The Book of Ruth. Union Lake Baptist Church. Adult Sunday School. Reading Schedule & Discussion Questions. 1 st Semester (Sept-Oct 2016)

Transcription

1 Union Lake Baptist Church Adult Sunday School Pieter Lastman, 1624 The Book of Ruth Reading Schedule & Discussion Questions 1 st Semester (Sept-Oct 2016)

2 Sunday School Page 2

3 Week 1 (September 4 th ) A. Homework: Read the Book of Ruth B. Questions: 1. What overall impressions do you have about the Book, questions, hopes for studying it? 2. What facts or events stick out to you as interesting, important or puzzling? 3. Who do you plan on getting together with mid-week to talk about what you ve learned the previous Sunday or to talk through the reading assignment & questions for the upcoming class? C. Note: the class period will introduce the Grammatical-Historical-Literary-Redemptive approach to Bible Study with examples. It will help you to better understand every book of the Bible. Sunday School Page 3

4 Notes: Sunday School Page 4

5 Week 2 (September 11 th ) A. Homework: Read Ruth Chapter 1 B. Questions: 1. Describe the structure of Elimelech s family. Drawing a family tree might help. 2. Why did his family travel to Moab? a. Where is Moab? Find it on the map. b. What other biblical accounts have people going to foreign countries for the same reason Elimelech went to Moab? i. Clue: Think about the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac & Jacob. One example is early in Abraham s story) ii. Are there any similarities between those stories and this one? If so, what are they? Sunday School Page 5

6 Week 2 (con t) 3. Look at verse 4. What is the significance of this detail: They took for themselves Moabite women as wives? a. Read Genesis 12:1-3 where God makes great promises to Abraham. Does the detail in v4 of our text have anything to do with one of those promises? Explain. b. How do the following passages impact your answer above: Gen 24:1-3; 28:1-9 & Deut 7:1-4? 4. Why does Naomi tell her daughters-in-law to go back to their mothers house in v8? a. It was an emotional scene. What does the text say was their response to Naomi? b. How did their eventual decisions differ? c. Did either of the responses surprise you and, if so, why? Sunday School Page 6

7 Notes: Sunday School Page 7

8 Week 3 (September 18 th ) A. Homework: Read Chapter 2 B. Questions 1. How is Boaz consistently described? a. Contrast his description with that of Ruth b. Do you have any theories about why the contrast exists in Ch. 2? 2. Consider that the word gleaning is mentioned 12 times in this chapter. Gleaning was the biblically-mandated practice of the poor being permitted to follow behind the reapers/harvesters and collect (and keep) what the reapers left behind. Often gleaners were widows and orphaned young girls. a. Do you think gleaning posed any danger? If so, what in the text makes you think so? b. What might be said of Ruth for being willing to do so? c. How might the owner of a field protect a gleaner? Sunday School Page 8

9 Week 3 (con t) 3. Boaz shows many godly traits. What are they? a. How do they affect Ruth s life? b. Do we see any of the Abrahamic promises from Genesis 12:1-3 playing out here? 4. Finding favor is another concept seen throughout this chapter. Who is seeking favor? From whom are they seeking it? Sunday School Page 9

10 Notes: Sunday School Page 10

11 Week 4 (September 25 th ) A. Homework: Read Chapter 3 B. Questions 1. Why has Naomi come up with the plan in vv1-4. a. What did Naomi have to learn in order to come up with the plan? b. What does she want for Ruth? c. Clue: The Hebrew phrase that Naomi uses in v1 is translated various ways. The ESV & KJV both interpret the Hebrew literally: seek rest, but other translations might help us understand what she meant. Check out the NLT, NIV and NASB. 2. How would you characterize Ruth s behavior in this chapter? Consider what she says in v5 to Naomi and that she was found at his feet v8 Sunday School Page 11

12 Week 4 (con t) 3. Ruth coming to the place where Boaz was to sleep was risky. Boaz might have taken advantage of her. a. Why do you believe Naomi was willing to put Ruth in that potentially devastating situation (and Ruth be willing to do it)? Use the text to answer. b. Another risk was that someone might have witnessed Ruth being with Boaz and misinterpreted the situation. Gossip might have ruined her reputation. Does Boaz seem concerned about her reputation? Why or why not? 4. The concept of kinsman-redeemer first arises in 2:20. a. One commentator explains: The responsibilities... included avenging the death of a murdered relative (Num 35:19), marrying a childless widow of a deceased brother (Deut 25:5-10), buying back family land that had been sold (Lev 25:47-49), and looking after needy and helpless members of the family (Lev 25:35). Expositor s Bible Comm, Vol 533. b. Which of these responsibilities, do you believe, Ruth was hoping Boaz would fulfill? c. What potential problem existed that could have prevented Boaz from serving her in this way? Wouldn t Naomi have known about this problem? If so, why do you suppose she presented the plan to Ruth in the first place? d. Was Boaz serious about redeeming Ruth or was he looking to pass it off onto another relative? Support your answer with the text. Sunday School Page 12

13 Notes: Sunday School Page 13

14 Week 5 (October 2 nd ) A. Homework: Read Chapter 4 B. Questions 1. What is Boaz trying to determine in talking with the close relative of Naomi in vv1-4. a. Clue: Look for a key word that is much repeated. b. Clue: He says, I am after you in v4. 2. The close relative initially agrees to help Naomi. a. Why does he change his mind? b. What does he mean by jeopardizing his own inheritance (v6)? Sunday School Page 14

15 Week 5 (Con t) 3. Why doesn t Boaz sit down and talk only with the close relative? Why the need for others to be there? 4. Boaz mentions that his actions will prevent Mahlon from being cut off from his brothers or from the court of his birth place (v10). What do you think he means by these words? a. Clue: The sign of God s covenant with His people is circumcision which is a cutting off see the play on words in Genesis 17:14 b. Clue: A man s lineage continuing and his name being preserved was seen as receiving (see 1 Sam 20:14-16; 24:20-22); that s one reason why God promising David that there would always be one of his descendants on his throne was such an enormous blessing). c. Clue: Leviticus 17:10; 20:3; and 22:3 (to name just a few) warn that those who violate various laws will be cut off from God s people, from God s presence, God s blessings. Compare Paul s usage of the phrase in Romans 9:3. Sunday School Page 15

16 Week 5 (Con t) 5. In Genesis 38, Judah kept his youngest son from redeeming Tamar, necessitating that Tamar trick Judah into getting her pregnant by pretending to be a prostitute. Judah s actions and Boaz s actions were very different. a. Why then, do you think the elders compare the two: May your house be like the house of Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the offspring which the Lord will give you by this young woman? (v12). b. Hint: Who gets saved in both situations? 6. Look at the genealogy in v18. What does it reveal to you about God s plan of redemption? Sunday School Page 16

17 Notes: Sunday School Page 17

18 Week 6 (October 9 th ) A. Homework: Read the Book of Ruth, review your study questions, note any lingering questions B. Questions 1. What did God teach you in studying the Book of Ruth? 2. Why did God include this story in the Bible? 3. What role (if any) does Ruth play in all of Scripture? How does the Lord use her story to point forward to the coming of Jesus Christ as the Redeemer? Sunday School Page 18

19 Week 6 (con t) 4. What questions do you still have? 5. What blessings and suggestions for improvement do you have for the new SS format? 6. Would you like to be a table leader or teacher in the future? Sunday School Page 19

20 Notes: Sunday School Page 20

21 Notes: Sunday School Page 21