Naomi Returns Home with Ruth to Bethlehem

The Book of Ruth reverts to about the time of the Midianite oppression which leads to the LORD's calling of Gideon as judge of Israel. It was in the time of great famine that Elimelech decides to take his wife and come to the fields of Moab. Sometimes, especially when it seems like things could get no worse, we aggravate it all the more by stepping out of the will of God. For Elimelech the famine was bad, but his decision to leave Canaan worsens an already bad situation.