From Bethlehem to Moab: Studies in Ruth
I have been continuing on in Sunday School with lessons from the book of Ruth. For the last several Sundays, we have been following Elimelech and his family from Bethlehem to Moab, going along the most likely route they traveled.
The reason for this is that I believe there were lessons and reminders along the way which should have pointed Elimelech back towards Bethlehem. But more importantly, they serve as reminders to us as well of God and his faithfulness.
I started out thinking that the first stop after Bethlehem would be the city of Jerusalem. After all, at 6 miles away, what could be closer? Well, on the way we come upon Rachel's tomb. The lesson here is God's faithfulness. Rachel's tomb reminds of all that God had done in the past, the promises that he had made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and how that the presence of God's people in the promised land (during the days of the judges) was a direct and visible proof of our covenant keeping God.
After Rachel's tomb comes Jerusalem, and this was an interesting study, because at the time of the judges, Jerusalem was not an important town in Israel. It was inhabited by the Jebusites. We looked at the promises God made of victory and how that initially it seems the Jebusites were driven out. However, as time went on, they came back and were found dwelling there once again. In our study we briefly considered and asked ourselves what "Jebusites" might we have allowed to creep back into our lives, even things which God had promised victory over.
Well, we left Jerusalem, and traveled the dangerous road which descended down to Jericho. While there potentially were lessons along this route, we instead turned our attention to Jericho. Two weeks ago, Sunday, we considered the archaeological excavations which have taken place at Jericho during the last century, and how that each one has succeeded in finding evidence that points to the Biblical account (the ones who disagree don't have a problem with the evidence but with the dating...which in my mind is a fundamental weakness in archaeology anyway).
Two days ago, we continued in our study of Jericho. This time we looked at the passage in Joshua 6 from the perspective of the inhabitants of Jericho. The message was about misplaced trust, and it is interesting to note that those in Jericho didn't rely on alliances, they didn't depend on military strength or strategy, but instead they relied on the walls of the city. In the natural these were impregnable by Israel, but the God who brought Israel out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, across the wilderness and into the promised land could not be stopped by an "impressive" wall. The lesson to be learned is that there is only One who is deserving of the trust of His people, and that is God Almighty. Our source text and study was found in Prov 3:5-6.
So, there you have it, a short summary of where our study in Ruth has been going. It has been a blessing for me to be able to present some of what God has been showing me via the Sunday School venue, and I trust is an encouragement to all of you that God's word is a living word and can be studied and learned from , even from one of the shortest and smallest of its books.
The reason for this is that I believe there were lessons and reminders along the way which should have pointed Elimelech back towards Bethlehem. But more importantly, they serve as reminders to us as well of God and his faithfulness.
I started out thinking that the first stop after Bethlehem would be the city of Jerusalem. After all, at 6 miles away, what could be closer? Well, on the way we come upon Rachel's tomb. The lesson here is God's faithfulness. Rachel's tomb reminds of all that God had done in the past, the promises that he had made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and how that the presence of God's people in the promised land (during the days of the judges) was a direct and visible proof of our covenant keeping God.
After Rachel's tomb comes Jerusalem, and this was an interesting study, because at the time of the judges, Jerusalem was not an important town in Israel. It was inhabited by the Jebusites. We looked at the promises God made of victory and how that initially it seems the Jebusites were driven out. However, as time went on, they came back and were found dwelling there once again. In our study we briefly considered and asked ourselves what "Jebusites" might we have allowed to creep back into our lives, even things which God had promised victory over.
Well, we left Jerusalem, and traveled the dangerous road which descended down to Jericho. While there potentially were lessons along this route, we instead turned our attention to Jericho. Two weeks ago, Sunday, we considered the archaeological excavations which have taken place at Jericho during the last century, and how that each one has succeeded in finding evidence that points to the Biblical account (the ones who disagree don't have a problem with the evidence but with the dating...which in my mind is a fundamental weakness in archaeology anyway).
Two days ago, we continued in our study of Jericho. This time we looked at the passage in Joshua 6 from the perspective of the inhabitants of Jericho. The message was about misplaced trust, and it is interesting to note that those in Jericho didn't rely on alliances, they didn't depend on military strength or strategy, but instead they relied on the walls of the city. In the natural these were impregnable by Israel, but the God who brought Israel out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, across the wilderness and into the promised land could not be stopped by an "impressive" wall. The lesson to be learned is that there is only One who is deserving of the trust of His people, and that is God Almighty. Our source text and study was found in Prov 3:5-6.
So, there you have it, a short summary of where our study in Ruth has been going. It has been a blessing for me to be able to present some of what God has been showing me via the Sunday School venue, and I trust is an encouragement to all of you that God's word is a living word and can be studied and learned from , even from one of the shortest and smallest of its books.
posted by Derek Linder at 7:24 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home