Last week we met Elimelech of Bethlehem. Today we meet his sons, Mahlon and Chilion, from the Book of Ruth. They are rather minor players in the drama, yet it is only because of their marriages do we meet the heroine of the story. The image is one artist’s rendering of the marriage of the young men to Orpah and Ruth. Mahlon tells their story:
Our father told us of the long years of travel before the Children of Israel arrived and settled the land of the Canaanites. He explained how each tribe was given land in the new country and how the residents were displaced. It seemed very exciting compared to the dull life we led as boys.
We were not very old when the Great Famine happened. Father decided that we would all be better off if we crossed back over the Jordan River to Moab. I was glad to leave and see new places. But it was a long walk. Even though we had a donkey, Father insisted that it would carry our household goods, and that we couldn’t ride.
“You are young and strong.” I remember he told us. “You can walk just as well as your mother. See how she isn’t complaining.”
Mother never did complain. She went along with whatever Father said. I think she was sad to leave her friends. She never made very many new friends in Moab.
I missed my friends, too. Most of all, I missed Boaz. He was older than Chilion and me. Still, he let us tag along when he went with his father to check the fields. His father, Salmon, was famous. He was one of the spies that helped the Children of Israel conquer Jericho. His mother was famous, too, for some reason. I was never sure why.
Anyway, we arrived in Moab after a trek of days and days and days. I didn’t think we would ever stop. Even after we rode the barge across the Jordan, we walked and walked until Father found a place he liked. Finally, Father found land and we settled into a house. It was similar to the one we left, but everything else was strange.
We had to learn to speak the different dialect and learn new customs. The people in Moab worshipped a different god, called Baal. Really, they had a bunch of gods, but Baal was the chief. It was very confusing.
Mother always stressed that the Israelites had just the One True God. She insisted that we continue to do keep Hebrew traditions that we had always done. The Passover was especially important. Every year, we had to kill a lamb and recite the story of the Passover and Exodus. Chilion, as youngest, always got to ask the important question, ‘Why is this night different than all other nights?’ The story was thrilling. Even though it happened before Mother or Father was even born, they always recited it as if it was occurring again and again.
It was a terrible day when Father died. Luckily, we had learned how to work the fields before he was struck down. One day he was perfectly healthy, the next he was bedridden and in less than a week he was dead. We buried him in a grave on our land. Mother was inconsolable. “We are strangers in this land. Who will have pity on a widow and her sons?”
I tried to reassure her that my brother and I would care for her, but I don’t think she believed it at first. She seemed to think of us as still little boys, not the grown men we were. Luckily Father had already arranged for us to marry local girls. Their families agreed to continue with the contracts. I was wed to a girl named Ruth. Chilion married Orpah.
We were happy enough with our wives. They were pretty and helped Mother with the tasks and cooking. I was relieved to see that having our wives nearby eased Mother’s grief. She seemed to enjoy teaching the young women some of the recipes of Judah.
Marriage to local girls gave us some credibility with the town leaders. Chilion and I were even allowed to visit one of their temples and were invited to participate in a local holy day celebration. I think Mother worried about that. She didn’t say anything, but she taught Ruth and Orpah how to make the many special dishes for the Passover feast, and we celebrated it just like always.
Ruth asked me to explain it to her. I’m not sure I did a very good job. I just mumbled something about it being God’s command and the way the Children of Israel didn’t die in Egypt. Honestly, I was never sure myself why it was so important. The festivals of the people in Moab seemed much more exciting. There was much dancing and…other things I would never tell Mother or Ruth about.
I know Ruth spoke to Mother about Passover and the other special days. She quit going to the local festivals, as did Orpah. It was almost as if she had taken my faith, and I had started to accept hers.
“It’s how I can honor your heritage and your mother’s faith,” she explained. “When we have children, you will want to teach them the faith of your people.”
We do not have any children, yet. Perhaps someday soon. Then I will need to do as Ruth says, and remember the ways of my father and the Children of Israel. For now, it is easier to go along with the local customs and to remember the Hebrew feasts with Mother.
©Cynthia Davis 2020
It was difficult for Mahlon to relate to the events of the Exodus because they seemed so long ago. Does that happen with you or anyone you know when reading the Bible?
How do you stay firm in your faith, even with peer pressure?
