In the second chapter, Ruth makes good on her promise to Naomi. She promised to leave everything she had ever known about life in Moab to go to Israel with Naomi (1:16–17). Now she is in Bethlehem, trying to provide for herself and her mother-in-law.
In the verses we study this morning we see Paul’s ministry and we see things that should mark our ministry today. Paul wasn’t “empire building.” His travels and struggles were all for one reason—promote growth in Christ.
Naomi is left alone: no husband, no sons, no land, and no food. She is in Moab, the place of God’s enemies. The quest for food that led her and her family out of Judah, however well-intentioned it seemed at the time, had come to absolutely nothing.