Lead:
Naomi’s got at least one thing figure out — there are good problems.
Intro:
Yeah, I know it feels like quarantine day #8142, but welcome to a new week anyway.
The truth is, I spend plenty of time alone anyway, I work from home, and it’s not that different for me.
But I miss things like saying “Hey, it’s April 20 and it’s your birthday” by leaving a little surprise on a doorstep instead of…well, welcome to quarantine.
Sponsor:
Would you kindly give a shout out somewhere? Like maybe telling someone about the weekly Sunday newsletter that has extras in it? Thanks for spreading the Word.
New covenant:
Passage: Acts 7
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 60
Words: ~1398
Wisdom:
Passage: none today
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses:
Words: ~
Old covenant:
Passage: Ruth 1-2
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 45
Words: ~1227
Commentary:
Moab
Located east of the Dead Sea, Moab, another Semitic nation, traced its origin to Lot. The chief Moabite god was Chemosh. David’s great-grandmother Ruth was a Moabite, but both he and later Israelite kings fought many bloody battles with Moab. A famous archaeological find, the Mesha stele (about 850 B.C.), describes the Moabite king Mesha’s war of liberation from Israel, probably during Jehoram’s reign. Like Judah, Moab was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar about 587 B.C. and later was dominated by the Persians.(1)
1:20–21 Naomi correctly recognized that God did not necessarily bring only good situations into one’s life but that he at times brought difficulties (see Jb 1:21; 2:10). Elsewhere in Scripture such difficulties are understood to be for the purpose of testing or discipline (e.g., Pr 3:11–12; Heb 12:7–11), but Naomi has not attained that insight at this stage.(2)
Love you!
-Roger
ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.
Sources and resources:
(1) David S. Dockery, ed., Holman Bible Handbook (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 1992), 216.
(2) Barry C. Davis, “Ruth,” in CSB Apologetics Study Bible, ed. Ted Cabal (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 322.