It is a short book only 2400 words long and is well worth reading. Ruth 1 begins on a very tragic note as it recounts the story of one particular family from the tribe of judah and city of bethlehem. Last week, i shared an excerpt from my newest book, wisdom from women in the bible. The basic purpose of the book of ruth is to show how the lord intervened to protect naomis family line from extinction, in order that her greatgreatgrandson davidthe future, divinely chosen king of israel and ancestor of the messiahmight be born ruth 4. We learn from reflecting upon experiences and applying the right lessons to change. Written by kevin carson saturday, october 17, 2020. Her daughter inlaw ruth chooses to stay by her side and move to bethlehem to escape the famine. Fighting bitterness a reflection from the book of ruth.
Reflections on ruth and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. They are based on continuous sections of the book of ruth. The book of judges reflects an extremely violent, gory, and chaotic era. Why the focus on the book of ruth and particularly on the person and. The name of ruth is mentioned twelve times in this book which bears her name heijkoop, 1989. The portrayal of god in ruth first, block notes how ruth contributes to our understanding of god in its portrayal of him. As we do, i reflect on what ruth said and on her story in the bible. Even though its small, this remarkable book contains many. Read about the book of ruth and its hidden overlooked meaning. This meaning according to harlow 1987 reflected in the relationship of ruth with her mother inlaw naomi, and other people that came along her way. The confusion of bitterness a reflection from the book of ruth.
Reflection on ruth chapter 2 for bible month manchester methodists. When the cup is full and wealth rolls in abundance around him, any man can sing the praises of a god who gives a plenteous harvest. Mid week prayer and reflection the book of ruth, chapter. The book of ruth tells the extraordinary story of gods faithfulness to israel in the life and work of three ordinary people, naomi, ruth and boaz. Reflections on ruth hardcover april 17, 2019 by stuart w halpern author see all formats and editions hide other formats and editions. Horine ruth forsook father and mother, country and friends, to cast in her lot with the people of god, and her name is linked with that of the greatest king of israel, and with that of the great redeemer of mankind. Theres also much by way of rich theology that can be extracted from the book. How can you be more selfless as a committed friend. So lets just pause a while to examine this new character we are now introduced to. Mar 12, 2021 this wonderful book also serves as an illustration for how a marriage can be a reflection of gods redeeming love towards his chosen children. Boaz went far beyond the intent of the gleaners law in. Mid week prayer and reflection the book of ruth, chapter 1 time for prayer and reflection.
An advent reflection by luke williams, interim director. The book of judges, then, provides the setting for ruth. It is the practice of farmers being obligated to leave an area around the field that was not. Ruth contains many elements that make for good storytragedy, conflict, romance, and redemption to name a few. The nation was in shambles, constantly getting invaded and ransacked. In this verse we are introduced to the main man in the book of ruth.
Oct 16, 2020 in the story of ruth, we noticed so far that naomis interpretation of her life reflected the bitterness in her heart. It influences the bitter persons interpretation of lifes circumstances, others, and god. Oct 30, 2014 from beginning to end, the story of ruth captures the attention of the reader. Van gorder ruth the book of ruth provides a postscript to the judges. John brown 17221787 was raised in extreme poverty, but his herdsman father was.
Midweek prayer and reflection the book of ruth, chapter. The story of ruth and boaz is the story of love and redemption. Aug 16, 2019 ruth is, technically, a foreign woman, which makes her a suspicious character. While we admire the creativity of our god to reveal himself through a variety of means. The book of ruth discussion questions week 1 day 1 what is your first overall impression from reading through the book of ruth. Elimelech, the family head, took his wife, naomi, and their two sons and moved to the nearby country of moab to avoid the famine in judah. The typical stereotype of a mother, with daughters old enough to be married is one who is constantly viewing every man as a potential husband for her daughter or daughters. After we have read that amazing speech of ruth in chapter one, a speech that has become the only part of the book that anyone appears. The book of esther constitutes a piece of literature emanating from the jewish communities of antiquity, which tells the mainly fictional story of a young jewish woman who lived at the court of the persian king xerxes and managed to save her people from a pogrom. The portrayal of the people of god in ruth perhaps more than any other book in the hebrew bible, in ruth the participants in the events not only reflected the character of the. Mar 11, 2010 and then theres this reflection on ruth from helen warnock. It is the beautiful, dramatic, and yet simple story of two widows seeking to find their way past hopelessness, despair, and grief. She and her husband moved there with their two sons, who eventually took wives while living in moab. In most hebrew bibles, ruth occurs immediately after proverbs and before song of songs in the writings, the third section of the tanak.
Their love is recorded in the book of ruth in the bible. This is the third of a series of four reflections for bible. New hope church has enjoyed a rich season tracking through the old testament book called ruth. The book of ruth encourages us to view our daytoday lives as part of gods bigger plan for our lives and world. An overview of the book of ruth theology religion essay. Oct 16, 2020 the book of ruth reminds us that god is at work in our world, seeking a bride and reaping a harvest, and we must find our place in his program of winning the john macarthur, in the macarthur study bible contrasts the life of ruth with the virtuous wife of proverbs 31. This week i have been studying through the book of ruth. In most hebrew bibles, ruth occurs immediately after proverbs and before song of. Bibleproject is a nonprofit edtech organization and animation studio that produces 100% free bible videos, podcasts, blogs, classes, and educational bible resources to help make the biblical story accessible to everyone, everywhere. Questions for reflection and discussion ruth 3 matters.
Overview of ruth the story of ruth is often thought of as the love story of the old testament but its so much more. What insights has the holy spirit already revealed to you. It is the beautiful, dramatic, and yet simple story of two. Written by kevin carson saturday, october 31, 2020 essentially, naomis first step out of bitterness was her first step of faith. When naomi and her daughtersinlaw, ruth and orpah, face the prospect of a future as destitute widows in the land of moab, naomi implores. First, theres a famine in the land and death is knocking at the door 1. The book of ruth is certainly one of the best short stories ever written. The book of ruth is filled with suspense, romance and intrigue. Mid week prayer and reflection the book of ruth, chapter 1. The book of ruth is a beautiful story, and probably one you may have heard in sunday school as a child.
Interdisciplinary new volume on the biblical book of ruth offers informative and inspiring range of reflections. The relationship that ensues between naomi and ruth comes from loss upon loss. Orpah kissed her motherinlaw, but ruth clung to her. A reflection from the book of ruth part 2 in gods sovereignty and covenant faithfulness, he providentially brings ruth to the mans field who can do something for naomi and ruth. The basic purpose of the book of ruth is to show how the lord intervened to protect naomis family line from extinction, in order that her greatgreatgrandson davidthe future, divinely chosen king of israel and ancestor of the messiahmight be born ruth. Grace and faith ever go hand in hand, for it is faith that lays hold of grace and appropriates it, and that cleaves to the.
It is a beautiful story with all the successful hollywood elements. Halpern, senior advisor to the provost, in his 15thedited work of jewish scholarship, has assembled an international allstar lineup of contemporary scholars, educators and community leaders offering their readings of the book of ruth through the prisms of their respective academic interests and professional fields. On the other hand, naomi and boaz both call ruth my daughter, and boaz describes ruth as a worthy woman v11, which indicates that she is an accepted and admirable character. Sep 05, 2019 still, ruth emerges as a chaste woman, a welcome contrast to the ugly behavior in the book of judges, which precedes her account. Midweek prayer and reflection the book of ruth, chapter 2. In the story of ruth, we noticed so far that naomis interpretation of her life reflected the bitterness in her heart. Ruths sacrifice and hard work to provide for naomi reflected gods love. As discussed yesterday part one, bitterness settles into the heart and becomes the way through which a person views life. Both the proverbs 31 poem and the story of ruth can be viewed as inspiring illustrations of gods wisdom and order in the contexts of. While we admire the creativity of our god to reveal himself through a variety of means, we must be careful to remember it is far more than an eloquently written love drama. Reflections from ruth reflections from ruth my goal in writing reflections from the book of ruth are the following. The analysis of this biblical text furthers our understanding of the issues and challenges confronting the groups that produced it. The author was anonymous but some believe it was perhaps written by samuel the prophet.
The people in the book of ruth are classic examples of the godly in action. When the book of ruth is juxtaposed with proverbs, one can easily appreciate the many ways that the narrative presentation of ruth and boaz is similar to the poetic portrait expressed in proverbs 31. A reflection on our communal tragedy, through the lens of the book. This is why the book of ruth ends with the prophetical mention of him who is the root and offspring of david, the glorious redeemer promised to israel. Grace and faith ever go hand in hand, for it is faith that lays hold of grace and appropriates it, and that cleaves to the divine promises and to the people who are the subjects of these promises, and it is faith that finds its delight in him who is the bearer of the. Lets dive into this fascinating book, understand its story and see how it points to jesus christ. Welcome to the first of fourreflections inspired by the book of ruth. Each will reflect on one chapter of the book from a. But if ruth is a book of grace, it is necessarily also a book of faith. Ruth a moaitess inluded in the messi ani lineage this is a beautiful story of redemptive history.
Reflections of the book of ruth 2 naomi and ruth arrive safely in bethlehem after their 50mile 80 km trek but have to tend to some of the essentials of daily living, like finding food. The book of ruth as an exemplar for faith communities cbe. Sep 22, 2020 its a depressing book about a terrible time in israels history. Five reflections from the story of ruth new hope church has enjoyed a rich season tracking through the old testament book called ruth.
The book of ruth is the narrative of a love story, yet also has some important genealogy. Thankfully, as will be discussed today, she does not stay here. In the book of ruth, we learn that ruth was a moabite. Even bethlehem, the most fertile of places, was affected. There was a void in leadership, and the people did as they pleased. Ruth a moaitess inluded in the messiani lineage this is a beautiful story of redemptive history. It is a beautiful story with all the successful hollywood. This is the journey of two women and one man whose decisions not only leave an indelible imprint on their own lives, but whose choices also had consequences which have rippled on to affect our own lives today.
Overcoming bitterness a reflection from the book of ruth. Mar 14, 2017 the book of ruth tells an incredible, wellcrafted story that is filled with rich truths and ideas. A reflection from the book of ruth part 3 naomis observation of gods faithfulness and step of faith to send ruth begins her climb out of her bitterness. Throughout the reading, i was extremely fascinated by ruth s character. It becomes a blueprint for us on how to establish a healthy marriage. First, to encourage you the reader that if you will pay attention to the words on the page and listen carefully you will mine a lot of truth for life without the need of a commentary or any secondary source. Question for reflection ruth was from moab, a nation hostile toward israel, but she chose to follow and worship israels godthe one true god, who loves and accepts everyone. The book of ruth was attached to the end of the book of judges in the hebrew bible. As weve been studying the book of ruth and psalms on wednesday mornings, i have been humbled by the beauty and power of gods word.
Gods faithfulness, restoration, hope in the midst of despair, human despair and suffering, diligence in adversity, and so much more. Book of ruth overview insight for living ministries. Second, naomi loses her husband and sons to death 1. Month, which this year focusses on the book of ruth. There is hope even in the most devastating times of our life. Essentially, bitterness affects ones sight similar to the way a cataract affects vision or a dirty lens affects the way.
My goal in writing reflections from the book of ruth are the following. The story occurred during this time of strife and bloodshed. When we reflect his character through our interactions with others, we bring glory to him. The plans of naomi one always has to smile when one gets to the 3rd chapter of the book of ruth. The book of ruth in the book of ruth, it talks about a woman named naomi who becomes a widow after the passing of her husband and also her sons. Both sons married moabite women, but after only ten years, tragedy struck. Questions for reflection and discussion ruth 3 matters of. What changes can you make to open yourself up to friendships that cross. The book of ruth is one of only two books of the bible to be named after women the other is esther. It tells of gods sovereign hand in guiding naomi and her daughterinlaw, ruth, from near ruin to redemption. To start out, a woman by the name of naomi packed up and moved from judah to moab due to a terrible famine that was affecting her family. Seeing christ in the book of ruth core christianity. The timeline of this book is intertwined during the period of the judges. Later, the jews placed ruth in the third major division of their canon, the kethubim writings.
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