Ruth: Week 3 – Chapter 2

In writing this week’s preliminary on Ruth, I’m going to offer my comments here instead of repeating basically what you guys have already read.  I hope you don’t mind this new approach.  I'm trying to mix things up and keep it interesting.  

When I read the Bible, besides concentrating on the words (because for my little brain to process the language, I have to pay attention), I also like to imagine the “white space”.   Not adding to the scripture but just wondering about what isn’t told.  So, here is my “white space”……….

I’ve read this chapter a few times.   It is building the story but just hasn’t gotten there yet.  I was thinking today about what to write.  I was at a little bit of a block thinking how tough it was to expound on this part of the story.   So I read a few commentaries on Ruth hoping to gain a fresh set of eyes.  In one of the commentaries (I can’t find it right now but when I do – I’ll link it), it was pointed out how in this chapter God begins to reward Ruth for her actions.  Ruth was doing what was right – following God, trusting, taking care of her mother-in-law, etc – and she did all of these things not thinking of herself.  Basically, others saw her life as a testimony, even as a Gentile woman.  She was living what she believed and it showed.   Boaz even points it out in verse 12 where he says: “The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel under whose wings thou art come to trust.” (KJV) 

I really like that Boaz uses the example of “under whose wings thou art come to trust”.  It’s like a mother bird protecting her young when she spreads her wings over them. 

I wonder how Ruth felt being in a different place with no friends or family save Naomi. 

How did Ruth feel out there gleaning the fields with complete strangers?  Was she scared?  The Bible says she only rested a short while and worked all day.  I think about that and wonder if the other women rested longer than she did.  I sort of get the impression that they did rest longer simply because the Bible points out Ruth “tarried a little in the house”.  Was she trying to stay ahead of the others?  Did she feel like she didn’t belong?  I wonder if this group of women freely accepted her.

Ruth knew she was an outsider, so I think about the relief she felt when Boaz comes along and then not only makes sure she is allowed to glean as much as she needs but also ensures that she will be protected.  Kind of like God isn’t it in that He provides and protects?  He doesn’t promise that it will be without hardship but He continues to take care of us even during difficult times. 

I wonder when Ruth or Boaz met in the field, did either of them know that their lives were about to change?  Did they sense God had a plan?  Have you ever had such a moment where you could feel God working?  You didn’t know what, who, how - but you could feel it?  Maybe God showed you in one of those ah-ha!  moments.  In the white space, I like to think Boaz and Ruth knew.  I like to think that standing in the field, having that first conversation; they could tangibly feel God at work and orchestrating the bigger picture.  I mean, we all know He’s there and in control anyway but it isn’t always so obvious. 

Six years ago, I had just begun dating Kent.  Literally – we had been going out for a matter of weeks.  For those of you who may not know, my first husband left me the year before for someone else.  That day, Ken and I were sitting on his couch, having a nice conversation.  In the middle of what he was saying, I felt God say “You will marry this man.”  I must have looked confused or shocked.  I could see Kent still talking but I couldn’t believe what I suddenly knew and how it was so, so – THERE and I couldn’t understand how he didn’t know it too.  Actually, God had already pointed all this out to Kent.  I was the last to know. (Smile)  I need to say, I don’t have those moments often.  Most of what God says to me comes more in the form or a whisper, an inner thought/voice that I just know is God, or sometimes it’s a little nudge.  I almost never hear Him as loud and clear as I did at that moment.  If a neon sign had dropped out of the sky and landed in that room, it would not have been any more surprising or obvious.  And, it was in that moment that I knew that God was gonna fix it all.  All the past hurt.  The broken heart.  The mistrust.  The never feeling good enough.  The need and desire for a man that cared more about me than he did himself.  In a few brief, and almost time stopping, seconds - God showed it all to me.  Writing about that doesn’t do it justice.   I may even sound like a whacko but I’m okay with that because I know what God shared with me then and I'm looking back at it now.

When I get to Heaven, I’m looking Ruth and Boaz up and I’m going to ask them “Did you know?”

Your friend,

Kim

Your thoughts?

.... a note to some friends....

Hi Everyone!

I hope you all are having a good week.  It's Friday!!!  Yippee!  This week has been a little stressful for me.  Things have been super busy and I've been fighting a headache each day.  Funny, because when I tell my older brother my head hurts, he says "I knew it was gonna give you trouble the first time I saw it on you". Just a little humor.


The reason I'm writing this is to encourage you.  Not just those of you who have commented but also those of you who just come here to read.  There is so much more to the reason behind this post that I don't feel led to share yet.  Don't worry, it isn't anything big.  Simply God working behind the scenes and I like it when He shows me a glimpse of the big picture or tells me the "why" behind something.  God showed me something cool this week.


I've heard from a couple of people that they don't know if they have anything to contribute.  They seem to be enjoying the reading and following along but maybe just not feeling like commenting on their thoughts of the chapter.  And, that's okay.  I said in the beginning, and I maintain, don't feel like you have to comment.  Feel free to read and not comment, read and comment, just say "hi", or even email me your thoughts.  Your choice.  However, one of the highlights of my day is reading all the things you guys have posted and getting a new perspective on Ruth and also, where you're coming from.  


Please get this next part as I'm not pointing anyone out.  However, I do feel led to explain the reasoning and purpose of this study.  I've put this post off for several days but God keeps gently pushing me to write it.  So, I'm writing.  Forgive me if I ramble but I'm leaning on God to make sure the message and intent shows through.  

Learning about Ruth and her devotion to God is NOT the number one goal.  What?????  You're probably screaming at the computer "Why are we reading Ruth then???"  My hope is that, besides seeing the beautiful devotion and reliance on God Ruth displayed, you will know that you can read the Bible and learn everything and anything from God Himself.  No preacher required.  No theology degree.  Just you and God.  I promise, if you read the Bible and seek an answer to a question - He'll answer you.  Admittedly, I've asked some questions that He answered with "You don't need to know that" but it was an answer.  You might already know those things.  You might read your Bible everyday anyway.  If so, take this as a personal "Awesome!".  If you don't, I'm still simply encouraging.  My heart is to share what a great thing it is to know God and the Son He sacrificed for us. 


The ladies in this study are from all walks of life and we are all at different stages in our knowledge of the Bible.  THAT is why I asked you specifically - because whether you think you know "enough" is NOT the point.  I asked you, not by accident or on a whim, but because I knew you would bring something special to this and wanted us to share it together.  Also, some know a lot about the Bible and have wisdom and experience where God is concerned and some of us are just getting started.  I'm by FAR no expert.  Seeing even the obvious can be difficult for me and it makes me feel really dumb.  I'm more childlike in my thought process and understanding.  When I'm honest about it, that's important too.  Being super smart would have been nice but God said "Nope, that's not what I'm gifting you with."  I might not be able to talk intelligibly to Billy Graham but 4 year olds get me.  God has a great sense of humor.


So, if you are reading this and you feel overwhelmed by it, don't.  All I've asked from the beginning is to read with us and comment if you'd like.  That part about coming to your house in my Donald Duck pj's was really just a joke.  (smile)  I'll show up in Spongebob pj's.


Hugs,
Kim

Ruth 1:1-22 Week 2

  Chapter 1 – Get your Bible handy and read along.  Make notes as you go for comments at the end. 

This week……..

Ruth's Resolve 1:1-22

·         Her Background

·         Her Choice

·         Her Arrival in Beth-lehem

Her Background:

Read Ruth 1:1-5

Let’s start with Naomi, her husband Elimelek and their two sons, Mahlon and Kilion.  We know from the first chapter that during the days of the judges (little tidbit – Samson was a Judge.  I didn’t know that until I read the book of Judges), there was a famine in the land so Elimelek took his wife and sons and moved from Beth-lehem to Moab to live.

We then find out that Elimelek dies and Mahlon and Kilion marry Moab women – Ruth and Naomi.   It is important to point out here why that stands out in the story.  

Moab was about 50 miles from Beth-lehem and situated on the East side of the Dead Sea.  Moabs are mentioned a few times in the Old Testament.  (Moab was the son of Lot from an incestuous relationship with his oldest daughter - Genesis 19:31-38).  

My Bible notes say that mixed marriages were not specifically forbidden in the Mosaic Law but male offspring could not be admitted into the Israel congregation to the tenth generation. (Deut. 23:3-6).  If you look up these additional verses – Deut. 7:3-4, Nehemiah 10:30, 13:25-31 -you see that Israelites marrying "foreigners” was really frowned upon.  

Ruth and Orpah were Moabites but Ruth chose to follow God.

Her Choice:

Read Ruth 1:6-18

Naomi adamantly encourages Ruth and Orpah to return to Moab.  They both refuse at first.  Naomi tells them she is too old for another husband and have more sons for them to marry.  Why would she say that?  Well, it was the custom of the levirate marriage that the brother of the husband who died childless would marry the widow - thus providing an heir to the deceased.  

Finally Orpah gives in and returns to Moab.  Ruth will have none of that.  She wants to stay with Ruth and says to Naomi – where you go I will go, your country (people) will be my country and your God will be my God.  When Ruth chooses Naomi and Beth-lehem over Moab and her own people, it meant final severance from her country and religion.  

In verse 17, Ruth seals the deal with a vow and subsequent punishment if she doesn’t keep her word.

Can you imagine – losing your husband and leaving for another place with your mother-in-law?  I wonder what Ruth’s parents said?  Did she tell them goodbye?  In the “white space” it makes me wonder if her belief in God had already put distance between her and her family because Moabs worshipped other gods.   (Chemosh was the Moab national god – Numbers 21:29, Judges 11:24 and 1 Kings 11:7)  

I also like to think about Naomi in this story.  I know it’s about Ruth but what a wonderful example Naomi must have been to Ruth that she would give up everything and follow her back to Beth-lehem and turn the one true God. 

Her Arrival in Beth-lehem:

Read Ruth 1:19-22

Verses 19 & 20 – The two women arrive in Beth-lehem and when the people saw them, they wondered if it was Naomi.  She tells them not to call her by the name “Naomi” because the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with her.  Note, we see that even though Naomi said God dealt bitterly with her, she refers to Him as the Almighty (Hebrew – El Shaddai, Gen. 17:1).  Naomi still respects God.  Naomi then tells them to call her Mara which means “bitter”.  Naomi meant “pleasant”.

Your turn…….

    Tell us what you got out of this chapter.  

    What does this story mean to you?  

    Any additional insight or information you found while reading this?

    Oh, and I know I said this but please be sure to say hi to your neighbor and go ahead and comment to each other.  I promise everybody here is very nice!

Coming to a blog near you.........................

Ruth 1:1-22

We start the first chapter of Ruth on Monday, Jan. 24th.  I'll be here.  Hope to see you too!

During the week, please comment on any questions or thoughts you have about this chapter.

P.S. - If you are just getting here, no worries - just jump right in and join us! 

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT COMMENTING:


Hi Everyone!  Hope you are all well and having a great week so far.  


First, I want to say what a great job you all are doing on reading, commenting and the insight you've given in the comments is top notch!  I'm blown away!  I've learned so much from what you have written and we haven't even gotten to the first chapter yet.  Lots to think about.  Isn't this an awesome way to study together? 

Oh, and feel free to comment to each other on what they write.  Say hi to your neighbor!




Okay, now about the commenting......


I apologize for the inconvenience this has caused some of you.  I know it's been a little bit of a pain but thanks for sticking with it and with us while we work out the kinks.   I chose this blog site because I'm familiar with it and it's free and relatively easy to use but now I guess it's only easy to use if you're used to it.  Sorry that I took that for granted.  


A few of you have said either in comments here or in emails/private messages that you've lost comments.  I think the comments are actually all still here.  So, before you drive to my house and say "Show me my comment smarty pants!" - let me tell you this......


At the moment, there are now 3 separate posts.  The original one named "Ruth: Introduction and Getting Started", "Ruth: Week 1" and now this one on "IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT COMMENTING".  (Don't yell at me just yet - I know you know this already.  ha ha!)  

Here's where it gets confusing...... All three posts sort of look like they run together as one big written thing-a-ma-jig without breaks in between and because the "Comments" link is sooooo incredibly tiny at the bottom of each separate post (and I do mean TINY) - it is often overlooked.  But, if you scroll slowly down - you'll see something that looks like this:  (but without the yellow highlight)

Posted by Kim Womack at 7:11 PM          12 comments




Make sense?  Basically, there is more than one comment section depending on which post you are looking at and you may have commented in a different one than you are looking at.


I really hope that helps!  If it didn't and you are still having trouble or think your comments are being eaten - please, please let me know so I can figure out how to fix it.  

(EDIT)

P.S. ----  I changed the way the page looks for commenting.  Now when you comment - it should take you to a separate page.  I'd like to hear your feedback on whether you like that better or you liked it the original way (it just was a collapsed box at the bottom of each post).  Let me know your thoughts.....

Thanks and have a GREAT Wednesday!

Kim

Ruth: Week 1

I know the spacing is a little whompy but I'll work on that for next week.  I've just started typing and posting from MS Word (which is very handy to publish from that program) but haven't quite gotten the hang of it yet - obviously.  Just grin along with me.

Outline for Week 1:

 Week 1


Read all of Ruth.

Main Points:

• Authorship of the book
  
• Background
  
• Theme of the book
  
• Notes and comments
  

Who wrote the book of Ruth?


According to the Baker Commentary on the Bible, no one knows. However, while the introduction notes to the book of Ruth in my Ryrie Study Bible (KJV) agree that the author is unknown, Charles Ryrie states that some suggest that Samuel wrote the book of Ruth. I guess that means only God knows for certain.


Background:

It was difficult for me to put into words a good "background" introduction for Ruth. The book falls between the book of Judges and 1 Samuel. Both are very interesting books. In Judges we find the story of Gideon and also Samson. In Samuel we see the story of King Saul and then the rise of King David . And smack dab in the middle is Ruth. It wasn't an easy time.


In a nutshell – during the time of Judges there was a famine. Naomi was married to Elimelech and they had two sons, Mahlon and Chilion. Elimelech took his family from Bethlehem and moved to Moab. Elimelech dies and the sons marry Moabite women. Chilion marries Orpah and you guessed it – Mahlon marries Ruth.

The sons die too, thus leaving all three women widows and childless. That was a tough gig for women at that time. Women depended on men for everything. If a woman was husbandless and without a son to support her, the future did not look bright.


Theme:

Why is Ruth Important to Us? Why would a widow from the past be important to us? I guess most would say because she is in the genealogy of Christ. Ruth was an ancestor of Jesus. That seems like reason enough, but for me, that's a little too broad. Too generic. Too…….. well, let's face it – there are a lot of names written on the family tree of Jesus. Why should Ruth be special to us?

Well, let me tell you why she is important to me. A few years ago, before my daddy passed away, I read a verse in the Bible that talked about the 'Gentiles'. I don't remember which verse that was or even what it said. What I do remember is it struck me that 'gentile' was not necessarily a good thing. Then I realized - I'm a Gentile. "Gentile" according to The Student Bible Dictionary, means "a person who is not a Jew". I called my dad and asked him about the verse. He listened patiently and then I asked the $100,000 question, "It wasn't good to be a Gentile in the Bible was it?  Kinda like a second class citizen huh?" Dads reply? "Yup Sugar, that's one way of looking at it." It hit me – I'm not a Jew. I'm not one of the "chosen" people. I'm one of the others. I'm a Gentile. Now, don't get me wrong, I knew I wasn't Jewish. I knew I was a Gentile and not that I thought I was special but up until that moment I didn't realize how far outside of "holy" I actually was. It was like finding a skeleton in the old family history closet. Ugh oh.

So, Ruth is important because she shows us that Gentiles could believe in the one true God.


AND………


Ruth also gives us a partial lineage of David to Jesus (which includes us – the Gentiles)

See where this is going?

The lineage of Jesus:

The book of Ruth ends with the genealogy of 10 names. The last name being David, King David that is.


Those same 10 names are found in the beginning chapter of New Testament - Matthew Chapter 1. (I know I said look it up and I still mean it but I'll make this one easy and post it below)


Matthew 1

Vs. 1 - The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.


Vs. 5 - And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;


Vs. 6 - And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;


Vs. 16 - And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.


Let's recap:

Verse 1: We've got Jesus, the son of David.

If you are wondering, like me, why it says "the SON of David" – well, I'll tell you what I found: Basically it means "descendant" of David. Why would that be important? Well, because God promised David that the Messiah will come from his seed.


    Look it up:     2 Samuel 7:12-16

                John 7:42

If you read the Old Testament, you find this covenant didn't mean uninterrupted rule by David's family (Thank you Mr. Ryrie for pointing that out) but Jesus will ultimately and finally fulfill this promise at His Second Coming. (Matt. 19:28)



Verse 5:

    Here is Ruth! Our beloved Gentile woman!

Verse 6:

    David the King…….

Verse 16:

    And then Jesus, the best part of the family tree!


Other important characters in our story:

Naomi:

Naomi is Ruth's mother-in-law. She is a wonderful example and testimony for Ruth.


Boaz:

Boaz was a "kinsman-redeemer". I don't want to get ahead of myself here but that is a really cool thing! A kinsman-redeemer is a relative that pays a debt that the person would otherwise be unable to pay. We'll see this in chapt. 3.




Next week we will be in Chapter 1! And we're sailing now! Yippee! I also promise not to "talk" as much next week since we will have a chapter to read and notes to take. Oh, and don't be scared to write notes or questions and comment on them each week.







Comments:


Your turn…………


In your comment this week, it might be nice to introduce yourself, say "hi", and then simply comment with any thoughts on what you know about Ruth.


Have you read the entire book yet? (I know for a fact that several of you have – yeah!)


Don't be shy!




Hugs!
Kim

Ruth:  Introduction and Getting started……

Welcome to OUR study of Ruth! 

I'm so happy we are doing this. What a way to start the New Year. We will go through Ruth in a verse by verse fashion. I like verse by verse. It keeps things in context.

First, like I said in the email – I'll be the instigator/coordinator. That just means, I'll supply the outline, basics, on-line weekly material and we'll go from there.

Second, I should probably tell you that I've never done (or completed) an actual group Bible study. Huh. I've attended a couple. Not for long though. (Don't give me that look) Something else always got in the way. Poor excuse I know. But, if you are like me, and I'm guessing you are, then jobs, children, husbands, lives, etc. get in the way of attending a weekly meeting. I don't know about you but I think I would pull my hair out thinking I had to add another time slot to my already hectic and over-scheduled week. That is why I am going to do my best to see if this on-line study will work.

I told you the above to explain my approach to studying the Bible. I do my very best to read my Bible daily. I get up early because I know that is the only time during the day I will be completely and utterly alone. When I read, I start with the first chapter and first verse of a book of the Bible and then I read it daily - straight through – until I get to the end of that book. This starts my day out with a conversation with God. If I can encourage you do make one change this year it's to read your Bible each and every day. Prayer is you talking to God and the Bible is God talking to you.

Basics:

• The Study of Ruth will take approximately 5 weeks.
  
• Weeks will run from Monday through Sunday.
  
• Homework: (I heard you sigh) Read. Comment. Pray. (Easy huh?)
  
• If you don't want to comment on anything specific, that's okay. No pressure. Maybe you might just want to say "I read the chapter this week" or "I didn't read it this week" or "Hi, I'm still here". No pressure.
  
• Do the weekly reading, commenting and praying at 3 p.m or 3 a.m. in your pjs if you want. Up to you.
  
• I strongly suggest that you read and study during a quiet time of the day for you. That's why it's on-line – so we can choose what time is best for us. It's very hard to stay focused on anything with a kid screaming "MOM!" or hubby asking what's for dinner or have you seen his lucky shorts. (I won't tell if you burned them just to get rid of them. Promise.)
  
  
  

The Bible: I will be using the King James Version (aka KJV) for this study. You can use another translation if you want but as I type that, my daddy is flipping over in his grave. (That was a joke - and yes, he would think that was funny) If you are going to use another translation, I promise not to give you a hard time about it (as long as it isn't some off the wall translation and then we will need to talk) I do realize (in spite of my upbringing and father's influence) that people do actually read Bibles other than the King James/New King James versions. Be my guest. Just read it!

By the way, this isn't a plug but my bible is a Ryrie Study Bible – meaning Charles Ryrie wrote the study notes at the bottom of the pages. It's the bible I bought with my dad in 2003. It has all my scribbled notes in the margins. I love it. It's about to come apart at the seams but when I look at it I think of the saying "A bible that is falling apart belongs to someone who isn't"……. I hope that you will want to make that your bible motto too.

Disclaimer: I am NOT a Bible expert, theology expert, religion expert, Christianity expert, or any other kind of expert. What I do consider myself an expert in is not always knowing the answer and being a continual student. The point to this study is for us to learn together!



Last but not least:

• Read the weekly assignment.
  
• Look up the additional "side-note" verses. All the verses.
  
• Check behind me. Remember, I'm no expert. Don't trust what I say just because I said it.
  
  Look. It. Up.
  
• The main focus is learning and growing closer to God. He might not speak to me in the same way He speaks to you.
  
• Don't make it a chore. Enjoy it!
  

Feel free to read ahead and study ahead.



Last thing, please, please comment at the end of each week's page. 
If you finish on Monday – comment. 
If you don't finish until 11:59 a.m. Sunday – comment. 
This is how we will do this as a group – by leaving our thoughts and comments at the end.  See? It's a GROUP thing. (smile) 
 Besides, if you don't comment, I'm coming to your house. And I'm wearing my pjs. The flannel ones. With Donald Duck on them. Just joking.



5 Week Outline


(I am using the outline directly from my Bible as the guide for the study beginning in Week 2)

Week 1

Introduction

Read all of Ruth.

Points to note while reading:

• Authorship of the book
  
• Background
  
• Theme of the book
  
• Notes and comments
  

Week 2

Ruth's Resolve 1:1-22

• Her Background
  
• Her Choice
  
• Her Arrival in Beth-lehem
  

Week 3

Ruth's Rights

• Her Right to Glean
  
• The Results of Her Gleaning
  
  • Boaz meets Ruth
    
  • Boaz protects Ruth
    
  • Boaz provides for Ruth
    
• The Report of Her Gleaning
  

Week 4

Ruth's Request

• Suggested by Naomi
  
• Executed by Ruth
  
• Agreed to by Boaz
  

Week 5

Ruth's Reward

• A Husband
  
• A Son
  
• A Lineage
  

Conclusion: Diplomas will be given out at the Closing Ceremony. Please have your cap and gown ready.

Just teasing again. Lol!



See you next week!