Marry Pagan Women and Later Die
Mahlon and Kilion are the sons of Elimelek and Naomi. During the time of the judges, there’s a famine. In search of food, the family moves from Bethlehem to Moab and settles there.
Elimelek dies in Moab. Mahlon and Kilion marry local Moabite girls. Mahlon marries Ruth, and Kilion marries Orpah.
Both Mahlon and Kilion die in Moab too. As a result, all three women are widows—and destitute.
Naomi and Ruth head back to Bethlehem, while Orpah stays in Moab.
It’s in Bethlehem that Boaz marries Ruth, who becomes the great-grandmother of King David and ancestor of Jesus.
Had Mahlon and Kilion not died, Naomi and Ruth would have stayed in Moab and Boaz would have never met and married Ruth. It may, however, be an overstretch to say that God caused Mahlon and Kilion’s death to accomplish his will.
God, however, does work all things together for good to those who love him and are called to his purpose (Romans 8:28). With this in mind, we can see how the Almighty uses this situation to unite Ruth with Boaz, which otherwise would not have happened.
When a loved one dies, do we blame God?
When have we seen our Lord work things out for good in our lives?
[Read about Mahlon and Kilion in Ruth 1:1–5. Discover more in Ruth 4:9–10.]
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More Old Testament Sinners and Saints is part of the Bible Character Sketches series.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront a status quo faith and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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