The occasional, often ill-considered thoughts of a Roman Catholic permanent deacon who is ever grateful to God for his existence. Despite the strangeness we encounter in this life, all the suffering we witness and endure, being is good, so good I am sometimes unable to contain my joy. Deo gratias!


Although I am an ordained deacon of the Catholic Church, the opinions expressed in this blog are my personal opinions. In offering these personal opinions I am not acting as a representative of the Church or any Church organization.

Tuesday, March 23, 2021

New Bible Study Guide: The Book of Ruth

I’ve never met anyone who didn’t enjoy the Book of Ruth, that brief gem tucked away among the early books of the Old Testament. Somehow the anonymous author managed to tell this wonderful story in only four chapters, providing a perfect tutorial for the short story writer. It’s really a love story, one that’s told on many levels. The story touches the lives of the three main characters — Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz — and their relationships with each other and with God. Ruth is one of those books that should be read every so often just to deepen your faith in God’s love for us and how He quietly steps into our lives to help us achieve the salvation He desires for each of us. As the women of Bethlehem told Naomi: “Blessed is the Lord who has not failed to provide for you today...” [Ru 4:14]

Some years ago I wrote a brief study guide combining the books of Jonah and Ruth, but recently decided to separate the two books and write expanded versions of each. I finished Jonah a few weeks ago, and finally got around to Ruth this past week. I actually wrote most of it while on vacation in Tennessee and South Carolina because crummy weather kept us inside for a few days.

Here’s a link to the revised (new and improved) study guide: The Book of Ruth

You can access all of the study guides and other documents on the Documents page of our Bible Study website.


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