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Ruth 2

Ruth 2

Dec 08, 2024

Passage: Ruth 2:1-23

Preacher: Rob Holster

Series: Ruth: A Bethlehem Story

Summary:

It is the second Sunday in Advent. The candle we light in the Advent wreath is the second candle––or the peace candle. It is often called The Bethlehem Candle, and it reminds us of Mary and Joseph's journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, where Mary would give birth to Jesus. It's fitting because we're in the middle of an Advent series I've titled, "A Bethlehem Story." Only it doesn't come from the New Testament––it comes from the Old Testament––from the book of Ruth. The story of Christ born in Bethlehem goes way back, and the book of Ruth is part of that story––a necessary and essential part. Last week we looked at chapter 1 and were introduced to Naomi, her husband, Elimelech, and their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion. They were from Bethlehem. Only they had to flee from there because of a famine. They took refuge in a pagan place called Moab, where we were introduced to two more characters––Orpah and Ruth. Orpah and Ruth married those two sons, but both sons died somewhere along the way. After many years of living in Moab Ruth traveled back to Bethlehem, which means "House of Bread," with her mother in law, Naomi. And that sets the stage for chapter 2 which we will cover this week. And we're going to be introduced to another character––a man named Boaz. He is described as a "worthy man of the clan of Elimelech." Last week we focused on the women of the story, and some parallels with the story of Mary, the mother of Jesus. This week we'll focus on Boaz, who happens to be the great-grandfather of David. He becomes a key figure in the story. We'll also see some similarities with the story of another "worthy man" from the Christmas story, a man of Bethlehem, called Jospeh.

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