Today in church the pastors started a new sermon series on the book of Ruth. To say I’m completely psyched is an absolute understatement.
Ruth is one of my favorite books of the Old Testament. What’s more, its short – only 4 chapter. So it’s really easy to study (our sermon series is sadly only 4 weeks long).
But in those four chapters, we get a power-packed punch of teaching that is completely germane across the ages.
- Throughout the entire book, God never once speaks or takes any obvious action. Yet His fingerprints are on every scene. If you feel God is silent in your life, this is a powerful testimony for how He works, even when we don’t see Him.
- The book begins with the utter devastation of Naomi’s life. She loses everything that’s important to her. But at the end she has everything she needs. For anyone living with struggle and challenge, it’s a reminder that your present or your past don’t define your future when God gets involved.
- At its core, the book of Ruth is a love story. It affirms God’s design for a man and a woman to fall in love and experience the blessing of His grand design. I think this is an important message for the moral confusion we experience today.
- Naomi’s experience is honest and edgy. She doesn’t pretend to have all the answers and she certainly doesn’t sugar coat her feelings. When life is hard, she calls it what it is. But despite bitter words, God doesn’t abandon her. This is an important message for anyone who lives in a period of tribulation.
- Ruth tells the story of an obscure and almost entirely overlooked detail in the book of Leviticus that contains the key to God’s plan of salvation – hidden from the creation of the world. This detail isn’t fully revealed until Revelation Chapter 5 – but Ruth sets the stage.
- The story of Ruth, Naomi and Boaz concerns itself with the lives of completely ordinary people. This is almost the only book in the Old Testament that doesn’t feature national leaders, kings prophets or priests. It comes packed with promise that God isn’t only concerned with the “big people” – but He also cares about ordinary people.
- Ruth doesn’t show us a God who sweeps in and suddenly overtakes the situation to make everything better. Instead, Naomi and Ruth find their way through the story and are able to make their own decisions – which God blesses. This gives us hope that we aren’t part of a cosmic play, but have agency to make choices that matter.
I could go on. There is a lot to learn in the book of Ruth – and I’m looking forward to this sermon series!
BUT – here’s the catch. Ruth doesn’t follow the same study rules as what I taught in the Six Easy Steps method. An epistle and an Old Testament narrative are just to different for one methodf.
If you try to study Ruth with those rules, you’ll quickly become lost and confused.
That’s why I wrote Study the Bible – Old Testament. It’s specifically designed to show you how to adapt the Six Easy Steps method for an Old Testament story.
And guess what – the guided study for the Old Testament Six Easy Steps method is the book of Ruth. Once you learn the Old Testament Study Keys, I’ll walk you through the book of Ruth chapter by chapter and help you explore the depths of Ruth like never before.
If you’re even the list bit curious about this, you should click this link to Amazon and give the book a look.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D9TJYDLR/
Ruth is worth your time. The lessons will encourage your spirit. The knowledge will expand your study horizons. I’m excited for the sermon series and think you’ll share my love for this book once you get in for yourself.
Until next time,
Dennis
