Living by the Book/Living by the Book Workbook Set (139 page)

C
ontinue your pursuit of cultural context, today by doing some research concerning Ruth’s and Boaz’s nighttime rendezvous (Ruth 3). You should have examined the matter from a scriptural, observational perspective on Day 4. Today do some consulting to see if other Bible scholars agree with your observations. How are we to interpret Ruth’s actions?

T
his is the final day we’re allotting to Interpretation, so use it as a “free day” to pursue whatever issues you wish. If you still have some pressing questions, this is the day to search for answers. Even if your list of questions has dwindled to nothing, why not spend the day poring over some different Bible versions, new commentaries, Bible handbooks, or related materials to find out if there are important facts you’ve still overlooked? Remember that Scripture speaks to different people in different ways. Someone else might make some basic connections that you haven’t yet discovered in your examination of the book of Ruth.

Y
ou may remember that the four steps to effective Application of Scripture are to know, relate, meditate on, and practice what you find in the text. By now you should know the book of Ruth very well. So your assignment today is to shift your thinking from Interpretation to Application as you begin to relate what you’ve been reading to your current experiences.

Read the book of Ruth and list all the portions that trigger something that you personally have faced, or may be currently facing. For now, keep your list general. Later we will write principles that arise from Ruth and determine some applications that are more specific. Today simply look for advice or examples from Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz that could make a difference in your life if you applied what you are learning.

T
oday we want to meditate on the book of Ruth. This will be from an Application standpoint. (You had the opportunity to read meditatively on Day 4.) Your goal today should be to dwell on the passages in the book of Ruth you feel are particularly important to you. You should know the book quite well by now, so zero in on what you feel is most essential and spend some time thinking about what it really means to you.

Meditating on Scripture is an investment in your future. While you’re here, while you have time, you can do more than merely read words on a page. As you meditate on Scripture, God’s Word is planted in your mind for future reference. That’s why we encourage you to commit to memory what you find so helpful. Scripture memory allows you “around-the-clock” access to the passages of the Bible you find most applicable to your life.

Y
ou probably remember the nine questions we used to help us apply Scripture to our own lives. In this assignment and the next, we will go through the book of Ruth using these questions to see what else we can discover. You will have already answered some of these questions to a certain degree, but keep looking for additional insight. Today we’ll focus on the first five questions, and the next assignment will continue with the final four.

Read the book of Ruth again and ask yourself:

• Is there an example for me to follow?

• Is there a sin to avoid?

• Is there a promise to claim?

• Is there a prayer to repeat?

• Is there a command to obey?

T
his assignment continues the previous one. Here are the other four of the nine questions to help you apply Scripture to your life. Read the book of Ruth again, answering these questions as you get to relevant portions.

• Is there a condition to meet?

• Is there a verse to memorize?