WHAT IS ACCEPTABLE WORSHIP? – THE PLACE OF SACRIFICE
KEY VERSE: ‘When you bring injured, crippled or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands? Says the Lord MALACHI 1: 13B
SCRIPTURE LESSON: MALACHI 1:6-14
MALACKI 1: 6 “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me? “says the LORD Almighty. “It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name. “But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’
7 “You place defiled food on my altar. “But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you? “By saying that the LORD’s table is contemptible.
8. When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you? “says the LORD Almighty,
9. “Now implore God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will he accept you?”_says the LORD Almighty.
10 “Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you, “says the LORD Almighty, “ and I will accept no offering from your hands.
11 My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In very place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations, “says he LORD Almighty.
12. “ But you profane it by saying of the Lord’s table, ‘It is defiled,’ and of its food, ‘It is contemptible.’
13 And you say, ‘What a burden!’ and you sniff at it contemptuously,” says the LORD Almighty.” When you bring injured, crippled or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?” says the LORD.
14 “ Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the lord. For I am a great king, “says the LORD Almighty, “ and my name is to be feared among the nations.
For The teacher
BACKGROUND
The main focus of our study today is acceptable worship of God. Worship in one form or another has been practiced wherever men and women have lived throughout recorded history. While many Christians think that true and acceptable worship is found only in the singing of some special songs, the definition of the worship is found only in the singing of some special songs, the word worship shows that true worship is man’s response to God’s goodness. The word worship comes from an old Anglo-Saxon word “Weordhscipe, ‘which can be translated ‘ Worthship’, something that is full of worth or value. According to Dr. Collier worship is ‘any experience in which we ascribe value to the thing we worship, and Muriel Lester regards it as ‘the practice of seeing deep down into the heart of things and finding their real worth.
Why do men and women worship? They do because God has endowed them with a need to worship, that which is unsatisfied without worship. This universal practice is based on some deeply fundamental fact about God and man. It has been expressed by St. Augustine in his Confessions, in words which will live for all time: Thou has made us for Thyself, and the heart of man is restless until it finds rest in Thee.’ Every human being is so made that (s) he must worship something or someone, mammon or God, but within the Christian context (s) he cannot sincerely worship mammon and God (Mt. 6:24). The true object of worship for the Christian is God alone and there are valid principles for acceptable worship to him
IN DEPTH
MALACHI 1: 6 Turning from the people (ion previous verses) to the priests, God asks, why even though his love for the people was so great, where their love was towards him? If the priests, as they profess, regarded him as their Father (Isa 63:16) and Master, then they should show the reality of their profession by love ought to be leaders in piety to the rest of the people, whereas they were foremost in “despising his name”.
VERSES 7-8 You place defiled food – The priests took rejected animals – blind, crippled and diseased, and offered them to God; and thus the sacrificial ordinances were rendered disgraceful. The sacrifice of such animals was expressly forbidden in the Law (Dt. 02:00). God challenged the priest to offer these animals to their political masters and see whether they would not be rejected.
VERSE 9 Now implore God – There were evident marks of God’s displeasure in the land, and it was occasioned by these pollutions through the priests. Referring to the petition of the people through the priest, God points out that if their dishonorable practices were persisted in he will not accept any offering made by them.
VERSE 10 There was not one sincere or honest priest among them. They were all selfish and worldly.
VERSE 11 My name will be great among the nations – The Lord was, as it were, saying since the Jewish priest and people despise my name, I shall find others who will magnify it, those very peoples whom you look down upon as abominable’ (Mt 3:9). Do not think I shall have no worshippers because I do not have you. Pure offering – not “the blind, the lame, and the sick,” (Mal 1:8). The incense is figurative of prayers (Ps 14:2; Rev. 8:3).
VERSE 12 This is a renewal of the charge in Mal 1:7 They did not literally say, The Lord’s table is contemptible; but their acts virtually said so. They did not act in such a way as to lead the people to reverence, and to offer their best to the Lord. The people were poor, and put off God with the worst offerings.
VERSES 13:14 You bring injured, crippled or diseased animals – There had never been such abominations in the Divine worship before. The priests brought what was of no worth in itself, and what could not be used by its owner. This was brought to God’s altar, and offered as sacrifice.
Cursed is the cheat Those fraudulent, hypocrites, and deceitful dealers who make a show of one thing whilst intending another cannot elude God’s notice, they shall not escape his curse.
For the Student
THE WORD IN OUR LVES
If you ask different members of your congregation why they come to worship, there will be a wide range of answers. Some will say they come to be inspired, to have their faltering faith renewed and revived; others would want to feel God’s presence, or to receive a helpful message, enjoy the music, or be encouraged by meeting friends. All these answers are good but they lack the true essence of worship. Worship is ascribing worthship to God, an acknowledgment that leads praise and thanksgiving and a joy that only proceeds from the human heart. In some congregations they have developed the participation of the whole congregation quite remarkably whereby they engage in individual and corporate prayers, clap, shout out their own praises and give testimonies as the Holy Spirit leads. Worship in a Methodist chapel is built around the reading of scriptures, the preaching of the word, the singing of the hymns and canticles and the offering of fervent prayers and substance (money) with the singular aim of encountering God. Not one aspect of the service is more worthy than the other, hence every aspect must be pleasing and acceptable to him.
An acceptable worship is not just a physical act or material offering, but an attitude of mind and heart. The best sacrifices for God are a broken spirit and a contrite heart as well as sacrifices of praise, with which God is well pleased. They are not the service of form in an outward sanctuary and the presentation of slain animals, but the services of love in a life Paul reminded the church, “Present your bodies a living sacrifice “(Ro. 12:1). He did not ask for material sacrifices on altars of wood or stone, but spirituals.
Unfortunately many unacceptable worship practices abound I n our churches today. Many worshippers think that jumping and sweating mere shouting and dancing and many other mechanical activities constitute true and acceptable worship of God. Such activities without an acceptable heart only lead to perspiration instead of inspiration in the presence of God. Just as the lord cautioned the people that their continued sacrifice of injured, crippled and diseased animals would bring curses, the Church today must realize that the saying is true that ‘blind is the sacrifice of the worship of the soul which is not illumined by the light of Christ and lame is the sacrifice of his prayer who comes with a double mind to worship the Lord’. The words are a reproof to the negligent Church that goes through worship without fear, attention, and reverence.
TEST YOURSELF
1. According to God which people despised his name? (verse 6)
2. What type of animals were offered to God in sacrifice by the Israelites? (verses 8,13)
3. Why should God stop the people from kindling the fire on the altar? (verse 10)
4. Quote Malachi 1:13)
5. What did the cheating worshippers sacrifice to the Lord instead of the ‘male in their flock’? (verse 14)
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Mention some of the unacceptable or ‘polluted’ acts of worship in the Church today. What measures can the Church adopt to address the situation and have a purposeful worship?
2. Read Matthew 15:8-9. Explain the statement that true worship is an encounter with God that involves the heart, intellect and encounter with God that involves the heart, intellect and emotions.
3. a. What new trends in worship can you identify in (i) the Christian Church in Ghana (ii) the Methodist Church Ghana in the Past 5-10 years? B. Discuss the ways by which these new trends of worship are positively or negatively impacting the spiritual growth of churches and individuals.
4. Do you agree that a Church only worships the Lord during the period normally termed Praise and Worship time? Explain your answer.
5. In what way does Malachi 1:14 come alive in Christian worship today?
BIBLE LESSON APPLICATION
Reflect on Matthew 15: 8 and share with the class how Christians have honoured the Lord with their lips and kept their hearts away from him. Before you do this, however, find out whether this is a description of your own worship style and take steps to do better.
DAILY BIBLES READING
Monday Deuteronomy 26:1-10 Offering our first fruits to the Lord
Tuesday I Chronicles 16:26-34 Worship the Lord in the Splendour
Of his Holiness
Wednesday Isaiah 56:1-7 Acceptable Offering
Thursday Romans 12:1-4 Offer your Body as a living Sacrifice
Friday Philippians 4:14-18 Gifts as a Fragrant Offering
Saturday Hebrews 13:11-16 Sacrifices that Please God
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
WORSHIP
WORSHIP
Worship is the theme that is given the major emphasis in this edition. Ten studies have been devoted to this theme.
· God alone deserves our worship but we must be careful how we worship
· Both the Old Testament and the New Testament speak against forms of worship that are unacceptable to God.
· King David was a true worshipper who pleased God.
· There is much that we can learn from his worship life.
The reason for the existence of the Church is Worship and when this done “in Spirit and truth,” it leads to the growth of the Church.
CHURCH FESTIVALS
As part of our study of Worship we highlight certain festivals to help us celebrate them with meaning. In this edition we look at lent, Pentecost Sunday and Trinity Sunday. Other festivals will be studied in future editions.
There is also a study of Canticles to make them familiar and meaningful to you and to encourage their use in our Worship Services.
................................................................................................................................................................
Worship is the theme that is given the major emphasis in this edition. Ten studies have been devoted to this theme.
· God alone deserves our worship but we must be careful how we worship
· Both the Old Testament and the New Testament speak against forms of worship that are unacceptable to God.
· King David was a true worshipper who pleased God.
· There is much that we can learn from his worship life.
The reason for the existence of the Church is Worship and when this done “in Spirit and truth,” it leads to the growth of the Church.
CHURCH FESTIVALS
As part of our study of Worship we highlight certain festivals to help us celebrate them with meaning. In this edition we look at lent, Pentecost Sunday and Trinity Sunday. Other festivals will be studied in future editions.
There is also a study of Canticles to make them familiar and meaningful to you and to encourage their use in our Worship Services.
................................................................................................................................................................
Friday, February 20, 2009
09WK8- RUTH - GOD REWARDS FAITHFULNESS
Week 8
RUTH – GOD REWARDS FAITHFULNESS
KEY VERSE: The women living there said, “Naomi has a son.” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David RUTH 4:17
SCRIPTURE LESSON: RUTH 4:1-22
RUTH 4”:1 Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat there. When the kinsman-redeemer he had mentioned came along, Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went over and sat down.
2. Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, “Sit here,” and they did so.
3. Then he said to the kinsman- redeemer, ”Naomi, who has come back from Moab, it selling the piece of land that belonged to our brother Elimelech.
4. I thought I should bring the matter to your attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, do so. But if you will not, tell me, so I will know. For no on has the right to do it except you, and I am next in line.” “I will redeem it, “he said.
5. The Boaz said, “On the day you buy will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one has Moabitess, you acquire the dead man’s widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property.”
6. At this, the Kinsman-redeemer said, “Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it.”
7. (Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactions in Israel.)
8. So the kinsman-redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it yourself.” And he removed his sandal.
9. Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, “Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelech, Kilion and Mahlon. Maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from the town records. Today you are witnesses!”
10. I have also acquired Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from the town records. Today you are witnesses!”
11. Then the elders and all those at the gate said, “We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the hose of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem.
12. Through the offspring the LORD gives you by this young woman, may you family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.”
13. So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. Then he went to her, and the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.
14. The women said Naomi: “Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel!
15. He will renew your life and sustain you in you old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth,”
16. Then Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap and cared for him.
17. The women living there said. “Naomi has a son. “Andy they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
18. This, then, is the family line of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron,
19. Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab,
20. Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon,
21. Salmon the father of Boaz the father of Obed.
22. Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David.
For The Teacher…
BACKGROUND
The stories of several people in the Bible are woven together so closely that they are almost inseparable. We know more about their relationship than we know about them as individuals. And in an age that worships individualism, their stories become helpful models of good relationships. Naomi and Ruth are beautiful examples of this blending of lives. Their cultures, family backgrounds and ages were very different. As mother – in – law and daughter-in-law, they probably had as many opportunities for tension as for tenderness. And yet they were bound to each other.
They shared deep sorrow, great affection for each other, and an overriding commitment to the God of Israel. And yet as much as they depended on each other, they also gave each other freedom in their commitment to one another. Naomi was willing to let Ruth return to her family. Ruth was willing to leave her homeland to go to Israel. And Naomi helped arrange Ruth’s marriage to Boaz although it would change their relationship.
God was at the center of their intimate communication. Ruth came to know the God of Israel through Naomi. The older woman allowed Ruth to see, hear, and feel all the anguish of her relationship to God. Sharing openly about our relationship with God can bring depth and intimacy to our relationships with others. Theirs was:
v A relationship where the greatest bond was faith in God
v A relationship of strong mutual commitment
v A relationship in which each person tried to do what was best for the other.
v A relationship in which God’s living presence overcame differences that might otherwise create division and disharmony.
IN DEPTH
RUTH 4:10 “Acquired Ruth… as my wife”. Boaz became a redeemer in two ways:
v He married Ruth and preserved the name of Elimelech, Naomi’s deceased Elimelech’s line (verses 5.10).
v Boaz redeemed (i.e. bought) the family land that Naomi was selling and restored it to Elimelech’s line (verses 3,7 – 10).
VERSE 14 “ … The LORD… has not left you without a kinsman redeemer”. Although Naomi had experienced great sorrow and adversity in her life; she had maintained her faith in God. Because of her persevering faith, God so ordered events that “The Lord is full of compassion and mercy” (Jas. 5:11)
VERSES 13,17: “A son… the father of David”. This was the wonderful drama which brought David and “the son of David”, Jesus Christ unto the earth. God honoured the decision of a virtuous young woman who forsook her pagan homeland in order to remain loyal to her mother-in-law and to the God of Israel (Ruth 1:16) by allowing her to become a part of the earthly family through whom Jesus Christ came into the world (cf Mt. 1:5).
THE WORD IN OUR LIVES
Faithfulness is one of the cardinal virtues of life. God rewards faithfulness. “Be faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of life” *Rev. 2:10).
The reward of Ruth’s commitment and faithfulness include the following:
v She got new husband Boaz who could best be described as a generous man who was also a man of integrity.
v The people of Bethlehem showered praises on her at her wedding.
v Ruth (a stranger, from Moab) became one of the only five (5) women mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:1-16, especially verse 5).
To some the book of Ruth may be just a nice story about a girl who was fortunate. But in reality, the events recorded in Ruth were part of God’s preparation for the births of David and of Jesus, the promised Messiah. Just as Ruth was unaware of this larger purpose in her life we will not know the full purpose and importance of our lives until we are able to look back from the perspective of eternity. We must make our choices with God’s eternal values in mind. Taking moral short-cuts and living for short-range pleasures are not good ways to move ahead.
Because of Ruth’ faithful obedience, her life and legacy were significant even though she could not see al the results. Live in faithfulness to God knowing that the significant of your life will extend beyond your lifetime. The rewards will outweigh any sacrifice you may make.
TEST YOURSELF
1. Why was the kinsman redeemer required to marry the dead man’s widow? (Verse 5).
2. Why did the kinsmen redeemer turn down the offer to buy Elemelech’s property and marry Ruth? (verse 6).
3. How were transactions legalized regarding the redemption and transfer of property and marry Ruth? (Verse 6).
4. a Complete the following by picking the correct option below:
“May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like
------ .(A) Rachel and Leah B) Sarah and Rebekah (C) Jezebel and Athaliah D). Eve and Hannah (verse 11)
b. What was the name given to Ruth’s son? (A) Obadiah (B) Obed (C) Boaz (D) Ram (verse 17)
5. Who was David’s Father? (verse 17,22).
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. a. From the study in Ruth count the manifold blessings that Ruth, the Moabite woman, received in the land of Israel.
b. Why was Ruth, a stranger, the recipient of so many blessings?
2. Read 2 Timothy :1-8. What may we learn concerning God’s reward for faithfulness?
3. Read Luke 16:10-12. What further lessons may we learn concerning faithfulness and God’s reward?
4. Boaz is an Old Testament type of Jesus Christ. In what ways is Jesus our kinsman redeemer?
BIBLE LESSON APPLICATION
Reflect on an even / issue in which God demands commitment and faithfulness from you and resolve to please the Lord no matter what it may cost.
DAILY BIBLE READINGS
Monday Deuteronomy 7:7-11 God is Faithful
Tuesday 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 Christ’s Faithfulness
Wednesday Hebrews 10:19-23 Steadfastness Rewards
Thursday Luke 19:11-17 Fidelity Friday Matthew
RUTH – GOD REWARDS FAITHFULNESS
KEY VERSE: The women living there said, “Naomi has a son.” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David RUTH 4:17
SCRIPTURE LESSON: RUTH 4:1-22
RUTH 4”:1 Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat there. When the kinsman-redeemer he had mentioned came along, Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went over and sat down.
2. Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, “Sit here,” and they did so.
3. Then he said to the kinsman- redeemer, ”Naomi, who has come back from Moab, it selling the piece of land that belonged to our brother Elimelech.
4. I thought I should bring the matter to your attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, do so. But if you will not, tell me, so I will know. For no on has the right to do it except you, and I am next in line.” “I will redeem it, “he said.
5. The Boaz said, “On the day you buy will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one has Moabitess, you acquire the dead man’s widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property.”
6. At this, the Kinsman-redeemer said, “Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it.”
7. (Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactions in Israel.)
8. So the kinsman-redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it yourself.” And he removed his sandal.
9. Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, “Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelech, Kilion and Mahlon. Maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from the town records. Today you are witnesses!”
10. I have also acquired Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from the town records. Today you are witnesses!”
11. Then the elders and all those at the gate said, “We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the hose of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem.
12. Through the offspring the LORD gives you by this young woman, may you family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.”
13. So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. Then he went to her, and the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.
14. The women said Naomi: “Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel!
15. He will renew your life and sustain you in you old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth,”
16. Then Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap and cared for him.
17. The women living there said. “Naomi has a son. “Andy they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
18. This, then, is the family line of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron,
19. Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab,
20. Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon,
21. Salmon the father of Boaz the father of Obed.
22. Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David.
For The Teacher…
BACKGROUND
The stories of several people in the Bible are woven together so closely that they are almost inseparable. We know more about their relationship than we know about them as individuals. And in an age that worships individualism, their stories become helpful models of good relationships. Naomi and Ruth are beautiful examples of this blending of lives. Their cultures, family backgrounds and ages were very different. As mother – in – law and daughter-in-law, they probably had as many opportunities for tension as for tenderness. And yet they were bound to each other.
They shared deep sorrow, great affection for each other, and an overriding commitment to the God of Israel. And yet as much as they depended on each other, they also gave each other freedom in their commitment to one another. Naomi was willing to let Ruth return to her family. Ruth was willing to leave her homeland to go to Israel. And Naomi helped arrange Ruth’s marriage to Boaz although it would change their relationship.
God was at the center of their intimate communication. Ruth came to know the God of Israel through Naomi. The older woman allowed Ruth to see, hear, and feel all the anguish of her relationship to God. Sharing openly about our relationship with God can bring depth and intimacy to our relationships with others. Theirs was:
v A relationship where the greatest bond was faith in God
v A relationship of strong mutual commitment
v A relationship in which each person tried to do what was best for the other.
v A relationship in which God’s living presence overcame differences that might otherwise create division and disharmony.
IN DEPTH
RUTH 4:10 “Acquired Ruth… as my wife”. Boaz became a redeemer in two ways:
v He married Ruth and preserved the name of Elimelech, Naomi’s deceased Elimelech’s line (verses 5.10).
v Boaz redeemed (i.e. bought) the family land that Naomi was selling and restored it to Elimelech’s line (verses 3,7 – 10).
VERSE 14 “ … The LORD… has not left you without a kinsman redeemer”. Although Naomi had experienced great sorrow and adversity in her life; she had maintained her faith in God. Because of her persevering faith, God so ordered events that “The Lord is full of compassion and mercy” (Jas. 5:11)
VERSES 13,17: “A son… the father of David”. This was the wonderful drama which brought David and “the son of David”, Jesus Christ unto the earth. God honoured the decision of a virtuous young woman who forsook her pagan homeland in order to remain loyal to her mother-in-law and to the God of Israel (Ruth 1:16) by allowing her to become a part of the earthly family through whom Jesus Christ came into the world (cf Mt. 1:5).
THE WORD IN OUR LIVES
Faithfulness is one of the cardinal virtues of life. God rewards faithfulness. “Be faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of life” *Rev. 2:10).
The reward of Ruth’s commitment and faithfulness include the following:
v She got new husband Boaz who could best be described as a generous man who was also a man of integrity.
v The people of Bethlehem showered praises on her at her wedding.
v Ruth (a stranger, from Moab) became one of the only five (5) women mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:1-16, especially verse 5).
To some the book of Ruth may be just a nice story about a girl who was fortunate. But in reality, the events recorded in Ruth were part of God’s preparation for the births of David and of Jesus, the promised Messiah. Just as Ruth was unaware of this larger purpose in her life we will not know the full purpose and importance of our lives until we are able to look back from the perspective of eternity. We must make our choices with God’s eternal values in mind. Taking moral short-cuts and living for short-range pleasures are not good ways to move ahead.
Because of Ruth’ faithful obedience, her life and legacy were significant even though she could not see al the results. Live in faithfulness to God knowing that the significant of your life will extend beyond your lifetime. The rewards will outweigh any sacrifice you may make.
TEST YOURSELF
1. Why was the kinsman redeemer required to marry the dead man’s widow? (Verse 5).
2. Why did the kinsmen redeemer turn down the offer to buy Elemelech’s property and marry Ruth? (verse 6).
3. How were transactions legalized regarding the redemption and transfer of property and marry Ruth? (Verse 6).
4. a Complete the following by picking the correct option below:
“May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like
------ .(A) Rachel and Leah B) Sarah and Rebekah (C) Jezebel and Athaliah D). Eve and Hannah (verse 11)
b. What was the name given to Ruth’s son? (A) Obadiah (B) Obed (C) Boaz (D) Ram (verse 17)
5. Who was David’s Father? (verse 17,22).
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. a. From the study in Ruth count the manifold blessings that Ruth, the Moabite woman, received in the land of Israel.
b. Why was Ruth, a stranger, the recipient of so many blessings?
2. Read 2 Timothy :1-8. What may we learn concerning God’s reward for faithfulness?
3. Read Luke 16:10-12. What further lessons may we learn concerning faithfulness and God’s reward?
4. Boaz is an Old Testament type of Jesus Christ. In what ways is Jesus our kinsman redeemer?
BIBLE LESSON APPLICATION
Reflect on an even / issue in which God demands commitment and faithfulness from you and resolve to please the Lord no matter what it may cost.
DAILY BIBLE READINGS
Monday Deuteronomy 7:7-11 God is Faithful
Tuesday 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 Christ’s Faithfulness
Wednesday Hebrews 10:19-23 Steadfastness Rewards
Thursday Luke 19:11-17 Fidelity Friday Matthew
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
09WK7- CHURCH FESTIVALS -LENT
Week 7
CHURCH FESTIVALS – LENT
KEY VERSE: “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. MATTHEW 6:1
SCRIPTURE LESSON: MATTHEW 4:1-2; 6:16-18
MATTHEW 4:1 The Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil
2. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry
MATTHEW 6:16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face,
18 So that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
INTRODUCTION
Fasting as a religious practice has been known for a long time. The Bible is full of accounts of individuals who has waited upon the Lord in prayer and fasting. There are also records of times when leaders have declared periods of fasting and prayer Jesus himself often fasted, his 40 –day fast before the start of his public ministry being the best known. John the Baptist and his disciples as well as the Pharisees fasted on a regular basis and so they expected Jesus and his followers to do the same. Jesus’ response was that, his disciples did not need to fast while he was with them and that the time would come when they would need to fast (Mt. 9:14-15) Why then did the Church institute a 40 – day period of fasting referred to as Lent? How is it to be observe, and what are the benefits for its observance? These and other questions will be the issues for discussion this week.
EXPOSITION
1. What is Lent?
Lent is a 40 – day period of fasting that begins on Ash Wednesday Leading up to Easter Sunday. The word ‘Lent’ is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word ‘Lencten’ which means spring – the period following winter which occurs around March to May in the Northern Hemisphere. Traditionally Lent has been observed in this period.
The origins of Lent are controversial. It could probably have begun in AD325 at the Council of Nicaea where Len was first referred to as. ‘Forty days’ and made to immediately precede Easter. Historically, Lent began as a final period of fasting and preparation for baptism by Christian converts, and then became a time for penance (an act which shows that true repentance has occurred) by all Christians
2. The Length of Lent
The 40 day period was chosen as a result of the length of our Lord’s 40-day fast in the wilderness. The actual length varies considerably, however, depending on how the 40-day period is calculated. It may be calculated to exclude Sundays or Saturdays and Sunday s together. It may also be calculated to include Good Friday and Hold Saturday or the whole of the Holy Week. The beginning of Lent, Ash Wednesday, however, is fixed these days counting back to 40 days from Easter and excluding the Sundays.
For example, in 2008, Len began on Ash Wednesday, 6th February 2008 which gave 40 days in February (6-29 Feb.) plus 22 days in March, since Easter was on 23rd March 2008. This gives 46 days for Lent. This means the 40 – day Lent either excludes the 6 Sunday s during the period or the 6 days of the Hold Week. The beginning of Lent, Ash Wednesday, however is fixed these days counting back 40 days, from Easter whilst excluding the Sundays.
3. Observance of Lent
The following may be noted;
a. Ash Wednesday – Lent begins with Ash Wednesday. The name ‘Ash’ is used because of the connection with the Jewish symbol of abasement and penitence before god (Mt. 11:21). It is therefore to set the focus of the observance before believers in an unforgettable way. Some churches even use ash to mark the sign of the cross on their foreheads as a symbol of commitment to the focus of the period.
b. Colours:- The nature of the period demands that somber/dull colours such as purple or ash grey and rough-textured cloth are used for decoration in the church. During the period all shiny objects are removed fro the worship area. Some may even wish to omit flowers. Other visuals may include a large rough cross or a veil over the sanctuary cross.
c. Fasting and Prayer:- It is a period of prayer and fasting and must be observed as such by the whose Christian community. It is needless to say that this fast does not involve food alone, but may also include abstinence from sex or other legitimate enjoyments. Paul tells couples, for example, ‘Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control’ (I Co. 7:5) It is therefore important that couples agree on their involvement together for an effective period of prayer and fasting.
d. Worship Services:- In addition to our individual prayers, regular or daily worship services must be held in a churches and members must participate.
e. It is a period that we concentrate on love (for God and neighbor) and self – giving as we reflect on Christ’s passion and love.
4. Any Spiritual Benefits from Observing Lent?
Prayer and fasting are means of grace and therefore we can be sure that our involvement in such as exercise will lead to spiritual uplifument. Jesus also taught his disciples that certain problems cannot be overcome except through prayer and fasting (Mk 9:28-29)
But we still need to ask whether there are any benefits to be derived from participating in a period of fasting on the church’s calendar? Does this not go again Jesus’ teaching that we should make our fasting matter between us and God alone (Mt. 6:16-18)? This is true, but there are many instances in the Bible where fasting was declare for all the people of God. Two instances are discussed below.
a. Queen Esther – In the face of a crisis, queen Esther declared a 6 – day fast saying, : Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. “ There was a supernatural breakthrough after this exercise. (Est. 14:15-17)
b. The Ninevites – The fasting declared by the King of Nineveh is instructive (Jnh 3:4-10) The people heard the warning given by the Lord through the Prophet Jonah – “Forty more days and Nineveh will be destroyed.” How did the people react to this massage?
v They believed God – and accepted that they deserve to be punished for their sins (3:5b)
v They declared a fast and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth (3:5b)
v The king of Nineveh provided leadership in this national exercise of penance, which is exemplary. When the news reached him, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. He then proclaimed a national fast, which was to include even domestic animals. The people were to examine their ways, give up their evil ways and violence and call urgently on God. The Lord noted their repentance and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.
These two examples tell us that such periods of open fasting such as occurs during Lent can be spiritual very beneficial if we can ensure the following:
v The church’s leaders should provide the necessary leadership in terms of their own involvement and the kind of programmes tat are drawn to help the congregation focus on the meaning of the Cross for their lives.
v It can be a time of breakthroughs in our lives as it was in the life of the Jews and Queen Esther. Our congregation and individuals can also focus on issues and expert supernatural breakthroughs during this time of prayer and fasting.
v Lent has so far been approached in our congregations with a laisez-faire attitude. They have not become periods of declared fasting and prayer in our churches. Therefore, involvement has not been serious and not much spiritual benefits have been derived. This must change.
4. Practical Considerations
Most Christians have known of the ‘ 6-6 fast’. This means not eating (but drinking water) from about 6. 00pm. The fast is broken with food after this period (and continued the following morning at 6.00am).
Other Christians have observed the fast continuously without breaking for food (but drinking water) for the period of the Lent or portions of it, as led of the Lord.
It is important to note that scripture does not command fasting in the same way as it does prayer. Fasting is set up as a Christian discipline and means of grace which will enhance the Christian’s relationship with Lord. Consequently, the decision on how long and the method one may use to fast should be made in prayer before the Lord in a wholistic way, considering one’s life circumstances. The continuous fast, for example, may under normal circumstances, not be advisable for very old people.
The decision on how a whole church may observe the Lent (and other fast) will have to make with much sensitivity to the above issues. This should not be an excuse however for the laissez-faire attitude which misses out on so much of the Lord’s blessings through fasting.
DISCUSS QUESTIONS
1. What do you understand by prayer and fasting as ‘ a means of grace’?
2. Why is it necessary for the Christian to focus once in a while on how his /her sins led Christ to the cross? Do you think that the position of Lent, just before the Passion of Christ can serve this purpose?
3. Review how Lent has been observed in your church over the past five years. Has it been a spiritually rewarding exercise? What can be done to improve the situation?
4. Summarize your new understanding of Lent. How is it going to affect your involvement this year and in subsequent years?
5. How may the issues raised under Practical Considerations (EXPOSITION) be used to enhance rather than discourage our involvement in Lent?
6. Have you been a regular participant in the Church’s observance of Lent? How would you encourage your class members about the need for them to participate in this year’s subsequent Lent observations?
Bible Lesson APPLICATION
Consider seriously to be part of the observance of Lent this year. Make it a period of spiritual renewal and share the benefits realized after the exercise with members of your class.
DAILY BIBLE READINGS
Monday Exodus 34:27-28 Moses fasts for 40 days & nights
Tuesday I Kings 19:1-9 Elijah fasts for 40 days
Wednesday Joel 1:13-20 Repentance and fasting I
Thursday Jonah 3:4-10 Repentance and fasting II
Friday Esther 4:12-17 Fasting in the face of crisis
Saturday Acts 13:1-3 Fasting in the face of crucial decisions
Lent this year begins with Ash Wednesday, 25th February 2009
CHURCH FESTIVALS – LENT
KEY VERSE: “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. MATTHEW 6:1
SCRIPTURE LESSON: MATTHEW 4:1-2; 6:16-18
MATTHEW 4:1 The Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil
2. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry
MATTHEW 6:16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face,
18 So that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
INTRODUCTION
Fasting as a religious practice has been known for a long time. The Bible is full of accounts of individuals who has waited upon the Lord in prayer and fasting. There are also records of times when leaders have declared periods of fasting and prayer Jesus himself often fasted, his 40 –day fast before the start of his public ministry being the best known. John the Baptist and his disciples as well as the Pharisees fasted on a regular basis and so they expected Jesus and his followers to do the same. Jesus’ response was that, his disciples did not need to fast while he was with them and that the time would come when they would need to fast (Mt. 9:14-15) Why then did the Church institute a 40 – day period of fasting referred to as Lent? How is it to be observe, and what are the benefits for its observance? These and other questions will be the issues for discussion this week.
EXPOSITION
1. What is Lent?
Lent is a 40 – day period of fasting that begins on Ash Wednesday Leading up to Easter Sunday. The word ‘Lent’ is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word ‘Lencten’ which means spring – the period following winter which occurs around March to May in the Northern Hemisphere. Traditionally Lent has been observed in this period.
The origins of Lent are controversial. It could probably have begun in AD325 at the Council of Nicaea where Len was first referred to as. ‘Forty days’ and made to immediately precede Easter. Historically, Lent began as a final period of fasting and preparation for baptism by Christian converts, and then became a time for penance (an act which shows that true repentance has occurred) by all Christians
2. The Length of Lent
The 40 day period was chosen as a result of the length of our Lord’s 40-day fast in the wilderness. The actual length varies considerably, however, depending on how the 40-day period is calculated. It may be calculated to exclude Sundays or Saturdays and Sunday s together. It may also be calculated to include Good Friday and Hold Saturday or the whole of the Holy Week. The beginning of Lent, Ash Wednesday, however, is fixed these days counting back to 40 days from Easter and excluding the Sundays.
For example, in 2008, Len began on Ash Wednesday, 6th February 2008 which gave 40 days in February (6-29 Feb.) plus 22 days in March, since Easter was on 23rd March 2008. This gives 46 days for Lent. This means the 40 – day Lent either excludes the 6 Sunday s during the period or the 6 days of the Hold Week. The beginning of Lent, Ash Wednesday, however is fixed these days counting back 40 days, from Easter whilst excluding the Sundays.
3. Observance of Lent
The following may be noted;
a. Ash Wednesday – Lent begins with Ash Wednesday. The name ‘Ash’ is used because of the connection with the Jewish symbol of abasement and penitence before god (Mt. 11:21). It is therefore to set the focus of the observance before believers in an unforgettable way. Some churches even use ash to mark the sign of the cross on their foreheads as a symbol of commitment to the focus of the period.
b. Colours:- The nature of the period demands that somber/dull colours such as purple or ash grey and rough-textured cloth are used for decoration in the church. During the period all shiny objects are removed fro the worship area. Some may even wish to omit flowers. Other visuals may include a large rough cross or a veil over the sanctuary cross.
c. Fasting and Prayer:- It is a period of prayer and fasting and must be observed as such by the whose Christian community. It is needless to say that this fast does not involve food alone, but may also include abstinence from sex or other legitimate enjoyments. Paul tells couples, for example, ‘Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control’ (I Co. 7:5) It is therefore important that couples agree on their involvement together for an effective period of prayer and fasting.
d. Worship Services:- In addition to our individual prayers, regular or daily worship services must be held in a churches and members must participate.
e. It is a period that we concentrate on love (for God and neighbor) and self – giving as we reflect on Christ’s passion and love.
4. Any Spiritual Benefits from Observing Lent?
Prayer and fasting are means of grace and therefore we can be sure that our involvement in such as exercise will lead to spiritual uplifument. Jesus also taught his disciples that certain problems cannot be overcome except through prayer and fasting (Mk 9:28-29)
But we still need to ask whether there are any benefits to be derived from participating in a period of fasting on the church’s calendar? Does this not go again Jesus’ teaching that we should make our fasting matter between us and God alone (Mt. 6:16-18)? This is true, but there are many instances in the Bible where fasting was declare for all the people of God. Two instances are discussed below.
a. Queen Esther – In the face of a crisis, queen Esther declared a 6 – day fast saying, : Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. “ There was a supernatural breakthrough after this exercise. (Est. 14:15-17)
b. The Ninevites – The fasting declared by the King of Nineveh is instructive (Jnh 3:4-10) The people heard the warning given by the Lord through the Prophet Jonah – “Forty more days and Nineveh will be destroyed.” How did the people react to this massage?
v They believed God – and accepted that they deserve to be punished for their sins (3:5b)
v They declared a fast and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth (3:5b)
v The king of Nineveh provided leadership in this national exercise of penance, which is exemplary. When the news reached him, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. He then proclaimed a national fast, which was to include even domestic animals. The people were to examine their ways, give up their evil ways and violence and call urgently on God. The Lord noted their repentance and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.
These two examples tell us that such periods of open fasting such as occurs during Lent can be spiritual very beneficial if we can ensure the following:
v The church’s leaders should provide the necessary leadership in terms of their own involvement and the kind of programmes tat are drawn to help the congregation focus on the meaning of the Cross for their lives.
v It can be a time of breakthroughs in our lives as it was in the life of the Jews and Queen Esther. Our congregation and individuals can also focus on issues and expert supernatural breakthroughs during this time of prayer and fasting.
v Lent has so far been approached in our congregations with a laisez-faire attitude. They have not become periods of declared fasting and prayer in our churches. Therefore, involvement has not been serious and not much spiritual benefits have been derived. This must change.
4. Practical Considerations
Most Christians have known of the ‘ 6-6 fast’. This means not eating (but drinking water) from about 6. 00pm. The fast is broken with food after this period (and continued the following morning at 6.00am).
Other Christians have observed the fast continuously without breaking for food (but drinking water) for the period of the Lent or portions of it, as led of the Lord.
It is important to note that scripture does not command fasting in the same way as it does prayer. Fasting is set up as a Christian discipline and means of grace which will enhance the Christian’s relationship with Lord. Consequently, the decision on how long and the method one may use to fast should be made in prayer before the Lord in a wholistic way, considering one’s life circumstances. The continuous fast, for example, may under normal circumstances, not be advisable for very old people.
The decision on how a whole church may observe the Lent (and other fast) will have to make with much sensitivity to the above issues. This should not be an excuse however for the laissez-faire attitude which misses out on so much of the Lord’s blessings through fasting.
DISCUSS QUESTIONS
1. What do you understand by prayer and fasting as ‘ a means of grace’?
2. Why is it necessary for the Christian to focus once in a while on how his /her sins led Christ to the cross? Do you think that the position of Lent, just before the Passion of Christ can serve this purpose?
3. Review how Lent has been observed in your church over the past five years. Has it been a spiritually rewarding exercise? What can be done to improve the situation?
4. Summarize your new understanding of Lent. How is it going to affect your involvement this year and in subsequent years?
5. How may the issues raised under Practical Considerations (EXPOSITION) be used to enhance rather than discourage our involvement in Lent?
6. Have you been a regular participant in the Church’s observance of Lent? How would you encourage your class members about the need for them to participate in this year’s subsequent Lent observations?
Bible Lesson APPLICATION
Consider seriously to be part of the observance of Lent this year. Make it a period of spiritual renewal and share the benefits realized after the exercise with members of your class.
DAILY BIBLE READINGS
Monday Exodus 34:27-28 Moses fasts for 40 days & nights
Tuesday I Kings 19:1-9 Elijah fasts for 40 days
Wednesday Joel 1:13-20 Repentance and fasting I
Thursday Jonah 3:4-10 Repentance and fasting II
Friday Esther 4:12-17 Fasting in the face of crisis
Saturday Acts 13:1-3 Fasting in the face of crucial decisions
Lent this year begins with Ash Wednesday, 25th February 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
09WK6 -RUTH – SELFLESSNESS AND DILIGENCE LEAD TO SUCCESS
RUTH – SELFLESSNESS AND DILIGENCE LEAD TO SUCCESS
KEY VERSE: She went into the field and has worked steadily from morning
till now, except for a short rest in the shelter. RUTH 2:7
SCRIPTURE LESSON: RUTH 1:19-2:23
Ruth 1: So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”
Don’t call me Naomi, “she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter.
I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”
So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied but Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.
RUTH 2:1 Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, from the clan of Elimelech, a man of standing, whose name was Boaz.
2. And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor. “ Naomi said to her, “go ahead, my daughter.”
3. So she went out and began to glean in the fields behind the harvests. As it turned out, she went out, she found herself working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech.
4. Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “The LORD be with you!” they called back.
5. Boaz asked the foreman of his harvesters, “ Whose young woman is that?
1. The foreman replied, “ She is the Moabitess who came back from Moab with Naomi.
2. She said, ‘please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters. She went into the field and has worked steadily from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.”
8. So Boaz said to Ruth, “My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with my servant girls.
9. Watch the field where the men are harvesting and follow along after the girls. I have told the men not to touch you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.”
10. At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She exclaimed, “Why have I found such favor in you eyes that you notice me – a foreigner?”
11. Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of you husband – how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before.
12. May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”
13. “May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord,” she said. “You have given me comfort and have spoken kindly to your servant – though I do not have the standing of one of your servant girls.”
14. AT mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar. “When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over.
15. As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, “Even if she gathers among the sheaves, don’t embarrass her.
16. Rather, pull out some stalks fro her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her.”
17. So Ruth gleaned in the filed until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah.
18. She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave her what she had left over after she had eaten enough.
19. Her mother-in-law her, “Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!” Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. “The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz,” she said.
20. The LORD bless him!” Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. “He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.” She added, “That man is our close relative; he is one of our kinsman-redeemers.”
21. Then Ruth the Moabitess said, “ He even said to me, ‘Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.”
22. Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, :It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with his girls, because in someone else’s field you might be harmed.”
23. So Ruth stayed close to the servant girls of Boaz to glean until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
BACKGROUND
Las week, we began to study the character of Ruth who later became, the great grandmother of King David of Israel and consequently the ancestor of the lord Jesus Christ on the human side. She took a very challenging decision to follow her mother-in-law, Naomi, to live among a people who had been traditional enemies of her own people, Moab.
Naomi and Ruth arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest. Gold’s law instructed farmers, at harvest, to leave behind all that the harvesters missed. This was so that the widow, the fatherless, the poor and the alien could glean, that is harvest the left- overs for themselves (Lev. 19:9,10)
Ruth offered to undertake this task, so that they could be provided for, even though they had not been back for long and was consequently a stranger to Bethlehem and its customs. But she would not be deterred by this obvious limitation to stay at home mother-in-law and to save the situation.
IN DEPTH
Ruth 1:19-22 Naomi and Ruth arrive in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley (and later wheat) harvest, which traditionally fell in April and May Naomi means pleasant but in her bitterness she would rather be called ‘Mara meaning bitter. In her estimation, God has been unfair to her but her understanding of God’s ways is limited (see 1 the. 5:18).
RUTH 2: 1 – 4 – God leads Ruth to glean in the field of Boaz who was relative to her father-in-law, Elimelech. As a young widow, who was also an alien, a Moabitess, working alone in the field, Ruth’s decision opened her up to possible abuse. The content of the greetings exchanged between Boaz and his workers reflect Boaz’s nature and also make them worthy of emulation.
VERSES 5-9 The hard work, persistence and commitment of Ruth is revealed. Boaz faith in committing herself to the God of Israel is again highlighted. The result: Boaz heaps upon her words of blessings.
VERSES 14 – 18. Boaz continues to show much kindness to Ruth. She obtains an ephah, which is about 22 liters of grain. Can this immense kindness not be related to her selflessness, diligence and act of faith?
VERSES 19 – 23. The lord had led Naomi unknowingly to Boaz, who was a kinsman. The kinsman-redeemer was responsible for protecting the interests of needy members of the extended family. This is divine providence!
THE WORD IN OUR LIVES
A story is told of how a couple of good standing tin the U.S. ask two relations to take charge of two building projects they had embarked upon, each in charge of one. Azu, the first relation mismanaged the monies that were sent to him, but in order to show evidence of its use, purchased inferior quality materials for the building. Also the composition of cement to sand for the block work was so thin that the house was quite weak. It was not long after completion that cracks began to develop.
The other relation, Martey put in first class work, occasionally going beyond the budget to ensure that a high level of quality was achieved in the construction exercise. For him ‘whatever you do, work at with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men…. It is the Lord Jesus Christ you are serving’ (Col. 3:23-24). So he did.
Not long after the buildings were completed the couple passed through Ghana on their way to a conference. They summoned their relations, Azu and Martey to a hotel near the airport and informed them that they had received a very high international appointment, which would eventually keep them away for a further 15 years. Since they would be away for so long they had decided to donate the houses to them and their families and to build again when they were about to return. What a shock for Azu, but joy and happiness for Martey! It was obvious why the two contrasting emotional reactions.
Maxwell comments on the story of Ruth in his Leadership Bibles as follows: Commitment precedes resources. Until a leader commits, hesitancy lingers. But the moment that leader definitely commits then God moves and a whole stream of evens begin to flow. ‘Ruth committed herself to making the return to Bethlehem a success. So, early in their stay, when still virtually a stranger in Israel, she decided to do whatever it took to remove poverty from their home. This was her decision, her own initiative, in the task of settling. She worked so hard, out of the normal, that she received a very high commendation from the other harvesters. She was committed to be of service to her mother-in-law, Naomi, and to carry through her pledge of devotion to her and to God (1:10-17) And she did all this when there was the strong possibility of abuse because of her social position! NO wonder God blessed her efforts. She ended up in a field where she received the maximum protection and provision. One event led to the other until eventually she got a husband.
METRO ‘TV’ and ‘TV’3 of Ghana show programmes, ‘The Survivor’s Story and ‘M’asem’ (my story) in which people of low social estate through selfless hard work, Christians will do well to learn from Ruth and from them. Let us be committed to God’s word and his direction. Let us be committed to diligence and hard work. And God will prove himself to be God! There will be a testimony.
TEST YOURSELF
1. What reason did Naomi give for rejecting her name for Mara/ (1:20)
2. How was Boaz related to Naomi/ (2:1)
3. Because Ruth was no used to gleaning, she often stopped to rest in Boaz’s field. True or False (2:6-7).
4. Quote Ruth 2:12
5. Complete: The Lord bless him! “Naomi said to her daughter-in-law……. (2:20)
6. State the food items Boaz offered Ruth during the lunch break (2:14)
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS.
1a. Ruth must have learnt about the practice of gleaning in Israel from Naomi. What moved her to glean when still a stranger in Israel?
b. What may young people learn from Ruth when they find themselves in positions of need?
3. In what way did Ruth show herself to be selfless in the incidents of this week’s passage? Give examples to show how Christians may be similarly selfless
4. What lesson about commitment do we learn from Ruth’s character in this week’s passage?
5. Give examples to show how God honours commitment, selflessness and diligence.
6. Identify and discuss lessons from the actions of Boaz in today’s passage.
BIBLES LESSON APPLICATION
This week, reflect on the story of Ruth and her selflessness, commitment and diligence. Take decisions that will enable you to show forth these characteristics in your life.
DAILY BIBLE READINGS
Monday John 13:1-17 Humility and Service
Tuesday Colossians 3:22-25 Work as unto the Lord
Wednesday Mathew 25:14-30 Use you talent to work
Thursday Proverbs 6:6-11 Do not be lazy
Friday Proverbs 27:23-27 Be diligent and wise
Saturday Revelation 2:1-7 Work hard till the end
The study on Ruth continues in 09WK 8 and 09WK 18
KEY VERSE: She went into the field and has worked steadily from morning
till now, except for a short rest in the shelter. RUTH 2:7
SCRIPTURE LESSON: RUTH 1:19-2:23
Ruth 1: So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”
Don’t call me Naomi, “she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter.
I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”
So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied but Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.
RUTH 2:1 Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, from the clan of Elimelech, a man of standing, whose name was Boaz.
2. And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor. “ Naomi said to her, “go ahead, my daughter.”
3. So she went out and began to glean in the fields behind the harvests. As it turned out, she went out, she found herself working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech.
4. Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “The LORD be with you!” they called back.
5. Boaz asked the foreman of his harvesters, “ Whose young woman is that?
1. The foreman replied, “ She is the Moabitess who came back from Moab with Naomi.
2. She said, ‘please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters. She went into the field and has worked steadily from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.”
8. So Boaz said to Ruth, “My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with my servant girls.
9. Watch the field where the men are harvesting and follow along after the girls. I have told the men not to touch you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.”
10. At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She exclaimed, “Why have I found such favor in you eyes that you notice me – a foreigner?”
11. Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of you husband – how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before.
12. May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”
13. “May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord,” she said. “You have given me comfort and have spoken kindly to your servant – though I do not have the standing of one of your servant girls.”
14. AT mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar. “When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over.
15. As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, “Even if she gathers among the sheaves, don’t embarrass her.
16. Rather, pull out some stalks fro her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her.”
17. So Ruth gleaned in the filed until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah.
18. She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave her what she had left over after she had eaten enough.
19. Her mother-in-law her, “Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!” Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. “The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz,” she said.
20. The LORD bless him!” Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. “He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.” She added, “That man is our close relative; he is one of our kinsman-redeemers.”
21. Then Ruth the Moabitess said, “ He even said to me, ‘Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.”
22. Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, :It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with his girls, because in someone else’s field you might be harmed.”
23. So Ruth stayed close to the servant girls of Boaz to glean until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
BACKGROUND
Las week, we began to study the character of Ruth who later became, the great grandmother of King David of Israel and consequently the ancestor of the lord Jesus Christ on the human side. She took a very challenging decision to follow her mother-in-law, Naomi, to live among a people who had been traditional enemies of her own people, Moab.
Naomi and Ruth arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest. Gold’s law instructed farmers, at harvest, to leave behind all that the harvesters missed. This was so that the widow, the fatherless, the poor and the alien could glean, that is harvest the left- overs for themselves (Lev. 19:9,10)
Ruth offered to undertake this task, so that they could be provided for, even though they had not been back for long and was consequently a stranger to Bethlehem and its customs. But she would not be deterred by this obvious limitation to stay at home mother-in-law and to save the situation.
IN DEPTH
Ruth 1:19-22 Naomi and Ruth arrive in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley (and later wheat) harvest, which traditionally fell in April and May Naomi means pleasant but in her bitterness she would rather be called ‘Mara meaning bitter. In her estimation, God has been unfair to her but her understanding of God’s ways is limited (see 1 the. 5:18).
RUTH 2: 1 – 4 – God leads Ruth to glean in the field of Boaz who was relative to her father-in-law, Elimelech. As a young widow, who was also an alien, a Moabitess, working alone in the field, Ruth’s decision opened her up to possible abuse. The content of the greetings exchanged between Boaz and his workers reflect Boaz’s nature and also make them worthy of emulation.
VERSES 5-9 The hard work, persistence and commitment of Ruth is revealed. Boaz faith in committing herself to the God of Israel is again highlighted. The result: Boaz heaps upon her words of blessings.
VERSES 14 – 18. Boaz continues to show much kindness to Ruth. She obtains an ephah, which is about 22 liters of grain. Can this immense kindness not be related to her selflessness, diligence and act of faith?
VERSES 19 – 23. The lord had led Naomi unknowingly to Boaz, who was a kinsman. The kinsman-redeemer was responsible for protecting the interests of needy members of the extended family. This is divine providence!
THE WORD IN OUR LIVES
A story is told of how a couple of good standing tin the U.S. ask two relations to take charge of two building projects they had embarked upon, each in charge of one. Azu, the first relation mismanaged the monies that were sent to him, but in order to show evidence of its use, purchased inferior quality materials for the building. Also the composition of cement to sand for the block work was so thin that the house was quite weak. It was not long after completion that cracks began to develop.
The other relation, Martey put in first class work, occasionally going beyond the budget to ensure that a high level of quality was achieved in the construction exercise. For him ‘whatever you do, work at with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men…. It is the Lord Jesus Christ you are serving’ (Col. 3:23-24). So he did.
Not long after the buildings were completed the couple passed through Ghana on their way to a conference. They summoned their relations, Azu and Martey to a hotel near the airport and informed them that they had received a very high international appointment, which would eventually keep them away for a further 15 years. Since they would be away for so long they had decided to donate the houses to them and their families and to build again when they were about to return. What a shock for Azu, but joy and happiness for Martey! It was obvious why the two contrasting emotional reactions.
Maxwell comments on the story of Ruth in his Leadership Bibles as follows: Commitment precedes resources. Until a leader commits, hesitancy lingers. But the moment that leader definitely commits then God moves and a whole stream of evens begin to flow. ‘Ruth committed herself to making the return to Bethlehem a success. So, early in their stay, when still virtually a stranger in Israel, she decided to do whatever it took to remove poverty from their home. This was her decision, her own initiative, in the task of settling. She worked so hard, out of the normal, that she received a very high commendation from the other harvesters. She was committed to be of service to her mother-in-law, Naomi, and to carry through her pledge of devotion to her and to God (1:10-17) And she did all this when there was the strong possibility of abuse because of her social position! NO wonder God blessed her efforts. She ended up in a field where she received the maximum protection and provision. One event led to the other until eventually she got a husband.
METRO ‘TV’ and ‘TV’3 of Ghana show programmes, ‘The Survivor’s Story and ‘M’asem’ (my story) in which people of low social estate through selfless hard work, Christians will do well to learn from Ruth and from them. Let us be committed to God’s word and his direction. Let us be committed to diligence and hard work. And God will prove himself to be God! There will be a testimony.
TEST YOURSELF
1. What reason did Naomi give for rejecting her name for Mara/ (1:20)
2. How was Boaz related to Naomi/ (2:1)
3. Because Ruth was no used to gleaning, she often stopped to rest in Boaz’s field. True or False (2:6-7).
4. Quote Ruth 2:12
5. Complete: The Lord bless him! “Naomi said to her daughter-in-law……. (2:20)
6. State the food items Boaz offered Ruth during the lunch break (2:14)
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS.
1a. Ruth must have learnt about the practice of gleaning in Israel from Naomi. What moved her to glean when still a stranger in Israel?
b. What may young people learn from Ruth when they find themselves in positions of need?
3. In what way did Ruth show herself to be selfless in the incidents of this week’s passage? Give examples to show how Christians may be similarly selfless
4. What lesson about commitment do we learn from Ruth’s character in this week’s passage?
5. Give examples to show how God honours commitment, selflessness and diligence.
6. Identify and discuss lessons from the actions of Boaz in today’s passage.
BIBLES LESSON APPLICATION
This week, reflect on the story of Ruth and her selflessness, commitment and diligence. Take decisions that will enable you to show forth these characteristics in your life.
DAILY BIBLE READINGS
Monday John 13:1-17 Humility and Service
Tuesday Colossians 3:22-25 Work as unto the Lord
Wednesday Mathew 25:14-30 Use you talent to work
Thursday Proverbs 6:6-11 Do not be lazy
Friday Proverbs 27:23-27 Be diligent and wise
Saturday Revelation 2:1-7 Work hard till the end
The study on Ruth continues in 09WK 8 and 09WK 18
09WK5 -RUTH – MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICES IN THE MIDST OF CRISIS
RUTH – MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICES IN THE MIDST OF CRISIS
KEY VERSE: But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God Ruth 1:
SCRIPTURE LESSON: RUTH 1:1-18.
1. In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live fro while in the country of Moab.
2. The man’s name was Elimelech, his wife’s name Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Killion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.
3. Now Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with here two sons.
4. They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years,
5. Both Marlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.
6. When she heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-Law prepared to return home from there.
7. With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.
8. Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-Law, “Go back, each of you, to your mother’s home. May the LORD show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead and to me.
9. May the LORD grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband.” Then she kissed them and they wept aloud
10. and said to her, “ We will go back with you to your people.”
11. But Naomi said, “Return home, my daughters. WHY WOULD YOU COME WITH ME? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands?
12. Return home, my daughter, I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me – even if I had a husband tonight and them gave birth to sons.
13. Would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them” No, my daughters. It is more bitter from me than for you, because the LORD’s hand has gone out against me!”
14. At this they wept again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-by, but Ruth clung to her.
15. ‘Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods go back with her.”
16. But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.
17. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.”
18. When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.
INTRODUCTION
The Book of Ruth is a Hebrew short story set within the days of the Judges, a period characterized by religious and moral degeneration and general foreign oppression Ruth was a young widow from Moab whose Jewish husband had been Marlon, son of Naomi and Elimelech of Bethlehem.
The Moabites were neighbors of the Israelites but between the two nations existed hostility and suspicion. Even though Moab was the son of Lot, Abraham’s nephew, by her older daughter (Ge. 19:36,37) and therefore a relation of Israel, it had tried to bewitch, seduce and oppress them from the time of Balak and Balaam (Numbers 22 – 25). Israel, on its part, did not spare them in the conquest of the land of Canaan.
With husband, Elimelech and two sons, Marlon and Kilion, dead, Naomi, who had migrated to Moab with her family during a famine in Israel, was place in a crisis of need. Decisions that would change her life and the lives of her young widowed daughters-in-law had to be taken. The process involved in taking these decisions is the subject of this week’s study.
EXPOSITION
1. In the social life of the Ancient Near East, men were the major breadwinners and statues givers to women. A woman whose husband was dead had hardly any social position and was often the focus of oppression. The death of all the men in the lives of Naomi and her two daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah. Consequently left them with no status and also no bread – winner. For Naomi, all this happened to her in a land whose people were not normally on friendly terms with her people, Israel.
2. It was natural, therefore, to long for home. Longing crystallized to a decision to return to Israel when news trickled in that Israel was having a harvest boom. Naomi had settled in her mid her lowered social status of widowhood. Her daughters-in-law however, were young and capable of re-marrying and settling down to normal family life. To her this offered more hope to the young women than when they returned with her to Israel.
In Israel, the faint possibility of the application of the levirate law existed. This was an arrangement in which the brother or close relation of a man who died without children would marry the widow. Offspring from this union would bear the dead man’s name and thus continue his family lie. (Dt. 25:5-6). At the same time, the institution offered protection and status to the widow.
Naomi appears to have reached menopause (Ru 1: 12); but even if she had not, she reasoned that bringing forth sons who would grow to marry Ruth and Orpah was in impossibility since they would have to wait for too long. It would be better if they re-married in their own land.
The issue before Ruth and Orpah was: should they go back with Naomi to Israel and remain widows with hardly any social status or return to their homes, with the possibility of re-marriage?
3. Orpah considered that of the two choices, the most reasonable was the path that led to her home and possible re-marriage. Ruth, on the other hand, saw deeper than normal human reason. Her emphatic response of commitment to Naomi showed a number of things. For her, life in Israel, with the people of God, and faith in and service to her God promised a more fulfilling life than going back to Moab with its promise of the material blessings of re-marriage. But this was a very challenging decision for her to take. Ruth ran the risk of remaining a childless widow all her life with a social status, which was next to nothing, all in a land, which was traditional an enemy to her own people. Her fellow sister-in-law, Orpah had opted for the easier but reasonable path. Why not just follow after her and be secure!
4. Ruth chose to commit the rest of her life to following Naomi, living with and sharing her lot and serving her and her God. In fact she had already made a religious commitment for she swears her commitment to Naomi in the name of the LORD, thus acknowledging him as her God. She had taken a step of faith and had decided to follow God and his people.
5. Does Ruth’s action teach any decision-making principle to us today? Three may be readily identified. One should ask, when considering what action to take:
Is God’s honor respected; does it please him?
Is it an act of faith; does it indicate trust in God of Israel? (cf .Ro. 14:23).
Is it relatively selfish, does it benefit me alone to the detriment of others?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1a. Identify the critical issues that Ruth and Orpah were faced with.
b. What were the risks involved in each case?
2a Orpah did not go to Bethlehem with Naomi. Did she take a ‘wrong decision”?
b. Give examples to show how Orpah’s action may be repeated today.
3a Consider Ruth’s decision to return to Bethlehem with Naomi. What values guided her in her choice?
4a. Can you find any other decision-making principles in this week’s passage aside the ones outlined in the EXPOSITION?
b. Give examples to show how these values may be used to take a decision today, may be used to take decisions today.
BIBLE LESSON APPLICATION
This week, in your time of devotion, review two of the most recent decisions you have made, especially if they were made during a time of crisis. Do you find that the principles of decision-making identified during this week’s study were used? Take decisions that will help you use such principles always, and share with your group or friend.
DAILY BIBLE READINGS
Monday Kings 3:1 – 14 First seek the counsel of the lord
Tuesday Deuteronomy 25:5-10 Levirate marriage in Israel
Wednesday Joshua 24:14-27 Choose this day whom you will serve
Thursday Hebrews 11:24-28 Moses Chooses Israel’s God
Friday I Corinthians 10:24-33 Decision-making
Saturday Proverbs 16:24-33 Counsel on decision-making
KEY VERSE: But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God Ruth 1:
SCRIPTURE LESSON: RUTH 1:1-18.
1. In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live fro while in the country of Moab.
2. The man’s name was Elimelech, his wife’s name Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Killion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.
3. Now Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with here two sons.
4. They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years,
5. Both Marlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.
6. When she heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-Law prepared to return home from there.
7. With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.
8. Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-Law, “Go back, each of you, to your mother’s home. May the LORD show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead and to me.
9. May the LORD grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband.” Then she kissed them and they wept aloud
10. and said to her, “ We will go back with you to your people.”
11. But Naomi said, “Return home, my daughters. WHY WOULD YOU COME WITH ME? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands?
12. Return home, my daughter, I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me – even if I had a husband tonight and them gave birth to sons.
13. Would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them” No, my daughters. It is more bitter from me than for you, because the LORD’s hand has gone out against me!”
14. At this they wept again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-by, but Ruth clung to her.
15. ‘Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods go back with her.”
16. But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.
17. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.”
18. When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.
INTRODUCTION
The Book of Ruth is a Hebrew short story set within the days of the Judges, a period characterized by religious and moral degeneration and general foreign oppression Ruth was a young widow from Moab whose Jewish husband had been Marlon, son of Naomi and Elimelech of Bethlehem.
The Moabites were neighbors of the Israelites but between the two nations existed hostility and suspicion. Even though Moab was the son of Lot, Abraham’s nephew, by her older daughter (Ge. 19:36,37) and therefore a relation of Israel, it had tried to bewitch, seduce and oppress them from the time of Balak and Balaam (Numbers 22 – 25). Israel, on its part, did not spare them in the conquest of the land of Canaan.
With husband, Elimelech and two sons, Marlon and Kilion, dead, Naomi, who had migrated to Moab with her family during a famine in Israel, was place in a crisis of need. Decisions that would change her life and the lives of her young widowed daughters-in-law had to be taken. The process involved in taking these decisions is the subject of this week’s study.
EXPOSITION
1. In the social life of the Ancient Near East, men were the major breadwinners and statues givers to women. A woman whose husband was dead had hardly any social position and was often the focus of oppression. The death of all the men in the lives of Naomi and her two daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah. Consequently left them with no status and also no bread – winner. For Naomi, all this happened to her in a land whose people were not normally on friendly terms with her people, Israel.
2. It was natural, therefore, to long for home. Longing crystallized to a decision to return to Israel when news trickled in that Israel was having a harvest boom. Naomi had settled in her mid her lowered social status of widowhood. Her daughters-in-law however, were young and capable of re-marrying and settling down to normal family life. To her this offered more hope to the young women than when they returned with her to Israel.
In Israel, the faint possibility of the application of the levirate law existed. This was an arrangement in which the brother or close relation of a man who died without children would marry the widow. Offspring from this union would bear the dead man’s name and thus continue his family lie. (Dt. 25:5-6). At the same time, the institution offered protection and status to the widow.
Naomi appears to have reached menopause (Ru 1: 12); but even if she had not, she reasoned that bringing forth sons who would grow to marry Ruth and Orpah was in impossibility since they would have to wait for too long. It would be better if they re-married in their own land.
The issue before Ruth and Orpah was: should they go back with Naomi to Israel and remain widows with hardly any social status or return to their homes, with the possibility of re-marriage?
3. Orpah considered that of the two choices, the most reasonable was the path that led to her home and possible re-marriage. Ruth, on the other hand, saw deeper than normal human reason. Her emphatic response of commitment to Naomi showed a number of things. For her, life in Israel, with the people of God, and faith in and service to her God promised a more fulfilling life than going back to Moab with its promise of the material blessings of re-marriage. But this was a very challenging decision for her to take. Ruth ran the risk of remaining a childless widow all her life with a social status, which was next to nothing, all in a land, which was traditional an enemy to her own people. Her fellow sister-in-law, Orpah had opted for the easier but reasonable path. Why not just follow after her and be secure!
4. Ruth chose to commit the rest of her life to following Naomi, living with and sharing her lot and serving her and her God. In fact she had already made a religious commitment for she swears her commitment to Naomi in the name of the LORD, thus acknowledging him as her God. She had taken a step of faith and had decided to follow God and his people.
5. Does Ruth’s action teach any decision-making principle to us today? Three may be readily identified. One should ask, when considering what action to take:
Is God’s honor respected; does it please him?
Is it an act of faith; does it indicate trust in God of Israel? (cf .Ro. 14:23).
Is it relatively selfish, does it benefit me alone to the detriment of others?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1a. Identify the critical issues that Ruth and Orpah were faced with.
b. What were the risks involved in each case?
2a Orpah did not go to Bethlehem with Naomi. Did she take a ‘wrong decision”?
b. Give examples to show how Orpah’s action may be repeated today.
3a Consider Ruth’s decision to return to Bethlehem with Naomi. What values guided her in her choice?
4a. Can you find any other decision-making principles in this week’s passage aside the ones outlined in the EXPOSITION?
b. Give examples to show how these values may be used to take a decision today, may be used to take decisions today.
BIBLE LESSON APPLICATION
This week, in your time of devotion, review two of the most recent decisions you have made, especially if they were made during a time of crisis. Do you find that the principles of decision-making identified during this week’s study were used? Take decisions that will help you use such principles always, and share with your group or friend.
DAILY BIBLE READINGS
Monday Kings 3:1 – 14 First seek the counsel of the lord
Tuesday Deuteronomy 25:5-10 Levirate marriage in Israel
Wednesday Joshua 24:14-27 Choose this day whom you will serve
Thursday Hebrews 11:24-28 Moses Chooses Israel’s God
Friday I Corinthians 10:24-33 Decision-making
Saturday Proverbs 16:24-33 Counsel on decision-making
RUTH, THE MOABITE WOMAN
CHARACTER STUDY - RUTH THE MOABITE WOMAN
Ruth, the Moabite woman is the Biblical character for our study in the following section. There is a lot that we can learn from the life of this woman.
She made a commitment to follow the God of Israel, which was a major step of faith.
She combined selflessness, diligence and singleness of purpose in serving her mother-in-law, Naomi.
God blessed her commitment by providing the resources she need at the right time.
She received the honor of becoming one of the human ancestors of our Lord Jesus Christ.
There are four studies, but one has been moved to the Family life Section to make room for the study on lent and also because it deals with a family Life issue.
Ruth, the Moabite woman is the Biblical character for our study in the following section. There is a lot that we can learn from the life of this woman.
She made a commitment to follow the God of Israel, which was a major step of faith.
She combined selflessness, diligence and singleness of purpose in serving her mother-in-law, Naomi.
God blessed her commitment by providing the resources she need at the right time.
She received the honor of becoming one of the human ancestors of our Lord Jesus Christ.
There are four studies, but one has been moved to the Family life Section to make room for the study on lent and also because it deals with a family Life issue.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
