Opening Music
Opening Prayer
God, thank you for communicating with your people. We are grateful that we have access to your truth through your Word. Forgive us when we look for guidance outside your Word, when we want to guide ourselves. Renew our desire and passion for reading the Bible. We want to get to know you better. We pray each of us this morning will learn something new about you and your character. In Jesus name, Amen
(adapted from Praying the Promises by Max Lucado)
Map
Images
Whither Thou Goest Painting – Sandy Freckleton Gagon
Whither Thou Goest Stained Glass – GommStudios Etsy
Whiteboard: Character Study
Scripture
*Ruth 2:1 “Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelek, whose name was Boaz.
*Ruth 2:4 “Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “The Lord be with you!”
*Micah 5:2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel,whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”
* Matthew 2:6 “But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.”
Gleaning and the Guardian-Redeemer
*Leviticus 19:9-10 9 “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.
*Guardian-Redeemer
This role served to stabilize a disrupted family circumstance. Mosaic Law prescribed that the guardian-redeemer reacquire property lost by family members who had fallen on hard times. He also was to redeem relatives who, because of poverty, had sold themselves into slavery. In addition, he was to avenge relatives who had died at the hands of others, be the recipient of payments owed to deceased relatives and generally serve to alleviate wrongs that relatives might not be able to alleviate for themselves. The legislation says nothing explicitly regarding taking the wife of the deceased as part of the redemption procedure, although it appears that the Israelites sometimes understood a connection between the two.
Breakout Groups
Questions 3a, b, c, 4a, b, c, d, e