Once Upon a Time in Moab

Ruth – A Biblical Drama, Part 1

Once Upon a Time in Moab

A lesson we all have to remember is that the books of the Bible are not individual and isolated pieces of literature. They are all part of the same grand story, both Old and New Testaments, and interwoven into a beautiful tapestry that informs us about who God is and how he relates to us. For example, as you read through the genealogy of Jesus in the first chapter of Matthew, you will notice that there are several prominent names listed in the ancestral record of our Messiah. I want to draw our attention to a pair of names that appear in the fifth verse: “Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth.” Over the coming weeks, we are going to spend some time in the book of Ruth, a short, yet powerful book. As we work through this series we are going to be asking three different questions: 1) What’s the significance of Ruth in its original context? 2) How does Ruth help lay the foundation for Jesus? and 3) What does Ruth teach us as disciples today? This week, we’ll be primarily answering the first question as we seek to understand the context and reason that Ruth was written. But this will not merely be a history lesson by any stretch of the imagination. Even the earliest parts of the story reveal that there is hope to be found in God. Even when things seem to be working against us in every possible way, God is not finished working in our lives.

Caleb, McCaughan: Once Upon a Time in Moab

This new series of Caleb’s follows the series on 1 Peter that he just finished a few weeks ago called, Strangers in a Familiar World. If you missed the series on 1 Peter, please check that out here.

Discussion Questions:

1. Why did Naomi decide to return to Bethlehem? What challenges did she face in making this decision?
2. What motivated Ruth to stay with Naomi? What does this say about her character?
3. What are the themes of redemption and restoration in Ruth 1?