Ruth chapter 4 brings the story of Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz to its beautiful conclusion.

Boaz goes to the city gate, gathers the elders, and properly follows the law to settle the question of redemption. A closer relative has the first right to redeem Naomi’s land, but when he learns that Ruth must also become part of the family inheritance, he declines. Boaz then steps forward and publicly declares that he will redeem both the land and Ruth.

The transaction illustrates what redemption means. Something has been lost, a legitimate claim exists, and a price must be paid to restore it. Boaz pays that price and gains the legal right to redeem Ruth and restore the family inheritance.

The session connects this with Jesus Christ. Scripture teaches that believers were bought with a price. Christ paid the debt of sin in full through His death on the cross. Redemption is not merely forgiveness in the abstract—it is a costly act in which the Redeemer pays what we could not pay for ourselves.

Ruth’s progression throughout the book is remarkable. She begins as a foreigner, then calls herself a maidservant, then becomes Boaz’s maid, and finally becomes his wife. She moves from poverty and exclusion to belonging, inheritance, marriage, and blessing.

Naomi experiences a similar transformation. She once asked to be called Mara because she believed the Lord had dealt bitterly with her. By the end, she holds a grandson in her arms while the women of Bethlehem celebrate with her.

The book closes with the genealogy leading to King David, showing that God’s providential work in the lives of Ruth and Boaz becomes part of the larger story of redemption that ultimately leads to Jesus Christ.

Scripture: Ruth 4:1–22
Series: The Book of Ruth — An RTTB Study

Questions discussed in this session include:

• What does it mean when we say Jesus paid for our sins?
• What is redeeming and why is it important to us? 
• How is Jesus our redeemer? 
• What is the state of a person before and after they come to Christ? 

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Ruth chapter 3 brings the Kinsman-Redeemer theme to the center of the story.

The session begins with the law from Deuteronomy 25, which provided for a widow to be cared for by a close family member so that the family name, inheritance, and land could continue. That background becomes essential when Naomi recognizes that Boaz may be able to act as Ruth’s redeemer.

Naomi then sends Ruth to the threshing floor. Ruth approaches Boaz humbly, lies at his feet, and asks him to spread his covering over her because he is a close relative. Her request is essentially a request for Boaz to fulfill the role of kinsman-redeemer.

Boaz responds with kindness and integrity. He praises Ruth’s character, explains that another relative has the first right of redemption, and promises that if that man will not redeem her, he will.

This session explores how Boaz points toward Jesus Christ. A redeemer had to be a true kinsman. In the same way, Christ had to become fully human in order to redeem humanity. He is not a distant Savior—He became one of us so that He could serve as our mediator and Redeemer.

The chapter also emphasizes humility, submission, timing, salvation, waiting on God, and trusting His promises.

Ruth places herself at Boaz’s feet.

Boaz makes a promise.

Then Ruth has to wait.

That same pattern speaks powerfully to the Christian life. Christ has made promises to His people, including the promise that He will return. Until then, believers are called to trust Him while they wait.

Scripture: Ruth 3:1–18
Series: The Book of Ruth — An RTTB Study

Some questions discussed in this session include:

• How does God keep families together?
• Can we earn a relationship with Christ? 
• How should we approach God when talking to Him? 
• How should a couple today find a spouse? 
• What time is the best time to settle our relationship with God? 

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Ruth 2 moves fully into the growing relationship between Ruth and Boaz.

Ruth is a widow, a foreigner, and poor. She has no inheritance in Israel and is gathering leftover barley simply to survive. Then Boaz, a wealthy landowner from Bethlehem, notices her.

In this session, Glenn and Steve explore how the romance between Ruth and Boaz also illustrates the believer’s relationship with Jesus Christ. Ruth is the outsider with no ability to change her circumstances, while Boaz is the wealthy kinsman who sees her, protects her, provides for her, and begins drawing her closer.

Boaz tells Ruth to remain in his field, commands his workers not to harm her, gives her access to water, invites her to eat with his servants, personally serves her food, and instructs his workers to intentionally leave extra grain behind for her. Ruth receives far more than the minimum the law required.

The passage also explores Ruth’s status as a foreigner and the biblical truth that God does not show partiality based on race, nationality, social standing, or background.

By the end of the chapter, Naomi recognizes that Boaz is more than simply a generous landowner. He is a close relative and a potential kinsman-redeemer.

The romance is beginning, but so is a much larger picture of redemption.

Scripture: Ruth 2:5–23
Series: The Book of Ruth — An RTTB Study

Questions discussed in this session are: 

•  What does the Bible teach about race and nationality? 
• How should we take care of the least advantaged in our midst?
• Can we trust in the providence of the Lord? 
• How much does God notice of our lives?
• What benefits does Christ give us?  

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Ruth 1–2 shows the difference between turning toward God and fully committing to Him.

Orpah begins the journey toward Israel but eventually returns to Moab. Ruth does the opposite. She leaves her homeland, her people, and her former gods behind and tells Naomi, “Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.” Her words are more than family loyalty—they represent a wholehearted commitment to Yahweh.

When Ruth and Naomi arrive in Bethlehem, the town is stirred by Naomi’s return. Naomi asks to be called Mara, meaning bitter, because she believes the Lord has afflicted her. Her grief is understandable, but she cannot yet see what God is preparing.

The story then introduces the biblical practice of gleaning. Under the Mosaic Law, landowners were required to leave portions of their harvest for widows, foreigners, travelers, and the poor. This system provided help while still allowing those who were able to work for their food.

Ruth does exactly that. Rather than demanding assistance, she humbly asks permission to glean behind the harvesters.

Then one of the most important statements in the story appears: Ruth “happened” to come to the field belonging to Boaz.

Boaz is wealthy, respected, related to Naomi’s late husband, and positioned to become a kinsman-redeemer. His meeting with Ruth looks accidental from a human perspective, but the story begins revealing God’s providential arrangement of ordinary circumstances.

God’s provision often does not arrive through spectacular miracles. Sometimes it appears through a field, a harvest, a conversation, or simply being in the right place at the right time.

Scripture: Ruth 1:14–2:9
Series: The Book of Ruth — An RTTB Study

  Questions discussed in this session include:

• Does God always recognize those who turn Him? 
•  What value is there in taking care of the human needs of a loved one?
•  Can we keep one foot in the old life and one foot in the new? 
•  Is there a Biblical way to have welfare?  

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The Book of Ruth begins during the dark period of the Judges, when Israel was marked by disobedience, idolatry, and judgment. Yet Ruth offers a striking contrast: even in a corrupt culture, individuals can still live faithfully, and God can work quietly through ordinary people and painful circumstances.

In this opening session, Glenn and Steve introduce the major themes of Ruth, including redemption, kindness, rest, providence, love, grief, and restoration. Ruth and Boaz will eventually become the great-grandparents of King David, and Ruth will also appear in the genealogy of Jesus Christ.

The story begins with a famine in Bethlehem, whose name means “house of bread.” Elimelech leaves the promised land with his wife, Naomi, and their two sons and travels to Moab. There, Naomi loses her husband and both sons, leaving her in a foreign land with her two daughters-in-law.

The session pauses to consider the deep grief that follows the loss of a spouse and other loved ones. Steve shares personally about the death of his wife and how his relationship with God, his daughters, and other believers helped him continue through sorrow.

When Naomi hears that the Lord has again provided food in Judah, she begins the journey home. She urges Ruth and Orpah to return to their families. Orpah leaves, but Ruth clings to Naomi and makes one of Scripture’s most memorable declarations:

“Where you go, I will go… your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.”

At this point, Naomi believes that the Lord has turned against her. She cannot yet see that God is using these very circumstances to bring blessing, redemption, and a future greater than anything she could imagine.

Scripture: Ruth 1:1–18
Series: The Book of Ruth — An RTTB Study

  Questions discussed in this session include:

•  If tragedy happens, is God sill working?  
• What does it indicate when the Jews leave a land? 
• Can grief be overwhelming? 
• Can good come out of tragedy? 

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Why did God command Israel to destroy the people of Canaan?

Passages in Deuteronomy and Joshua describe commands to destroy entire Canaanite populations, including soldiers, families, livestock, and cities. These passages raise one of the most difficult moral questions in the Old Testament and are often used by skeptics to accuse God of cruelty or injustice.

In this topical discussion, Glenn and Steve examine the larger biblical context surrounding the judgment of Canaan. The study begins with God’s sovereignty as Creator and giver of life. Because life comes from Him, He possesses authority over life and death in a way that human beings do not.

The Canaanites were also not presented as innocent people. Their culture included child sacrifice, sexualized worship, idolatry, and practices that eventually corrupted Israel when the nation failed to carry out God’s command completely.

God’s judgment was not sudden or arbitrary. Israel remained in Egypt for approximately four centuries before entering Canaan, and the biblical pattern shows that God repeatedly warns people before judgment. Rahab demonstrates that a Canaanite who recognized Yahweh, believed, and submitted to Him could receive mercy.

The discussion also considers four possible ways God could respond to evil: permit free choices and judge them, permit evil without judgment, prevent every evil choice and eliminate meaningful human freedom, or remove children before they mature into the same evil practices.

The central conclusion is that God’s actions must be understood within His holiness, sovereignty, patience, justice, and complete knowledge of every possible outcome.

Topical Study: The Judgment of Canaan
Series: Reasoning Through the Bible Topical Series

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May God Bless you!! - Glenn and Steve

Who is the Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament?

This phrase appears repeatedly in passages involving Hagar, Abraham, Moses, Balaam, Gideon, Samson’s parents, and the nation of Israel. At first glance, readers may assume this is simply another created angel. A closer examination, however, reveals that the Angel of the Lord speaks with God’s authority, accepts identification with God, gives divine promises, receives worship, forgives or judges, and is feared as Yahweh Himself.

In this topical study, Glenn and Steve examine several important Old Testament appearances of the Angel of the Lord. Hagar calls Him the God who sees her. In Genesis 22, He tells Abraham that he did not withhold Isaac “from Me.” In Exodus 3, the Angel of the Lord appears in the burning bush and identifies Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The study also considers appearances in Judges, including the Angel of the Lord speaking to Gideon and appearing as a man to Samson’s parents. These passages show that He could appear physically and converse with people while still being identified as Yahweh.

Isaiah 63 and Zechariah 12 provide further evidence by distinguishing between divine persons while affirming the deity of the One who suffers, delivers, and is pierced. These passages contribute to the biblical foundation for the deity of Christ and the doctrine of the Trinity.

The Angel of the Lord is best understood as the pre-incarnate Son of God—Jesus Christ appearing before His birth in Bethlehem.

Topical Study: The Angel of the Lord
Series: Reasoning Through the Bible Doctrine Discussions

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Judges 20-21 brings the Book of Judges to its tragic conclusion. After learning of the horrific crime committed at Gibeah, the tribes of Israel unite and demand that Benjamin surrender the guilty men. Benjamin refuses and chooses tribal loyalty over justice.

Civil war follows.

Israel seeks God’s direction before battle, yet loses twenty-two thousand men on the first day and eighteen thousand on the second. This raises a difficult question: What should believers do when they are following God’s direction, opposing evil, and still appear to be losing?

Rather than abandoning God, Israel continues to seek Him. The people weep, fast, offer sacrifices, and return for guidance. God eventually promises victory and delivers Benjamin into their hands.

The victory, however, creates another crisis. Israel had made an emotional vow not to give its daughters in marriage to the men of Benjamin. After nearly destroying the tribe, the people regret what they have done and begin searching for ways around their own vow.

Their solutions reveal how distorted their sense of justice has become. They destroy Jabesh-gilead and take its surviving young women. When that does not provide enough wives, they permit the remaining Benjamites to kidnap women from a feast at Shiloh.

Israel attempts to correct one evil by committing additional wrongs.

The book closes with its defining statement: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

Judges warns that when people reject God’s Word as the standard of truth, sincerity, emotion, technical rules, and human reasoning cannot produce righteousness.

Scripture: Judges 19:30-21:25
Series: The Book of Judges — An RTTB Study

• Is there a limit to how depraved humans can get? 
• What should you do when you’re doing what the Lord wants but still failing?
• Can God allow pain for a purpose? 
• Can we deal with God as with a shady businessman?  

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Judges 18 continues the story of Micah, his household idols, and the Levite he hired as a private priest. When six hundred armed Danites arrive, they steal Micah’s religious objects and persuade the Levite to leave with them by offering him a larger congregation.

In this session, Glenn and Steve examine the danger of measuring spiritual success primarily by numbers, money, influence, or prestige. The Levite is delighted by the opportunity to serve an entire tribe, but neither he nor the Danites shows concern for obedience to God or the spiritual maturity of the people.

The Danites eventually establish Micah’s stolen idol and a separate center of worship in the northern city of Dan. This corrupt worship continues and later provides a foundation for the golden calf established there by King Jeroboam. A small departure from God’s revealed pattern produces consequences that continue for generations.

Judges 19 then records one of the darkest events in Scripture. A Levite travels with his concubine and eventually stays in Gibeah, a town belonging to the tribe of Benjamin. During the night, wicked men surround the house and demand that the Levite be sent out to them.

The men inside respond with cowardice and moral failure. The Levite’s concubine is handed over to the mob, brutally abused throughout the night, and left dying at the doorway. The Levite later cuts her body into twelve pieces and sends them throughout Israel.

The Bible records this evil without approving it. The story reveals what happens when people reject God’s authority, corrupt worship, ignore His Word, and continually do what is right in their own eyes.

Scripture: Judges 18:16–19:29
Series: The Book of Judges — An RTTB Study

 Questions discussed in this session:

• Is church growth measured in numbers of people? 
• Can a child of God can be distracted from the Lord’s work? 
• How can a society get so immoral to wink at murder?
• Are we equally guilty of not dealing with murder near us?  

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May God Bless you!! - Glenn and Steve

Judges 17 begins the final section of the Book of Judges, where the narrative moves away from individual deliverers and shows the spiritual and moral condition of Israel more broadly. The repeated statement, “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes,” becomes increasingly visible.

In this session, Glenn and Steve examine Micah and his mother, who attempt to combine the name of Yahweh with practices God had clearly forbidden. Micah steals a large amount of silver from his mother, returns it after hearing her curse, and is then blessed by her. She claims to dedicate the silver to the Lord but uses part of it to create carved and molten images.

Micah builds a household shrine, makes an ephod and additional idols, and appoints one of his sons as priest. He later hires a traveling Levite and assumes that possessing a legitimate religious official will guarantee God’s blessing and prosperity.

The passage demonstrates the danger of syncretism—mixing the worship of the true God with idols and worldly practices. Micah appears sincere and highly religious, but sincerity does not make false worship acceptable. He uses God’s name while repeatedly ignoring God’s commands.

Judges 18 then introduces men from the tribe of Dan who are searching for new territory because they failed to possess the inheritance God had already given them. Instead of seeking God before beginning their journey, they proceed according to their own plans and later ask Micah’s hired priest to confirm that they will succeed.

The priest gives them the answer they want.

This session warns against replacing obedience with religious activity, treating spiritual leaders as good-luck charms, and expecting God to approve decisions simply because His name has been attached to them.

Scripture: Judges 17:1–18:13
Series: The Book of Judges — An RTTB Study

Questions discussed in this session:

• Is all religious worship valid? 
• Is it possible to worship the true God and idols at the same time?
• Are all sincere religious people correct in their religion? 
• Can I do religious activities to make myself righteous? 
• What should religious leaders do if they are tempted to compromise? 

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May God Bless you!! - Glenn and Steve