Welcome Back, Bible Chicks! 💛
If you were in our last Bible study, you learned how to read the Bible correctly by understanding its different literary forms.
Today’s recap is for both those who attended and those catching up. We’ll walk through what we covered step by step so you can apply it this week.
Here’s what we covered:
✅ The SHAPE Method (how to identify what type of Bible passage you’re reading)
✅ A deep dive into Ruth 1 using narrative reading techniques
✅ Key lessons about God, faith, and redemption from Ruth’s story
✅ Your homework for this week: Choose a Bible passage, identify its SHAPE, and write a brief reflection using the method we learned. Come ready to share your process and insights at our next session.
Let’s dive in and see how the SHAPE method transforms our reading.
📖 PART 1: WHAT WE LEARNED—THE SHAPE METHOD
Why SHAPE Matters
The Bible isn’t just one book—it’s a library of 66 books written in different literary forms (genres). And here’s the critical truth:
You can’t read poetry the same way you read a letter. You can’t read prophecy the same way you read history.
If you don’t understand the SHAPE (the literary form) of what you’re reading, you’ll misinterpret it.
So we learned to ask one simple question before we study any passage:
“What SHAPE is this?”
The 5 Main Shapes (Literary Forms) in the Bible
Here’s a quick reminder of what we learned:
- NARRATIVE (Story/History)
What it is: Real events, real people, real places
Examples: Genesis, Exodus, Ruth, Gospels, Acts
How to read it: Ask “What happened? Why? What does this teach about God and people?”
Key reminder: Narrative DESCRIBES what happened (not always what SHOULD happen) - POETRY (Psalms, Song of Solomon, Lamentations)
What it is: Emotional, artistic, metaphorical language
Examples: Psalms, Song of Solomon, parts of Job
How to read it: Look for imagery, emotion, parallelism, metaphor
Key reminder: Don’t take poetic language hyper-literally - PROPHECY (Warnings, Promises, Future Events)
What it is: God’s messages through prophets—calling people to repentance, promising judgment or restoration
Examples: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Revelation
How to read it: Ask, “Who was this written to? What was happening? What is God calling them to do?”
Key reminder: Prophecy is BOTH immediate (to the original audience) and future (sometimes pointing to Jesus or end times) - EPISTLES (Letters)
What it is: Letters written to specific churches or people, addressing specific issues
Examples: Romans, 1 Corinthians, Ephesians, 1 Peter
How to read it: Ask, “Who wrote this? To whom? Why? What was the problem they were addressing?”
Key reminder: Epistles teach DOCTRINE (what to believe) and APPLICATION (how to live) - WISDOM LITERATURE (Principles for Living)
What it is: Practical advice, proverbs, reflections on life
Examples: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, James
How to read it: Look for PRINCIPLES (general truths), not PROMISES (guarantees)
Key reminder: Proverbs describe what is GENERALLY true, not what is ALWAYS true
The Bottom Line
Before you study any passage, ask: What SHAPE is this, and how should I read it? This one question can revolutionize your Bible study. Now let’s apply it.
We used Ruth 1 to practice SHAPE because it’s a narrative, which helped us identify the plot, characters, and lessons. It’s relatable, short enough for one session, and rich in theology.
Here’s what we did:
STEP 1: Read Ruth 1 together
STEP 2: Identify the SHAPE
STEP 3: Analyze using narrative reading techniques
STEP 4: Pull out the lessons
STEP 1: WE READ RUTH 1 TOGETHER
We read Ruth 1:1-22 out loud as a group. If you weren’t there, here’s a quick summary:
📖 Ruth 1:1-22 Summary:
Setting: There’s a famine in Israel. A man named Elimelech, his wife Naomi, and their two sons moved to Moab (a foreign country) to survive.
Tragedy: Elimelech dies. The two sons marry Moabite women—Orpah and Ruth. Then both sons die too.
Crisis: Naomi is left with two daughters-in-law in a foreign land, without a husband or sons. She’s devastated.
Decision: Naomi decides to return to Israel. She tells Orpah and Ruth to return to their families and find new husbands.
Orpah leaves.
Ruth stays.
Ruth’s Declaration (v. 16-17):
“Where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried.”
Return: Naomi and Ruth return to Bethlehem. Naomi is bitter, feeling like God has abandoned her.
STEP 2: WE IDENTIFIED THE SHAPE
Question: What SHAPE is Ruth 1?
We looked at the clues:
✅ It tells a STORY (characters, plot, setting, conflict, resolution)
✅ It’s about REAL people in a REAL place at a REAL time
✅ It has dialogue, action, and emotion
ANSWER: This is NARRATIVE (story/history).
So How Do We Read Narrative?
We ask:
Who are the characters?
What happened? (plot)
Why did it happen? (cause and effect)
What does this teach us about God?
What does this teach us about people?
What does this teach us about faith?
Let’s walk through the narrative analysis process together now.
STEP 3: WE ANALYZED USING NARRATIVE TECHNIQUES
QUESTION 1: Who Are the Main Characters?
We identified:
Naomi (Israelite woman, widow, mother-in-law)
Ruth (Moabite woman, widow, daughter-in-law)
Orpah (Moabite woman, widow, daughter-in-law)
Elimelech (Naomi’s husband, deceased)
Mahlon and Kilion (Naomi’s sons, deceased)
Now, who is the HERO of this story?
It’s NOT Naomi (she’s bitter and feels abandoned by God).
It’s RUTH (she shows loyalty, faith, and courage).
But ultimately, the hero is GOD (who orchestrates redemption even when Naomi can’t see it).
QUESTION 2: What’s the PLOT? What Happened?
Here’s what we identified:
Famine forces the family to leave Israel
Tragedy strikes—all the men die
Naomi decides to return home
Ruth chooses to stay with Naomi despite the cost
They return to Bethlehem, destitute and grieving
Notice the STRUCTURE:
Blessing → Tragedy → Crisis → Decision → Hope
This is a common biblical narrative pattern:
Things start well (or at least normal)
Crisis hits
A decision must be made
God works through the decision to bring redemption
This is a REDEMPTION STORY.
QUESTION 3: What Does This Passage Teach Us About GOD?
We dug deep and pulled out these truths about God’s character:
✅ God allows suffering (He didn’t stop the famine or the deaths)
✅ God works even when we can’t see it (Naomi feels abandoned, but God is setting up her redemption)
✅ God is sovereign over circumstances (the famine brought them to Moab, the deaths brought Ruth into Naomi’s life)
✅ God accepts outsiders (Ruth is a Moabite—an enemy nation—yet God includes her in the lineage of Jesus)
✅ God redeems what seems lost (Naomi thinks her life is over, but God is just beginning her restoration)
Here’s the BIG Moment:
In verses 20-21, Naomi says:
“Don’t call me Naomi (which means ‘pleasant’). Call me Mara (which means ‘bitter’), because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty.”
Naomi blames God.
She thinks God is AGAINST her.
But here’s the truth we see as readers:
God wasn’t punishing her. He was POSITIONING her.
Everything that felt like loss was actually setting up her redemption.
That’s the beauty of narrative: We see what the characters can’t see yet.
QUESTION 4: What Does This Passage Teach Us About PEOPLE?
Here’s what we learned about human nature from Ruth 1:
✅ People make desperate decisions in crisis (Elimelech leaving Israel)
✅ Grief can make us bitter (Naomi)
✅ Loyalty is rare and beautiful (Ruth)
✅ Fear can drive us back to safety (Orpah)
✅ Faith sometimes means choosing the harder path (Ruth staying with Naomi)
Let’s Talk About Ruth’s Decision
Look at Ruth 1:16-17 again:
“But Ruth replied, ‘Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.’”
What is Ruth choosing?
She is choosing poverty, the unknown, Naomi’s God, and loyalty over security, familiarity, and self-preservation.
This is RADICAL faith.
Ruth has NO guarantee this will work out. She’s leaving everything she knows to follow a bitter old woman to a foreign land where she’ll be an outsider.
But she does it anyway.
Why?
Because she’s seen something in Naomi’s God that’s worth risking everything for.
QUESTION 5: What Does This Passage Teach Us About FAITH?
Here’s what Ruth 1 teaches us about what faith looks like:
✅ Faith means following God even when you can’t see the outcome
✅ Faith sometimes means staying when everyone else leaves
✅ Faith is costly (Ruth gave up everything)
✅ Faith doesn’t mean you understand God’s plan—it means you trust Him anyway
✅ Faith can look like loyalty to God’s people, not just to God Himself
The CRITICAL QUESTION:
Is this passage PRESCRIBING Ruth’s decision, or DESCRIBING it?
ANSWER: Both.
It’s DESCRIBING what Ruth did (this actually happened).
But it’s also PRESCRIBING faith for us (showing us what faithful loyalty looks like).
The Bible holds Ruth up as a MODEL of faith.
How do we know?
Because:
✅ She’s one of only 5 women in Jesus’ genealogy (Matthew 1:5)
✅ She’s a foreigner, yet God includes her in the Messianic line
✅ The entire book is named after her—this is HER story
So yes, we’re meant to learn from Ruth’s example.
The lesson: When God calls you to something, follow—even when it’s hard, even when you can’t see the outcome.
STEP 4: WE PULLED OUT THE LESSONS
Here are the KEY TAKEAWAYS from Ruth 1 that we identified together:
LESSON #1 (Main Focus): Even when we can’t see it, God is actively working for redemption in our lives. Let this central truth guide your study and reflection this week.
Naomi thought God had abandoned her, but He was preparing her for redemption.
✅ LESSON #2: Bitterness blinds us to God’s faithfulness.
Naomi couldn’t see God’s hand because she was focused on her loss.
✅ LESSON #3: Faith means following God into the unknown.
Ruth had no guarantees, but she followed anyway.
✅ LESSON #4: Loyalty and faithfulness matter to God.
Ruth’s loyalty to Naomi reflected her faith in Naomi’s God.
✅ LESSON #5: God redeems what seems lost.
Spoiler alert: Naomi gets a grandson, and Ruth becomes the great-grandmother of King David—and an ancestor of Jesus.
✅ LESSON #6: God includes outsiders in His story.
Ruth was a Moabite—an enemy of Israel—, yet God grafted her into the family tree of Jesus.
Do You See It?
Understanding the SHAPE (narrative) helped us read this correctly.
We didn’t turn it into a set of rules.
We didn’t pull random verses out of context.
We read it as a STORY—and we let the story teach us about God, about people, and about faith.
That’s how you study narrative.
📝 YOUR HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT
Now it’s YOUR turn to practice!
For homework this week, choose ONE passage and identify its SHAPE.
Your Options:
OPTION 1: Psalm 121 (Poetry—practice identifying metaphor and emotion)
OPTION 2: Matthew 14:22-33 (Narrative—Jesus walking on water)
OPTION 3: Ephesians 2:1-10 (Epistle—practice identifying doctrine and application)
OPTION 4: Proverbs 31:10-31 (Wisdom Poetry—practice identifying principles vs. promises)
Your Assignment:
Read your chosen passage 3 times
Identify the SHAPE (what literary form is this?)
Use the appropriate reading technique for that genre
Write down:
What did I learn about God?
What did I learn about people?
What did I learn about faith?
Bring it back next week to share
🙏 CLOSING PRAYER
We closed our session with this prayer. Pray it again now as you finish this recap:
Holy Spirit,
Thank you for teaching us today.
Thank You for showing us that the Bible isn’t just one book—it’s a library of different forms, all revealing Your truth.
Help us remember what we learned:
NARRATIVE teaches through story
POETRY uses imagery and emotion
PROPHECY calls us to repentance and hope
EPISTLES give us doctrine and application
WISDOM gives us principles for living
Give us discernment as we read.
Help us ask the right questions:
What SHAPE is this?
How should I read it?
What is God teaching me through this?
Don’t let us misinterpret Your Word.
Don’t let us pull verses out of context.
Don’t let us confuse what’s DESCRIBED with what’s PRESCRIBED.
Train us to read Your Word with accuracy, humility, and hunger.
Let this not just be head knowledge—let it transform how we study Scripture for the rest of our lives.
We love You. We trust You. We honor Your Word.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
💬 LET’S KEEP THE CONVERSATION GOING
Which lesson from Ruth 1 hit you the hardest?
Drop a comment below and let me know:
Are you like Naomi, feeling bitter and forgotten by God?
Are you like Ruth, choosing faith even when it’s costly?
Are you like Orpah, tempted to go back to what’s familiar and safe?
Wherever you are, God sees you. And He’s writing a redemption story in your life too.
📚 WANT MORE?
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Let’s study God’s Word together—the right way. 💛
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See you next week, Bible Chicks! 📖✨
💛 Nancy Duarte | Bible Teacher/Founder of Life n Earth Ministries
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