Week 6 Redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb (by Pam Larson)

Glimpses and references to the promised Lamb of God are scattered throughout the Old Testament.

• The whole Bible tells the story of Jesus.
• Every story, every genealogy, every page, every detail speaks of our Redeemer.

To trace God’s beautiful story of redemption, we can follow a thread, a red strand that is woven throughout the Bible....looking for the lamb of God.

Where is the Lamb?

Behold the Lamb!

Worthy is the Lamb

Week 5 Ruth Chapter 4 by Abigail Dodds

Here is the outline for Ruth 4:

1)   Boaz Sets the Stage

2)   Boaz Strikes a Bargain

3)   The People Prophesy

4)   The LORD Gives A Redeemer 

We had three application points:

1-   God does it all. 

He chooses. He plucks people out of Moab. He makes a people out of those of us who are not his people. That’s all of us in here. We are all Moabites, in one sense. We are far off from God, without hope. But God brings us near through the most peculiar circumstances. He redeems us, he gives us a new name, calling us daughter. He chooses to redeem a people and it looks, from a human standpoint, like he is getting a really bad deal with us. Just like it looked like Boaz should have reconsidered his options. But God he goes ahead makes us his bride, against all human wisdom. He makes the unlovable, lovely, by his beautifying love. God does it all. 

2-   God’s people act like God’s people. 

This may seem to contradict the first one. If God does it all, who cares how we act? Let’s not focus on Ruth or Boaz, let’s just focus on God. But part of focusing on Ruth and Boaz’s worthiness and honorableness is that it actually glorifies God. We get to see what it looks like when God is working in the life of his people and what obedience is like. 

They show us what it looks like to be Israelites on the inside. It doesn’t look like staying a Moabite. It doesn’t look like sin. It looks like honoring others and humble submission, and costly leadership. And so, if it’s true that God does it all and that God’s people act like God’s people, that means that God is at work in us causing us to work really hard. And we should praise God for that. We should praise God for God and we should praise God for Ruth and Boaz and Naomi. 

3-   God’s purposes for your story go way beyond your story. 

It was true of Ruth and Boaz and Naomi and it’s true of us. We are not in the upline of Jesus, but we know this: we are his downline. We are his descendants and heirs. We are born of him, the very children of God. We cannot know his purposes for our lives, but we must not live like they end when we die. We must be working for goals 1000, 10000 years from now. DO you have that in your flowchart of goals? 

What aroma do you want to pass down to your spiritual children? That aroma may far outlast the remembrance of your name. What godly, Christ-like, inheritance are you bequeathing to the people around you? Your children, your nieces and nephews, the kids in Sunday school, your neighbors, your co-workers, your friends? Remember God is faithful to a thousand generation of those who fear him. Who will come after you in the line of Jesus? 

Week 4 Ruth Chapter 3 by Pam Larson

We need a redeemer who will give us rest, eternal rest.

• Jesus will be your Redeemer and welcome you into His family.
• Jesus will cover you with His wings and be your refuge.
• Jesus will give you His robe of righteousness to cover your nakedness.
• It does not matter what you’ve done or where you’ve been.
  • We are all undeserving of His grace.
  • The invitation is open.

In trust, come to your Redeemer who will give you rest.

Under Your wings I am safely abiding;

Though the night deepens and tempests are wild,

Still I can trust You, I know You will keep me;

You have redeemed me, and I am Your child.

Under Your wings

Who from Your love can sever?

Under Your wings my soul shall abide,

Safely abide forever.

Under Your wings—what a refuge in sorrow!

How the heart yearningly turns to Your rest!

Often when earth has no balm for my healing,

There I find comfort, and there I am blest.

Under Your wings—oh, what precious enjoyment!

There will I hide till life’s trials are o’er;

Sheltered, protected, no evil can harm me;

Resting in YOU Jesus I’m safe evermore.

(adaped from "Under His Wings," a hymn by William Cushing, 1823-1902)

Week 3 Ruth Chapter 2 by Abigail Dodds

When I outlined chapter 2, I framed it around Boaz. Here are five points to observe about Boaz:

1)   Boaz’s greeting

2)   Boaz’s protection

3)   Boaz’s provision

4)   Boaz’s prayer

5)   Boaz’s position

What can we take away from this scene in Ruth 2? It’s a wonderful story. It’s a chapter where no one sins—at least not explicitly in the text! Did you notice that? I think that’s why it’s such a pleasure to read. Only good examples in chapter two. And that’s what I want us to consider—how different this chapter is from Gen. 3, not to mention Judges and so much of what we observe in the Bible and in our own lives. 

Contrast Boaz in Ruth 2, with Adam in Genesis 3. But don't stop there. The point of the story isn't that Boaz seems to be a lot better than Adam. The point is that Boaz is a pointer to the Better Adam: Jesus. And when we compare Boaz to Jesus, we see just how much better Jesus is than anyone else in history--even worthy Boaz. 

Week 2 Ruth Chapter 1 by Pam Larson

We can trust our faithful, sovereign, redeeming, saving, covenant God who works through unlikely ways and means of grace!

4 scenes in Ruth 1:

Think about the gospel as a three-act story…

Plot arc of Ruth 1:

Scene 1 (v1-2) Bethlehem --> Moab

• Setting ...  a famine

Scene 2 (v3-5) in Moab

• Crisis ... three funerals and three widows

Scene 3 (v6-18) Moab -->  Bethlehem

• food
• a follower of Yahweh with flawed faith?
• climax ... the faith of a foreigner

Scene 4 Bethlehem 

• resolution/new setting ... Hints of filling … and our faithful God

Week 1 Introduction to Ruth study by Pam Larson

The book of Ruth holds treasures to be mined. It reveals the beauty and character of God. It is a beautiful story of God’s grace. My prayer is that you will see Him with your eyes, understand Him with your mind and love Him with all your heart.

• We hope you will be blessed by focusing on the book of Ruth this summer
• I’ve intentionally included some “how-to’s” for you in the workbook.
• Each lesson has an “Extra Time” section.
• Some questions may seem easy and other harder
  • If you find a question too difficult, skip over it and come back to it if you have time at the end of the week
• Our focus is the Scripture itself, so spend your time soaking in the Word and digging in to understand. We believe that the Bible is living and active and able to transform our lives through the power of the Holy Spirit as we study.
• Benjamin Warfield, wrote in 1911, "Sometimes we hear it said that ten minutes on your knees will give you a truer, deeper, more operative knowledge of God than ten hours over your books. 'What!' is the appropriate response, 'than ten hours over your books, on your knees?'" ("The Religious Life of Theological Students," in Mark Noll, ed., The Princeton Theology, [Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983], p. 263). We all want this kind of heart. Yes, we must pray. We will not understand or see wonderful things in Ruth this summer if the Spirit doesn't open our eyes. But praying does not take the place of studying and thinking.

One of my favorite verses is what Paul writes to Timothy: “Think over what I say, FOR the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” (2 Tim 2:7) We read and study and dig and think hard. But we won’t understand unless the Lord gives us understanding. This verse also tells us that we can’t just pray for understanding without actually opening up our Bibles to read, study and think! This is not either-or. This is both-and.

Week 1 AM Class: Invitation to Ruth- Introduction to Ruth by Dr. Jason DeRouchie

An Invitation to Ruth

Jason DeRouchie is a churchman, scholar, husband, and father. He is committed to helping others exalt Jesus and treasure the hope of the gospel from the whole of Christian Scripture—the Old and New Testaments. He and his wife, Teresa, have six children, three brown and three peach, three boys and three girls, and the younger three all came from Ethiopia, a land that he loves. As a family, they delight in academic and church ministry and are delighted to be a part of the Bethlehem community. Jason wrote, “Being here has changed us, helping us cherish the gospel more and birthing within us a love for the nations, especially among the poor. I now have so many from other cultures whose names and stories I know and whom I love and long to see celebrating Christ in eternity.”

As a family, they enjoy camping, hiking, canoeing, and moose-watching, and their favorite place to get away is the north shore of Lake Superior. Whenever possible, he loves to return to Ethiopia to help the church there train its leaders, care for the poor, evangelize the lost, and reach the unreached. He is a former associate pastor and presently serves as a North Campus elder. He has taught in a number of Christian colleges and seminaries and joyfully serves now as Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Theology at Bethlehem College & Seminary.

More information available in your Ruth workbooks:

• On page 14, you will find an address for Dr. DeRouchie’s website, where you will be able to listen to an audio lecture overview of Ruth, and other resources, including notes on Ruth that he has given to his seminary students and a chapter on Ruth in “What the Old Testament Authors Really Cared About.”
• On page 9, you will find notes for Jason’s teaching.

More resources by Dr. Jason DeRouchie

Week 1 PM Class: Invitation to Ruth- Introduction to Ruth by Dr. Jason DeRouchie

An Invitation to Ruth

Jason DeRouchie is a churchman, scholar, husband, and father. He is committed to helping others exalt Jesus and treasure the hope of the gospel from the whole of Christian Scripture—the Old and New Testaments. He and his wife, Teresa, have six children, three brown and three peach, three boys and three girls, and the younger three all came from Ethiopia, a land that he loves. As a family, they delight in academic and church ministry and are delighted to be a part of the Bethlehem community. Jason wrote, “Being here has changed us, helping us cherish the gospel more and birthing within us a love for the nations, especially among the poor. I now have so many from other cultures whose names and stories I know and whom I love and long to see celebrating Christ in eternity.”

As a family, they enjoy camping, hiking, canoeing, and moose-watching, and their favorite place to get away is the north shore of Lake Superior. Whenever possible, he loves to return to Ethiopia to help the church there train its leaders, care for the poor, evangelize the lost, and reach the unreached. He is a former associate pastor and presently serves as a North Campus elder. He has taught in a number of Christian colleges and seminaries and joyfully serves now as Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Theology at Bethlehem College & Seminary.

More information available in your Ruth workbooks:

• On page 14, you will find an address for Dr. DeRouchie’s website, where you will be able to listen to an audio lecture overview of Ruth, and other resources, including notes on Ruth that he has given to his seminary students and a chapter on Ruth in “What the Old Testament Authors Really Cared About.”
• On page 9, you will find notes for Jason’s teaching.

More resources by Dr. Jason DeRouchie