Skip to main content

Ruth 1:1-2

 The story of Ruth is about how God works in and through the ordinary circumstances of life. There aren't any spectacular signs and wonders to showcase in this book. The characters and story plotlines are common... about ordinary people in everyday settings, struggling with regular life issues... 

But God's resolute (although uncredited or 'invisible') hand is directing each scene and every character. And wherever and whenever God works, it is ALWAYS extraordinary, miraculous, and divine!


[Read Ruth 1:1-2]


Who are we introduced to in the opening verses?
What are we told about them?

What difficult decision does Elimelek have to make?
What are the pros and cons for staying and for going?

If you had to put food on the table, would you decide differently from Elimelek?
What are some important considerations that would affect your decision?

[Activity] Read Deuteronomy 11:16-17, Leviticus 26:18-20, and Amos 4:6-9.
What are we told in all three examples?

Read ahead, to Ruth 1:6, how does this verse confirm those verses?


'Elimelek' means "God is my king".
You would assume that someone with that name would respond to this famine with repentance... not relocation.
What does Elimelek's response tell us about who he is?


'Bethlehem' means "House of bread" whereas 'Moab' is referred to, in Psalm 108:9, as God's "washbasin"... where residue grime and dirt are found.
Elimelek leaves the 'bread' for the place of 'dirt'.

Looking back over your life, can you see times when you have made a similar decision?
What do you need to do to come back to the 'bread' today?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

{SEVEN CHURCHES} #3

  {SEVEN LETTERS}    The Attractiveness of Suffering_   Revelation 2:8-11     In the year AD 177 persecution broke out against the Christians living in what is today the French city of Lyon. Christianity had raised the suspicions and hatred of the Roman  bureaucrats who governed the city. The vicious persecution that raged, touched Christians at every level of society. After the persecuti on subsided, church father Irenaeus, arranged for a letter to be written to Christians in other parts of the Roman Empire describing the faithfulness of the  martyrs...   We  can’t  even begin to put into words, much less describe in detail, the  magnitude  of the persecution here: how the pagans raged so terribly against the saints, and how the ble ssed martyrs endured so patiently... To begin with, they nobly endured all the abuse the whole mob collectively piled on: screaming  at them, punching them, dragging them through the stre...
Post a Comment
Read more

{SEVEN CHURCHES} #1

  The Lord Who Speaks_   Revelation 1:9-20   We  don’t  tend to get many letters these days. We get emails, text messages,  WhatsApp  and other electronic messages, but rarely  a handwritten, pen-and-paper letter.    I tend to save any good ones I get... notes from when Leah was little. Letters that encourage or bless me.   I’ll keep them in my  bedside  drawer or  tucked  into books on our shelves. Then I get to read them again and feel loved and blessed by their words. ..     [Discussion starter]    Tell the group about a significant letter you have received and why it meant so much to you.     Revelation 2-3 records seven letters written by Jesus to seven churches.   It must have been a thrill for an early church congregation to receive a letter from the apostles Paul, Peter, or James... but here were letters from Jesus himself . And we all get to read everyone else’s ma...
Post a Comment
Read more

David #12

  [DAVID] Generous giving_   1 Chronicles 29     Giving has become a sore spot for many Christians. Every day we are bombarded with appeals for money – from TV and radio evangelists, from missionaries, from parachurch organisations , from charities and from our own churches. Sometim es we might feel like shouting, “Enough is enough!” How can we adopt godly attitudes toward giving so that we don’t live with a closed fist but an open hand and a generous heart?     [Group discussion starter] How do you tend to respond when people ask you for money? Explain.     David had a refreshing attitude toward giving. In this chapter he illustrates what it means to give joyously and generously to the Lord...     [Read 1 Chronicles 29]     What does this chapter reveal about David’s perspective on giving?       In verses 1-5, how does David provide an excellent example of what it means to give generously to God?    ...
Post a Comment
Read more