Naomi is returning (return is repeated 14 times in this passage) home to
Bethlehem. And she is clearly in a depressed state of mind. She urges her
daughter-in-laws to go back to their gods because they have more hope there than
in Bethlehem. Her low expectations are driven by guilt and shame. And her
twisted view of God informs her identity (not Naomi [Pleasant] but call me Mara
[bitter]). “Because God has dealt very bitterly with me.” She doesn’t understand
God’s grace and what Jesus said: Naomi is about to discover, those who come to
God will never be rejected (Matt.11:28-30).