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!