Ruth and Esther — Unit 1Unidad 1

Please open with a word of prayer that God illuminate the texts for today and teach you.

Ruth Class 1

Over the next 10 weeks, we will be taking a look at these two remarkable books, what they have to say and teach us, how they correlate, how they differ from one another, and what God has to teach us in these two stories.

In addition to an in-depth look at these two books, we will also learn how to study the Bible for ourselves with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Overview of the Book of Ruth

Let’s get started with an overview of the book of Ruth.

Authorship: Ancient Jewish tradition as well as the Babylonian Talmud hold to the author being Samuel. Samuel was the last of the judges in the same time frame as our book occurs. He also became Israel’s first prophet. He was born to Hannah, who had been barren, in answer to her prayers. She promised him to God for full time service and when he was weaned she turned him over to Eli the High Priest. And he served the Lord well. He brought the Jews out of the tribal disunity of the Judges period and into a new monarchy. He reproved Saul, Israel’s first king and when it became clear that David was God’s chosen king, Samuel protected him from Saul. So it is possible that Samuel is the author, though that would mean that the genealogy of David at the end of Ruth was added at a later date. Otherwise it was obviously written much later during the David’s or Solomon’s reign, but we cannot be certain.

Theological Principles. Theological principles are fundamental beliefs that guide our thoughts and practice as we mete out our faith in God in daily living. These principles influence our decisions and determine the direction our journey takes. Think guiding truths or spiritual compass. As to these principles exhibited in the book of Ruth, the people stand in stark contrast to the rest of Israel in this decadent time. Ruth, Boaz, and Naomi are a remnant, if you will, of those who remain faithful to God. A group of people, who want to live rightly under God’s rule, who trust in His providence, who understand repentance and God’s forgiveness as well as His hand of blessing on the Israelites. They recognize His sovereignty and His provision. Even more so, Ruth stands out as a fine example for her theological principles. She’s a very different person than the Moabites of her own heritage. And in fact she turns her back completely on her family, her culture, and the Moabite gods to follow the one true God.

Purpose: Redemption is the buying back or repurchasing that which was previously forfeited or lost. It can also have the simpler understanding of deliverance by power or ransom from oppression. We will see both definitions exhibited in this book as these individuals trusted in it and exhibited it in their own lives. Redeem, redeemer, redemption, kinsman redeemer: these variations on the term are used 20 times in the book so we know it will be a key theme of the story.

God’s Providence: Time and again we will see God working behind the scenes to bring His will to pass from Ruth happening upon Boaz’s field to glean, to God blessing Ruth and Boaz with a son.

God’s inclusiveness: This book brings Gentiles into the grace of God and into Christ’s lineage through the wonderful soul of Ruth. I would also say that this history makes it very clear that God values and uses women in His kingdom purposes. And if we look at Christ’s lineage mentioned in the book of Matthew we will see several mentioned there, Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba. All women, all Gentiles. God will include and use whom He wants to bring about His plans, Women, Men, Gentiles, Jews. That leads us into the next section of the background of this book:

Christological principles: Christological is simply a fancy word that means understanding Christ. It is studying the person and work of Christ. That includes his incarnation, resurrection, so his divine nature and becoming man. This story is going to tell the lineage of David and, therefore, Christ.

It will also introduce the concept of Kinsmen Redeemer, what Christ is for us. A kinsman Redeemer is a close relative who at his own expense pays off the debts of another or helps them when they are in danger or in need of vindication. To be a redeemer there were four requirements: the person had to be kin. The person had to be willing to redeem. He had to be able to redeem, and the person had to be pay the price in full.

It also has these very important themes that we see come up in the person and gospel of Christ: Namely, repentance, redemption for all even those outside His chosen nation, restoration, salvation, righteous living, loyal love, God’s faithfulness to His promises, His grace, and His mercy to all.

Overview of Inductive Bible Study Method

Warren Wiersbe said so well, “No human teacher can take the place of Christ, no book can take the place of the Bible. Men can give us information, but only the Spirit can give us illumination and help us understand spiritual truths. The Spirit enlightens us and enables us, no human leader can do that.” So, I will merely be your guide as we delve into these two amazing books of the Old Testament. I will be leaning on your study of God’s word and the Holy Spirit to allow Him to instruct you in what he wants you to know.

Now then: Has anyone heard of the Inductive Bible Study Method? Does anyone want to tell me the 3-step process of this type of Bible Study?

Observation

Interpretation

Application.

If you haven’t tried this method of study, you are in for a real treat. I took a Bible Study Methods class at Dallas Theological Seminary. It was a prerequisite to all other seminary classes. Why? Because the school understood one important thing. Being able to thoughtfully, accurately, and deeply study God’s Word is our most important form of communication with God. Let’s look at each one of these steps more closely.

Observation: There are several tools we have at our disposal for Observing a piece of Scripture.

Prayer

Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How

Mark key words/phrases essential to text

Make a list

Watch for comparisons/contrasts

Note Times, Geography

Mark terms that are transitional, or concluding

Look for themes

Note verb tenses

Repeated words

Cause/effect

Genre

When I took Bible Study Methods in seminary, we learned this style of study. Fellow students warned me that though I would be tempted to be an over-achiever on the first assignment, I should refrain from doing so. The first assignment was a 15-word verse. We were to come up with at least 5 observations on that verse. Because I can’t deny that I am an over achiever, I came up with 6. I figured one more was safe. The second assignment came: Same verse, double the number of observations from your first assignment. This went on for a total of 3 assignments. Now 18 observations doesn’t sound like that big of a difference from 15, however, when you’re dealing with a 15 word verse, let me tell you I was scraping the barrel to come up with enough by the third class. Now I’m not going to do that to you, but I do highly recommend the assignment. It will stretch you and God will teach you, because Scripture is God’s Living Word. Every time you approach even the same verse over and again, God will teach you something new. Any questions or thoughts so far?

Interpretation:

Interpretation is how we take our observations and see what God is saying in the text. However, there are some guidelines that should lead us in our interpretation.

Remember context rules. We can’t take verses out of their context to have them mean something we intend rather than God intended. That means immediate context as well as Scripture as a whole.

Seek God’s counsel, back to prayer again. Other than Scripture it is our other form of communication with God.

Scripture doesn’t contradict itself.

Don’t base your convictions on obscure passages

Interpret literally

Look for single meaning of passage.

What do you think so far? Would you add other guidelines to interpretation?

Application:

Howard Hendricks past professor of DTS said well, “Observation plus interpretation without application equals abortion. In other words, every time you observe and interpret but fail to apply, you perform an abortion on Scripture in terms of their purpose.” If we aren’t applying what we learn from Scripture then we are in effect quenching the Holy Spirit’s work in us. It is God’s main form of instruction to us.

So here are some application questions you can ask yourself after spending time studying God’s word.

Am I changed?

Have I yielded to God’s will instead of my own?

What has God said to me today?

Do I love God more?

Do I have sin to confess?

Are there promises to claim?

What can I model?

What can I share?

Would this be in keeping with becoming more like Christ or more like a Pharisee?

Inductive Bible Study in Ruth 1:1-2

Let’s get started with the first 2 verses of chapter 1 so that we can first see how this method works and second begin to understand the background of this story. We will use the NIV here. If you have a different translation that’s great. In fact if you have a different translation and you think the version might lend more insight into our study, please speak up. I find reading through several translations can be quite enlightening. And truthfully for the Old Testament I prefer the New King James Version.

1 In the days when the judges ruled,[a] there was a famine in the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. 2 The man’s name was Elimelek, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.

Observations:

Genre:History

Cause/effect: Famine causes Elimelech to move his family to Moab.

Key words and phrases: When the judges ruled,

--Names of individuals

--Ephrathites. We will answer the importance of these names when we get to the who section of observations.

--To live for a while vs. lived there.

--Bethlehem and Moab and Bethlehem and Moab we will look at more closely when we get to the Where and When sections of our observations

Key phrases: But let’s look at the these two phrases. Did anyone else pick up on the fact that twice in two verses it is mentioned that Elimelech and his family went to and lived in Moab. Why do you think that is? Went to live there and Lived: Pays to look through different translations. I went to NASB because that is the translation that I have the concordance to. And in going back to the original Hebrew translations these two words/phrases take on very different meanings and shed more light on the subject. Went to live there, NASB is sojourn, Hebrew translates as live as aliens, or abide there. The second sentence that sounds almost identical in the NIV says they lived there. In NASB the word lived is translated as remained there. But if you go back to the Hebrew word it has an even deeper meaning of belonging to and adoption. So Elimelech and his family didn’t just wait out the famine. They assimilated into the culture. In just a verse or two later, we learn they lived there for at least 10 years. It’s like the difference of coming to Mexico as a temporary resident or a permanent one.

Who: Now let’s get into the names of the indiviudals and the word Ephrathites. First: Elimelek, Naomi, Mahlon, Kilion. A good commentary or a word search online will give you the meanings of the names. And meanings are significant.

a. Elimelek means My God is King ironic during time of judges? Parents?

b. Naomi: sweet pleasant, as associated with spiritual beauty (Psal. 27:4, Psalm 90:17)

c. Mahlon — sickly

d. Kilion — failing

e. Ephrathites: descendant from the tribe of Judah who settled Bethlehem. Some scholars say they were descendants of Ephrain. Who is Ephrain?: Joseph and Asenath, one of the 12 tribes of Israel.

Where: Asking where and when gives us the setting for our story. Let’s take a look at a map showing the route Elimelek took from Bethlehem to Moab. It is roughly 50 miles away and one must cross the Dead Sea or more likely cross the Jordan. Sojourn would have taken on foot, 7-10 days. Let’s take a closer look at these places.

a. Bethlehem is considered an agricultural town, a small village for one of the smaller of the 12 tribes. It’s literal translation is House of Bread. Bethlehem features in 3 tales prior to this: it is where Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin. It is a levite priest from Bethlehem in the book of Judges who sells himself to the highest bidder to be the man’s priest. When an entire tribe discovers him, they raid the master’s house and offer the levite priest a better job and he takes it, condoning their theft from his previous master. The third tale is gruesome. A Levite takes a concubine, a girl from Bethlehem. She “plays the harlot against him, but the Levite reconciles with her. Later when the pair and a servant are traveling they stop for the night. In a repeat of Sodom, the men of the village ask the man of the house for the Levite so they can assault him. The Levite gives them his concubine instead. They rape her and kill her. The Levite cuts up her body and sends the parts throughout the 12 tribes, basically a declaration of war and indeed became the impetus for the Benjamite War. So Bethlehem to say the least has not played a favorable role in recent history leading up to this. Nevertheless, in God’s eyes and in the eyes of the Israelites, they are living in the Promised Land.

b. What is Moab’s history? To understand Moab we have to go back to the story of Lot and his daughters. Lot was the nephew of Abraham. In earlier stories, Abraham did what he could to save Lot even asking God to spare him and his family in the destruction of Sodom. Even after all of Abraham’s attempts to save Lot, delivered him a slap in the face. Abraham offered Lot the pick of the land when their families and herds became so large that it was time to split them up. Lot chose the best and most fertile land for himself, leaving Abraham the worst. So this is the stellar kind of person Lot is. Then there are his daughters. One night they got their father Lot drunk in order to sleep with him. They both bore children from this, one becoming the nation of Moab, the other Ben Ammi. Both nations became enemies of the Israelites. They also joined to become a part of Assyria, who then conquered Israel to rule over them. So Elimelech moves from the Promised Land into the hostile territory of Moab.

When:

a. During the book of Judges. Exactly when we simply don’t know. Some scholars have suggested the time when Gideon was acting as judge but it is speculation. At any rate, we have a dark period of history for the Israelites. Israel had no king, Ironic given that Elimelek is named Our God is King. Moral relativism, anarchy, decay, murder, rape, wars between the tribes mark this time for the nation of Israel. Similar to their wandering in the wilderness, the Jews just couldn’t seem to stay obedient to God. Things would go badly for them, God would save them, give them a judge. And as they prospered they would become disobedient again.

So this story of Ruth stands in stark contrast to that period, not only for the goodness of the people in it, but also because from here on out Bethlehem becomes the center of attention for good and of God’s blessing. God fearing people remained, a remnant.

b. Famine in the land: due to disobedience or something else we just don’t know.

What: There is a famine in the land of Bethlehem and a man picks up stakes and moves his family away to Moab. What about prayer, What about trusting God to provide?

Why:

Why is the story included here? Several reasons. Can you name a few we’ve already mentioned? Contrast to Judges. It confirms the legal lineage of Christ through Joseph and King David. And Kinsman Redeemer. As we will also come to see it illustrates repentance, redemption and restoration, loyalty, righteous living, and kinsman redeemer all aspects of a right relationship with Christ who is our Kinsman Redeemer.

Why does Elimelek go to Moab: Famine. Possible lack of faith in God. How often do we act on our own knowledge instead of leaning on God for understanding?

How:

Sojourn on foot.

Interpretation:

a. In light of God’s desire for his people to live in obedience to Him and His law, what do you think of Elimelek’s moving to Moab during the time of the judges? Was he living in obedience to the God for whom he is named? He moved out of the promised land and into the land of Israel’s sworn enemy.

b. Do you think the names are foreshadowings of what is to come?

c. So despite disobedience and given the names of the individuals do you think God will still work in and through these people’s lives?

Application:

Do I live in disobedience when I take matters into my own hands?

When have I done this?

How can I better stay in tune with God’s will instead of my own?

What has God said to me through this passage?

What do I have to confess?

How often have I cast my deeper walk with God aside when I’ve been in times of prosperity as the Israelites did during the book of Judges?

Read Romans 5:3-6. How often do we try to escape sufferings by working out our own plans instead of consulting God, staying in His word, looking for His guidance, enduring the suffering?

What about comparing this passage with the Lord’s prayer? Give us this our daily bread?