Nielson / Ortlund Ruth and Esther

A 12-Week Study
1. Auflage 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4335-4041-7
Verlag: Crossway
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, 96 Seiten

Reihe: Knowing the Bible

The books of Ruth and Esther recount two of the most memorable stories in all of Scripture: Ruth, a displaced widow in search of a new home and loving husband, and Esther, a courageous queen intent on saving her people from imminent destruction. Plumbing the theological depths, this guide explains the biblical text with clarity and passion-leading us on a journey to discover the God who hears the cries of his people and remains faithful to his promises. Over the course of 12 weeks, each study in this series explores a book of the Bible and: - Asks thoughtful questions to spur discussion - Shows how each passage unveils the gospel - Ties the text in with the whole story of Scripture - Illuminates the doctrines taught in each passage - Invites you to discover practical implications - Helps you better understand and apply God's Word

Kathleen Nielson (PhD, Vanderbilt University) is an author and speaker who loves working with women in studying the Scriptures. After directing the Gospel Coalition's women's initiatives from 2010-2017, she now serves as senior adviser and book editor for TGC. She and her husband, Niel, make their home partly in Wheaton, Illinois, and partly in Jakarta, Indonesia. They have three sons, two daughters-in-law, and five granddaughters.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Nielson, Kathleen

Ortlund, Dane

Leseproben

WEEK 2: RETURNING
TO BETHLEHEM

Ruth 1

The Place of the Passage

Ruth begins with a brief introduction and a dramatic first scene that set the stage for the whole narrative. In the midst of a desolate context both historically and personally, Naomi decides to return from Moab to Bethlehem. That return precipitates the action of the rest of the story, beginning immediately with Ruth’s response. This chapter shows Naomi’s emptiness in Moab which, by book’s end, will turn into the fullness of God’s provision in Bethlehem.

The Big Picture

Ruth 1 shows the context of Naomi’s desolation (the time of the judges, famine, alienation from home, death, bitterness) and yet the seeds of hope in a return to a food-filled Bethlehem along with a faith-filled1 daughter-in-law, Ruth.

Reflection and Discussion

Read Ruth 1 slowly and carefully. Then consider and write your reflections on the following questions, which move through the chapter section by section. (For further background, see the ESV Study Bible, pages 478–479, or visit www.esvbible.org.)

1. Introduction: The Desolate Context (1:1–5)

For a glimpse into the period of the judges (1:1), read Judges 2:6–23 and 21:25. Why might this background be important for understanding the book of Ruth?

Elimelech evidently didn’t intend to leave permanently the Land of Promise or his own particular clan, city, and tribe within it (1:2). He meant only to “sojourn” (1:1), or to stay a while in Moab, to escape the famine in Israel. Look on a map to find the land of Moab across the Dead Sea from Bethlehem. Moab’s inhabitants were the descendants of an incestuous union between Lot and one of his daughters (Gen. 19:30–38). The Moabites worshiped other gods and were not friends of God’s people (see Numbers 22–25). The story does not directly judge Elimelech, but in what ways might we see his move to Moab as problematic?

2. Naomi’s Plan and Ruth’s Determination (1:6–18)

The book’s introduction leaves Naomi in crisis, with sons and husband dead (1:5). In that place and time, a woman without a man was without means of support, helpless and vulnerable. And a wife without children to continue the family line was regarded as a failure. Jewish law provided for “levirate marriage” (after the Latin levir, meaning “brother-in-law”), in which a brother was obliged to marry a childless widow of his deceased brother and to raise children in the brother’s name (see Deut. 25:5–10). Naomi refers to this law as she addresses her two daughters-in-law. Observe and listen carefully to Naomi in Ruth 1:6–15, and make a list of everything you can discern about her.

Orpah took the sensible route and went home, but Ruth “clung” to her mother-in-law (v. 14). The same Hebrew word dabaq in Genesis 2:24 describes a man leaving his father and mother and “holding fast” to his wife. It’s a strong word. Ruth’s own words are strong and beautiful, full of poetic parallelism.2 Make an outline of her statements (vv. 16–17). How do these statements grow, reaching a climax at the end? What do we learn here about Ruth?

3. The Return (1:19–22)

“Naomi” means “pleasant,” but “Mara” means “bitter”—a name with which Naomi identifies at this point. In what ways does Naomi specifically attribute her bitterness to God in Ruth 1:13, 19–22? How might you evaluate her theology at this point?

What elements of hope does bitter Naomi seem to be ignoring throughout chapter 1?

Dialogue is the main “meat” of each scene in this narrative. Ruth has the most powerful lines in chapter 1, but Naomi has the most! Imagine, though, what other possible words might have come from Naomi’s mouth at various points in the chapter, had she been more alert to God’s gracious hand at work.

Note the “return from the country of Moab” in both verse 6 and verse 22—providing bookends for this dramatic scene. The final verse repeatedly emphasizes return, for both Naomi and “Ruth the Moabite.” This clearly represents a turning point in the story and in the experience of these women. Why is this return so important? How would you express what it is Naomi and Ruth are returning to? (For further context, read Josh. 1:1–6.)

We have described this book as the story of a God who provides for his people according to his promises. In what ways does chapter 1 lead us to begin considering the various parts of this description?

Read through the following three sections on Gospel Glimpses, Whole-Bible Connections, and Theological Soundings. Then take time to consider the Personal Implications these sections may have for you.

Gospel Glimpses

A HEART CHANGED BY GRACE.3 We meet Ruth in this opening chapter only through words and actions, not through any narrative interpretation. But what we see strongly suggests a regenerative4 work of God in Ruth, so that she gives her heart and her life not only to her mother-in-law but also to her mother-in-law’s God. She has been drawn into a family that is part of God’s people, where she clearly has heard enough about God to call him “LORD” (see “Whole-Bible Connections” below) and to begin to grasp the connection between God and his called-out people. Her words might even echo God’s covenantal language to Abraham and his descendants, promising that he will be their God and they will be his people (see, for example, Gen. 17:7–8; Ex. 6:7). Such a story, like Rahab’s before her (Joshua 2), makes us ask how and why God plucked this one person out of an ungodly nation. Why not Orpah? The text does not answer those questions but leaves us increasingly in awe of God’s inexplicable grace that calls out sinners from every nation.

A RETURN. This chapter keeps reminding us that we are reading about a return. The gospel is all about God’s providing a way for lost people to return to God—ever since Adam and Eve were separated from God by their sin but received his promise to provide a way for that sin to be defeated, through the seed (or “offspring”) of the woman (Gen. 3:15). The shape of a return story resonates with the shape of redemption. The prophets called out again and again, “Return!” (see, for example, Hos. 14:1; Mal. 3:7). But they didn’t simply call for a return. They pointed ahead to the means for that return: the promised Seed, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ—the one born in Bethlehem, the very city to which Naomi is returning, in the land of God’s promise. Scripture resounds with the call to return, ultimately to God himself. Both Naomi and Ruth follow this call and duly find the provision of God’s grace.

Whole-Bible Connections

A COVENANT PEOPLE. God’s promises to Abraham (Gen. 12:1–7) stand out as context for this story. The details of Elimelech’s background (Ruth 1:2) establish that we’re dealing with the sons of Jacob descended from Abraham who were divided into tribes—now numerous, as God promised, and settled in the land God promised. Accordingly, we feel the jarring of one of these descendants leaving the land; this jarring adds to the import of the return. We also feel the huge significance of a foreigner like Ruth so boldly purposing to become part of the people God has covenanted to bless. Only as the story develops do we with fuller understanding celebrate the way Ruth’s enfolding into Israel is actually a beautiful part of the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham that, in him, “all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:3).

HESED. Ruth 1:8 brings the first of several appearances in this book of a profoundly beautiful Old Testament Hebrew word, hesed, often translated “steadfast love,” “loving kindness,” or simply “kindness.” Hesed can refer both to human kindness and, in many instances, to the loving kindness of God toward his people. When God in his glory passes by Moses hidden in the cleft of the rock, there in Exodus 34:6 shines God’s “steadfast love,” surrounded by his mercy and faithfulness, and poured out on generations of his people. The Psalms repeatedly celebrate God’s hesed (see, for example, Ps. 103:4; 106:7; Psalm 136). When we come upon it in Ruth 1:8, this word shines out, especially as it connects with the Lord’s own kindness—offered in blessing by one of Abraham’s descendants (Naomi) but referring to kindness passed on by those not in Abraham’s line (Naomi’s daughters-in-law). We shall see this word again in Ruth.

YAHWEH. When commissioned by God to lead his people out of Egypt, Moses asked God how to answer concerning the name of the one who had sent him. “God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am.’ And he said, ‘Say this to the people of Israel, “I am has sent me to you”’” (Ex. 3:14). God here reveals his name “Yahweh” (corresponding to the four Hebrew consonants YHWH), which...