Living by the Book/Living by the Book Workbook Set (129 page)

R
ead Ruth 4 purposefully. The book of Ruth is a literary work of art, so its literary structures are well worth examining. For example:

• What is significant about the biographical structure of the book? Why did the writer place so much importance on the people involved?

• What is significant about the geographical structure? Why does the action in Ruth move from Judah, to Moab, and back to Judah?

• Historically, why is this story important? (You don’t really find out until the very end of chapter 4.)

• Is anything important about the chronology of the book? For example, suppose you were to graph the emotional tone of the book from beginning to end. What would your graph look like?

• From an ideological standpoint, what would you say is the central theme of the book of Ruth?

R
ead the book of Ruth telescopically. As the book begins, what events are taking place on a national level?