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The Book of Ruth in a Name StudyHistory tells us that names in the Bible had certain meanings. In fact there are many places were the Word of God gives us those meanings in the midst of the story. There are many characters and places in the book of Ruth. There names and meanings are listed. Read the names and there meanings, then read the short summary of the book of Ruth. All names have been replaced with there meanings. It is interesting to see how the name meanings line up with the events that took place.Places: Bethlehem - “God’s House of Bread” Judah - “Land of Promise” Moab - “I’m my Grandfather’s Son” People: Elimelech - “God is My King” Naomi - “Delightfully Pleasant” Mara - “Bitterness” Mahlon - “Sick” Chilion - “Wasting Away” Orpah - “Neck & Back” Ruth - “Friendship” Boaz - “In His Strength” Obed - “Serving” Jesse - “Wealthy” David - “Beloved” Jesus - “Jehovah is Salvation” It came to pass in the days when people did what was right in thier own eyes that there was a famine in “God’s House of Bread” in the “Land of Promise”. A man named “God is My King” and his wife “Delightfully Pleasant” took their two sons, “Sick” and Wasting Away” to the land of “I’m my Grandfather’s Son” (an Icon of Godlessness and Sin). While there “Sick” marries “Neck & Back” and “Wasting Away” marries “Friendship”. Then God’s judgement falls and He takes the lives of “God is My King”, “Sick”, and “Wasting Away”. This leaves “Delightfully Pleasant”, “Neck & Back” and “Friendship” alone in the place called “I’m My Grandfather’s Son” (an Icon of Godlessness and Sin). “Delightfully Pleasant”, “Neck & Back” and “Friendship” start to travel to the “Land of Promise”, but “Neck & Back” doesn’t want to go. She turns her back on “Delightfully Pleasant” and goes back to “I’m my Grandfather’s Son” (an Icon of Godlessness and Sin). But, “Friendship” stays with “Delightfully Pleasant” and together they go to the “Land of Promise”. When they get to “God’s House of Bread”, “Delightfully Pleasant” tells her people not to call her “Delightfully Pleasant” any more, but to call her “Bitterness” because God had dealt bitterly with her. This is the last time “Bitterness” is mentioned. How can you have “Bitterness” in “God’s House of Bread”? Then we find “Friendship” gleaning in the fields of “In His Strength”. “In Hs Strength” then asks “Friendship” to glean in his fields only with his maidens. And to drink from the vessels of water that his men drew. “Delightfully Pleasant” told “Friendship” that “In His Strength” was a Kinsman to “God is My King” and that he could be her Kinsman Redeemer. “Friendship” went to “In His Strength” and requested that he be her Kinsman Redeemer. He agreed to do all that was required of him. “In His Strength” called “Friendship” who was a citizen of “I’m My Grandfather’s Son” (an Icon of Godlessness and Sin), but came to the”Land of Promise” in “God’s House of Bread”, as a virtuous woman. On that day “In His Strength” purchased all that belonged to “God is My King”, “Sick” and “Wasting Away” at the hand of “Delightfully Pleasant”. “In His Strength” married “Friendship” and begat “Serving”. “Serving” begat “Wealthy”. And then“Wealthy” begat “Beloved”, who is in the lineage of “Jehovah is Salvation”. So in a way, “Friendship’s” conversion from “I’m My Grandfather’s Son” (an Icon of Godlessness and Sin) to the “Land of Promise” in “God’s House of Bread” and her subsequent redemption by “In His Strength”, lead to OUR salvation through faith in “Jehovah is Salvation”. Have a wonderful Sabbeth. Angelamichelle The Strange Woman of ProverbsThere are many different women mentioned in Proverbs. We are told of the evil woman, the whorish woman, the gracious woman, the fair woman, the virtuous woman, the wise woman, the brawling woman, the angry woman, the contentious woman, the adulterous woman, the odius woman, the foolish woman, and the fearful woman, But the first woman that God chose to mention in Proverbs and the one He mentions the most is the “strange woman”.We find her first in Proverbs 2:16. God tells us that wisdom, knowledge, discretion, and understanding will deliver us from her. This strange woman has a flattering tongue. Her words are smooth and candy-coated (Proverbs 5:3). She knows what to say and when to say it, so she may get her way. She is a divider amoung the people. She does not like to see the women getting along or the men. She likes to see the flock scattered. She is smooth and deceitful. She has forsaken “the guide of her youth” (2:17). This guide is her husband, the head of her home. The feminist movement of that day said she needed no man. A man should not rule over her. She has set herself to not notice him. When he talked to her, she looked the other way and changed the subject. When he came home, she acted like he was not even there. She dishonored him, belittled him in private and in public. She did not put much value in him or what he had to say. She pushed him to get her way. She found fault with him. She despised him. She has broken her vows of marriage. And worse than all of that she has forgotten “the covenant of her God” (2:17). Her eyes have been turned away from an Almighty God. She has forgotten that there was a blood covenant made just for her. She has forgotten the promise of a coming Messiah. Now she seeks another power and serves him instead. Her paths lead “unto the dead” (2:18). Instead of going to an All-Knowing God, she seeks out soothsayers, palm readers, and fortune tellers. She looks to the stars for her future, instead of their Creator for His will. She dabbles in witchcraft and the magics. She would rather serve the devil and his crowd than God, who holds her very life in his hands. She has such an influence on people that when they come into her little circle they are never themselves again (2:19). She leads them into the very mouth of hell (5:5). God, in his infinite wisdom, devotes almost a whole chapter in Proverbs warning us about her. A warning for men of all ages to stay away from her. And I believe, a warning also to the women to watch the paths we choose to walk, that we not become like her. In Proverbs 7, we are told a story of a young man, void of understanding, who has sought out to find this strange woman. He came out at night, “passing through the streets near her corner” (vs 8). “He went the way to her house.” The first thing we notice about her here, is her appearance. She was dressed as a harlot (modern day prostitute-vs 10). Maybe her blouse was too tight, too short, too low cut, and showing more than covering. Maybe her skirt was the same. Maybe her make-up was bright and bold. Proverbs 6:25 tells us of her physical beauty. Just by her very appearance, she becomes the enemy of married women and the adversary of mothers. She is loud, stubborn, and rebellious (vs 11). Remember, she is a flatterer. Her mouth is a deep pit (Proverbs 22:14). Just as mice are allured to the cheese on a trap, so are her victims allored to her by her words. In verse 14, we see she has taken something as holy as a peace offering and twisted it to use it for her own devices. Remember, she has forgotten “the covenant of her God” (2:16). She went to the temple, not to worship, not to make a sacrifice for her sins, but because it was a ritual. She made her offering, sang a hymn or two, shook a few hands then took the remainder of her offering home. It was supposed to be eaten with friends, but this was to be set for a trap. She had food ready to eat. With her smooth, candy-coated words, she befriends the young man. She has done all this for him (vs15). She has made a bed ready for him, covered in the finest sheets and blankets that this world can offer (vs16). Remember, she has forsaken the “guide of her youth” (2:16). She does not even call him her husband, she refers to him as the “goodman” (7:19). She has taken off her wedding band for the moment. Dear lady, if this is you, I beckon you to come to an All-Knowing, All-Powerful, loving God and ask him to forgive you of your sins and to come into your heart and save you from this life and a place called Hell. Dear Sir, if you see this strange woman in person or on the pages of a magazine, run away. “Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.” (7:25) Dear Woman, how can we stay on the straight and narrow path and not wonder off and become like her? Dear Christian Woman, let’s dress as “becometh women professing godliness”(I Timothy 2:10) Let’s make sure our skirts are long enough, so that even when we sit down, we don’t attract the eyes of another woman’s husband. Let’s make sure our blouses are modest and covering more than showing. Let’s have a meek and quiet spirit. Let’s not forget the Saviour that gave His life for us. Let’s read our Bibles and pray. When we go to church, let’s worship Christ for who He is, for what He has done, and for what He is going to do. Let’s not get caught up in rituals of “just going” every Sunday and Wednesday. Let’s fall back in love with the man God gave us. The man we were created for. Don’t call him the “goodman”. Call him your Knight in Shining Armour, your Prince Charming, your King, Mr. Wonderful. Sarah called Abraham, lord, showing him the respect that a husband should be shown. Mrs. Charles Spurgeon, who knew Greek and Hebrew, called her husband Tershatha, which means My Reverance in Greek. While our husbands are out for the day, let’s pray for them and ask God to keep them safe. When they come home, let’s be there with open arms ready to greet them. When they talk, let’s listen intently to what they are saying. Let’s honor them never belittling them, even in private. Every husband has faults, but so does every wife. Let’s show them affection and love that they might not go looking for the strange women and fall into her trap. Let’s admire them for who they are, the God given head of our home. Christian Women, we must protect and guard our homes against this strange woman and her crowd. Protecting and guarding, not with a gun standing at the door, but on our knees with our sword (Bible) ready for the intruder and our shield of faith in an Almighty God, who would love to hear prayers of godly women asking for help in protecting our King (husband) and this next generation of little kings and queens. Leavening - a Bible Study“A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump”Gal 5:9; I Cor5:6 Jesus speaks of leaven in his parables (earthly stories with heavenly meanings) in Matthew 13 The kingdom of heaven is liken unto: vs 24 A man that sowed good seed in his field, but his enemies came and sowed tares (weeds). The man let both grow together until harvest, so he wouldnÂ’t pull up the good plants with the weeds. vs 31 A grain of mustard seed, which is the smallest of seeds, but when it grows, it becomes the greatest among herbs and becomes a tree. vs. 33 Leaven (yeast), which a woman took, and hid in 3 measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. Leavening = influences When youÂ’re baking, yeast influences your dough and it makes it grow and grow. So that out of a little dough you can get 2-3 loaves of bread. But just like Jesus used leaven to explain the kingdom of heaven, he also warns us about different kinds of leaven we should not use. *The Leaven of the Pharisees- Matthew 16:6, 11-12; Mark 8:15; Luke 12:1) Pharisees in their day sought for praise for their good works. Matthew 6:2 tells us when they gave their alms(tithes) they would give them in public view, calling attention to themselves. Matthew 6:16 tells us when they fasted that they “disfigured their faces” so everyone would know that they were fasting. Matthew 23:3-4 tells us they were hypocrites through and through. They told people what they should do, but they did not do the things they told others to do. They didnÂ’t practice what they preached. “Do as I say, donÂ’t do as I do” life-style. Matthew 23:25-26 The Pharisees cleaned up the outside but the inside was filthy. They looked good, they looked godly, but they were as lost as lost could be. They washed the outside of the cup but the inside was still dirty. They needed to get right in their hearts, then the outside would have taken care of itself. *The Leaven of the Sadducees Matthew 3:7 The Sadducees hung around with the Pharisees. Matthew 16:1-4 The Sadducees could figure out the weather and other things in creation, but they could not see that the Messiah had come. Matthew 22:23-32; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-38; Acts 4:1-2; Acts 23:8 The Sadducees did not believe in life after death, physical or spiritual. *The Leaven of Herod- Mark 8:15 Matthew 14:1-11; Mark 6:14-29 Herod gave into the lust of the eyes (his brotherÂ’s daughter), the lust of the flesh (his brotherÂ’s wife), and the pride of life (didnÂ’t want to go back on an oath that was made, so he had John the Baptist killed). II Samuel 11:2-5 David also gave into the lust of the eyes (sawBathsheba bathing) ,the lust of the flesh (committed adultery with her), and the pride of life (didnÂ’t want to get caught, so he had Uriah killed) Luke 3:18-19 Herod hearing the gospel refused it and decided in his heart to put John the Baptist in prison. “Out of sight, out of mind” attitude. Luke 23:7-12 Herod became friends with Pilate, the man who put Christ on the cross. Acts 12:2 Herod was a murderer. Killed James the brother of John with a sword. Acts 12:21-23 Herod was killed by God. “Purge out the old leaven...” I Corinthians 5:6-7 But God is a loving and merciful God. II Samuel 12:1-12 God sent Nathan, the prophet, to David with a story. II Samuel 12:13-24 David started purging out that old leaven. And God forgave him for his sins. “Purge out the old leaven...” I Corinthians 5:6-7 Acts 23:6 Paul was a Pharisee. Acts 7:58 Paul held the coats of the people who stoned Steven to death. Acts 8:3 Paul dragged Christians out of their houses (men and women) and sent them to prison. Acts 9:1-2 Paul went to the high priest and asked for letters to Damascus to the synagogue giving him permission to bind Christian men and women and bring them back to Jerusalem. But God is a loving and merciful God. Acts 9:3-6 Paul starts purging out that old leaven and says, “Lord, what wilt thou have me do?”. He was used by God in a mighty way throughout the rest of his life. Application: What kind of leavening are we using in our life? Are we using the leavening of the Pharisees (spotlight has to be on us), the Sadducees (we know more about earthly things than we do about his coming) or Herod (hearing about Christ, but denying him)? Or Are we using the leavening of the woman back where we started in Matthew 13:33? She took that leaven and hid it. Psalm 119:11 “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Are we taking GodÂ’s Word and hiding it in our hearts? Are we memorizing verses, meditating on his word, carrying a joyful song in our heart, wearing a smile on our face, telling others about Him, walking and talking like weÂ’ve been to the throne room of grace and bowed down at the foot of the King? The King is Coming , The King is Coming I just heard the trumpet sounding and now his face I see. The King is Coming , The King is Coming Praise God HeÂ’s coming for me. Praise the Lord --Have a wonderful and blessed Sunday!!!!!!! |
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