Audio Study Messages

Some commonalities of these continued place names and peoples have been pointed out in the last few messages, I shall point this out again for clarification and remembrance:

1. the book of Ruth is not it's own book, it is the last 4 chapters of Judges. This is important because of the misconceptions and ignorant or arrogant suppositions made upon the woman Ruth and her offspring, that is mainly King David and David's Lord Jesu(s) the Christ (which we shall further discuss).

2. The fact that our subject characters are once again taken from the area we have so many times referenced Bethlehem Judah, the future home of King David, the King of Judah and Israel united. Bethlehem is the place in which the Levite of the prior chapter took his unfaithful concubine from, it is as well the original home to Johnathan the Levite, Micah's idol priest Judges 17:7 another unfaithful character.

3.The people of Bethlehem Judah, here mentioned are said to go sojourning in the land of Moab, now if it may be recalled from

Jdg_3:1-31 the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel... eighteen years.

Jdg 3:15 But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab.

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Here is where the story starts to get interesting by examining the scriptural record, if we wish to know why Israelites where sojourning in pagan Moab: The back ground from Ch3, in Judges 21 is a war just had with Benjamin, a people who had gone after other god's by serving them, a service which included homosexuality and rape, which was the cause of the war.

The Levite's Concubine from Bethlehem was raped to death by the enemy which was from Benjamin; In our next chapter and story called Ruth or Judges chapter 22, the Bethlehemites are fleeing famine to Moab, in Judges chapter 3 Moab was the oppressor and Benjamin delivered Israel through Ehud, Ehud the Son of Gera blew the trumpet on Mt.Ephriam the home of the prior Levite, and of Micah the Idolator...a very interwoven story to say the least!

Why would the people of Bethlehem Judah sojourn in Moab?

Apparently Benjamites had a tenancy to sojourn there often, consider:

1Ch_8:1 Now Benjamin begat Bela his firstborn...

1Ch 8:3 And the sons of Bela were, Addar, and Gera...

1Ch_8:6 And these are the sons of Ehud: these are the heads of the fathers of the inhabitants of Geba, and they removed them to Manahath:

1Ch 8:7 And Naaman, and Ahiah, and Gera, he removed them, and begat Uzza, and Ahihud.

1Ch 8:8 And Shaharaim begat children in the country of Moab, after he had sent them away; Hushim and Baara were his wives.