Ruth

Ruth
(The book of Ruth)

Ruth is the both the name of a book in the bible, and the name of a person. She was not a Jewish lady, but she was what is called a Gentile, that is, anyone who is not of the children of Israel.

There was a time when there was a famine where the children of Israel lived...that means they had very little food to eat. And a man named Elimelech chose to leave Bethlehemjudah, his home, and go to a land where the Gentiles lived named Moab. He went with his wife named Naomi, and his two sons named Mahlon and Chilion. And when they were in Moab, Mahlon married a lady named Ruth. And after a time, Elimelech and his two sons died, and his wife, Naomi, chose to leave Moab and return home to Bethlehemjudah because she learned that there was food again. Naomi told her daughters-in-law to stay in Moab, but Ruth threw her arms around Naomi and said "Do not order me to leave you, or to stop following you, for where you go, I will go, and where you live, I will live, your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and I will be buried there". And Ruth wanted to stay with Naomi so much, that Naomi allowed Ruth to stay with her.

Now when they returned to Bethlehemjudah, it was the time when the crops were picked. Naomi had a relative named Boaz, and Ruth wanted to go to a field and pick up the ears of corn that were left behind so she and Naomi would have something to eat. Those that were left behind were called gleanings. Ruth believed that someone would allow her to pick up the gleanings. And Ruth happened to go to the part of the field that was owned by Boaz. And while she was there, Boaz saw her, and asked who she was and the other people in the field told him that it was Ruth, the lady who came back home with Naomi.

And so Boaz told Ruth not to gather in any other field, but to stay in his field, and when she was thirty, she was to drink the water that his young men had drawn from the well. He also told his young men not to bother Ruth.

And Ruth was so surprised she bowed down before Boaz and said "Why are you so kind to me, and why have you noticed me, because I am a stranger." And Boaz told her "I have come to know everything that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of her husband, how you left your father and your mother and the land where you were born, and how you came to a land where you didn't know anyone. The Lord of Israel will reward you fully because you have come to trust him." And Boaz told Ruth to eat with the other people, and he told the other people to let Ruth gather even the corn that had not been cut, and to leave some especially for her. So Ruth gathered a lot of food and took it back to Naomi, and she told Naomi that she had met Boaz.

And Naomi was very happy because Boaz was a close relative of her family. And so Ruth continued to gather until the end of the barley harvest, and then the wheat harvest, and continued to live with Naomi.

At the end of the harvest there was a big dinner. And so Naomi told Ruth to wash herself, and put on fresh clothing, and go to the dinner, but that she shouldn't let Boaz know she was there until after the men had finished eating and drinking, and then she was to go in and lie down at the feet of Boaz while he was sleeping. And Ruth did everything Naomi told her to do.

And Boaz was so happy because Ruth wanted to be with him instead of a younger man, and he told her not to be afraid. And he wanted to marry Ruth, but first he had to go and speak to a person who was a closer relative to Naomi than he was. And so Boaz went to speak to the other man, but when the other man found out that he would be expected to marry Ruth, he refused because he wanted to keep all of his inheritance for his own family.

And so Boaz married Ruth, and after a time she had a baby boy who they named Obed. And Naomi was very, very happy and she became the baby's nurse. And Obed was the grandfather of the future king of Israel named David.

And so this is the story of Ruth, who left everything she had known to come to a new country, and to trust in God.

Memory Verse: Ruth 1:16 "...where you go I will go, where you live I will live, your people shall be my people, and your God my God."

Questions:
1. Why did Elimelech take his family to Moab?
2. Why did Naomi come back to Bethlehemjudah?
3. What did Boaz do when he first knew who Ruth was?
4. What did Naomi tell Ruth to do at the end of the harvest?
5. What did Boaz do when he saw Ruth at his feet?
6. What was the name of their baby, and who was he?

Answers:
1. Because there was a famine in the land and there was very little food to eat.
2. Because she learned there was food again in the land.
3. He told her to stay in his fields and to eat with the people there, and that they should leave extra grain in the field for her.
4. That she should wash, put on fresh clothes, and go in to Boaz after he was asleep and lay at his feet.
5. He wanted to marry her, but first he had to speak to a relative who was closer than he was, then he married her.
6. He was named Obed, and he was the grandfather of King David.

Vicki C. Gross/Oct.'02

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