Ruth 1:8

Return. We should not misunderstand Naomi’s action. The three widows were already “on the way” (v. 7). Perhaps arrival at the borders of Moab impressed upon Naomi the sacrifice Orpah and Ruth were making in leaving their homeland and their friends. It was unselfish love for her daughters-in-law that prompted Naomi to urge each of them to return to her parents’ home. Oriental custom bound them to her, but she refused to press her claim to their service. She would not compel them to begin life anew in a strange land, but left them free to marry again and to set up their own homes. They need not devote their lives to taking care of the mother of their dead husbands, as would ordinarily have been expected of them. Naomi was an ideal mother-in-law; she did not press even her legitimate claims upon her daughters-in-law, but left them entirely free to make their own choices. In so doing, Naomi stands forth as an example all mothers-in-law would do well to emulate.