Men's Bible Study at Rolling Hills Community Church in Lago Vista, TX In Session 9, "The Faith of a Foreign Woman," you will learn that when things seem hopeless there's always a chance with God. The Story: To understand the Bible, says author and pastor Randy Frazee, you need bifocal lenses, because two perspectives are involved. The Lower Story, our story, is actually many stories of men and women interacting with God in the daily course of life. The Upper Story is God’s story, the tale of his great, overarching purpose that puts the individual stories together like panels in one unified mural. Bestselling author Max Lucado also adds some introductory insights. Through these 31 video sessions, The Story small group study opens your eyes to God’s master plan as it unfolds in the lives of the Bible’s characters. Discover the heart of God’s Upper Story and the joy that comes as you align your story with God’s.

1. Chapter 9
The Faith of a
Foreign Woman
Rolling Hills Community Church

2. Tell about
a memorable marriage proposal
that you know of

3. If you were only ever
going to read just one book
of the Old Testament,
Ruth is the one book
that I would have you read!

4. Though it is entitled Ruth,
who is certainly a character in the book,
from a literary viewpoint
it is Naomi’s story through and through

5. 1...there was a famine in the land, and
a certain Jewish man of Bethlehem in
Israel went to live in the neighboring
Arab country of Jordan, he and his
wife and two sons. 2 The name of the
man was Eli and the name of his wife
Naomi …
Ruth 1:1-19 NRSV
edited, with modernized names

6. 3But [shortly] Eli, the husband of
Naomi, died, and she was left with her
two sons. 4These [married Arab wives
from Jordan]; the name of the one
[wife] was Oprah and the name of the
other [wife was] Ruth.
Ruth 1:1-19 NRSV
edited, with modernized names

7. When they had lived there about ten
years, 5both sons also died, so that
[Naomi] was left without her two sons
and her husband.
Ruth 1:1-19 NRSV
edited, with modernized names

8. 6Then she started to return [to her
hometown in Israel] with her
daughters-in-law from the country of
Jordan, for she had heard the famine
in Israel was over.
Ruth 1:1-19 NRSV
edited, with modernized names

9. 7So she set out from [Jordan], she and
her two Jordanian daughters-in-law,
and they went on their way to go back
to Israel. 8But Naomi said to her two
daughters-in-law, "Go back each of
you to your mother's house.
Ruth 1:1-19 NRSV
edited, with modernized names

10. May the LORD deal kindly with you, as
you have dealt with the dead and with
me. 9 ...Then she kissed them, and they
wept aloud. 10They said to her,
"No, we will return with you to your
people."
Ruth 1:1-19 NRSV
edited, with modernized names

11. 13....my daughters, it has been far more
bitter for me than for you...“
14Then they wept aloud again. Oprah
kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth
clung to her.
Ruth 1:1-19 NRSV
edited, with modernized names

12. 15So she said [to Ruth], "See, your
sister-in-law has gone back to her
home; ... return [like] your sister-in-
law.” 16But Ruth said, "Do not press me
to leave you or to turn back from
following you!
Ruth 1:1-19 NRSV
edited, with modernized names

13. Where you go, I will go; where you
lodge, I will lodge; your people shall
be my people, and your God my God.
17Where you die, I will die-- there will I
be buried. May the LORD do thus and
so to me, and more as well, if even
death parts me from you!"
Ruth 1:1-19 NRSV
edited, with modernized names

14. 18When Naomi saw that [Ruth] was
determined to go with her, she said no
more to her. 19So the two of them
went on until they came to Bethlehem
in Israel.
Ruth 1:1-19 NRSV
edited, with modernized names

15. 14Then they wept aloud again.
Oprah kissed her mother-in-law,
but Ruth clung to her.
Ruth 1:1-19 NRSV
edited, with modernized names

16. 16But Ruth said,
"… Where you go, I will go;
where you lodge, I will lodge;
your people shall be my people,
and your God my God.
17Where you die, I will die-
- there will I be buried ...”

18. INGREDIENTS OF LOVE
IN THE BIBLE’S RECIPE:
1) Emotion
Ruth 1:14 NRSV
Then they wept aloud again.

19. INGREDIENTS OF LOVE
IN THE BIBLE’S RECIPE:
2) Determination
Ruth 1:18 NRSV
When Naomi saw that [Ruth] was determined to
go with her, she said no more to her.

20. INGREDIENTS OF LOVE
IN THE BIBLE’S RECIPE:
3) Hard work
Ruth 2:7 NRSV
7 … she has been on her feet from early this
morning until now, without resting even for a
moment.”

21. INGREDIENTS OF LOVE
IN THE BIBLE’S RECIPE:
4) Sacrifice
Ruth 2:11 NRSV
11 … “All that you have done for your mother-in-
law since the death[s] and how you left your
father and mother and your native land and
came to a people that you did not know before.”

22. INGREDIENTS OF LOVE
IN THE BIBLE’S RECIPE:
5) Loyalty
Ruth 3:10 NRSV
10 He said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, my
daughter; this last instance of your loyalty is
better than the first.”

23. INGREDIENTS OF LOVE
IN THE BIBLE’S RECIPE:
1) Emotion
2) Determination
3) Hard work
4) Sacrifice
5) Loyalty

24. 14Then the women said to Naomi,
“Blessed be the Lord …
15…for your daughter-in-law who loves you,
who is more to you than seven sons...”
Ruth 4:14-15 NRSV

25. 10 “this last instance of your loyalty
is better than the first.”
“loyalty” from Hebrew “chesed”
Ruth 3:10 NRSV

26. 1O give thanks to the Lord,
for he is good,
for his steadfast love
endures forever.
Psalms 136:1 NRSV

27. 1 … for his steadfast love
endures forever.
Psalms 136:1-26 NRSV

28. 1 O give thanks to the Lord,
for he is good,
for his steadfast love
endures forever.
Psalms 136:1 NRSV

30. Take note of what
Pastor Randy says about
“The Upper Story” in Ruth

31. Take note of what
Pastor Randy says about
“The Upper Story” in Ruth

32. CONCENTRIC CIRCLES
FROM THE INSIDE OUT
13 So Boaz took Ruth
and she became his wife.
Ruth 4 NRSV

33. CONCENTRIC CIRCLES
FROM THE INSIDE OUT
13 When they came together,
the Lord made her conceive,
and she bore a son.
Ruth 4 NRSV

34. CONCENTRIC CIRCLES
FROM THE INSIDE OUT
16Then Naomi took the child
and laid him in her bosom,
and became his nurse.
Ruth 4 NRSV

35. CONCENTRIC CIRCLES
FROM THE INSIDE OUT
17The women of the neighborhood
gave him a name
Ruth 4 NRSV

36. CONCENTRIC CIRCLES
FROM THE INSIDE OUT
17… They named him Obed;
he became the father of Jesse,
the father of David
Ruth 4 NRSV

37. CONCENTRIC CIRCLES
FROM THE INSIDE OUT
5…and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth,
and Obed the father of Jesse, 6and Jesse the
father of King David. 16and Jacob the father of
Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus
was born, who is called the Messiah.
Matthew 1 NRSV

38. FOR CONTEXT IN “THE STORY”
Ruth 1 first verse
1 In the days when the judges ruled…
Ruth 4 last verses:
21 Salmon of Boaz, Boaz of Obed,
22 Obed of Jesse, and Jesse of David.

39. For Next Week
1. Read in The Story –
Chapter 10:
Standing Tall, Falling Hard

41. 2015/2016 Men’s
Bible Study
Rolling Hills Community Church
All bible references come from the
New American Standard Bible NABS unless otherwise notated.