Essentials Of The Faith / Adult Sunday School Class / Ruth

Ruth

‘God fills the empty with His love’

Introduction: I am glad my wife likes scrap booking. For most of us, our family picture albums are stored away in boxes somewhere. But not us, they are on display in our living room…all 20 of them! Whenever I pick up one of our albums, I get to relive the memories of my life together with Kathy. They are pictures that represent a love relationship that has lasted 28 years. Pictures help us to keep the story alive.

Joe pulled out the scrapbook of Daniel and we learned a lot about character.  He did that in order to keep God’s story of His sovereign control alive in our own lives. By flipping through the pages of Daniel, our memories were renewed of Daniel and the other characters in the book and we were reminded of their stories and challenged by their faith. For the rest of the month of May we’re going to look at  a loyal love story from the Book of Ruth.

Many people have said that the Book of Ruth is the most beautiful short story ever written. It’s an account of anxiety, fear, love, and commitment that inflames the imagination and soothes the soul. It begins with emptiness and ends with fullness.

ILL: When Benjamin Franklin was the Ambassador to France, he occasionally attended the Infidels Club -- a group that spent most of its time searching for and reading literary masterpieces. On one occasion Franklin read the book of Ruth to the club, but changed the names in it so it would not be recognized as a book of the Bible. When he finished, the listeners were unanimous in their praise. They said it was one of the most beautiful short stories that they had ever heard, and demanded that he tell them where he had run across such a remarkable work of art. He loved telling them that it came from the Bible! (Brian Bill)

And, because this love story is in the Bible, it’s more than just a romance novel.

Read: Romans 15:4 ‘For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us,

    so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we

    might have hope.’

Paul is referring here to the Old Testament, including the book of Ruth. That means

·        we’ll be taught,

·        we’ll be more able to endure tough times,

·        and we’ll be encouraged as we learn together.

·        In the process, we’ll grow in hope.

Background:

Question: Who wrote the Book of Ruth? Any ideas?

                       -We don’t know, the Book doesn’t say. However many scholars believe it may

                           have been Samuel.

Question: When does the Book of Ruth take place? Any Ideas?

-During the time of the Judges.

-The Book of Judges relates a time when Israel fell away from God and did what was right in their own eyes. It represented the ‘dark ages’ in Israel’s history. Ruth, is a glimmer of hope, piety, marital fidelity and social responsibility in a time of sin and judgment.

-More specifically Ruth probably took place during the time of Gideon and the great famine that took place.

Question: Where do the events in the Book of Ruth take place?

-From Bethlehem to Moab then back to Bethlehem

Question: What are the circumstances of the move from Bethlehem to Moab and then from

                   Moab back to Bethlehem?

                   -From Bethlehem to Moab: Famine

                   -From Moab back to Bethlehem: Widowed/end of famine/barley harvest

Question: Why study the Book of Ruth?

-It is an account of the judgment of God to those who live in disobedience.

-It is an account of extreme testing of simple people, people who exhibit their trust in

 God under great duress.

-It provides practical application of the concepts of God's grace towards believers.

-It shows how legal affairs and charity were exercised in the days of the Judges.

-It gives us the inner story of the spiritual and moral background of a family who walked

 uprightly before God and man and showed piety, great singleness of heart, modesty and

 purity of life.

-It provides a thorough picture of Redemption, through the agency of Boaz, the Kinsman-

 Redeemer, who is a type of Christ in this respect.

-It introduces us to the ancestors of King David…and it includes Gentiles.

Question: Which books in the Bible are either named for women or written to one?

                   -Ruth, Esther, 2 John (written to ‘the chosen lady’)

Needless to say, because we only have 4 weeks for this study, we will not be going into great depth. Perhaps it will encourage you to do a little study of your own in the Book of Ruth.