Corn & Ivy: Spiritual Reading in Ruth and Jonah

Denise and John Carmody here provide a unique, personal, and reflective commentary on the biblical books of Ruth (gleaner of "corn") and Jonah (shaded by "ivy"). While drawing on solid biblical scholarship, the authors' principal aim is to invite readers to take these biblical books to heart - to meditate on them personally - thus exemplifying how believers might read any books of the Bible with the assumptions of faith and for personal nourishment.
For the book of Ruth, feminist issues beg for treatment; for the book of Jonah, the matter of election (the fate of Israel over against God's provision for the gentiles) leaps out at present day readers. Both books place before the readers the theme of divine providence. Finally, because of the authors' own existential situation, both books have been read in part for what they say about death - ultimate wisdom.