As God’s word teaches us all things necessary for life and godliness (II Tim. 3:16-17) and for forming a proper Christian worldview, it is fitting for John Piper (by means of the voice of Grover Gardner, who has such a clear and pleasant reading voice) to walk us through the book of Ruth in order to teach us about the all-important doctrine of God’s sovereignty. I was quite delighted to be shown the fullness of God’s sovereignty in such specific aspects as shown in Ruth ; though, I was expecting the doctrine of the sovereignty of God to be shown by means of various citations. This could have easily been done as Dr. Piper points out (there are hundreds of texts that show this), but I appreciate the demonstration of the practicality of God’s word for our daily lives from the narratives of the Old Testament. I actually believe this to be the more practical method, as it encourages thoughtful and attentive study of the Bible’s biographies.
The practicality of the life of Ruth (and Naomi) for our lives is what I see as the most important focus of Piper’s book. Characteristically of John Piper, he applies the whole message of the book of Ruth (God’s sovereignty, the significance of interracial relations and equality and our sex lives) to the most practical aspects of our lives and calls us to form a proper Christian worldview by applying these truths. How ought we to live in light of these truths? That is the real question we should be asking, and it is for God’s glory and our joy that we must think about it. I invite you all to take and read (or in this case listen).
And you can order this audio book from christianaudio.com by simply clicking HERE.
