Ruth

Ruth

When we are converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ we become both humble and courageous. Our conversion strengthens us greatly in our decision making. A good example of the kinds of real circumstances good people face in this life can be found in the Old Testament in the very short, five-page book of Ruth. Each time I read it I see something new. Lately I have been thinking of it as a story of conversion, of courage and decision making. It is about another time, another culture, yet it is about us too.
Naomi and her husband, Elimelech, and their two sons had gone into the enemy country of Moab because there was a great famine in Israel, their home. In due time their sons married Moabite wives, named Orpah and Ruth. Then in a ten-year period, the father and the two sons died. Naomi had heard that the famine had lifted in Judah, and she wanted to return to her people. She counsels her daughters-in-law to return to their mothers’ homes. Naomi called them her daughters and kissed them, and they wept with their love for her. (Now isn’t that quite remarkable? I fail to understand how this clear and well-known record hasn’t had more influence on all the unfunny mother-in-law jokes that abound in the world.) But eventually Orpah decides to stay in Moab, and again Naomi says to Ruth, “Behold, thy sister in law has gone back to her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law.” (Ruth 1:15.)
At this point, in majestic Hebraic poetry, Ruth announces her decision and confirms her conversion. “Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.” (Ruth 1:16.)
When Naomi, herself realistic and wise, saw Ruth’s steadfastness, she “left off speaking to her” (see Ruth 1:18), which does not mean she stopped talking with her, but that she quit trying to convince her of the difficulties she would face in Israel. Ruth, the Moabitess, would face bigotry, poverty, and much insecurity, but she was converted, and she had decided. She and Naomi became a great team, facing together not only the problems before them, but the opportunities that would come also.
In time, Ruth married Boaz, and a child was born to them. “And the women said to Naomi, Blessed be the Lord … for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born [a child].
“And Naomi took the child … and became nurse unto it.
“And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.” (Ruth 4:14–17.)
Now that was a kind of a prophecy which is very important to us. In a culture hostile to the leadership of women, these women—Naomi and Ruth—lived to bring about an end the scripture’s writer carefully emphasizes: Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of David, through whose lines, which are carefully detailed for us in the first chapter of Matthew, came Jesus who is called Christ. Would you ever have expected the small book of Ruth to foretell such a great event?
Ruth confidently met hardships not uncommon in our time—the death of a loved one, loneliness in a new place, and the need to work hard for her bread. Her small efforts, linked significantly to a later great event, tell me that each of us can take seriously the importance of our daily lives and decisions as we choose to follow God.

Aileen H. Clyde, “Confidence through Conversion,” Ensign, Nov 1992, 88

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://chawnghilh.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/ruth_boaz1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://womeninthescriptures.blogspot.com/2010/06/bible-says-women-can-propose-to-their.html&usg=__lAUefo_gHfWGCrNllSR5NmnDyKU=&h=309&w=445&sz=44&hl=en&start=6&tbnid=lvT3ncO4v9IcAM:&tbnh=88&tbnw=127&prev=/images%3Fq%3DHuldah%2Bbible%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1218%26bih%3D821%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1

Hannah -- Lesson 20

Another truth learned from women in the Old Testament is that God answers prayers and grants us our righteous desires. One Latter-day Saint woman commented, “My patriarchal blessing promises me that the righteous desires of my heart will be granted. For years I have prayed for something that without question is a righteous desire, and it has not been granted. My faith is wavering.”
Similarly, Hannah of the Bible had a righteous desire that she felt was not granted.

Hannah’s Righteous Desire

Elkanah, an upright man of Israel, had two wives, Peninnah and Hannah. While Peninnah had children, Hannah had none. The desire of Hannah’s heart was to have a son, yet year after year it did not happen, and she became so grief-stricken that she wept and could not eat. Elkanah, who loved Hannah, said to her, “… why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?” (1 Sam. 1:8.)
Every year Hannah accompanied Elkanah to Shiloh to offer sacrifices to the Lord. One year as she went into the temple, Hannah’s heart and mind were consumed by her longing for a son. In bitterness of soul she prayed unto the Lord and spoke a vow, saying, “O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed … give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life. …” (1 Sam. 1:11.)
Eli, the temple priest, told Hannah, “Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition. …” (1 Sam. 1:17.) Hannah was no longer sad. Soon she did conceive, and in due course her son Samuel was born.
Hannah must have made a special effort to teach Samuel to take care of himself and to love the Lord, because he was still a young child when she left him with Eli at the temple. There he served the Lord diligently and became a prophet in Israel.
Hannah was blessed with three more sons and two daughters. What a beautiful illustration of the abundance of the Lord’s blessings to the faithful! She freely gave one child to the Lord and in return he gave her five more.
The Lord had glorious blessings in store for Hannah, as she was to be the mother of a great prophet. But before Hannah could receive that blessing, her desire for a son had to become so intense that she would be willing to give him up to the Lord. Sometimes we are like Hannah; the Lord has to prepare us before he can grant our righteous desires.

Arta M. Hale, “Lessons in Womanhood: Insights for Latter-day Saint Women from the Lives of Vashti, Miriam, Ruth, Hannah, Jezebel, and Esther,” Ensign, Oct 1973, 70

Virtuous Women Lesson 20

Ruth and Hannah PowerPoint

"In this work there must be commitment. There must be devotion. We are engaged in a great eternal struggle that concerns the very souls of the sons and daughters of God."
--President Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, Nov. 1986, 44

Lesson 20: “All the City … Doth Know That Thou Art a Virtuous Woman”, Old Testament Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual, 92

Ruth, 1 Samuel 1

Purpose

To encourage class members to emulate the righteous qualities of Ruth, Naomi, and Hannah.

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Learning of others who trusted God and followed His teachings whispers to our souls, “Be still, and know that I am God.” 5 As they resolutely kept His commandments and trusted in Him, they were blessed. When we follow their examples, we too will be similarly blessed in our day and in our time. Each one becomes a model to follow. . . .

A model of ideal womanhood is Ruth. Sensing the grief-stricken heart of her mother-in-law Naomi—who suffered the loss of each of her two fine sons—feeling perhaps the pangs of despair and loneliness that plagued the very soul of Naomi, Ruth uttered what has become that classic statement of loyalty: “Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.” 14 Ruth’s actions demonstrated the sincerity of her words.
Through Ruth’s undeviating loyalty to Naomi, she was to marry Boaz, by which she—the foreigner and Moabite convert—became a great-grandmother of David and, therefore, an ancestor of our Savior Jesus Christ. . . .

My brothers and sisters, in this marvelous dispensation of the fulness of times, as we journey through mortality and face the trials and challenges of the future, may we remember the examples of these models to follow which I have referred to this morning. May we have the unfeigned humility of John the Baptist, the unquestioning obedience of Abraham, the unlimited patience of Job, the unwavering faith of Noah, the undeviating loyalty of Ruth, the unflagging determination of Nephi, the undaunted courage of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and the unfailing optimism of President Hinckley. Such will be as a fortress of strength to us throughout our lives.

Thomas S. Monson, “Models to Follow,” Ensign, Nov 2002, 60
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See the paintings at http://www.bible-art.info/Ruth.htm  
Be aware that some of the paintings at the above site are not family-appropriate.  Watch out for Chagall, but do see the painting  by another artist at the very end of the page.

 See also the article about this story with artwork.

Joshua

Lesson 18: “Be Strong and of a Good Courage”, Old Testament Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual, 82

Lesson Plan:

Text for posters: 

“Be Strong and of a Good Courage.”

Joshua

1-6;    23-24

Joshua: the highest type of devout warrior

Conquest of Jericho:

Joshua 2 and 6

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“Be Strong and of a Good Courage.”

Joshua

1-6;    23-24

Joshua: the highest type of devout warrior (died at 110  -- 80s at this time?

Stone   -- picture?

? What is strength?

? What makes one strong?  Physically?  Morally?

? What is courage?

? What is it that enables one to have courage?

Coeur = heart

Origin:
1250–1300; ME corage < OF, equiv. to cuer heart (< L cor; see heart) + -age -age

Joshua 1:5    There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with ^aMoses, so I will be ^bwith thee: I will not fail thee, nor ^cforsake thee. 
 6 Be strong and of a good ^acourage: for unto this people shalt thou ^bdivide for an ^cinheritance the ^dland, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.
7 Only be thou strong and very ^acourageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: ^bturn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest ^cprosper whithersoever thou goest.
  8 This book of the ^alaw shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt ^bmeditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
  9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the ^aLord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

1.  Transition from Moses to Joshua 

David O. McKay – 1951 – 1970

2. The Lord calls Joshua – what challenges?

How has the Lord helped you in such circumstances?

What battles do we fight today that take moral courage?

Examples of moral courage – tickets to Brandi!  (sad face)

To have good success – verse 8  thou

üMaps 4 and 5 in your scriptures.

3.  Israelites cross the Jordan Jordan River on dry ground –

Joshua all of chapter 3, 4:14

The ark a portable altar that contained sacred writings  Moses’ writings and the tablets with the ten commandments

? How does the Lord show us that he directs and inspires the living prophet?

Stepping into the water – Boyd K. Packer quote

Placing stones  Memorial –Joshua 4:21-24   ?What helps you remember?

Experiences that remind you of God’s power and love

Why totally destoy?  Abraham to Moses  -- fullness of iniquity

   Ourselves – totally wipe out iniquity  total cleansing  not leaving alive any wickedness within.

Destroy idols – bring offerings to the Lord in the prescribed

 way, place

redering justice – Egyptians , treatment of  

Small Group:  to plot out the story of the Battle of Jericho  Summarize as if preparing an in-depth news report.

Rahab was a harlot – kept a “house of ill repute”Or a hostess/innkeeper?

the former according to the Institute O.T. Manual

Joshua 2    Joshua 6

Rahab – Hebrews 11:31, James 2:5

Covenant to serve the Lord

Joshua 23

  6 Be ye therefore very ^acourageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left;

  7 That ye come not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their ^agods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them:

  8 But ^acleave unto the Lord your God, as ye have done unto this day.

  9 For the Lord hath driven out from before you great nations and strong: but as for you, no man hath been able to ^astand before you unto this day.

Cleave = glue or join together

14 And, behold, this day I am going the ^away of all the earth: and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the ^bgood things which the Lord your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof.

  15 Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all good things are come upon you, which the Lord your God ^apromised you; so shall the Lord bring upon you all evil things, until he have destroyed you from off this good land which the Lord your God hath given you.

  16 When ye have ^atransgressed the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed yourselves to them; then shall the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and ye shall perish quickly from off the ^bgood land which he hath given unto you.

Joshua 24

 14 ¶ Now therefore ^afear the Lord, and serve him in ^bsincerity and in truth: and put away the ^cgods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.

  15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, ^achoose you ^bthis day whom ye will ^cserve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my ^dhouse, we will ^eserve the Lord. 

Here is a Rahab "craft" for children.