Week of December 13 Readings

Here are the readings for the upcoming week:

Dec 13: Jud 11-12; Luke 6:1-26
Dec 14: Jud 13-15; Luke 6:27-49
Dec 15: Jud 16-18; Luke 7:1-30
Dec 16: Jud 19-21; Luke 7:31-50
Dec 17: Ruth 1-4; Luke 8:1-25
Dec 18: 1Sam 1-3; Luke 8:26-56
Dec 19: 1Sam 4-6; Luke 9:1-17

We will be finishing up Judges, reading all of Ruth in a day, continuing in Luke, and beginning 1 Samuel.

Ruth is a story about redemption. It tells the story of a woman named Naomi who lived in Bethlehem during the time of the judges. When famine strikes, Naomi and her sons take refuge in Moab. Her sons marry Moabite women. In turn, Naomi's husband and sons die.

Grief-stricken and bitter, Naomi returns to Bethlehem. She is accompanied by her Moabite daughter-in-law, Ruth -- an outsider who is shunned by Israelites. Ruth, who proves extraordinarily faithful to her mother-in-law, becomes the instrument of God's redemption through the birth of a son, Obed. One of Obed's descendants will be David, the ancestor of Judah's messianic line of kings.

On the surface, Ruth is about the restoration of family property and the healing of a break in the family tree. But the author of the book uses symbolic names, word plays, and purposeful repetition of significant phrases to tell the story as an extended parable. Obed's birth, which represents redemption for Naomi, foreshadows David's birth, who begins the line of kings that promises redemption for all God's people.

Happy reading.

Peace.