Tuesday, August 17, 2010

God Is At Work - The Story of Ruth Part II - A "Chance" Meeting, Part 25 of 44

TEXT: "Who can find a woman of noble character [chayil]?  For her worth is far above rubies" (Proverbs 31:10).

IDEA: What we are inside means more than how we look outside.

PURPOSE: To help listeners see the kind of person God makes, then uses.

Do you visit book stores or libraries very often?  How are the books in a library arranged?

Have you ever thought of the Bible as a "library" of books?

I. How are the sections of books in the biblical library arranged?

Does the arrangement make sense?

If you didn't know better, where would you have put the story of Ruth?  It's a lovely little story that doesn't easily fit the broad categories.

Where does it appear in the English Bible?  That's where it is put in most ancient texts.

Would it surprise you that one group of ancient teachers put Ruth right after the book of Proverbs?  Why might they have done that?

II. Ruth displays the characteristics of the wise woman of Proverbs 31.

She is called a wife of "noble character" (Proverbs 31:10; eschet chayil).  The adjective translated "noble character" in Proverbs 31:10, is translated "valiant," "strong," or "mighty" elsewhere in the Old Testament.  In Proverbs 31 this wise woman uses her strength, wisdom, ability, valor to serve others.

Her husband says that of her in Proverbs 31:29: "Many daughters have done well, but you excel them all."

What does that look like in other settings apart from Proverbs 31?  Boaz describes Ruth as eschet chayil in Ruth 3:11; chayil is also used of Boaz in Ruth 2:1.

Why, then, did some ancient scholars put Ruth right after Proverbs 31?

III. What might we learn from the book of Ruth as we study what she did and how she acted?

Could we also apply chayil to Ruth's mother-in-law, Naomi?