The whole town was stirred. In some places, this is a great thing -- remember when the father throws a party when the prodigal son returns? Here... probably not as much. Moab was a place of traditional enemies of Israel, and marriage to Moabites was discouraged due to their worship of other gods. So Naomi leaves and then comes back only with this Moabite woman, and the whole town is stirred, wondering what has happened. Doubtless many are judging her, whispering behind close doors, perhaps welcoming on the outside but inwardly suspicious.
If you base your future on what everyone says about you, it's hard to know how to proceed, because you'll always be afraid of judgment if you take one wrong step. Similarly, if you only associate with those who are deemed proper by society, you'll miss out on some of the richest experiences in life that come with the diversity of this world that God has created. Strive for human acceptance, and you'll end up disappointed, because the crowds will push you this way and that way as human opinion shifts and changes.
God is faithful, even in the valleys, even when the world thinks hope is lost. Naomi was in a place of despair, having lost so much in her time in Moab. And yet God was not finished with Naomi. God was at work, just as God is at work in our lives. It's hard to see at times, we can all agree with that -- but just because we cannot see what is ahead does not mean that God is not at work.
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