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Welcome back, I’m glad you’re here, my friend! I just want to remind you I’m sharing my answers in these posts to provide an example of the treasure that can be discovered in this passage using the DISO study steps. If you’re working with the Holy Spirit and are seeing different results, know that you’re on the right track, even if your findings are different from mine.
That’s because He knows what each of us needs in our faith journey. How awesome is God that He provides our own personal Bible tutor—and the more we study, the more we will develop the skills to hear the Holy Spirit’s voice. So, let’s keep studying!
Last Week’s Work
MY PRAYER
Here’s the prayer I created and plan to pray before digging into Ruth 1:
Thank You, Lord and Father God, for another chance to dig into Ruth. Thank You for sending the Holy Spirit to help me see, understand, and apply the principles here to my life. Remove the scales from my eyes and the plugs from my ears and unburden my heart so I can see all You want me to discover here. Give me wisdom to recognize Your good counsel and courage to follow it no matter what. In Jesus’s name I pray. Amen.
If you’re studying along with me, feel free to use this one or the one you wrote: God hears us no matter what we say!
HUH? and WOW! MOMENTS
Next, I slowly read through the study text, focusing on my reactions, and noting the parts that caught my attention. Here are my responses:
- HUH? What’s the significance of Elimelech’s family being identified as “Ephrathites from Bethlehem?” v2.
- HUH? How far is Moab from Judah?
- HUH? What does “it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake” v13, and “call me Mara,” v20, mean?
- WOW! What would make a woman who didn’t know anything about God until she met and married a Jew want to leave everything she’d ever known to go to Judah with her mother-in-law? v16 In fact, she made a vow in the name of that God she hadn’t even known before joining their family! v17.
- WOW! “… I went away full and the Lord has brought me back empty” v21.
Was your list longer than mine? I have studied this book before. I am pretty amazed at how much came back to me as I re-read this chapter. I do plan on sharing some of that with you as we dig further. If you’re not able to study along right now, hopefully you’ll still benefit from checking in each week, my friend!
Dig-In Challenges
Next week, I plan to:
- PRAY: Read my prayer as I start studying this passage.
- MINE: Identify which aspect of this study I feel the Spirit leading me to dig deepest into right now. It could be one (or more) of the Huh? and Wow! Moments I wrote about this week, or some other item the Spirit hasn’t yet called to my attention.
- MINE: Focus specifically on the setting of the scene in Ruth 1 (who’s involved, where and when did the action take place), and note anything the Spirit emphasizes.
See you again soon, I hope!