It’setting is perhaps some time in the 12th century BC The clue is found in the term in the days when the judges ruled. The exact time of the writing of this book is uncertain. author is unknown. The Talmud suggests that Samuel was the writer.
A famine is the cause of the tragic events that ensued in the life of this family. Famine speaks of starvation, malnutrition, disease and death. In as much as we will be relating this story as it unfolds to end time events the famine is significant. In these days there is a famine of world wide proportions. Oddly enough, we are not speaking of a natural famine but that of which the prophecy given by Amos is referring to. Amos 8:11c a famine of the hearing of the Word of the Lord. There are two facets to this famine, a ministry that does not preach the Word and a people who do not want to hear the Word. The tragic results are found in v.12. A running to and fro and are unable to find the WORD. Certainly a condition that is prevalent in the Church world of today. There is so much unrest and dissatisfaction.
A man named Elimelech, whose name means God of the king or God is King. He was an Ephrathite (fruitful) of Bethlehem-Judah (house of bread). We are led to question the spirituality of one, who under any circumstances, would leave a land of promise which bore such significant names, to go to Moab (from her father) a people whose roots were those of incest. The Moabites were forbidden to enter into the congregation of the Lord, even to the tenth generation.
They were enemies of Judah. Yet they went to them to dwell there. Our associations can have an adverse effect on us. The very thing they fled from became their consequence in Moab. They fled the famine to preserve their lives but they lost them in Moab, for they died there. Fleeing a hard place does not solve the problem but usually will compound the situation. After the death of the Father any spiritual restraint that he had held on his sons was gone. His sons, Mahlon (sickly) and Chilion (pining, consumption) married Moabite women. Their names would indicate that they were men with very poor health and from their actions their spiritual well being left much to be desired. In their marriages they were in disobedience to the Law. Their wives names were Orpah (stiff necked) and Ruth (friend). Names in the Bible were often prophetic. The names used would declare the nature of he person so named or perhaps an event that would take place in the span of the life time of that individual. In the case of these two women their names speak of their character. They were married and dwelt in Moab for about ten years. Ten is the number of the commandments of the Law. Numbers, too are significant in the Bible. Was the Lord giving them time to repent and return to the Law?.