Week 13 Mon Ruth 1-4 Tue 1 Sam. 1:1-4:1 Wed 1 Sam. 4:1-8:22 Thu 1 Sam. 9-12
Look for: · Your people will be my people · I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life · Speak, for your servant is listening · Appoint a king to lead us · To obey is better than sacrifice
Short Readings:
New Testament –
Click on verse references to read online at www.biblegateway.com
Read With Me – A Chronological Bible Reading Program
For more information and additional resources go to Read With Me online blog at |
Ruth – A Reader’s GuideThe book of Ruth is a beautiful tale of Naomi, a Hebrew widow and her daughter-in-law Ruth who also becomes widowed. Ultimately, Ruth marries a near-kinsman, Boaz, under the law regarding childless widows (Deut. 25:5-10) and becomes the great-grandmother of King David, and an ancestor of Jesus. OrganizationThe book of Ruth is named for the Moabite woman who is the central figure of the book. The book covers about 12 years, and connects the history of David with the earlier period of the judges in Israel. Ruth’s story of peaceful and pastoral simplicity forms a contrast with the disorder and chaos of Judges. The book may be easily organized into two parts: 1. Ruth’s love and loyalty to her mother-in-law Naomi (Ruth 1-2)
2. Ruth’s love and loyalty is rewarded by a family and a legacy (Ruth 3-4)
Author and DateThe writer of Ruth is unknown. The fourth chapter traces Ruth’s descendants to David, so the book was not written before king David’s time. Ruth is likely written around 1000 B.C. Key Passage“Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God” (Ruth 1:16). Pointing to ChristAlthough Ruth does not contain prophecies of the Christ, it documents an important link in the genealogy of Jesus the Christ. Matthew mentions Ruth in listing the genealogy of Jesus (Mt. 1:5). A King in IsraelJudges seems to lay out the argument for a king in Israel, and 1 Samuel shows how a king was established. Judges repeatedly states that Israel had no king, and everyone followed his own plans (see Jud. 8:22-23; 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). Judges also records Israel’s desire to make Gideon king (Jud. 8:22-23), and the conspiracy and disastrous reign of Abimelech (Jud. 9). Ultimately God wants a king to rule Israel. However, the people want a king for the wrong reasons – to be like other nations, and to be what they want in a king (1 Sam. 8:5, 20). God’s reluctance about Saul (1 Sam. 8:6-9) and his disastrous rule is not due to the kingship, but rather to the neglect of God’s will in choosing a king. David was a man after God’s heart, and his rule had God’s full blessing. |
Read With Me – Week 13
March 26, 2017 by gvayers
Leave a comment