Women’s Bible Study: Ruth 2:1-13

New City Church Milton Keynes

This week for Women’s Bible Study we will be looking at Ruth chapter 2. If you are able to read or listen to the second chapter of Ruth first, please do! It will help you get the most of the study.

Below you will find a few questions to go along with the talk above. We hope they will help you to further explore the Bible passage for this week. Why not ask a friend to do the study with you and talk about these things?

Question 1

Romans 5:3-5
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that sufferings produce perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

As we saw in chapter 1, Ruth is definitely perseverant! Her character is constant in every aspect of her life and it is this integrity that earns her Boaz’s notice when she needs help. Some of the aspects of Ruth’s character we’ve seen over the last two chapters are:

• Caring
• Initiative
• Loyalty
• Humility
• Respect
• Diligence

Is there a characteristic (listed here or not) that you would like to develop further in yourself? How can we help each other to do this?

Question 2

Romans 12:10
Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honour.

Boaz chooses to go beyond the requirements of the Law in order to show kindness to Ruth. He wasn’t simply concerned with what people could see, but with doing what was right and good. What are some practical ways that we could go beyond what is expected for our husbands? Our children? Our friends? Our co-workers, neighbours, teachers, acquaintances? People we pass on our daily walks, or who we see in the grocery stores or wherever else we may see others?

Question 3

Leviticus 23:22
And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner. I am the Lord your God.’

Can you think of some creative ways we could practice ‘gleaning’ for those in need around us in modern times?

Question 4

Are we willing, like Ruth, to stay where God has called us and persevere even in the hard things, or, like Elimelech, are we always looking for the next comfortable thing? In what ways could we persevere in the field of lockdown and social distancing that we’ve been called to right now?

Thank you for joining in with this week’s study! If you have any further questions, thoughts or feedback please get in touch.

References:

English Standard Version Study Bible, Crossway, 2008
Ruth: Under the Wings of God, John Piper, July 8 1984 (accessed via www.desiringgod.org)
‘Can e-Harmony Beat This? Ruth 2’, Robert L Deffinbaugh, (accessed via bible.org)