For The Ladies-June 2001
This month we are going to begin a four-part study on Ruth. I first ran this study on the Proverbs 31 Woman’s Club and it was greatly enjoyed. I pray that you enjoy it, too! Text: Ruth Chapter 1. Here are some notes that may aid you in your study today: The book of Ruth takes place during the era of the judges and at a time of great famine. Such a condition existed in the days of the Midianite oppression (see Judges 6:3-6, possibly placing the events of this book somewhere in the middle of the twelfth century B.C.) The author of Ruth is not known for sure, but the most common suggestion seems to point to Samuel. The book of Ruth gives us an inside look at the customs of the ancient Near East and provides us with some valuable data regarding the ancestry of King David. The principle character in this book, of course, is Ruth...a godly young Moabitess who has recently been widowed. (The Moabites came from the linage of Lot. There is a lot involved here...but, briefly, in Genesis 19 after leaving Sodom and after losing his wife due to her disobedience against God, Lot's linage was continued through incestual relationships with his two daughters. The children born to Lot under these circumstances were Ben-ammi and Moab...thus creating the Ammonites and the Moabites. In Deuternomy 23:3 we find that although marriage to an Ammonite or a Moabite was not strictly forbidden...they were considered a heathen race and great penalties and restrictions were placed upon children of such unions.) Ruth was married to Mahlon...a Juhahite (Judah...the same tribe of Israel that Jesus would eventually come out of). Even though she was considered heathen and took a great chance by doing it, she chose to abandon her own family, country, and faith to follow the Living Word that she saw in her mother-in-law, Naomi. Please, Ladies, note the beauty of verse 16! In fact...I would like to encourage you to memorize it! Also...as you read and study this chapter today...take the time to read any introductions to the book of Ruth or footnotes that your Bible may contain. If you have the time and inclination...look up some of those cross references and take notes! Ruth is a beautiful book! I pray that the Lord would bless the time we spend studying it's pages and that He would shed light on this passage for us that we might further learn and grow. In His holy and precious name...amen! God bless you all! Love and Hugs, ~~Rebecca
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