The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. (Ruth 1:2 ESV)
Names meant something in the ancient world. They weren’t just labels that parents liked the sound of. They were declarations. Identities. Sometimes they were prayers spoken over a child before the child could even understand what was being said.
The Hebrew name Elimelech (אֱלִימֶלֶךְ), pronounced eh-lee-MEH-lek, is made up of two words: eli, meaning “my God,” and melech, meaning “king.” Put them together and you get “My God is King”. It’s a statement of faith, a reminder of who’s really in charge.
But when we meet Elimelech, his life doesn’t seem to match his name. When famine hit Bethlehem, Elimelech packed up his family and headed to Moab, which was foreign territory. It was a place where Israel’s God wasn’t worshiped. And Elimelech, whose very name proclaimed that God was his king, chose to go there rather than stay and trust the one his name pointed to. His story reminds us how quickly fear can nudge us into decisions that lean more on survival than trust.
We don’t know everything that was in Elimelech’s heart. Scripture doesn’t tell us, and it would be unfair to reduce him to a villain. He was a father trying to feed his family. Hunger has a way of narrowing your options, or at least making them feel narrower than they are.
But there’s a quiet tension in this verse that’s hard to miss. A man named “My God is King” made a decision to relocate his family to a pagan nation when things got difficult.
It’s easy to say “My God is King” when life is stable, when provision is steady, when prayers seem answered. But famine has a way of testing those words. Scarcity — whether physical, emotional, or spiritual — can make us wonder if God is still in control, still present.
But there’s grace in this story. Even when people move away, God doesn’t. Elimelech’s journey to Moab sets the stage for Ruth’s story. Though Elimelech himself dies there, God is still at work. His kingship was never dependent on Elimelech staying or leaving. God’s purposes continue, even through our imperfect decisions.
That’s good news for us. Because, if we’re honest, there are moments when our lives don’t line up perfectly with our confession. We say, “God is in control,” but then we worry endlessly. We say, “God will provide,” but we try to come up with our own solutions. We say, “God is King,” but then trust our own wisdom instead.
Elimelech’s name invites us to remember that God truly is King. Not just when things are going well. But even in times of famine and uncertainty. Whether in Bethlehem or Moab, in times of abundance or want, God is still in control. Because “Our God is King.”
Prayer: Lord, forgive me for those times I’ve confessed you as King but trusted my own wisdom instead. When life feels uncertain and I get afraid and start to run, remind me that you are still present and still working in my life. I place my trust in you today. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Alan Smith
Reprinted with permission from Alan Smith’s Thought For the Day