in the day. Here’s a lovely version by Perry Como:

It’s sung as a love song, and it is, but not between a bride and groom, but from a daughter-in-law to her mother-in-law!

So Naomi arrives in Bethlehem with, shall we say, not that good of an attitude:

And so the two of them traveled on together to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem the whole town was soon buzzing: “Is this really our Naomi? And after all this time!” But she said, “Don’t call me Naomi; call me Bitter. The Strong One has dealt me a bitter blow. I left here full of life, and GOD has brought me back with nothing but the clothes on my back. Why would you call me Naomi? God certainly doesn’t. The Strong One ruined me.” (Ruth 1.19 – 21, MSG)

Don’t call me “Naomi” – that means “pleasant,” call me “Mara” – “bitter.”

And so the chapter ends…but it’s only chapter one! And it ends with this odd observation:

They arrived in Bethlehem at the time of the barley harvest. (Ruth 1.22, MSG)

The barley harvest?! What’s that got to do with anything? Stay tuned.

Often stories with happy endings get off to a slow start. God called Moses in Exodus 3 and 4 to lead the Israelites out of Egyptian slavery. By the end of chapter 5, things are worse:

Moses went back to GOD and said, “My Master, why are you treating this people so badly? And why did you ever send me? From the moment I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, things have only gotten worse for this people. And rescue? Does this look like rescue to you?” (Exodus 5.22, 23, MSG)