The answer is: Famine in his home town

Ruth 1:1 - The name "Elimelech" literally means "My God [is] King".

Elimelech’s journey to Moab highlights the challenges his family faced in Bethlehem due to famine— a serious crisis reflecting not just scarcity of food but possibly divine disfavor or tribulation in the land. Picture it: this man, whose name means "My God is King," had to entrust his family to the care of a foreign land when faced with dire circumstances. It emphasizes a theme found throughout the Bible - people seeking hope and survival in surprising places.

Moab was an area often viewed through a lens of conflict, and further down the road, we see these ties become significant in Judeo-Christian narratives. Did you know the Moabites were descendants of Lot, Abraham's nephew? This connection heightens the complexity of relationships between Ruth, a Moabite woman, and the Israelite nation, marking the narrative with layers of cultural exchange and inclusion.

The story manifests a striking echo of God’s providential care as Ruth, later an emblem of loyalty and faith, returns with Naomi to Bethlehem where her lineage becomes critical to the lineage of King David, and later, through him, to Jesus. In this scripture, there’s a warm reminder of how bravery and resilience can emerge from challenging beginnings, turning struggles into narratives of hope. A testimony that sometimes, when life's scarcity confronts us, we find richness hiding in unexpected places!