Accepted

One of my favorite books of the Old Testament is Ruth. The Old Testament is all about God's chosen people: the Israelites. But in the Book of Ruth we read about a Moabite women who God accepts. In Ruth we get a glimpse of God's acceptance extending beyond Israel. A small glimpes into the New Testament, a new covenant, through Christ, open to all peoples, all nations, in all times.

Mark Driscoll, pastor at Mars Hill Church, presented a 6 part series on the Book of Ruth. As part of that presentation they produced a beautiful video of the reading of Ruth. It starts off each of his 6 parts. Watching these videos will take you through the Book of Ruth. Altogether it may take about 15 minutes. You may also want to check out Driscoll's message that follows each of these 6 parts.

Here is the first video of the 6 part series showing a dramatization of the story of Ruth (Ruth 1:1-1:22).



Watch the remaining five parts of the series.

Philip Yancey writes the following about the Book of Ruth.

"You can read this small book in several ways: as a tiny, elegant portrait of life in ancient times or as a record of God's faithfulness to the needy or as an inspiring story of undying friendship. Perhaps the most accurate way to read this story, however, is as a missionary story. God not only accepts Ruth, a member of the despised Moabites, into his family, but also uses her to produce Israel's greatest king. Ruth's great-grandson turns out to be David. To anyone who thought God's love was for Israelites only, Ruth's life makes a striking contradiction."