1. Do you think the times we are living in resemble the dark days of the judges from the past? Why or why not?

2. Elimelech faced a difficult decision regarding the welfare of his family. Do you think he made the right decision, moving his family into a pagan land so that they would have food to eat, or do you think he should have stayed in  Bethlehem, waiting for the famine to end, trusting God to provide for the needs of his family?

3. Naomi’s husband’s choices led to her instability. Have you ever had a time when someone else’s choices caused you to suffer? How did God show up in the midst of your suffering?

4. Was Naomi right in blaming God for the painful loss of her husband and two sons?

5. Was Elimelech doing “what was right in his own eyes” rather than trusting God? Do you think his faith was weak?

6. Looking again at Ruth 1:12-13, do you think Naomi had lost hope because of the difficult, bitter cir-cumstances she'd endured during her last 10 years living in Moab?

7. Was Naomi right in blaming God for the painful loss of her husband and two sons?

8. How does seeing Naomi’s faith help you to hold on to hope, even in the midst of difficult circumstances?