Welcome back!
Today’s story is from the book of Ruth. Last year’s story and lesson can be found HERE.
So just before Deborah was judge over Israel, the people next door to Israel, Moab, were being hard on Israel. Things were hard in Israel. There was no food (a famine) and a woman from Israel, named Naomi had married a man from Moab. She moved there and lived in Moab and they had a son. Their son grew up and he married a woman named Ruth.
Naomi’s husband died and Ruth’s husband died…so it was just the two women left. Ruth and her mother in law, Naomi.
Back then, women couldn’t just go get a job, so they knew they would be very very poor and have to beg for food and money to live. Naomi told Ruth to go back to her family so they could take care of her.
But Ruth wouldn’t leave Naomi. “Where you go, I will go. Where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God will be my God,” Ruth told Naomi. Ruth wouldn’t just leave Naomi all alone.
Ruth went with Naomi and they moved back to Israel. It was a hard life in Israel. They had no food or money, so Ruth went out each day and followed the workers in the field. (Naomi was too old to be out all day working, so Ruth took care of her.) She would take the leftovers and she and Naomi lived off the leftovers from the field.
There was a very nice man, named Boaz who owned the field where Ruth picked her leftovers. He noticed her one day and invited her to lunch. He told her he was very happy because he saw how much Ruth took care of Naomi. He told her she could always stay in his field and help herself to any of his leftovers. Before she left, he loaded her up with lots of food for her and Naomi. He told her God noticed what a caring and hardworking person she was and he knew God would give good things to her.
When Ruth went home, she told Naomi all about the nice man Boaz and how he had taken care of her.
“Boaz!?” said Naomi, “He is from our family!”
Naomi knew Boaz would take good care of Ruth and she thought it would be a good idea if they got married. So, one day, she told Ruth to dress really pretty and put on some good smelling perfume and to go lay down next to Boaz at bedtime.
When Boaz woke up in the middle of the night, he saw Ruth laying there and he was happy to see her and said he wanted to marry her.
Boaz was a kinsman-redeemer. This is someone in the family who can claim property or take over caring for people. Boaz was a kinsman-redeemer for Naomi and Ruth. He was allowed to buy some of the land that belonged to Naomi’s husband, and he got to marry Ruth too! Jesus is like a kinsman-redeemer for us. He paid the price for our sins and made us part of His family…sons and daughters of God. Boaz redeemed (saved) Ruth and Naomi from being poor and alone…and Jesus saves us from our sins and being alone from God forever.
Boaz and Ruth got married. Later, they had a baby boy named Obed. When Obed grew up, he had a baby named Jesse and when Jesse grew up, he had a son named David (as in David and Goliath/King David). And way way way down the line from David comes Jesus!
God used Ruth’s heart to be part of Jesus’ family. Ruth was a good hard worker who did the right thing. She took care of her mother-in-law, even when it would be hard. Boaz also did a good job taking care of his family. Do you know that one of the ways we can serve God is by loving our family? Sometimes people think you have to do something BIG or go far away to serve God or love other people. But one of the ways we can show God’s love best is by being an important part of our own family–loving the people He put us with every single day! How can YOU be a good worker in your family? How can you show your mom, dad, grandma, brother, or sister love?
For today we watched the Veggie Tales “Duke and the Great Pie War” (available to rent or buy on amazon).
Thanks for joining us again. Love to you all.
He Bids Them Come 