NEW TO THIS STUDY? START HERE.
Welcome back! As I reviewed my previous work, I realized I goofed last week when I wondered if Boaz had quoted King David… I’ve studied Ruth before and should have remembered the genealogy at the end of this book: “…Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David (Ruth 4:21-22).” It’s highly unlikely Boaz would quote David before he even married David’s great grandmother! So, perhaps David was the one borrowing the line instead. After all, he used that imagery I so admired in at least five different Psalms! But that’s just the start of the revelation I received this week!
Last Week’s Work
CROSS-REFERENCES
One of the things I love most about digging around in cross-references is the way Scripture comes full circle. I saw it again this week with the references I studied relative to redeemer (v20).
After examining almost fifty separate instances of redeem/redeemer (almost half in the book of Isaiah alone), I realized I’d discovered one of those “threads” woven through the entire Bible. I found it first in Leviticus (25:47-49), where a poor Israelite who sells himself into slavery can be redeemed by a kinsman. This is important, because the history of Israel is enslavement followed by redemption through God’s intervention. First with Egypt (see Exodus 1:8-14, 6:6, 15:3), then with Babylon (2 Kings 24:8-25:12, Isaiah 48:20). And finally, enslavement to sin and death and redemption through Jesus, which is also available to all of us who believe in Him (Romans 3:21-25).
It was amazing to see, again, God’s consistent love for people who are so easily led astray!
OTHER TRANSLATIONS
I compared the ESV, Amplified Bible, New International Version, and Good News Translation for verses 12 and 20. I didn’t see much difference among these for verse 12, other than the GNT excised that beautiful phrase under whose wings you have come to take refuge, in favor of just the facts. It reads, to whom you have come for protection.
The GNT also rendered Naomi’s statement about Boaz being a redeemer more plainly: one of those responsible for taking care of us. If you’re not familiar with the remaining chapters of Ruth, doesn’t that make you wonder what will happen next?
I know the original writing of Ruth wasn’t divided into chapters, but I applaud whoever put the chapter break there. It’s definitely a cliff-hanger! Will Naomi and Ruth confront Boaz and force his hand? Stay tuned, my friend!
Dig-In Challenges
But first, let’s wrap up our study of Chapter 2 and align with what we’ve discovered here. This week, I hope you’ll join me as I
- Read the prayer we created in Step 1.
- ALIGN: Review my study notes and other work, focusing specifically on what I’ve learned.
- ALIGN: Then, considering those “lessons learned,” I’ll give some thought to how the Spirit has convicted me through this study. In other words, where has He shown me misalignment between what I’ve discovered and how I practice my faith?
- ALIGN: Next, I’ll look to God’s Word for guidance to correct that misalignment. This is often—but not always—a verse either from the study text or from one of the cross-references.
- ALIGN: And finally, I’ll reflect on how I can change thinking or behavior to align more closely with the redeeming God I’ve discovered here. To really make this work, I commit to changing something and do my best to act on that commitment every day for at least three weeks.
That may seem like a lot to consider in one week, but I’ve found the Spirit often leads me through steps 2-5 very quickly (though sometimes I have to pray about it more than a couple of times during the week). If you’re working with me, just do what you can when you can. It’s far better to take your time and really soak in what you’ve discovered than to run through it so quickly you don’t even have a chance to remember it a week from now!
I’m looking forward to sharing my findings with you next week, and turning our attention to Ruth Chapter 3, which we’ll begin September 3. I hope you’ll keep digging into this amazing book with me!