Elimelech is one of those obscure people. He appears in but one passage, along with his two sons. Because they all die. The heroines in this book are Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth, who clearly chooses the way of the LORD over the gods of her youth, and for that she should be (and is) honoured as a Saint (Tzadakin) by both Jews and Christians.

But Naomi’s husband can teach us much. For we are living in a time of distortion, where the rich are acquiring hard assets (in defensible positions, that they can live on sustainably) and the middle class are being trapped in property bubbles in the large c commercial cities — including in Auckland, where the incentives to re-mortgage are becoming immoral, and will unbalance (even more) the loan portfolio of our banks.

So, why we do not teach the law but grace, the law still exists. And here we have an example: when times get tough, stay. But when they are impossible, get out.

1 Timothy 1:3-10

³I urge you, as I did when I was on my way to Macedonia, to remain in Ephesus so that you may instruct certain people not to teach any different doctrine, ⁴and not to occupy themselves with myths and endless genealogies that promote speculations rather than the divine training that is known by faith. ⁵But the aim of such instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith. ⁶Some people have deviated from these and turned to meaningless talk, ⁷desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make assertions.

⁸Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it legitimately. ⁹This means understanding that the law is laid down not for the innocent but for the lawless and disobedient, for the godless and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their father or mother, for murderers, ¹⁰fornicators, sodomites, slave traders, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching ¹¹that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.

Ruth 1:1-18

¹In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and two sons. ²The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. ³But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. ⁴These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. When they had lived there about ten years, ⁵both Mahlon and Chilion also died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

⁶Then she started to return with her daughters-in-law from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the LORD had considered his people and given them food. ⁷So she set out from the place where she had been living, she and her two daughters-in-law, and they went on their way to go back to the land of Judah. ⁸But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back each of you to your mother’s house. May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. ⁹The LORD grant that you may find security, each of you in the house of your husband.” Then she kissed them, and they wept aloud. ¹⁰They said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” ¹¹But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters, why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? ¹²Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, ¹³would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the LORD has turned against me.” ¹⁴Then they wept aloud again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

¹⁵So she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” ¹⁶But Ruth said, “Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; Where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. ¹⁷Where you die, I will die – there will I be buried. May the LORD do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!” ¹⁸When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.

We need to look at Naomi’s situation for a minute. Because it tells us a lot. About surviving in economically harsh times.

• Men are needed. While Naomi had a husband, she could raise her two boys, and she was able to marry them off. However, around that time, they died. The means women had for security was a series of relationships with… family. And the men were expected to work. Even in this time, when unemployment is very high, there are jobs. They are not nice jobs — they are dangerous, dirty, in cold and inhospitable places — but a man who is prepared to work can and will earn there. In mines, oilfields — and at the South end of a cow as a milk-hand. This family had moved to where the work (and food) was. This was appropriate and legitimate
• When times get hard, roles revert to the traditional. Now, some would say that Naomi was dependent on her husband because she was not liberated   However, the feminist revolution depends on two things (a) a society rich enough to afford inefficiency and stupidity and (b) enough police forces to coerce compliance from the population, however willing they are to cooperate. Or not.  The law is about criminal behaviour. it sets boundaries on what is legitimate, and all law has to be coercive, because a subset of the population will not accede to the laws of the nation. (And when times are evil, it is the righteous that are the criminals.
• The state is like a dead husband. This point is not new: many women are supported by the state rather than their husbands or families at present. About a third of children are born in poverty, and their raising is supported directly by a wage from the state. (Working for families and the Domestic Purposes Benefit in New Zealand). And the state regulates the workplace, mandating periods of maternity leave, non discrimination against women — and encouraging women to work. The older system was more diverse. Naomi lost three levels of security — her husband and then two adult sons (they were married). When the state falls, it provides — for no one, as we are finding in Greece.

So today, I’m being a little cross-grained. I am honouring the men in Naomi’s life.  For their witness and their faithfulness allowed Naomi to remain faithful, and Ruth to see there was an alternate to the paganism of the Moabites.  And she followed Naomi to the people of Israel out of the love she had for her.

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PS. It appears that Kitteh photos are popular. I have a few, and random reinforcement works. For rats.