2008 - 2009 Fall Bible Study
The Hidden Hand of God: Wisdom Stories from Ruth, Daniel, and Esther
 
The Fall Bible study written by Gwen Sayler and Ann Fritschel, both professors of Hebrew Bible at Wartburg Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa. This study will run in the September through May issues of Lutheran Woman Today.

Biblical wisdom stories offer fertile material for reflection on what it means to act boldly in complex situations that raise challenging questions about the meaning of faithfulness "under fire."

Written during the Persian and Greek time periods, these books illustrate well wisdom themes central to both the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. All three deal with issues of faithfulness in cultures that are at least somewhat hostile (Daniel and Esther as Jews in a foreign setting and Ruth as a foreigner in a Jewish setting), which raises interesting questions for us as we live out our faith in our own cultural settings.