Teaching The Book Of Ruth Through Storytelling
Thousands of years ago, before the internet, before television, before newspapers and books, stories were passed down orally, often by theatrical storytellers as a means of
entertainment. This was also true of certain books of the Bible, including but not limited to the Book of Ruth.
Last week Dr. Hauffe’s Old Testament class began their study on the book of Ruth and Dr. Hauffe took that moment to try something different.
“I wanted the students to experience Ruth as the ancients would,” Hauffe explained. “It was a form of entertainment with theological significance, similar to our modern movies.”
Students were greeted by the smell of popcorn, and were informed they didn’t need to take notes (they would be going over the material the next day)! All they needed to do was simply listen and enjoy the adventure.
Hauffe started with an introduction to the characters, a bit of background, and some interesting facts. Did you know….
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There are only 2 books in the Bible named after women
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Ruth is a Moabitess, the only book of the Bible named after a Gentile woman
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This book was typically read during the Feast of Pentecost- or Harvest of the Wheat.
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This is a “love” story of faith
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Each of the people’s names in the story means something in correlation with their role in the plot
Through Dr. Hauffe's wisdom and storytelling, these students dug into Scripture, to discover more about Ruth's journey and God's faithfulness.
