What does Ruth 1:21 mean?
Naomi is explaining her situation to the women of Bethlehem. Ten years before, she, her husband, and their two sons fled the town because of a famine and settled in Moab. Now, the famine has ended and she returns, but without her husband and sons who died in a foreign land (Ruth 1:1–6).Part of her resentful story is to point out the irony of her predicament. When she left Israel, Naomi's belly was empty because she had no food. Yet, poetically speaking, her hands were full because she had her family. Now, Bethlehem is filled with food—the barley is ready to harvest (Ruth 1:22), but the terrible loss has emptied her hands. She realizes that whatever the hardship of the famine would have brought them, it is nothing compared to this.
Because of this, she insists that her friends stop referring to her with the Hebrew word Nō'omi, meaning "pleasant and lovely." God has "dealt very bitterly" with her, and that sourness infiltrates every part of her heart, so she says they should call her Mārā (Ruth 1:20).
"Empty" means "with empty hands, i.e., without a gift." God tells the Israelites that certain events require a sacrifice, and they may not appear before Him empty-handed (Exodus 23:15; 34:20). At times, He also promised to fill their hands, such as when they left Egypt (Exodus 3:21). And when an Israelite releases an indentured servant, the master is to supply that servant with what he needs; he is not to leave "empty-handed" (Deuteronomy 15:12–13).
Naomi feels that by allowing her husband and sons to die, God has somehow suggested to others she is guilty and should be punished. But Naomi has done nothing wrong; she speaks as if God is not acting as He should. Like with Job, God's actions run counter to expectations; He is supposed to take care of widows (Exodus 22:22–24), not abandon them to poverty. Again, Naomi uses "the Almighty," referring to God as the sovereign ruler of the universe (Ruth 1:20). This choice, as opposed to something more personal, subtly implies He has abandoned His oath as Yahweh, the God who cares for His people.
What Naomi is too hurt to realize, for now, is that God's work in her story isn't finished. Her daughter-in-law's role in this saga has just begun. Within a year, Naomi will have a new son through Ruth—and the women who try to comfort her now will praise Ruth as more valuable than seven sons (Ruth 4:13–17).
