Living by the Book/Living by the Book Workbook Set (142 page)

Principles to Live By

By the way, if this is an issue you find interesting, read the book of Esther sometime and list all the instances where “coincidental” timing plays a key role in the plot. You’ll be amazed at how many you find.

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ontinue searching for principles from the book of Ruth. Today, however, you may go your own direction. With only a couple more activities after this one, feel free to delve into the book of Ruth as you wish. Do you think we’ve exhausted the book? We’ve hardly touched on applications concerning love, commitment, the importance of maintaining a good reputation, service to others, integrity in the workplace, respect for women, rewards for faithfulness, and so forth. Choose one or more of these things, or something else you want to pursue, and create some principles that will be useful to you in the future.

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f you wish, spend today as you did yesterday in searching for worthwhile principles from the book of Ruth. But if you want a creative alternative, consider looking at the process of harvesting as a symbol of Bible study itself. After telling the parable of the sower (Mark 4:1–20), Jesus explained to His disciples, “The sower sows the word” (v. 14). God’s Word goes out as seed, and seed that falls on good soil multiplies many times (v. 20).

You took a look at the Old Testament process of harvesting grain on Day 17. Do you see any parallels in this process and the process of Bible study you’ve practiced in this workbook? If you enjoy symbolism and analogies, see how many comparisons you can make between these two processes. If not, do something else!