Message of Hope: Waiting patiently on the Lord is often hard for us, but it is worth the wait.
Ruth 4:13-22
Listening and Learning
1.Why do you think this story ends with the birth of Ruth’s son when it could have ended in so
many other ways?
2.Why do you think the Lord is given credit for making it possible for Ruth to get pregnant?
3.Read verse 14 again. Why is the focus on Naomi instead of Ruth who gave birth to baby Obed?
4.In verses 16 and 17 it sounds like Obed belongs to Naomi. How do you make sense of this?
5.What are the possible reasons why verses 18-22 are included?
6.The author of this book wrote it for a reason. What lessons do you think the author hopes we
learn from this story?
Please share your answers to the questions. We’d love to hear your thoughts.
Excerpts and questions used in this study are used by permission from
Living in the Moment 
Ruth 4:13-22Listening and Learning1.Why do you think this story ends with the birth of Ruth's son when it could have ended in so many other ways?I think it has to do with something beyond just the story of Ruth. I think it has to do with the bigger story…the Jesse Tree – Jesus' Genealogy. Obed was the continuation of the lineage that would in the end be part of Jesus' story, tying the Old Testament and New Testament together. 2.Why do you think the Lord is given credit for making it possible for Ruth to get pregnant?So many things had to happen for Ruth to get pregnant. There were so many obstacles and only the work of God could have orchestrated everything to work out in such an amazing way.3.Read verse 14 again. Why is the focus on Naomi instead of Ruth who gave birth to baby Obed?I think it has to do with her faithfulness and the way she kept going in tough times. The birth of Obed was the culmination to this for her. Her family's lineage would continue. God was faithful, even when she doubted. Even when she had to wait and wait and wait.4.In verses 16 and 17 it sounds like Obed belongs to Naomi. How do you make sense of this?I think this just refers to the lineage being continued.5.What are the possible reasons why verses 18-22 are included?It reveals the names of people in her lineage. Some of these names come with stories that are not clean. There are a lot of stories of redemption found in this lineage and in looking further into this, this is also the lineage of Jesus. The book of Ruth and the story of the family redeemer seems to be foreshadowing of the 'family redeemer' found later on in this family tree: Jesus' redemption for our sins on the cross of Calvary.6.The author of this book wrote it for a reason. What lessons do you think the author hopes welearn from this story?We all have stories in our lives that are dark. We all need redemption. We all need a family redeemer. We all need to be family redeemers to those around us. Most of all the lesson I get from this book is that no matter our journey, God is there to redeem us. No matter how long we are waiting on something, God's timing is absolutely perfect. He is working behind the scenes to orchestrate things for our good.
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