Judges & Ruth

The second installment in the Ariel's Bible Commentary Series.
In his action packed, culturally relevant exegesis of the Book of Judges, Dr. Fruchtenbaum opens a portal where formerly unfamiliar names and places come alive with meaning. Armies clash, heroes rise, and human affection for other gods multiplies with soul-numbing impact. We see in his exegesis of the Book of Ruth a contrasting, in-depth picture of life among the true believers living in Bethlehem during this ancient time. These two history books are set in the time when Israel was in the Land but not yet a unified nation. Although God continues to hear the cry of the children of Israel each time they fall away and face turmoil, they fall ever further into spiritual blindness because of their disobedience. Eventually, even the spiritual leaders become immune to their own glaring indifference to God s Word. In all, God sent twelve Judges to save the children of Israel. Seven of these Judges are treated in detail as Israel goes through each cycle of apostasy, oppression, repentance, and salvation by a Judge. The Book of Ruth, an appendix to the Book of Judges, presents enormously touching portraits of Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz. They are pictured as part of the faithful community of Messianic Jewish believers of their own time, worthy ancestors of King David and the promised King Messiah yet to be revealed.

Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Th.M., Ph.D, is one of the foremost authorities on the nation of Israel, and is a messianic Jewish believer. This has made him a popular speaker and teacher at Bible conferences, congregations, and churches throughout the world. He received his B.A. from Cedarville University, his Th.M from Dallas Theological Seminary, and his Ph.D. from New York University. His graduate work also includes studies at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Based in San Antonio, TX he is the founder of Ariel Ministries, which is dedicated to evangelism of Jewish people and discipleship of Jewish and Gentile believers from a messianic Jewish frame of reference.